Title: Principals perspectives of mindfulness for leadership and equity structured

Authors: Corinne Brion; Gina Laura Gullo

Addresses: University of Dayton, 300 College Park, Dayton, OH, 45469, USA ' GLG Consulting, 4425 Charles Street, Easton, PA 18045, USA

Abstract: The current study sought to explore principals' perspectives of definitions and uses of mindfulness in their leadership and equity practices. The primary researcher observed and interviewed 11 school principals using qualitative methods during the course of this study. Four themes developed from principals' definitions of mindfulness: 1) awareness and attention; 2) present centredness; 3) modelling listening and respect; 4) decision-making processes. The principals' actions also presented ethical mindedness in their equity pursuits and reflection in their general leadership practices, despite establishing the presence of a stigma around mindfulness. Beyond the limitations of qualitative research towards generalisability, implications from this work include the need for an education-centric definition of mindfulness in educational leadership. This first study to explore principals' definitions of mindfulness in leadership and equity practices offers a potential definition based on the findings: mindfulness in educational leadership is the practice of using awareness, attention, present-centredness, and reflection in leadership and equity practices inclusive of decision-making and modelling listening and respect. This original definition holds significant value for work that aims to bridge the research-to-practice gap in education by allowing for a conceptualisation of mindfulness based on practitioner perspectives.

Keywords: mindfulness; educational leadership; equity; qualitative research; principals; mindful; modelling; decision-making; awareness; centeredness.

DOI: 10.1504/IJTCS.2020.109721

International Journal of Teaching and Case Studies, 2020 Vol.11 No.2, pp.105 - 132

Received: 24 Feb 2020
Accepted: 04 Apr 2020
Published online: 21 Sep 2020 *

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