Leveraging university–district partnerships to prepare school leaders for equity

Purpose The purpose of this study was to understand how principal preparation program coordinators and faculty leveraged university-district partnerships to support their efforts to prepare school leaders for equity. Design/methodology/approach This qualitative study used data from semi-structured interviews collected from 15 stakeholders within principal preparation programs from 11 institutions. Findings The analysis revealed four major themes that characterized how these relationships support programs’ equity-oriented efforts: recruitment and admission, internship, two-way learning, and program evaluation and continuous improvement. Practical implications This study offers insights regarding the potential of university–district partnerships to strengthen efforts to prepare school leaders for equity, which could motivate the efforts of other preparation programs. Originality/value Successful efforts to prepare school leaders are a joint and mutualistic endeavor between principal preparation programs and school districts. This study contributes to the broader discussion of how these relationships can be used to support the preparation of school leaders for equity, more holistically than is currently explored across the literature.