UC Davis

The factors of identities, positionalities, and ideologies are critical on how leaders lead, guide, engage, and communicate with their constituencies to create equitable learning experiences for students. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to gain understanding of the experiences of three Asian American community college presidents’ recognition and consciousness of their identities, positionalities, and ideologies as they work on equity and social justice in their campus context. To examine my research questions, my study utilized the qualitative approaches that consisted of a multi-case study that encompassed semi-structured interviews with the college presidents and document analyses. Furthermore, I focused on institutional change and engagement from a community college president’s perspective that reflected on how they prioritize and work on equity and social justice at their campus. The two following theoretical frameworks were used to explore and better understand how these leaders lead, implement, and promote equity, and engage with their communities in connection with their identities, positionalities, and ideologies. The first is the shared equity leadership framework (SEL), also known as the shared leadership for equity (Kezar et al., 2021). The second framework is transformative leadership (Shields, 2010).In this multi-case study that was conducted during the pandemic between July 2022 to September 2022, the following themes were identified based on the evidence throughout the interviews: Identity in Equity and Social Justice Work, Ideologies influencing Equity and Social Justice Work, Equity in Action, and Dealing with the Pandemic: The Rise of Anti-Asian Racism and Hate Crimes. Within the major theme, Equity in Action, four sub-themes emerged from the evidence which are: 1) Leadership Style: From Positionality to Collaboration and Inclusivity, 2) Student Voice, 3) Professional Development, and 4) Challenges in Equity and Social Justice Work. The findings indicate that identities and ideologies heavily influence how a college president engages and leads their campus in the work of equity and social justice. The factor of positionality is dependent on how the college president utilizes their position to influence and lead their campus.