Principals and educational leaders are critical for developing equitable, engaged, and empowering educational environments. Our goal is to improve candidates Knowledge, Beliefs, and Mindsets (KBMs) about equity and identifying gaps in KBMS among pre and in-service educators that might be addressed in educator professional learning and development.

The We-LEED team has the goal of validating the KBM survey instrument by refining our survey instrument with feedback garnered from the survey itself, cognitive interviews and focus groups.

1 Survey

Participants will be asked to complete the survey prior to participating in a cognitive interview or focus group. As the research assistant, we ask that you please review the We Leed Survey for a better understanding of the study and to prepare for the interviews and focus groups.

2 Cognitive Interview

Interview data collection will be designed to gather important insights from participants about the (1) content, (2) clarity, and (3) timespan of the survey questions. For instance, in terms of content, the interview questions will probe whether the items we developed are, in fact, capturing the focal area that we desire based on our careful review of the research literature. Secondly, in terms of clarity, the interviews will allow us to determine the degree to which survey items such as terms, constructs, and language are clear and accessible across items. Participants will be prompted to consider what the survey questions asked of them and to provide details as to whether the questions are effectively worded. Thirdly, the interviews are designed to determine the time span of the survey, i.e., which items require the most time and what needs to be addressed to build a user-friendly, reasonably timed measure. This feedback will help our research team understand participants’ experiences with completing the survey.

3 Focus Group

The focus group interviews will explore three key aspects of the KBM survey, the content, the length, and clarity. The first aspect, content, allows respondents to give feedback on the significance and appropriateness of the survey questions. This allows the research team to determine if the survey questions will yield responses that align with the research questions. The second aspect, length, invites respondents to give feedback on the flow of the questions and the time needed to complete the survey. This feedback will inform a finalized version of the survey designed to avoid survey fatigue. Inquiring about clarity, the third aspect, provides an opportunity for respondents to consider the terms used in the survey items and if the questions are effectively constructed.