Tip: Try author name, DOI (10.xxxx/…), or keywords.

ISSN (Online): 2456-2653
Annals of Medicine and Medical Sciences
Submit Manuscript
  1. Home
  2. Vol. 9, No. 07, (2025)
  3. Strategies for Promoting Education Equity in a Selected School in Shan…
Articles Open Access

Strategies for Promoting Education Equity in a Selected School in Shandong, China

Annals of Medicine and Medical SciencesVol. 9, No. 07, (2025) July 8, 2025pp. 8383-8438DOI: 10.18535/sshj.v9i07.1924
243 122
Abstract

This study examines the strategies employed by school leaders in implementing educational equity, as assessed by teacher-respondents. Specifically, it evaluates leadership effectiveness in five key dimensions: Minimum Standards, Equality of Condition, Impartiality, Meritocracy, and Redistribution. Utilizing a quantitative research design, data were collected from 300 teachers through survey questionnaires, and statistical analyses were conducted to determine overall perceptions and demographic-based differences.

Findings indicate that school leaders are generally perceived as strategic in fostering educational equity, with an overall mean score of 3.31, categorized as "Agree – Strategic." Among the five dimensions, Redistribution received the highest rating (M = 3.39), suggesting strong efforts in resource allocation and support for disadvantaged students. Equality of Condition followed closely (M = 3.36), highlighting the prioritization of equitable access to educational opportunities. Conversely, Impartiality received the lowest mean score (M = 3.19), indicating the need for improvement in fairness, transparency, and unbiased decision-making. Statistical analysis revealed no significant differences in perceptions based on age, length of service, or highest educational attainment. However, a significant difference was found in the assessment of Equality of Condition based on sex (p = 0.013), with female respondents rating school leadership's efforts slightly higher than male respondents.

Based on the findings, a strategic plan was developed to enhance the effectiveness of educational equity initiatives. Key recommendations include strengthening impartiality in policy implementation, increasing stakeholder engagement, expanding support for both disadvantaged and gifted students, and addressing gender-related perspectives in educational equity efforts. The study underscores the importance of continuous evaluation and targeted interventions to ensure that all students receive equitable opportunities for academic success.

References
  1. Ainscow, M. (2020). Inclusion and equity in education: Making sense of global challenges. Prospects.
  2. Ainscow, M. (2020). Promoting inclusion and equity in education: Lessons from international experiences. Nordic Journal of Studies in Educational Policy, 6(1), 24-35. DOI: 10.1080/20020317.2020.1729587
  3. Atwater, M. M., Butler, M. B., Freeman, T. B., & Parsons, E. C. (2013). An examination of Black science teacher educators’ experiences with multicultural education, equity, and social justice. Journal of Science Teacher Education, 24(5), 827-848. DOI: 10.1007/s10972-013-9358-8
  4. Arvin, L. J. (2009). Teachers' perceptions of equity in education in high-poverty schools (Doctoral dissertation, Loyola University Chicago). ProQuest Dissertations & Theses.
  5. Atkins, L., & Duckworth, V. (2019). Research methods for social justice and equity in education. In The Palgrave Handbook of Education Law for Schools (pp. 1-19). Springer. DOI: 10.1007/978-3-030-05900-2
  6. Cairney, P., & Kippin, S. (2021). The future of education equity policy in a COVID-19 world: a qualitative systematic review of lessons from education policymaking. Open Research Europe, 1, 4.
  7. Cochran-Smith, M. (2020). Teacher Education for Justice and Equity: 40 Years of Advocacy. Action in Teacher Education.
  8. Corneille, M., Lee, A. K., Harris, K. N., Jackson, K. T., & Covington, M. (2020). Developing Culturally and Structurally Responsive Approaches to STEM Education to Advance Education Equity. Journal of Negro Education, 89(1), 48-63.
  9. Frønes, T. S., Pettersen, A., Radišić, J., & Buchholtz, N. (Eds.). (Year). *Equity, Equality and Diversity in the Nordic Model of Education*. ISBN 978-3-030-61647-2. ISBN 978-3-030-61648-9 (eBook). Publisher. DOI
  10. Gilbert, C. R. (2023). Analyzing the influence of perceived administrative support on teachers' affective organizational commitment and job satisfaction (Ed.D. Dissertation, Arkansas State University). ProQuest LLC. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-61648-9
  11. Guo, L., Huang, J., & Zhang, Y. (2019). Education Development in China: Education Return, Quality, and Equity. Faculty of Human, Social and Political Science, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB2 3RQ, UK.
  12. Hornak, A. M. (2012). Women’s status in higher education: Equity matters. Naspa Journal About Women in Higher Education, 5(1), 81-87. DOI: 10.1515/njawhe-2012-1171
  13. Jurado de los Santos, P., Moreno Guerrero, A. J., Marín Marín, J. A., & Soler Costa, R. (2020). The Term Equity in Education: A Literature Review with Scientific Mapping in Web of Science. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 17(10), 3526.
  14. Kearney, A. (2019). Equity in education: An overview. In Encyclopedia of Teacher Education (pp. 1-7). Springer. DOI: 10.1007/978-981-13-1179-6_329-1
  15. Li, I. W., & Carroll, D. R. (2020). Factors influencing dropout and academic performance: an Australian higher education equity perspective. Journal of Higher Education Policy and Management, 42(3), 284-300.
  16. Lim, C. P., Ra, S., Chin, B., & Wang, T. (2020). Leveraging Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) to Enhance Education Equity, Quality, and Efficiency: Case Studies of Bangladesh and Nepal. Educational Media International, 57(1), 47-63.
  17. Liu, C.-S., & Cheng, H.-J. (2012). Education equity in the process of the massification of Taiwan’s higher education. Chinese Education and Society, 45(5), 74-86. DOI: 10.2753/ced1061-1932450508
  18. Mayfield, E., Madaio, M., Prabhumoye, S., Gerritsen, D., McLaughlin, B., Dixon-Román, E., & Black, A. W. (2019). Equity beyond bias in language technologies for education. In Proceedings of the Fourteenth Workshop on Innovative Use of NLP for Building Educational Applications (pp. 316-328). Association for Computational Linguistics. DOI: 10.18653/v1/w19-4446
  19. Mercer-Mapstone, L., & Bovill, C. (2019). Equity and diversity in institutional approaches to student-staff partnership schemes in higher education. Studies in Higher Education, 44(8), 1349-1362. DOI: 10.1080/03075079.2019.1620721
  20. Nadelson, L. S., Miller, R., Hu, H. H., Bang, N. M., & Walthall, B. (2019). Is Equity on Their Mind? Documenting Teachers’ Education Equity Mindset. World Journal of Education, 9(5), 26-36.
  21. Noblit, G. W., & Pink, W. T. (Eds.). (2016). Education, equity, economy: Crafting a new intersection. Springer. DOI: 10.1007/978-3-319-21644-7
  22. Paton, M., Naidu, T., Wyatt, T. R., Oni, O., Flexman, A. M., Lorello, G. R., Najeeb, U., Feilchenfeld, Z., Waterman, S. J., Whitehead, C., & Kuper, A. (2020). Dismantling the master's house: New ways of knowing for equity and social justice in health professions education. Advances in Health Sciences Education, 25(5), 1097-1114. DOI: 10.1007/s10459-020-10006-x
  23. Pitman, T., Edwards, D., Zhang, L.-C., Koshy, P., & McMillan, J. (2020). Constructing a ranking of higher education institutions based on equity: Is it possible or desirable? Higher Education, 79(3), 493-510. DOI: 10.1007/s10734-019-00487-0
  24. Rodríguez, A. J., & Morrison, D. (2019). Expanding and enacting transformative meanings of equity, diversity and social justice in science education. Cultural Studies of Science Education, 14(4), 1029-1051. DOI: 10.1007/s11422-019-09938-7
  25. Salmi, J. (2019). Higher Education Equity Policies across the Globe. International Higher Education.
  26. Tan, X., & Zhao, Z. (2022, May). Equity planning in China, focusing on education. Cornell University, Department of City and Regional Planning.
  27. Valley, W., Anderson, M. L., Blackstone, N. T., Sterling, E. J., Betley, E., Akabas, S. R., Koch, P., Dring, C., Burke, J. D., Spiller, K. A., & Iles, A. (2020). Towards an equity competency model for sustainable food systems education programs.
  28. Walker, B. (2012). The flat world and education: How America’s commitment to equity will determine our future [Review of the book The flat world and education: How America’s commitment to equity will determine our future by L. Darling-Hammond]. Journal of Education Policy, 27(3), 409-411. DOI: 10.1080/02680939.2011.599597
  29. Wood, T. D. (2012). Teacher perceptions of gender-based differences among elementary school teachers. International Electronic Journal of Elementary Education, 4(2), 317–345. https://www.iejee.com/index.php/IEJEE/article/view/263
  30. Yang, H. H., Zhu, S., & MacLeod, J. (2018). Promoting Education Equity in Rural and Underdeveloped Areas: Cases on Computer-Supported Collaborative Teaching in China. Eurasia Journal of Mathematics, Science and Technology Education.
  31. Yin, Y. (2020). Reflection on the Quality and Equity of Chinese Basic Education—From PISA 2018 Results: Where All Students Can Succeed. Journal of Contemporary Educational Research.
  32. Yu, S., Zheng, J., & Xu, Z., & Zhang, T. (2022). The Transformation of Parents’ Perception of Education Involution Under the Background of “Double Reduction” Policy: The Mediating Role of Education Anxiety and Perception of Education Equity. Frontiers in Psychology, 13, 1-10.
  33. Zhang, Y. (2016). Household Inputs and Education Equity. In Equity and Access in Higher Education (pp. 65-85). Springer, Singapore.
  34. Zhang, L.-C., Koshy, P., & McMillan, J. (2020). Constructing a ranking of higher education institutions based on equity: Is it possible or desirable? Higher Education, 79(3), 493-510. DOI: 10.1007/s10734-019-00487-0
  35. Zhang, H. (2016). Educational equity research in the mainland of China: A historical perspective. The International Education Journal: Comparative Perspectives, 15(4), 133-147. Retrieved from http://openjournals.library.usyd.edu.au/index.php/IEJ/index