Embracing diversity within schools is a complex endeavour. Data on student achievement
in Ontario’s urban high schools indicate a disconnect between the expectation of
equitable and inclusive education as stated in the Ontario Ministry of Education’s (2014)
vision, Achieving Excellence: A Renewed Vision for Education in Ontario, and the social
realities of discriminatory barriers in schools. This study employed semi-structured
interviews to obtain the perspectives of 3 urban high school principals on the
implementation of policies that support the goal of ensuring equity—identified as a key
goal in Achieving Excellence. Findings suggest that the interconnectivity of policies, how
principals translate policy messages, and the character traits associated with leadership
are factors that muddy the implementation process in urban high schools. It was
suggested that policy implementation is not static and occurs in a fluid system consisting
of individuals with differing lived experiences, beliefs, and intersectional identities.
Emphasizing the delicate state of Ontario’s current political climate, participants
proposed the dismantling of tokenism and assumptions placed on principals, the
incorporation of practical support in professional development, and changing the
pathologizing nature of teacher professional judgment as strategies to improve principal
policy implementation
