Getting It “Right”: Educators’ Experiences With School Diversity in a Gentrifying Neighborhood

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by Pentious

Qualitative holistic case study examining how leaders and teachers in a diversifying elementary school within a gentrifying neighborhood perceive and experience school diversity. Using Turner’s value of diversity framework, the study analyzes interviews and supporting documents to identify tensions in defining “diversity,” forming shared missions, and ensuring staff voice and representation under a White leader. Findings highlight obstacles related to decentering Whiteness and resisting the racial contract, alongside perceived benefits for students’ multicultural capital, global cosmopolitanism, safer spaces, and resource influx, plus collective reductions in divisiveness.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages18

Reading Time45 min

AccessFree to download

Purpose and Research Questions

Findings

Literature Review

AERA Open January-December 2025, Vol. 11, No. 1, pp. 1–18 DOI: 10. 1177/23328584251332943 Article reuse guidelines: [sagepub.com/journals-permissions](sagepub.com/journals-permissions)[ ](sagepub.com/journals-permissions)© The Author(s) 2025. [https://journals.sagepub.com/home/ero](https://journals.sagepub.com/home/ero) Getting It “Right”: Educators’ Experiences With School Diversity in a Gentrifying Neighborhood Jennifer B. Ayscue North Carolina State University Kfir Mordechay Pepperdine University Gage F. Matthews Julie Whetzel North Carolina State University Schools in gentrifying neighborhoods often experience demographic changes in enrollment. The purpose of this qualitative holistic case study is to describe how leaders and teachers in a diversifying elementary school in a gentrifying neighborhood perceive and experience diversity. Drawing on Turner’s value of diversity framework, we use inductive coding to analyze interviews and also use documents to inform our findings. Although Greenleaf was striving to be intentionally diverse, consensus did not exist about the meaning of “diversity” or the desired form of diversity. Challenges associated with decentering Whiteness and resisting upholding the racial contract existed as educators worked to establish a shared mission, ensure diverse staff voice and representation with a White leader, and navigate complications of power and privilege among White families. Educators highlighted the value of diversity for developing students’multicultural capital and global cosmopolitanism as well as the collective benefit of reducing divisiveness for our nation. Keywords: diversity, urban education, educational policy, case study, qualitative research, gentrification Over the last two decades, gentrification has changed the residential composition of neighborhoods in many cities across the United States (Ellen & Torrats-Espinosa, 2018). As White, middle-class residents move into low-income communities of color, some schools are also experiencing changes in student enrollment (Green et al., 2022; Mordechay & Ayscue, 2020, 2022) . Amidst these demographic shifts, teachers and leaders often strive to navigate the tensions associated with gentrification in order to serve a different student body (Mordechay, 2022). While neighborhood demographic change may present an opportunity for creating more diverse and integrated learning experiences, it also poses challenges. The field of education needs a more nuanced understanding of how school leaders and teachers navigate and leverage the shifting landscape of urban inequality created by patterns of gentrification (Milner, 2012) . The purpose of this qualitative case study is to provide a description of how school leaders and teachers in a gentrifying elementary school perceive and experience diversity. To truly understand how educators view diversity, we must first understand how they define “diversity” and whether or not they believe their school is diverse. Therefore, we explore the following questions: How do leaders and teachers in a gentrifying elementary school conceptualize diversity? What do leaders and teachers in a gentrifying elementary school perceive to be the benefits and challenges of having more White students attend a school that historically served predominantly students of color? Our findings indicate that although Greenleaf was striving to be an intentionally diverse school in a gentrifying community, consensus did not exist about what “diversity” meant or what the desired form of diversity was. Numerous challenges associated with decentering Whiteness and resisting upholding the racial contract existed as educators worked to establish a shared mission and values among all school community members, ensure diverse staff voice and representation with a White leader, and navigate complications of power and privilege among White families. However, educators also highlighted Creative Commons Non C

FAQs

What is the study’s purpose regarding school diversity in a gentrifying neighborhood?

The study describes how school leaders and teachers in a gentrifying elementary school perceive and experience diversity, including how they define the concept and assess benefits and challenges.

How does the study analyze participants’ perspectives on diversity?

It uses Turner’s value of diversity framework and inductive coding of interviews, supplemented by documents to inform the findings.

What challenges and benefits do educators report about diversity?

Educators report challenges related to decentering Whiteness, resisting upholding the racial contract, and navigating power and privilege. They also emphasize benefits such as students’ multicultural capital, global cosmopolitanism, safer spaces, additional resources, and reduced divisiveness collectively.

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by Pentious