Lessons Learned in the Age of Political Polarization: A Case Study of Five Independent Schools
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Date
2025
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Vanderbilt University. Peabody College
Abstract
We are living in an age of political polarization and nowhere has it played out more publicly in the United States than within education where schools, classrooms, and campuses have become the battlegrounds for deep divisions around any number of controversial topics, the mismanagement of which can have steep consequences for educational institutions and their leaders. Being informed by years of quantitative research on the topic within the independent school sector, this qualitative research study provides a front row seat to the inner workings of five independent schools and their experiences leaning into the important work of managing political polarization. The findings are groundbreaking and extremely informative for all those who lead in educational spaces and beyond including 1) how political polarization is impacting the experiences of students, teachers, and school leaders in independent schools, 2) ways in which schools are changing their programs or policies in response to the recent social and political environment, and 3) how schools are meeting the needs of students, teachers, and school leaders. Beyond insightful and captivating stories from the experiences of these schools, this paper includes the introduction of the Helvey Power-Expression Paradigm, which is the first of its kind, a visual representation of the inverse relationship of power differentials that exist between school leaders, teachers, and students within a school community and the impact that has on each of their freedom of expression in schools. Finally, the research suggests three recommendations to the National Association of Independent Schools (NAIS), culminating in a proposed Principles of Good Practice: Leading Through an Era of Political Polarization.
Description
Leadership Policy and Organizations Department capstone project