Abstract:

The study examines how Maltese school leaders who have completed an educational leadership program in the past six years understand the concept of equity schooling and the role that multicultural education plays in the formation of polices which aid this important quest. The qualitative method of investigation was used throughout the study. The semi-structured interview method was thought to be ideal since it allowed the researcher to probe (McLeod, 2014) into the interwoven links between Multicultural education and equity schooling. It also allowed participants to feel at ease with the researcher thus increasing the validity of the study. 55% of the school leaders interviewed were familiar with the concept of equity schooling. Ten percent of those interviewed equated multicultural education with social justice whilst stressing on equal participation of all children irrespective of children’s cultural or linguistic background while 20% perceived multicultural education as an essential prerequisite towards fair and equal distribution of resources. Only 35% of respondents spoke about equity schooling in terms of ‘cultural proficiency’, ‘cultural competence’, ‘responding to cultural backgrounds’, or similar notions. This indicated a dire need for more emphasis on school equity issues in schools together with an infusion of culturally responsive education courses within Educational Leadership programs. 

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