Faculty Commitment to Equity‐Mindedness: Development and Initial Validation of a New Measure

ABSTRACT

Equity‐mindedness has become a widely adopted framework for advancing racial equity in higher education, yet little research has examined the extent to which faculty internalize equity‐minded principles as enduring professional commitments. To address this gap, this study conceptualized faculty commitment to equity‐mindedness as a distinct dimension of equity‐minded practice and developed the Faculty Commitment to Equity‐Mindedness Survey (FCEMS) to measure the construct. A complementary Equity‐Minded Implementation Contexts Survey (EMICS) was also developed to assess faculty‐reported equity efforts and perceptions of institutional and departmental support for equity‐minded work. Survey data were collected from 64 faculty members at a California community college designated as a Hispanic‐Serving Institution (HSI), who had participated in equity‐focused professional development. Exploratory factor analysis supported a two‐factor structure for the FCEMS, consisting of FCEM Values and FCEM Responsibility. The FCEMS demonstrated strong internal consistency reliability, while correlations with EMICS subscales, Equity Efforts and Perceived Support, provided initial evidence of convergent and discriminant validity. Together, the FCEMS and EMICS offer a complementary framework for examining faculty commitment, equity‐minded practice, and institutional supports associated with equity‐minded institutional change. These findings provide initial evidence that faculty commitment to equity‐mindedness is a distinct and theoretically meaningful construct and introduce complementary tools to support institutional learning, professional development, and future research on equity‐minded institutional change.