In the quest for education equity, we need the help of many. We need people with diverse skills and perspectives. There is also a fundamental attitude, point of view, and disposition that I believe we need to drive the kind of change we want —an abundance mindset.
The “abundance mindset” concept, as most understand it today, was popularized by Stephen R. Covey in a little work you might have heard of before: The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People.
It articulates the belief that everyone has enough resources and opportunities to succeed.
The contrasting mindset—the scarcity mindset—is the prevailing mindset among opponents of education reform. Scarcity is the assertion that resources are finite and must be rationed carefully. On the surface, that reads like a levelheaded position to take as we are conditioned for scarcity. But, the consequences of scarcity in education policy and funding are stark. When decisions are driven by fear, precious resources are needlessly withheld or unfairly allocated. And every time scarcity guides policy, our education system becomes less equal and less just.
The only response to the pernicious assertions of those advancing a scarcity agenda is to think, act, speak, advocate, and vote with an abundance mindset.
Why An Abundance Mindset Matters
The zero-sum instinct is really hard to overcome. Opponents would have us believe scarcity is a biological imperative. To them, surviving the winter depends on hoarding the harvest. Every calorie “they” get is one less for me.
But the zero-sum impulse is demonstrably flawed. For most of human history, we have gotten by because we’ve been able to cooperate to ensure our mutual survival. Civilization, far from the story of The Great Man, is the victory won by complex and profound cooperation. It’s the village people coming together to share their harvests so that every household has plenty of diverse nutrients.
That is a metaphor for collaboration over competition. That’s the power of an abundance mindset to reshape the world and for our purposes, education. Instead of viewing the school in the district next door as a rival or threat, the abundance mindset seeks outcomes that both schools—and, importantly, all students—gain. Rather than hoarding resources, there are open lines of communication, emergent synergies, and opportunities that wouldn’t have been possible without collaboration.
When educators and administrators embrace an abundance mindset, it opens doors to innovation among teachers and curiosity among students. When we understand that one teacher’s success isn’t going to limit another teacher’s potential, teachers can be open to strategies and new approaches.
What’s more, if resources were allocated from a place of abundance, teachers could seek out the opportunities that they are most passionate about rather than all vying for the most high-paying, pragmatic opportunities.
We know that students, with empowered teachers, updated learning materials, the latest technologies, and improved access to the internet, can begin to see things differently, explore the world in their own way, and pursue the questions that interest them the most.
In an abundant future, funding would not dictate the impact on the quality of education, range of opportunities, or even student outcomes. That’s because funding disparities don’t need to exist. There is enough money in the system right now to ensure equitable access to a high-quality, future-facing education for all students.
Propagating an Abundance Mindset
One thing should be obvious by now: an abundance mindset is the virtue of “it takes a village.” Lasting education equity will require the intricate cooperation of administrators, teachers, parents, policymakers, community/coalition leaders, and individual activists.
So, it’s not enough for a smattering of well-meaning individuals to hold an abundance mindset. We need to set off a chain reaction of abundance so that we’re all working toward the same goals, the same positive-sum understanding of what change is possible, why it’s necessary, and how we will make it happen.
If you are in a position to influence others or the culture around you toward an abundance mindset, start being the example. By modeling an abundance mindset in your leadership style, how you communicate with stakeholders, and how you approach work daily, you are showing those around you the difference an abundance mindset can make and challenging them to set an example of their own.
It’s also important to remember that an abundance mindset can be developed. Countless workshops, seminars, and consultants can help educators, education administrators, parents, and policymakers understand the principles of abundance. What’s more, they will be equipped with practical strategies and practices for integrating abundance into their daily life and work.
Here’s the coolest thing: abundance is contagious. Teachers who are able to approach lessons with an abundance mindset are more apt to infuse the curriculum with content that encourages students to develop an abundance mindset. Students will feel inspired to collaborate, to share and workshop their ideas with teachers and each other, and to understand the learning process not as a competition that depends solely on their cognition but as an iterative and cooperative process that asks only honest thinking and transparent communication to grow and innovate.
Capturing the Full Power of Abundance
When most of our wins are measured in degrees, it’s nice to extrapolate the perfect future. A clear vision of your work will help you sustain an abundance mindset. More importantly, let’s say you reach an abundance watershed moment. The scales finally tip toward abundance. Do you have a plan for what happens if you exceed your expectations? Once you’ve got the power of abundance, you must know what to do with it!
You might not be able to wait for the gears of government to turn. You don’t have to. Abundance affirms that there are plenty of resources to go around. A truly abundant mindset doesn’t draw arbitrary lines around where those resources are found. Yes, policy that resolves funding disparities is the answer, but changes don’t need to be systemic to make a difference.
An example. Guided by abundance, finding sponsors to fund microgrant programs for student-led initiatives can be transformative. The microgrants could be designed to close equity gaps within the learning environment. That means the built environment, the educational assets that shape their learning, and the support systems can all be improved with direct student input. Not only would an approach like this be a shining example of the power of an abundance mindset, but it gives previously marginalized students more agency over their own education than they have ever had. And all of this by leveraging a locally-powered abundance mindset.
Guided by abundance, even professional development becomes community-driven. The process of educating, the theory, the implementation, and execution demands a broader perspective than the siloed approach created by scarcity. Community-driven professional development exchanges should become the new normal—spaces where educators, administrators, and staff from different schools swap knowledge, experiences, and best practices. More than just the workshops and seminars that are a good start, the goal should be a sustained and reciprocal learning environment. When we appreciate and take time to understand the expertise within each institution, we can create space for inclusion and amplify the power of abundance across the system.
Guided by abundance, validate your anti-scarcity claims. Despite its profound potential, abundance has a bit of a PR problem. It feels squishy, a pie-in-the-sky soft skill. Something hypothetical. A risk no one can underwrite. You might have even had a few inklings of those ideas while reading. But I promise you, the limiting cynicism of scarcity is much more terrifying than the uncertainty of abundance. We can see the wreckage of the scarcity mindset right before our eyes.
We need the same certainty around an abundance mindset. Capture some of that power and funding for equity impact assessments for local education policies. Validate the claims of abundance in no uncertain terms by systematically evaluating the impact of pending policy positions on the most marginalized students. You can introduce abundance directly into the policymaking process from a data-driven starting point. Suddenly, the debates shift from monotonous zero-sum fearmongering to excited and shared pursuits of educational prosperity for all.
Go Forth with Abundance
The world would be better if we all had an abundance mindset. But, until that seismic shift, I am content with setting sights a little lower. Lower even than our education system. When talking about an abundance mindset, no start is too small. Start in your home. Start among your friends or support system. Start within your relationships. Bring with you to every interaction the idea that there is enough for everyone. That someone else’s success isn’t our injury. That we don’t have to pick and choose who deserves our kindness. That we can hold more than one idea at a time and accept it without diminishing our values. That we can cooperate, share our harvest, and not just survive the winter, but build a better spring while we’re at it.