This qualitative multiple-case study examines how educators participating in Collaborative Practices for Equitydescribed shifts in their beliefs about students, learning, collaboration, and (in)equity, as well as the conditions and experiences that enabled those shifts. Educational inequities persist not only because of policies and structures, but because of deeply embedded beliefs shaped by historical and ideological forces. Grounded in a conceptual framework that integrates transformative learning theory, critical pedagogy, and communities of practice scholarship, this study investigates how intentionally designed, equity-oriented communities of practice can disrupt harmful belief systems and support meaningful change in educators' practice.

Using a multiple-case study design, I examined three cohorts of in-service educators who completed the Collaborative Practices for Equity course. To generate the data, I used a multimodal approach, drawing on focus group interviews, course evaluations, participant reflections, course artifacts, and an interview with the course co-facilitator. Each cohort was analyzed as an individual case, followed by cross-case analysis to surface patterns, tensions, and disconfirming evidence. This approach enabled a close examination of how participants made sense of their learning experiences, how belief change unfolded over time, and how learning transferred to school-based contexts.

The study’s findings suggest that participants experienced shifts in beliefs related to (in)equity, self-awareness, collaboration, and professional agency. These shifts were supported by retreat-like learning conditions, relational trust, responsive facilitation, structured and reflective dialogue, and sustained inquiry within a community of practice. However, transformation was neither linear nor uniform; participants described discomfort, ambiguity, and uneven transfer of learning. Together, these findings contribute to scholarship on critical professional development by illustrating how equity-oriented communities of practice can serve as sites for transformative learning, while also illuminating the fragility of transfer and the need for sustained, collective support if belief change is to lead to enduring changes in practice.