Increasing International Student Integration In Ontario College Environments, Crystal Brown

The Dissertation in Practice at Western University

This paper reviews the problem of how to increase international student engagement and integration in an Ontario College environment, with the ultimate goal of creating an environment and campus culture of mutual engagement. Research has shown that international students still do not report a high level of engagement at Ontario College campuses despite the fact most colleges have educated international students for many years. The dichotomy of international versus domestic student problematizes these issues from a myriad of perspectives. This Organizational Improvement Plan (OIP) proposes a multi-pronged solution involving the creation of an internationalization strategy, the development of academic and …

Academic Advising In A Personalized Learning Environment, Stephen Poplar

The Dissertation in Practice at Western University

Guidance counselling in Canadian secondary schools today is coming under greater pressure. There are more students experiencing mental health issues, which impact their wellness. Student wellness demand has an impact on the ability of guidance counsellors to provide deep and meaningful academic and post-secondary advising for students. This OIP will look at one Independent school in Canada and how it is experiencing the same shift in student’s wellness that demands Counsellors attention. This school is also undergoing a transformational change to a personalized learning environment as the predominant teaching and learning model. This shift requires transformational leadership and provides an …

Creating And Implementing Online Courses Through The Development Of An E-Pedagogy, Drew Kean

The Dissertation in Practice at Western University

Post-secondary education in Ontario is rapidly transforming due to the changing needs of students which include an expectation of technology-enabled teaching methods and access to flexible learning options, such as online courses. The province of Ontario has responded by including innovative teaching methods and access to flexible learning options in their vision for post-secondary education. The institution discussed within this OIP has responded by offering online courses, however, there is a lack of development tools to support faculty when creating and implementing online courses. This Organizational Improvement Plan (OIP) examines how a polytechnic college can address this problem by developing …

Leading To Improve Reading Comprehension For Students In Koinonia School Division, Leanne Peters

The Dissertation in Practice at Western University

This Organizational Improvement Plan (OIP) will examine the system and school leadership, required to support all students in improving their reading comprehension skills. This examination is necessary because students from historically marginalized populations continue to lag behind their peers in reading comprehension which directly impacts their success in school and life. Using Divisional reading comprehension data, Provincial Literacy data, Divisional goals and Provincial aspirational targets will provide baseline evidence as well as targets to reach in implementing this plan. Divisional leadership and school leadership skills are considered and connected to teacher efficacy and deliberate pedagogical choices which lead to students’ …

Building Environmental Education Capacity In Classrooms And Schools, Linda Sue Thomas

The Dissertation in Practice at Western University

Abstract

There is growing global acknowledgement that our planet is facing an imminent environmental crisis (Kensler, 2012; Kensler & Uline, 2017). Issues such as climate change, loss of biodiversities, water quality, the impact of long term fossil fuel use and single use plastics are compelling countries around the world to calls for action. In the education sector, there is an increasing recognition that raising awareness of environmental issues needs to begin in the schools where students will learn about the impact of individual choices on our environment. Research has shown that environmental education programs in schools have a positive influence …

Red And Blue Make Purple: Alignment Of Socially Just And Neoliberal Approaches To Higher Education Internationalization, Murray Peglar

The Dissertation in Practice at Western University

Internationalization of higher education may have “lost its way” Knight (2014), such that “the end of internationalization” may be on the horizon (Brandenburg & de Wit, 2015). Competing visions and goalsetting may be at the heart of this dissolution, and may be mirrored in both global tensions between market- and justice-based perspectives, as well as in the fragmented offices and disparate goalsetting of a large Canadian university, UX (a pseudonym). Thus, UX has a Problem of Practice wherein international supports do not work together in a concerted way to effectively support international, and perhaps other, marginalized students. In this Organizational …

Confronting Wicked Issues Through The Implementation Of A Business Development Unit, Matt Bazely

The Dissertation in Practice at Western University

Universities and Faculties in Ontario are faced with wicked issues that are limiting the financial sustainability of the organizations. Wicked issues refer to problems that are not technical in nature, are not easily fixed, offer no single solution, and because of organizational interdependencies often create other problems when unraveled. Such issues introduced in this Organizational Improvement Plan (OIP) are: decreasing governmental funding, increased competition for students, the emergence of the non-traditional student and geopolitical pressure. The leadership approach to help address these issues is a combination of Boundary Spanning, Adaptive Leadership and Mindfulness. It is the grouping of these three …

Improving The Employee Transfer Experience Within An Organization, Andrew Fockler

The Dissertation in Practice at Western University

This Organizational Improvement Plan examines how to improve an employee’s experience when transferring between departments within an organization. This Organizational Improvement Plan includes a historical review of a Canadian retail organization. Based on this historical review, I identify gaps between current and future visions to show where problems with existing training and development practices need to be resolved to reduce front-line employee turnover within an organization. The strategies within this paper support leaders through LEAD: Listen, Explore, Act and Develop, Change Management Model. The LEAD Change Management Model is an adaptation of Cawsey, Deszca, and Ingols’ (2016) Change Path Model, …

The Impact Of Leadership And Change On Job Satisfaction, Team Effectiveness, Employee Engagement And Workplace Culture: An Organizational Improvement Plan, Victor Jimenez Gonzalez

The Dissertation in Practice at Western University

This Organizational Improvement Plan presents an actionable plan to the problem of low job satisfaction in the International Department of an Institute of Technology. The connections amongst leadership, workplace culture, employee engagement, and team effectiveness are explored with a view to implementing changes to leadership, employee engagement and team effectiveness that will foster a positive workplace environment with improved job satisfaction. Leaders and staff in the International Department are aware that some members systematically engage in behaviours that are anathema to the institution's ethical principles. Consequently, this has resulted in a plethora of adverse outcomes such as lack of trust …

The Ethics Of Contracting For Education Within A Neoliberal Framework, Deej James

The Dissertation in Practice at Western University

No matter how lightly you tread, you can not cross a beach without leaving footprints, nor without carrying a little sand away with you. Open systems theory states that an organization has permeable boundaries “dependant on its environment for survival and will go out of existence unless it is actively attended to” (Burke, 2011, p. 61), and it is with this consideration that the tenets of social justice are understood to be a responsibility of all entities, as “the public” is not a target group that can be somehow isolated so as to be impacted by only public administrators. Private …

Creating Sustainable Support Systems For The Cultural Integration Of International Students At A Medium Size Ontario University, Muzi Li

The Dissertation in Practice at Western University

This OIP investigates the lack of cultural integration and support for international students at Medium-Size Ontario University (MSOU). The support for cultural integration of the international students at MSOU is inadequate and international students are facing social, emotional and academic challenges as they are not provided with the needed assistance to acclimatize to Western culture. Three potential solutions to address the PoP are demonstrated and evaluated. The chosen solution of implementing extended orientation and workshops is inspected in detail. Transformational Leadership and Confucianism are examined to ensure their relevancy and appropriateness to address this PoP and OIP and connected to …

Closing The Educational Gap: Implementing A Lpn Introduction/Scope Optimization Framework, Navdeep Nagra

The Dissertation in Practice at Western University

A large health authority serving specialty patient populations, referred to hereafter as Organization M, is hiring Licensed Practical Nurses (LPNs) in the place of Registered Nurses due to nursing shortages. LPNs are not educationally prepared to work in specialty patient populations. As a problem of practice, LPNs need additional education and skills training to work in Organization M. Literature reveals that the level of education nurses possess impacts the quality of patient care and safety (Needleman, 2017). This Organizational Improvement Plan (OIP) focuses on identifying the additional education/skills training LPNs need and how Organization M can provide this. A critical …

Differentiated Induction: An Enhanced Model For The New Teacher Induction Program, Terri Jackson

The Dissertation in Practice at Western University

The Ontario Ministry of Education established the New Teacher Induction Program (NTIP) in 2006 to facilitate a smoother transition into the teaching profession for beginning teachers. This program intends to provide another full year of training and support to beginning teachers. The components of NTIP are: (a) a system orientation; (b) peer mentorship; and (c) targeted professional learning opportunities. Through the provision of differentiated professional learning communities and enhanced mentoring opportunities, this Organizational Improvement Plan (OIP) revises the existing induction structure in the Tungsten Board of Education. Using an adaptive, situational leadership style, the NTIP Facilitator employs the Awareness, Desire, …

Responding To The Absence Of Leadership Education In The Early Years Curriculum, Elena Merenda

The Dissertation in Practice at Western University

The field of early childhood is in a state of flux. Governments nation-wide are initiating changes, in response to the growing body of research demonstrating that early engagements with children and families creates positive outcomes for the whole community. Due to this evolution, there is a social and political expectation that early childhood professionals act as leaders. Although leadership is necessary as the field evolves, the literature suggests that early childhood professionals are hesitant to enact leadership, as their nurturing and caring characteristics are contrary to those required by traditional leadership models enacted by men. In order to empower early …

Building Teacher Self-Efficacy To Improve Student Literacy, Travis Klak

The Dissertation in Practice at Western University

Literacy rates in schools across Nunavut has been a prevalent issue in recent years. Students are graduating with lower literacy levels than in many other parts of Canada. More specifically, the school in which I work also suffers from this issue. This organizational improvement plan has a problem of practice at its core that probes how current research can assist me, as principal, in supporting teachers to more effectively implement a balanced literacy program throughout my school for the purpose of improving students’ literacy levels in both of the community’s languages – English and Inuktitut.

In order to address this …

Development And Evaluation Of An Online University Readiness Course Furthered By Capturing The Lived Experience Of Students During This Transition: A Multi-Perspective Understanding Of The Transition To University, Cortney Hanna-Benson

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

In the transition to university, students may hold expectations about university life: how their classes, friendships, and support networks would change in university. They may need to adjust their time management skills and study strategies to better suit the new self-directed learning environment, while grappling with psychosocial and emotional changes resulting from the new social and living environments. ‘University readiness’ provided the context and rationale for development of a pre-university online course, Leg UP: An Introduction to Health Across the Lifespan. This program was evaluated in a quasi-experimental study to assess its effectiveness at easing students’ transition to university …