Digital Commons Network^™

Indigenization Of Postsecondary Education Applied Learning Curriculum Development, Gabriel Y. Chung

The Dissertation-in-Practice at Western University

The Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada’s (2015) Calls to Action have awoken Canadian society to the reconciliation. Although there is a growing body of knowledge on the individual topics of Indigenous education, knowledge, and leadership, there is relatively little research bringing together these topics in curriculum development practices in a postsecondary education skilled learning context. My problem of practice (PoP) is one that strives to address a low enrolment of Indigenous adult learners and lower positive outcomes from skilled training programs. Situating this problem from my perspectives as a Canadian-born visible minority Settler on Turtle Island and postsecondary education …

Head, Heart, And Hands: A Relationships First Approach To Indigenizing And Decolonizing Education, Sherra Lee C. Robinson

The Dissertation-in-Practice at Western University

Student engagement within District X is at an all-time low. As District X strives for more equitable learning opportunities, they also work to serve the unique and varying needs of students despite the rising physical and mental health concerns, particularly in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic that shook students and adults alike, resulting in a global collective trauma and led to the shutdown of schools worldwide in March 2020. These issues are especially prevalent within our most underfunded and underserved populations, such as Indigenous populations. As Canadians, Indigenous relations and calls to adopt Indigenous ways of knowing and being …

Transformational Leadership Approach For Encouraging Historically Marginalized Communities To Access Admission To Naturopathic Medicine, Baljit Khamba

The Dissertation-in-Practice at Western University

Many healthcare training institutions lack cultural diversity, including naturopathic medicine. One potential reason is a lack of historically marginalized individuals applying to these medical schools. Attracting communities of colour to healthcare professions, like naturopathic medicine is important for improving healthcare access and delivery across all individuals within North America. This OIP explores the lack of diversity in applicants to the naturopathic medical program at a large multi-centre institution. The role that education and mentorship of faculty members can play to improve implicit biases and eventually encourage historically marginalized individuals to apply to the program is explored. Moreover, the OIP presents …

We Are More Than Baskets, Beads, And Bannock: Expanding Teachers’ Knowledge Through Indigenous Professional Development And In-Service Training, Corinne Chappell

The Dissertation-in-Practice at Western University

This Organizational Improvement Plan (OIP) explores Megwe'g School Board's (MSB, pseudonym) ongoing challenge to integrate Indigenous education into classrooms. The underlying cause is the need for Indigenous professional development and in-service learning opportunities for teachers to teach Indigenous education. Indigenous cultural teachings are embedded within the province's curriculum but are seldom taught as directed by the provincial curriculum guide. Three proposed solutions to the Problem of Practice will be examined. The Appreciative Inquiry change model was utilized as the framework for leading change for the selected proposed solution. Critical Indigenous Theory (CIT) was chosen for the Organizational Improvement Plan. CIT …

Admission Policy Review: Strengthening Indigenous In-Community Training Programs, Rennais C. Gayle

The Dissertation-in-Practice at Western University

Canada’s colonial past significantly impacts prospective Indigenous student postsecondary enrollment. For the past fifty years, postsecondary institutions have focused on assimilation and cultural renewal. One assumption is Indigenous learners share similar educational experiences including ease and access to westernized high school programs with a credit or term system and ease and access to transcripts and criminal records checks often required for postsecondary admission. This Organizational Improvement Plan (OIP) addresses the Problem of Practice (PoP) in admission procedures that do not consider Indigenous knowledges, experiences, and criteria for entry into postsecondary programming in SMH Department at LAC College. As an academic …

Defining Student Success From A Holistic Perspective, Ranabelle Aranda Stroh

The Dissertation-in-Practice at Western University

Scholarly literature on higher education presents a plethora of student success definitions. These definitions encompass both quantitative and qualitative data as measurements. However, inconsistent definitions of student success have negatively impacted students’ experiences in higher education. This Organizational Improvement Plan (OIP) addresses the Problem of Practice (PoP): the need to bring awareness to the inconsistent definitions of student success and the negative impacts on student experiences at Oasis College. I explore the organizational context at Oasis College and propose a strategy as a response to the PoP, including the contributing factors. Utilizing the Kahkisiw model as the change vision sets …

Addressing The Lack Of Digital Literacy Learning At A Kuwaiti Higher Education Institution, Mariam Sarhan Alshammari

The Dissertation-in-Practice at Western University

This Organizational Improvement Plan is an effort to address the lack of digital literacy learning at a Kuwaiti higher education institution. Digital literacy, and by extension, digital citizenship are critical skills to have in today’s world. Global College of Kuwait (GCK, anonymized) is a relatively new college in the region that is struggling to retain students, particularly after COVID highlighted the college’s lack of experience/preparedness with digital literacy. To tackle the problem, a reform committee was formed and tasked with finding a feasible solution to improve digital literacy learning in the college’s Foundation Program. A Foundation Program is a preparatory …

Achieving Equitable Support For Adjunct Faculty Using Upside-Down Change, Katherine Ann Andrushenko

The Dissertation-in-Practice at Western University

Lifelong learning equips members of society to face their greatest challenges, which is the moral purpose of higher education. Online continuing education (OCE) serves this purpose well. In recent years enrollments for OCE have outpaced enrollments for more traditional education and the number of adjunct faculty facilitating OCE continues to rise. However, these adjunct faculty do not enjoy the comfortable respectability afforded to faculty facilitating full-time education. The organizational culture in higher education institutions (HEIs) is bifurcated between continuing and full-time education, with OCE assumed to be a poor substitute for full-time education. Consequently, adjunct faculty receive inadequate and inequitable …

Are Diamonds A Girl’S Best Friend? Working Toward A Support System For Sexual Misconduct In Baseball, Alexis Krystyna Brudnicki

The Dissertation-in-Practice at Western University

Anyone who experiences and wishes to report sexual misconduct should be supported and have resources available to them. The problem of practice addressed in this organizational improvement plan is the deficit of structures and supports for reporting sexual misconduct at Baseball X (a pseudonym), resulting in ineffective and inefficient reporting and investigatory processes. This plan is focused on analyzing Baseball X through multiple lenses and frameworks to identify potential solutions to this problem. To resolve this issue, the best solution is to embed strategic and intentional support systems into the organization and its culture. The theories of power, systems, and …

Reimagining Community Engagement In A Jk–12 International Baccalaureate School: Transforming Praxis Through Compassionate Dialogic Processes, Paige A. Freeborn

The Dissertation-in-Practice at Western University

The International Baccalaureate (IB) mandates community engagement (CE; otherwise known as service learning) throughout its continuum; however, there is confusion around epistemological approaches, strategies, and methodologies. This Organizational Improvement Plan (OIP) aims to support educators in developing a praxis-based CE program at an independent IB school in Western Canada. It is inspired by a problem of practice that exists at Hope Mountain School (HMS), where there is currently no coherent framework to guide CE development through ethical and sustainable approaches. Critical/post-critical theoretical approaches ground the OIP’s inquiry process supported by sociotransformative constructivist and ecocentric worldviews. Systemic tensions between HMS, IB …

Better Together: From Siloed To Relational Organizational Design, Brooke Moore

The Dissertation-in-Practice at Western University

The impacts of historical inequities continue to limit access to quality outcomes for all learners in British Columbia. Organizational structures that separate and isolate efforts to create equity persist in BC school districts. Riverstone School District has attempted to disrupt the norm of siloed and discoordinated efforts by merging several central office support departments to offer increasingly wholistic and effective support to schools and the families they serve. However, despite the best intentions and despite now sharing physical space with one another, the departments have not yet merged effectively; isolated, conflicting efforts persist. This Organizational Improvement Plan (OIP) offers a …

Counter-Narratives And Revisionism: A Transformative Journey To Closing The Achievement Gap For Indigenous Learners Through Culturally Responsive School Leadership, Equity Transformation, And Nurturing Collective Teacher Efficacy, Elise Saraceni Mrs.

The Dissertation-in-Practice at Western University

Professional learning in the areas of Indigenous education, reconciliation, and antiracism is as much a personal journey as a professional one for educators today. At New Beginnings Middle School (NBMS, a pseudonym), Indigenous learners experience a significant academic achievement gap. This Organizational Improvement Plan (OIP) explores how to cultivate teaching practices that create a more inclusive school environment and improve academic achievement for all Indigenous students. It proposes to guide educators through bias mitigation with integrated professional learning to develop culturally responsive pedagogy. Given the compelling correlation between inclusiveness and academic success, NBMS educators must work collectively to build confidence …

The Missing Link: Applying Embodied Cognition To Professional Learning, Jon William

The Dissertation-in-Practice at Western University

Post-secondaries have been implementing a hyflex delivery model, which is a far more complex pedagogical setting than more traditional modes of face to face or online delivery. This has fundamentally changed the way faculty experience the learning environment, with some faculty noting an increase in stress and a decrease in performance. Drawing on Organization A’s implementation of hyflex, this Organizational Improvement Plan (OIP) observes professional learning (PL) for the hyflex environment focuses solely on technology and cognitive knowledge, with consideration to wellness and performance scantly discussed. This OIP proposes the missing link to address wellness and performance is the inclusion …

Toward Mitho-Pimatisowin: A Framework For Fnmi Engagement Through Relationality, Sean Anthony Molloy Mr.

The Dissertation-in-Practice at Western University

Abstract

Indigenous Peoples have experienced harm from colonial beliefs and practices, and one does not need to look beyond the current systems of public education to see evidence of this. This Organizational Improvement Plan (OIP) provides a challenge to the conservative, neoliberal, and Eurocentric orthodoxy that is pervasive in one northern Saskatchewan context, and advocates for a need and a framework to reorient our learning community so that First Nation, Métis and Inuit (FNMI) students and partners see relevance and feel engaged with our organization, thereby producing more positive educational outcomes. With 80% of students identifying as FNMI, and the …

Anti-Exclusionary Leadership: Increasing The Achievement Of Marginalized And Minoritized Students In An Ontario High School, Nicholas J. Woolley

The Dissertation-in-Practice at Western University

This Organizational Improvement Plan (OIP) seeks to address the underachievement of marginalized and minoritized students at an Ontario secondary school. Using critical theory, the OIP recognizes that systemic barriers, the pervasive neoliberal performativity agenda, and educator biases and practices combine to reinforce stubborn inequities that negatively impact students who are racialized, poor, and/or identified as having special educational needs. The term anti-exclusion is used to propose an activist stance that challenges inclusion’s connotations of assimilation into a dominant culture. Addressing inequities in a publicly funded, top-down school district context requires adaptive leadership to foster collaborative professionalism while interrogating the status …

Exposing Neoliberalism's Erosion Of Special Education In Ontario Schools, Emily Ellwood

The Dissertation-in-Practice at Western University

My positionality as a critical scholar frames the problem of practice. The POP discusses a lack of transparency stemming from a longstanding hierarchy of influence from the ministry of education to local school boards and then to individual schools. A political, economic and social analysis frames the organizational context which impacts my role and agency within the organization. The organization’s worldview, tied to the ministry’s worldview, undermines student experience, as does both organization’s leadership approach. Using a critical bureaucracy and anti-oppressive theory, this organizational improvement plan investigates the physical and bureaucratic barriers that undermine special education student experience. Critical theory …

From Epistemic Bubbles To Generative Possibilities: Knowledge Leadership And Knowledge Mobilization For Child And Youth Care Practicum Education, Carys Cragg

The Dissertation-in-Practice at Western University

Child and Youth Care (CYC) Practicum Education (CYCPE) operates in more than 40 public postsecondary institutions (PSI) across Canada. CYC educators instruct and assess, while supervisors mentor thousands of students at child, youth, and family-serving organizations. As an emerging profession, CYC does not yet experience well-established governance, widespread postsecondary research infrastructure, nor public recognition, leaving CYCPE with threats to its credibility and existence. Despite individual CYC educators’ and programs’ extensive professional knowledge, we lack CYC-specific CYCPE organizational knowledge. This problem of practice (PoP) limits CYC educators’ ability to inform, improve, and innovate upon CYCPE’s design and delivery. This organizational improvement …

Bridging Cultures: Preparing Non-Indigenous Teachers To Teach Indigenous Epistemology In A Rural Public School, Simonjay Moreton

The Dissertation-in-Practice at Western University

This Organizational Improvement Plan looks to lay the framework to help non-Indigenous teachers challenge negative Indigenous stereotypes, overcome their fear of unintentionally culturally appropriating an Indigenous culture, and be able to effectively integrate Indigenous content into course curriculum to fulfill the First Nations, Metis and Inuit requirement of the Alberta Teacher Quality Standards. This framework leverages the Anishinaabe Medicine Wheel in conjunction with the ADKAR change model to facilitate a cultural change at Ranchlands Public School, a small rural school situated in Southern Alberta. As the Principal, I intend to implement a transformational change that will institute a shift in …

Hidden In Plain Sight: Finding A Balance Between Assessment And Learning In Competency-Based Education In Canadian Health Care, Scott Murray

The Dissertation-in-Practice at Western University

Due to its emphasis on skill development and alignment with workforce demands, competency-based education (CBE) has garnered considerable attention in recent years. My organizational improvement plan (OIP) focuses on the potential benefits of incorporating learners’ voices into CBE in Canadian medical education and proposes a corresponding implementation framework. The traditional CBE model often lacks a critical component: the learner’s voice. My OIP reviews the literature and outlines its theoretical underpinnings (e.g., systems theory, adult education theory) within the scope of authentic leadership. The findings suggest incorporating learners’ voices into CBE to boost engagement, motivation, and agency. In response to such …

Doing More With Less: The Realities Of Academic Chairs, Josée Bonneau

The Dissertation-in-Practice at Western University

The role of Chair at the School of Nursing has been a challenge for many of its past and current occupants. Difficulties observed include a lack of departmental preparation and time allotted for a role that, spanning academia and leadership, is critical to the School’s operation. It is, therefore, also one that is ambiguous and problematic to define, a role that the Chairs themselves have difficulties understanding and fulfilling. Given the struggles observed with accomplishment of the Chairs’ mandate, and its relevance to my educational leadership duties as Associate Director, I have chosen, as my Problem of Practice, the insufficient …

Balancing Nurture And Rigour: Seeking Effective Support For Nursing Students In Distress, Marti Harder

The Dissertation-in-Practice at Western University

As higher educational institutions face a growing demand to graduate more nurses, and mental health and life stresses are recognized as increasing obstacles to student success, the timing is right for nursing programs to evaluate their traditionally rigorous program cultures. At Sunrise University in Western Canada, nursing students make up a large population seeking support services, and there is an increasing need for capacity building in faculty to support learners who are in distress. In this organizational improvement plan (OIP), I explore what can be enhanced or further developed to create more effective support for students who are in distress …

How To Drink From A Firehose: Systemic Supports For Polytechnic Chairs, Jocelyn R. Crocker

The Dissertation-in-Practice at Western University

This Organizational Improvement Plan (OIP) is centred on the Problem of Practice of the inadequate institutional supports for academic Chairs at Prairie Polytechnic (a pseudonym), a large public higher education institution in Western Canada. Chairs are pivotal for higher education institutions because they impact student, departmental, and institutional outcomes; however, the leadership development needs of Chairs are overlooked, and the limited training available for Chairs is primarily ad hoc, episodic, short-term, and self-guided. The objective of this OIP is to determine how Prairie Polytechnic can provide more effective systemic supports for Chairs. Postmodernism is used to explore the relationships between …

Increasing Support And Collective Teacher Efficacy Of Part-Time English-Language Instructors In A Japanese University, Philip J. Gurney

The Dissertation-in-Practice at Western University

This organizational improvement plan (OIP) seeks to enhance the support and collective teacher efficacy of part-time English-language instructors in the Department of English Language and Culture (DELC) at Kei University (KU) (pseudonyms), a private university in the Kansai region of Japan. Currently, part-time and foreign part-time English-language instructors teach most of the compulsory English courses in the DELC at KU, but they receive limited institutional support and guidance, which negatively affects their ability to teach effectively and their students' learning outcomes. This OIP examines the lack of support and collective teacher efficacy of part-time instructors as a problem of practice …

Reaching New Heights: A Pathway To Pedagogical Equity For English Language Learners, Helen Emeny

The Dissertation-in-Practice at Western University

Abstract

During the past decade, classrooms in the province of Alberta, Canada, have become more culturally and linguistically diverse. Despite having a strong desire to meet the academic needs of their students, most teachers do not have a well-developed understanding of pedagogy specific to teaching English as an additional language. This Organizational Improvement Plan (OIP) presents educators in the Central School District of Alberta (a pseudonym) with a pedagogical framework that promotes the development of more equitable and democratic classrooms for English language learners (ELLs). Sociotransformative constructivism (STC)—a union of social constructivism and critical cross-cultural education—lays the theoretical groundwork for …

Addressing The Need For An Appropriate Adult Learning Environment To Increase Student Retention And Success, Karen L. Morgan-Bowyer

The Dissertation-in-Practice at Western University

This Organizational Improvement Plan (OIP) aims to transform a learning environment for adult learners who have faced trauma and have had negative educational experiences. The OIP seeks to identify barriers to learning and well-being for this group and develop effective strategies to create a supportive and inclusive environment that promotes learner retention, engagement, and empowerment. Through the lens of transformational and servant leadership, the OIP incorporates actionable steps, including the development of trauma-informed andragogy into daily practices and interactions with adult learners, the provision of training and support for faculty and staff to understand the needs of this group of …

Nurturing A Culture Of Responsible Conduct Of Research To Support Safe Disclosure, Grace Kelly

The Dissertation-in-Practice at Western University

Pressures to publish, which are prevalent in higher education, can lead to research misconduct and, in the absence of clear, safe disclosure policies—and mechanisms and structures to support them—individuals affected by research misconduct may fear retaliation when speaking up. This Organizational Improvement Plan examines how to foster a climate where individuals feel supported and are encouraged to speak up if they witness research misconduct at Forest University (a pseudonym), a research-intensive university in Ontario, Canada. In alignment with my values, the change process is guided by authentic and ethical leadership perspectives. The Change-Path Model, supported by Beckhard and Harris’ Change-Management …

Centring Indigenous Worldviews And Perspectives: Deepening The Implementation Of The Curriculum, Perry N. Smith ~ Kꙻ Anilqꙻ A?

The Dissertation-in-Practice at Western University

School districts throughout British Columbia are grappling with indigenizing and decolonizing classroom instructional practices. The redesign of British Columbia’s curriculum has allowed educators to support indigenization and decolonization by including Indigenous curricular learning standards in each subject and every grade. Each district is responsible for ensuring that teachers at all levels implement the Indigenous curricular Learning standards in their classrooms. Implementing curricular learning standards that embed Indigenous knowledge, worldviews, and perspectives is challenging for many teachers. As many teachers do not have the background knowledge or skills to weave Indigenous worldviews and perspectives into the classroom effectively, implementing these new …

Transforming School-Based Mental Health To Heal The Collective Soul Wound, Andrea L. Holowka

The Dissertation-in-Practice at Western University

Pervasive well-being concerns of youth in Alberta are steadily contributing to society’s collective soul wound. In response to this growing need, K-12 systems are faced with increased demands for school-based mental health services. Public Prairie School Division (PPSD) provides student mental health intervention needs through onsite access to school-based teacher counsellors and referrals to centralized psychologists. However, decisions regarding mental health practitioner allocations or practice standards are often left to individuals and generally follow historical practice. This Organizational Improvement Plan (OIP) problematizes PPSD’s lack of system-wide approaches to mental health interventions that can provide assurance of improved efficacy and equity …

Removing Barriers And Increasing Access To Advanced Placement, Carlos Heleno

The Dissertation-in-Practice at Western University

Advanced Placement allows students to demonstrate college readiness while in high school and potentially earn credit or placement toward higher education degrees. However, barriers can prevent students from accessing this advanced coursework and impede student learning, limit university options, and impact career prospects. Shifting teacher mindsets to an access-centered approach offers a viable solution to removing barriers. Leading faculty to change practices in the AP program at Birchwood (a pseudonym) requires reculturing an established culture of curriculum. Three leadership approaches serve this plan: the ethical highlights these problems of access, the authentic serves to build relations with school leaders, department …

From College To University: Nursing Students' Experience Of Transition, Mary Anne Krahn

The Dissertation-in-Practice at Western University

Increasingly complex healthcare systems require nurses to have a greater depth of knowledge and theory application to care for patients safely and competently. To prepare nurses for rapidly changing health care systems, the baccalaureate degree was accepted by the Canadian Nurses Association (CNA) as the standard for entry to Registered Nurse practice across Canada and became the entry-to-practice requirement starting in 2005 (Wood, 2011).

In Ontario, this entry-to-practice standard required the development of college and university collaborative partnerships to respond to the resulting implementation and capacity challenges in nursing education (MacMillan & Mallette, 2004). Although these partnerships have been in …