Enhancing Racialized Staff Mental Health And Well-Being From An Equity-Focused Lens, Natacha Castor

The Dissertation in Practice at Western University

The Des Grands Lac school board is facing an ongoing dearth of qualified teachers that warrants a critical examination in order to underscore the impact of low staffing on staff mental health. Among these factors, the damaging impacts of racism in all its forms on racialized educators’ mental health has remained unexamined and unaddressed. As racism is deeply entrenched within the fabric of educational policies and practices, this discrimination is, too often, normalized. Consequently, owing to the racism, several racialized staff have reported experiences of anxiety, depression, and trauma, leaving them feeling alienated and undervalued. This Organizational Improvement Plan (OIP) …

Improving Sexual Violence Reporting In Higher Education Institutions, Karen D. Kennedy Ms

The Dissertation in Practice at Western University

Abstract

This Organizational Improvement Plan (OIP) addresses the lack of sexual violence (SV) reporting at an undergraduate university (Coastal U; a pseudonym) where values of equity, diversity, and inclusion are espoused. Nonetheless, students from diverse cultures at Coastal U report a lack of visibility, unclear pathways for reporting, poor student and staff education, and numerous reporting fears, culminating in a lack of SV reporting. A critical and intersectional feminist lens frames this issue as one of social injustice, wherein inequity and lack of inclusion are problematic. Institutional context, capacity, and readiness, together with consideration of external factors, led to three …

Moving Beyond The Status Quo: Building An Intersectional Student-Centred Culture In A Registrar’S Office, Darran A. Fernandez

The Dissertation in Practice at Western University

With an increasing number of students with diverse and complex identities attending colleges and universities, higher education institutions (HEIs) need to adapt to better serve their intersectional lives. At the centre of service delivery at most HEIs is the registrar’s office (RO), often offering services from before a student’s arrival right through to graduation. This Organizational Improvement Plan (plan) explores building a student-centred service delivery model in an RO at a large comprehensive university in Ontario. Organizational structures in HEIs are commonly vertically based on the specialty of work of the staff member rather than the horizontal crosscutting needs of …