Education Commons^™

Learning Journey Towards Reconciliation: Developing Teacher Self-Efficacy, Birgitte Biorn

The Dissertation in Practice at Western University

Current changes in curriculum and provincial teaching standards are intended to address the Calls to Action from the Truth and Reconciliation Commission. Teachers are responsible for implementing the changes but do not yet have the knowledge or skills to effectively manage the transformative changes being suggested. This organizational improvement plan (OIP) aims to address the problem of practice associated with teacher efficacy to incorporate Indigenous-Informed pedagogy (IIP) using the collaborative model of professional learning communities (PLC). The triadic determination of beliefs, skills, and environment of social cognitive theory by Albert Bandura is highlighted as a necessary structure to ensure that …

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 …

Developing Comprehensive Indigenous Education Programs Through Meso Level Leadership To Promote Indigenous Student Success, Lynne Tomlinson

The Dissertation in Practice at Western University

Abstract

Annual reports to the B.C. Ministry of Education on Indigenous student progress in 2019/2020 indicated notable gaps in academic achievement, sense of belonging, and post-secondary transitions between non-Indigenous and Indigenous students. Meso level leaders are responsible for developing new programs and resources to support Indigenous student success. They do not yet have the skills and knowledge to address the gap that exists between Indigenous and non-Indigenous students. This Organizational Improvement Plan (OIP) presents a collaborative inquiry approach to decolonize the K-12 system that promotes interwoven perspectives of Western and Indigenous epistemologies, pedagogies, and methodologies. A collaborative professional learning community …

Addressing Issues Of Trust And Power Gap By Empowering Middle Leaders In An Asian International School, David R. Butler

The Dissertation in Practice at Western University

This Organizational Improvement Plan explores trust, leadership, and power at True North Academy (a pseudonym), a Canadian-themed international school in Asia. The Problem of Practice (PoP) recognizes a gap between the school’s current collaborative practices and its aspirations being a cutting-edge learning organization. Recent events, especially the global pandemic, have highlighted the school’s reliance on traditional hierarchies and top-down decision-making. Unpopular decisions made without staff input have damaged teacher trust in the leadership, raised concerns of a staff exodus, and stalled ongoing improvement of school programmes. Within a theoretical framework of social constructivism, a plan is proposed to address the …

Building Intercultural Capacity In School Teams To Support Refugee Students, Heather A. Young

The Dissertation in Practice at Western University

In a period of globalization and forced migration, refugee numbers are increasing exponentially, and unprepared school systems embrace students as families settle in unfamiliar territory. This Organizational Improvement Plan (OIP) explores the experiences of a school team at Calluna Elementary School (CES, a pseudonym) in Southern Ontario, where staff strive to build their collective intercultural capacity in order to best serve an influx of newcomers who have survived war and significant loss. The Problem of Practice (PoP) involves addressing staff struggles with trauma-informed pedagogy, early literacy instruction, and maintaining an asset-focused perspective, through a refugee critical race theory lens. To …

Fostering An Evaluative Culture By Addressing A Breakdown In The Policy Development Cycle, Michelle Anderson-Draper

The Dissertation in Practice at Western University

This Organizational Improvement Plan (OIP) aims to address the problem of practice (PoP) of a breakdown in the policy development cycle. The breakdown has resulted in a lack of evaluative feedback on the extent to which policies have been implemented as intended and are effective in achieving their intended outcomes. The PoP challenges elected trustees, in a large and diverse K–12 school division in Western Canada, to carry out their governance role. To address the PoP, the OIP offers a comprehensive change implementation plan, guided by a four-step change path model, actions, and continuous improvement cycle, supported by communication strategies …

Building An Adaptive Culture Where Collaborative Teaching Teams Leverage Data To Improve Student Achievement And Wellbeing, Anand Mahadevan

The Dissertation in Practice at Western University

This Organizational Improvement Plan (OIP) seeks to open up the black box of classroom teaching to data informed collaborative inquiry by teachers for teachers using formative feedback as the model for instructional improvement. Teacher collective efficacy is developed through ongoing professional learning in collaborative teaching teams that use multiple measures of data to limit bias and improve equity of outcomes for students. Such a process is iterative, and the OIP envisions the combined use of adaptive leadership and distributed leadership approaches to support Kotter’s 8-step model for change implementation. The desired outcome is an adaptive and agile school culture where …

Evolving Inclusive Learning: From Retrofitting Disability To Designing For Variability, Monica Braat

The Dissertation in Practice at Western University

The problem of practice (PoP) addressed in this organizational improvement plan (OIP) is that curriculum is not currently interpreted, designed, and delivered to be inclusive of the range of learner variability present in Sursum Corda School Division (SCSD) classrooms. Although all students are physically included in SCSD classrooms, the learning of those who cannot assimilate to current instructional practices is generally supported through alternative, and often disconnected, practices and materials. Researched and experienced concerns with this approach include an increased potential to isolate, limit, or stigmatize targeted students and the inhibition of innovative instructional practices more generally. This OIP aims …

Disrupting The Status Quo: Leveraging Collective Teacher Efficacy For The Achievement And Wellbeing Of Bipoc And Low Socioeconomic Students, Marjorie E. Macdonald

The Dissertation in Practice at Western University

Abstract

At Mel Morgan Middle School (MMMS) a high percentage of students are of low socioeconomic status (SES). Compounding this problem is data which shows that students at MMMS also experience significant academic challenges. Educational challenges for students of low SES are like those experienced by Black, Indigenous, and People of Colour (BIPOC). Faculty beliefs and assumptions about how to effectively educate students from low SES and BIPOC communities are posited as a problem beyond their control. Despite the Legacy Regional Centre for Education’s (LRCE) commitment to student success through policies and documents such as student success planning, inclusive education, …

Reframing Behaviour To Foster Safe And Supporting Schools, Shannon L. Cassidy-Rouleau

The Dissertation in Practice at Western University

This Organizational Improvement Plan (OIP) examines educator support to students who present with chronically challenging behaviours. Educators are experiencing an increase in the frequency and severity of interfering student behaviours affecting classroom learning, school climate, and educator mental well-being (RRDSB, 2018a, 2019b; Santor et al., 2019). Educators frequently disengage from these students and their discipline is managed by administration (RRDSB, 2019b). These students, often already members of marginalized communities (Bailey, 2015), are further marginalized by the use of exclusionary, punitive measures. This mandates a social justice framework that benefits from the moral dialogue evoked by transformative leadership (Shields, 2018). In …

Intercultural Encounters: Creating Purposeful Interactions Between Domestic And International Students, Tanya Missere Mihas

The Dissertation in Practice at Western University

Considering that internationalization has become an important component of many universities’ strategic plans, universities might want to expand efforts to increase Internationalization-at-Home initiatives. With the increasing number of international students on Canadian campuses, an opportunity exists to enhance both domestic and international students’ understanding of global issues and their impact on societies throughout the world. The Problem of Practice (PoP) addressed in this Organizational Improvement Plan (OIP) is leveraging the opportunity to create purposeful interactions between domestic and international students within a small, yet divided, University College. Foundational to this OIP are leadership approaches, including systems, adaptive, and distributed leadership, …

Exploring The Impact Of Performance-Based Funding Policy Reform: The Role Of Institutional Research In Supporting Data-Driven Decision-Making, Jelena Dukic

The Dissertation in Practice at Western University

The institutional pressures placed on the Ontario college system, exercised through funding model reform, brought forward organizational challenges difficult for even the most fiscally savvy to navigate. The enrollment corridor mechanism and the expansion of the proportions of the differentiation envelope to create a performance-based grant, implemented via the 2020-25 Strategic Mandate Agreement (SMA3), demonstrate the Provincial Government’s calls for efficiencies and accountability and the alignment of institutional and provincial priorities. Remaining financially sustainable while moving from performance reporting to performance funding and weathering the impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic requires a solid understanding of not only enrollment challenges and …

Initiating Leadership Development In A Vuca Environment, Merike Kolga

The Dissertation in Practice at Western University

Organizations across the world are continuously undergoing change - some of which is by choice; the majority of this change is in response to the pressures the external environment. In today's world, organizations need to be agile. They need to be able to meet the challenges and develop creative ways to attract and retain talent as part of their business strategy. When organizations are strong, their process and procedures are working well in support of their business operations, and their employees are engaged as healthy and constructive components of a high-functioning, complex, adaptable system. Organizational adaptation is imperative in the …

Enhancing Employee Engagement At A Higher Education Institution: A Leadership Development Framework, Kacem Habiballah

The Dissertation in Practice at Western University

The low levels of employee engagement at a school within a Higher Education Institution is the Problem of Practice (PoP) addressed in this Organizational Improvement Plan (OIP). The results of an employee engagement survey revealed that faculty and staff yearn for feedback, mentoring, and recognition from their academic managers. The survey also indicated that academic managers lack the necessary skills and time to coach and mentor their direct reports. The principles of interpretive theory, coupled with adaptive and servant leadership are foundational elements of this OIP, and are leveraged to help address the PoP. Studies have shown that the quality …

Improving Holistic Sustainability Through Complexity Leadership, Lara M. Duke

The Dissertation in Practice at Western University

This Organizational Improvement Plan (OIP) outlines a planned change to improve decision-making spaces and processes-related sustainability. The OIP details a problem of practice examining how to incorporate holistic sustainability into university governance by identifying critical values to improve processes and outcomes. This examination aligns with the university’s 2030 plans and goals. A critical pragmatism worldview underpins this OIP and applies individual and organizational reflection to support a change transition. Higher education sustainability operation systems require multiple disciplinary perspectives to engage in this evolution. The initial change is co-creating a university definition for holistic sustainability that substantiates additional framework building and …

The Strategic Adoption Of A New Service Delivery Model Within An Ontario College’S Registrar’S Office, Jordan W. Charron Mr.

The Dissertation in Practice at Western University

Postsecondary institutions are continually striving to improve the experience their students have on campus. This Organizational Improvement Plan (OIP) addresses the lack of a strategic approach to the implementation of an integrated services model within an Ontario college’s registrar’s office (RO). Preemptive College (PC; a pseudonym), along with many other Ontario institutions, is facing an increasingly competitive landscape; providing a high-quality student experience has been identified as a way to differentiate the institution from its competitors. The adoption of an integrated services delivery model within the RO is one aspect of the institution’s overall plan to enhance the student experience. …

Frozen In Time? Exploring Faith-Based Admission Standards In Christian Higher Education, Carol C. Burbee

The Dissertation in Practice at Western University

Low enrollment is a significant problem in small Christian liberal arts colleges. It is my position that addressing the adaptive challenge of organizational identity will create an inclusive, accessible, and relevant faith-based college community which appeals to applicants and thereby grow enrollment. Drawing on process organization theory, situated learning theory, and adaptive leadership theory, I propose in this organizational improvement plan a change process enacted by a community of practice to foster sensemaking about organizational identity through college admissions work. This plan identifies portfolio-based admissions and critical policy analysis as ways to invite applicants to demonstrate their strengths; the approaches …

Virtually Constructed Leadership: A Study Of Accountability In An International Non-Profit Organization, Kristopher Ph Tharris

The Dissertation in Practice at Western University

Through the eyes of a leader within a virtual non-profit organization (referred to as the Centre), this Organizational Improvement Plan (OIP) explores the lack of formal accountability amongst an international team of volunteers. The lack of formal accountability has the potential to hinder all interactions of the team, decreasing efficiency of the organization and ultimately decreasing its impact on beneficiaries. The relationship between the volunteer leaders and the Centre is described as organizational volunteerism, where organizations are voluntarily contributing their human resources to benefit the international community. This improvement plan examines a combination of complementary leadership approaches that form a …

A Curriculum Framework At Glsm, A Canadian Medical School, Jeff Bachiu

The Dissertation in Practice at Western University

Medical education has seen minor changes over the decades, but a dynamic movement towards competency-based medical education (CBME) has swept across the field in recent years. Organizing medical education curriculum to respond to these changes can be challenging due to many factors, in both content and context. The public rightly expects that graduating medical students be competent physicians, ready to deliver effective health care. This Organizational Improvement Plan (OIP) looks at a relatively new medical school’s lack of an outcomes-based curriculum framework. The Problem of Practice (PoP) is focused on the difficulty of moving the school toward the development of …

Interdisciplinary Explorations: Setting The Stage For Change Through Understanding Culture And Attending To Psychological Safety In An Ontario Community College, Louise Chatterton

The Dissertation in Practice at Western University

Central to this Organizational Improvement Plan is the desire to close the gap between a curriculum that is disciplinary-centric to one that is more interdisciplinary. This change will better prepare college graduates for the future skills required in the workplace where increasingly complex problems require interdisciplinary solutions. While this may, at first, appear to be solely about the curriculum, the problem is that moving from a disciplinary to an interdisciplinary mindset involves disturbing deeply rooted disciplinary boundaries and, in turn, challenging faculty identities. In order to influence the culture of College X towards interdisciplinarity, the cultural context of the institution …

Building Teacher Capacity To Personalize Learning For Students, Catherine Y. Shellenberg

The Dissertation in Practice at Western University

This Organizational Improvement Plan (OIP) proposes building teacher professional capacity and capital to meet the challenge of personalizing student learning by implementing an embedded professional learning plan. This plan will be responsive to individual teacher professional learning needs as well as evidence and research informed. This OIP is based on the belief that for change in student learning to occur, the change needs to happen at the classroom level with teachers. A shift in teacher practice requires alignment in the teacher’s values, beliefs and practices. To support this shift, a common understanding of personalizing learning needs to be established as …

Change Management, Quality Assurance And Race: Advancing Race-Based Equity In Canadian Higher Education By Leveraging Established Institutional Mechanisms, Nadia Mallay

The Dissertation in Practice at Western University

Higher education in Canada has been well regarded for decades. Academically rigorous programs and institutions graduate strong students while also attracting top local and global talent as employees to their institutional communities. However, the field of Critical Race Theory, among others, explicates that higher education institutions are not equitable for all bodies. Individuals with intersectionalities inclusive of the Black Diaspora continue to be excluded from academic success and success as employee stakeholders in higher education institutions. Critically, Black bodies continue to struggle with entry to higher education and means to economic success post-graduation, as well as lack of inclusivity to …

Advancing Employee Engagement With Internationalization Through Networked Leadership Approaches At A Canadian Community College, Inga Wheeler

The Dissertation in Practice at Western University

This organizational improvement plan, undergirded by social network theory, addresses the lack of engagement by many organizational members with an ambitious internationalization goal at Sky College (a pseudonym). The institutional climate is one in which day-to-day challenges prevail and motives for internationalization are questioned. Drawing on system and adaptive leadership, and within the functionalist paradigm, the case is made for advancing 4 factors to increase engagement with internationalization: a shared vision and understanding of internationalization, improving internal communication systems, fostering knowledge creation and sharing, and increasing connections in the network. The proposed solution is a 12-month series of focus on …

Managing The Tension: Balancing District Requirements And Local School Context In School Improvement Planning, Oliver S. Goodacre

The Dissertation in Practice at Western University

This Organization Improvement Plan (OIP) examines how a principal can implement school improvement planning processes that address both the requirements of a district and the needs of the individual school. The problem of practice identified that principals struggle with motivating teachers to engage in meaningful professional learning when implementing school improvement planning processes required by the district.

The complex nature of school environments is examined and the difficulties this poses for principals in leading change within schools is identified. Change is conceptualized as a non-linear, continuous process that is focused on the relationships between the teachers within a school and …

Indigenous Cultural Influenced Change Management, Mary Fuke

The Dissertation in Practice at Western University

Organization X is one of nine Indigenous post-secondary institutions in Ontario. For over 25 years the organization has been operating on funding from partnership and grant proposals that is renewed on a yearly basis. In 2017, Ontario recognized Indigenous Institutes as the “third pillar” of Ontario’s post-secondary landscape which is to be implemented through the Indigenous Advanced Education and Skills Council (IAESC) who provides the quality assurance framework for Indigenous institutions. This Organization Improvement Plan (OIP) explores the problem of linking Indigenous and western ideologies and epistemologies within a change management plan to successfully implement this change. The plan considers …

Designing A New Resourcing Model For Rural Schools In Labrador, April Blake

The Dissertation in Practice at Western University

The motivation of this Organizational Improvement Plan (OIP) is rooted in attaining more equity and social justice for marginalized groups in rural, geographically isolated sections of Labrador. The focus of the change process within the social justice frame is the lack of resources in these rural schools. The broad base of the resourcing issue encompasses lack of rural staff, books, manipulatives, technology, games, funding, community supports, consumables and all other standard school accompaniments. Departmental funding for our schools is very limited, this is an extensive and significant issue in most rural schools in the area, and this OIP plans change …

Designing A New Resourcing Model For Rural Schools In Labrador, April Blake

The Dissertation in Practice at Western University

The motivation of this Organizational Improvement Plan (OIP) is rooted in attaining more equity and social justice for marginalized groups in rural, geographically isolated sections of Labrador. The focus of the change process within the social justice frame is the lack of resources in these rural schools. The broad base of the resourcing issue encompasses lack of rural staff, books, manipulatives, technology, games, funding, community supports, consumables and all other standard school accompaniments. Departmental funding for our schools is very limited, this is an extensive and significant issue in most rural schools in the area, and this OIP plans change …

One Size Does Not Fit All: An External Leader’S Process Towards Supporting Positive Mental Health In Schools, Alexandra Fortier

The Dissertation in Practice at Western University

With the growing societal, personal, and financial costs related to unaddressed mental health issues (Smetanin et al., 2011), the World Health Organization [WHO] (2004) urges stakeholders to start with preventative work. The premise is to focus upstream of the plethora of potential consequences and to address these issues before they become problematic. The WHO (2004) further suggests starting with children and youth, which are, for the most part, in schools. While this seems a logical starting place, research suggests that it is essential to be well in order to teach others to be well (Acton & Glasgow, 2015; Ontario Principals’ …

Doctoral Student Career Preparation: An Institutional Response, Kimberly Miller

The Dissertation in Practice at Western University

This Organizational Improvement Plan (OIP) examines the issue of institutional support for doctoral students in preparing for careers inside and outside the academy. While discussions about the purpose of the doctorate are not new, the conversation about preparing PhDs for diverse careers is an emergent one, occupying space inside and outside academic circles. At the heart of the conversation is a debate about the purpose of the doctorate and the institution’s role in employability beyond the professoriate. The traditional academic culture at the institution adheres closely to the notion that the PhD is solely preparation for an academic career. This …

A Call To Action: Indigenizing Curriculum Through Adaptive Leadership, Christie Rehmann Pettipas

The Dissertation in Practice at Western University

Since the release of the Calls to Action from the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada in 2015, the post-secondary sector has focused their attention on the indigenization of programming and practices with mixed results. This Organizational Improvement Plan (OIP) presents a possible solution to embed Indigenous knowledge and culture in a program offered at a large urban college in Canada.

Both decolonization theory and Schein’s cultural assessment (2017) are used to identify current values and structures that are barriers to the effective integration of Indigenous knowledge in course curriculum and teaching. Utilizing an adaptive leadership framework (Hefeitz, 1994, Northouse, …