Date of Submission

7-4-2024

Document Type

DiP

Degree

Doctor of Education

Department

Education

Keywords

underrepresentation, racialized faculty, recruitment, retention, equity-mindedness, critical race theory

Abstract

Racialized faculty are underrepresented across Ontario’s colleges of applied arts and technology. This dissertation-in-practice (DiP) uses critical theory and critical race theory to position the underrepresentation of racialized faculty in the delivery of curricula as a problem of practice (PoP) within a Faculty at an Ontario polytechnic. This underrepresentation not only contributes to homogenous teaching and learning but also can create a negative climate for racialized students who do not have the opportunity to see their identities reflected in the faculty teaching them. Racialized faculty also face significant challenges as minorities navigating spaces in which they do not feel a sense of belonging. This DiP advocates for a future state in which racialized faculty representation approaches external availability in the workforce, brought about through a belonging-based recruitment and hiring strategy (BRHS) that infuses equity-mindedness into recruitment, interviewing, and deliberation processes. This change to recruitment and hiring would be implemented through an adaptive leadership and critical allyship approach, following a framework that integrates Kotter’s eight stages of change model with Lawrence’s emerging change model. Dialogue, reflection, and the elevation of racialized voices are key principles for communication throughout the change plan. The plan is monitored and evaluated through an integrative framework centering inclusivity, power, and sustainability. Implementing the BRHS can transform spaces of power and decision making within the institution, as well as create a more inclusive collegial culture, leading to better recruitment and retention of racialized faculty.

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