Date of Submission

8-27-2024

Document Type

DiP

Degree

Doctor of Education

Department

Education

Keywords

homeschooling, critical theory, flexi-schooling, social justice, transformative leadership, distributed leadership

Abstract

This Dissertation-in-Practice (DiP) provides a roadmap to address the trend of increased numbers of parents choosing homeschooling in the Central Catholic School Board (CCSB, a pseudonym). The CCSB is a publicly funded Ontario Catholic school district serving more than 40,000 students across a mixed urban, rural, and suburban region. A critical theory approach to addressing the increase in homeschooling by students from underserved marginalized communities provides an explicit focus on social justice. The selected solution to address the complex problem is a system-wide implementation of flexi-schooling. A future state sees flexi-schooling providing alternatives to status quo structures by allowing personalized learning pathways that include some instruction at home and some instruction at school. The DiP addresses the importance of the director of education and executive council leading the change initiative. Transformative and third-order change may result in flexible attendance options, independent course selection, optional participation in assessment and evaluation, and personalized graduation pathways. Strategies for system-wide change include leveraging the CCSB’s existing focus on deep learning and use of a coherence framework. The DiP explores both transformative and distributed leadership practices during the change implementation process. It also examines a modified change path model along with a monitoring, evaluation, and communication plans. The change implementation plan spans three-years to coincide with the district’s multi-year strategic plan. The roadmap to system change has the potential to disrupt the status quo structure of publicly funded education.

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