Date of Submission

7-8-2024

Document Type

DiP

Degree

Doctor of Education

Department

Education

Keywords

School Leadership, Belongingness, Decolonial, Indigenous Storywork Principles, Transformative, Intersectionality

Abstract

School belonging is important for adolescents’ psychological wellbeing, identity formation, and academic achievement, yet there is an equity and belonging gap as approximately half of secondary students surveyed in British Columbia (BC) indicate a lack of school belonging. To address the need for belongingness, this Dissertation-in-Practice, set in a diverse, suburban BC school district, focuses on decolonizing and transforming praxis in secondary schools for equity, belonging, and learning. Fostering equitable school-wide praxis is a problem of practice for school leaders as secondary schools continue to function within the Eurocentric hegemony of Western, individualistic perspectives. A two-eyed change model combining Indigenous principles and Western systems thinking addresses the problem of practice through the combined actions of decolonial, transformative, and compassionate systems leadership, shared community stories, inquiry learning networks, and Indigenous and culturally sustaining pedagogies. Three solutions are discussed: a professional learning network for school leaders; professional learning sessions for school teams; and inquiry pilots for school teams. To successfully weave new stories of decolonization and transformation, a change implementation plan outlines methods to increase shared knowledge and efficacy, develop authentic and relational communication processes, and monitor and evaluate the ongoing process. Weaving together Indigenous, racialized, and post-modernist Western perspectives is essential to reflect the intersectionality of diverse educational communities. Everyone needs to belong.

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