Inclusive Leadership Processes and Practices that Improve Educational Social Justice Outcomes for Manitoba’s Children in Care – An Exploratory Case Study
Abstract
Grounded in a critical transformative paradigm, this case study examined how Manitoba public school principals worked to support social justice goals in education for Manitoba’s children in care. A qualitative case study methodology was used to investigate how inclusive school principals develop processes and practices to work towards improved social justice outcomes for children in care. Social justice outcomes and inclusive leadership, as it is operationalized through processes and practices in schools, comprised the study’s conceptual framework. Data were collected using document analysis of government documents, semi-structured interviews with principals/vice principals from six Winnipeg school districts, and focus groups with former youth in care. Findings based on analysis using the conceptual framework indicate that principals and vice principals do not yet have a common starting point in their understanding of how different systems, i.e., education, child welfare, and lived experiences affect the children. The complexity of the children’s experiences, e.g., trauma, transitions etc., coupled with siloed processes/practices in education and other support organizations, create misunderstandings and incorrect assumptions that lead to inappropriate programming. In response, inclusive educational leaders successfully use processes and practices to flex boundaries within the education system and intentionally built relationships with the children and interorganizational stakeholders to improve social justice outcomes for children in care. At this time, all school leaders should consider a focus on planning for intentional relationships and differentiated environments for children in care. At the provincial level, there appears to be a critical need for an interorganizational supervisory body under the umbrella of the Healthy Child Committee of Cabinet (HCCC) to centralize collaboration, implementation of information, and measures of success for children in care based on government protocols, while also supporting the development of a shared digital platform for the dissemination of information about what it means to be a child in care and resources to support school leaders. Further implications for policy, practice and suggestions for future study are also discussed.