Date of Submission

7-27-2021

Document Type

DiP

Degree

Doctor of Education

Department

Education

Keywords

experiential learning, educational leadership, academic freedom, learning culture, self-determination theory

Abstract

Teaching is one of the primary responsibilities of most university faculty members. Yet, pedagogical training and professional development in teaching and experiential learning are not employment requirements for most Ontario university faculty. This incongruence impacts faculty’s sense of self-efficacy, ability to protect their academic freedom, and their ability to design pedagogically informed curriculum. Additionally, it can negatively impact student outcomes while influencing institutional reputations and funding. In response, recommendations to address this problem of practice (PoP) must acknowledge the faculty prerogatives of autonomy, self-governance, and academic freedom. For that reason, this Organizational Improvement Plan (OIP) evaluates and proposes educational leadership approaches to promote faculty-motivated professional development at an anonymized institution designated as The Ontario University (OntU). What strategies might further promote the uptake of faculty-driven pedagogical training? With an emphasis on a collaborative, constructivist approach, this OIP recommends distributed and transformational leadership strategies to accommodate the autonomous prerogatives of faculty members and which align with both administrative and collegial governance structures. In addition to using a constructivist framework, the conceptual frameworks of self-determination and learning culture theories are used to evaluate ethical approaches to the PoP and develop recommendations. Ultimately, the goal of this OIP is to inspire and enact meaningful, transformational change at OntU that increases the number of faculty who choose to engage in pedagogical professional development and the realization of its far-reaching benefits to a variety of stakeholders.

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