Date of Submission

8-5-2021

Document Type

DiP

Degree

Doctor of Education

Department

Education

Keywords

diversity, equity, inclusion, neurodiversity, transformative leadership, privilege

Abstract

International schools have proliferated in the last 20 years. Although one might expect students who attend such schools to represent a heterogenous, diverse population, in reality, many schools have selective admissions practices, and their education has a strong western influence derived from the few Anglophone countries from which the majority of their teachers come. The problem of practice addressed is a lack of alignment between one school’s mission and values and school practices and curricula that inadvertently continue to promote exclusion and privilege. This organizational improvement plan proposes (a) creating an admissions policy and structure that ensures that the school can include and equitably serve neurodiverse learners; (b) developing an antiracist curriculum that calls on students (and teachers) to reflect on their own privilege and learn to stand up rather than stand by; and (c) reviewing curricula, texts, and library holdings to ensure materials reflect the diversity of the student body. The ultimate goal is to help the organization become more diverse, equitable, and inclusive. Foundational to this work are transformative and transformational leadership approaches, which rely on critique of current practices combined with idealized influence and modelling for the teachers leading the change. The proposed change plan relies on a collaborative approach characterized by empathy for challenges to change; the change plan also attends to the emotional impact of the change process, offers a model for beginning and sustaining change collaboratively, offers a monitoring and evaluation framework, and provides an intentional communication plan.

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