Date of Submission

8-10-2021

Document Type

OIP

Degree

Doctor of Education

Department

Education

Keywords

social justice-based educational programs, transformative paradigm, cross-community educational programming, appreciative inquiry

Abstract

Abstract

Assessing school-based programs to ensure that a social justice perspective governs key aspects of their delivery is vitally important, as educational institutions may unintentionally reimpose societal stratifications and injustices. The problem of practice is to address gaps between actual and optimal experiences and outcomes of a tutoring educational program from a social justice perspective involving public schools and an independent school in Ontario, Canada. The objective is to redevelop tutoring programs that involve different communities by inviting stakeholders to share their understandings of what they find valuable in the program and to determine if or how inaccurate conceptions of and divisions between social groups are perpetuated. The lens and leadership approaches of the transformative paradigm and positive organizational scholarship (POS) are used to advance change by analyzing the problem, contributing factors, and solutions. The collection and inclusion of stakeholders’ voices and perspectives, a research imperative of transformative theory, will inform change targets for program improvement. Facilitated appreciative inquiry workshops will discover stakeholders’ respective experiences and their dreams for an enhanced program, and iterative cycles of the plan, do, study, and act (PDSA) model will identify guidelines and resources to realize goals. POS strategies will facilitate change implementation, including supporting stakeholders by providing resources, ensuring open communication, and emphasizing their value in contributing to the social good. By putting forward a change implementation plan that involves community input to redress negative experiences and/or enhance positive experiences in educational programs, this paper seeks to engage educators to consider equity in cross-community learning models.

Keywords: social justice-based educational programs, transformative paradigm, cross-community educational programming, appreciative inquiry

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