Date of Submission

8-10-2022

Document Type

OIP

Degree

Doctor of Education

Department

Education

Keywords

English Language Learners, International Schools, Transformative Leadership, Transformational Leadership, EAL, ELL

Abstract

This Organizational Improvement Plan (OIP) aims to address the Problem of Practice (PoP) of the marginalization of English Language Learners (ELLs) in an English-medium International School (EMIS) by leveraging teacher-leaders as advocates for cultural and linguistic equity via asset-based approaches starting in the classroom. Underpinned by colonial modes of thought disguised as neoliberal internationalism, EMISs often perpetuate the elevation of English as the language of academia while neglecting their normative aspirational mission commitments to equity, diversity, and social justice by failing to provide pathways to foster multilingual development. Deficit-based language programs illustrate this by approaching ELLs as academically deficient based on their English abilities while neglecting to leverage their capabilities in their first language to accelerate the development of their second language using constructivist, asset-based approaches. Transformative leadership in conjunction with critical and postcolonial theory constitutes the critically-oriented dimensions of this OIP, while transformational leadership linked to constructivist learning theory represents the plan’s commitment to improving organizational effectiveness while affirming current practices that are already in alignment. From the positionality of a middle leader, a critical organizational analysis is conducted using Bolman and Deal’s (2017) multi-frame approach, and Nadler and Tushman’s (1989) congruence model. The process of implementing, monitoring, and evaluating the solution to leverage data to institutionalize an equitable English Language Acquisition program structure is then framed using Deszca et al.’s (2020) change path model and Deming’s (1993) plan, do, study, act model.

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