Date of Submission

8-10-2022

Document Type

OIP

Degree

Doctor of Education

Department

Education

Keywords

Educators mental health, racial discrimination, transformative leadership, microaggressions, critical race theory, servant leadership

Abstract

The Des Grands Lac school board is facing an ongoing dearth of qualified teachers that warrants a critical examination in order to underscore the impact of low staffing on staff mental health. Among these factors, the damaging impacts of racism in all its forms on racialized educators’ mental health has remained unexamined and unaddressed. As racism is deeply entrenched within the fabric of educational policies and practices, this discrimination is, too often, normalized. Consequently, owing to the racism, several racialized staff have reported experiences of anxiety, depression, and trauma, leaving them feeling alienated and undervalued. This Organizational Improvement Plan (OIP) sets out a framework to implement an equity-focused mental health initiative that seeks to target support towards racialized staff experiencing discrimination. The OIP change-vision aims to establish allyship as a leadership strategy for school leaders in the Des Grands Lacs (DGL) school board in order to propagate and amplify equity, diversity, and inclusion initiatives to combat racial discrimination. The application of critical race theory amplifies racialized staff’s voice to counter dominant discourse and raise awareness for the need for change. Drawing on transformative, servant and Ubuntu leadership styles, this OIP aims to offer solutions to create an inclusive environment where all staff could possibly flourish and safely express their lived experience. Such an inclusive environment requires a major shift in organizational culture and in the mindsets at all levels of leadership. This OIP explores ways to challenge systems of power that maintain discriminatory practices through building strong relationships and allyships.

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