Date of Submission
8-9-2022
Document Type
OIP
Degree
Doctor of Education
Department
Education
Keywords
service learning, international baccalaureate, international schools, authentic leadership, transformational leadership, dialogic pedagogy
Abstract
The International Baccalaureate’s Middle Years Programme places service learning at the core of its curriculum. Yet, challenges with implementing it successfully are omnipresent in international schools. This Organizational Improvement Plan (OIP) aims to support teachers with the implementation of service learning projects at a private, non-profit international school in Western Europe. It is guided and framed by a Problem of Practice (POP) that addresses the current state of service learning at Mountain Range School (MRS) where curriculum and independent service projects are inconsistently designed, implemented and supported. It includes an evaluation of school policies, curriculum, teacher capacity, resources and systems. The underlying leadership approaches to this OIP are authentic and transformational leadership. A consideration of the cultural and logistical aspects that are impacting the implementation of service learning is evaluated. A gap analysis is conducted between the current and future state of service that analyzes inputs, outputs, resources and materials. Four solutions are considered and evaluated against a cost-benefit criteria, resulting in a fifth hybrid solution that combines professional development support for teachers and curriculum implementation strategies. A change path model (CPM) is used to outline the proposed changes and the plan-do-study-act (PDSA) cycle is used to monitor change. The communication and tracking of change is aligned with authentic, transformational leadership approaches that leverage the ethos of service through human interactions that emphasize dialogic, cyclical growth in order to institutionalize change and ultimately improve the program’s effectiveness to impact change in the local community.
Recommended Citation
Wallace, C. (2022). Transformation Through Trust and Authenticity: Improving and Aligning Service Learning in an International Baccalaureate School. The Organizational Improvement Plan at Western University, 303. Retrieved from https://ir.lib.uwo.ca/oip/303