Date of Submission

2-11-2023

Document Type

OIP

Degree

Doctor of Education

Department

Education

Keywords

New teachers, decolonization, professional development, transformational leadership, culturally relevant leadership, trauma informed practice, Indigenous

Abstract

Many school boards have been developing Indigenous frameworks and funding Indigenous programming as a response to the 94 “Calls to Action” published by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada (2015). The actions of these school boards are a form of reconciliation. Within the Southern Alberta School Board (SASB, a pseudonym), there are strong policies in place that support Indigenous students; these policies ensure the students never have to experience the unfair treatment that past generations did through the residential school system. Teachers in this school board are also supported through professional development programs to improve their practice. However, these professional development opportunities are typically one day events run by an expert, with the expectation that the teacher will then be able to apply what was given with little to no trouble. This Organizational Improvement Plan (OIP) will focus on Crowfoot Elementary School (CES), a school that recently experienced a large turnover of teachers. These new teachers were culturally different from the Indigenous students that they came to be teaching; therefore, they were not equipped with the best strategies to manage negative behaviours exhibited by the students due to inter-generational trauma. This OIP will look to increase the capacity for teachers new to Indigenous settings to take control of their own professional development. This will be achieved by drawing from culturally relevant leadership and trauma informed practices that are connected to transformational leadership. These styles are affiliated with Indigenous knowledge through their connections to agency, collegiality, reconciliation, and decolonization.

Key words: New teachers, decolonization, professional development, transformational leadership, culturally relevant leadership, trauma informed practice, Indigenous

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