When Good Intentions Aren't Good Enough: Dismantling Colonial Praxis in Educational Leadership

Addressing the inequitable educational outcomes of Indigenous students in K-12 education in Alberta is a moral imperative, a mandate of the provincial government and a response to Call to Action #10 of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission. This dissertation-in-practice, viewed through the lens of critical theory, interrogates systemic barriers within Three Bear Hills School Division (a pseudonym) that hinder Indigenous students' graduation and post-secondary transition rates. Indigenous students in K-12 education are adversely impacted by the influence of settler colonialism on leadership praxis, as evidenced by the achievement gap discourse, deficit thinking, and unconscious bias. These factors lead to the over-representation of Indigenous students in lower academic streams and special education classes. Historical efforts to address these issues through decolonizing reforms at provincial and national levels have been largely unsuccessful. This dissertation-in-practice employs transformative and adaptive leadership approaches, utilizing Stroh’s 4-stage change model to dismantle leadership’s colonial mental models. Education partners collaboratively create a shared vision of a preferred future using an appreciative inquiry methodology. Transformative learning theory supports third-order change among school leaders through reflexivity and dialogic practices. Third-order change, grounded in the decolonization of leadership, must precede second-order decolonizing practices such as land-based learning and language programming to achieve equitable educational outcomes for Indigenous students. Through personal transformation, educational leaders can reconsider their mental models and develop critical consciousness, paving the way for meaningful, systemic change.

Name thesis:degree_name

Doctor of Education

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Education

Year dc:date.issued

2024

Author dc:creator

• Barron, Peter Francis

Advisors dc:contributor.advisor

• Lowrey, Scott
• Peters, Leanne

• decolonize
• settler colonialism
• transformative leadership
• equity
• third-order change
• critical theory

Language dc:language.iso

en_ca

Handle dc:identifier.uri

https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14721/26422

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:uwo.scholaris.ca:20.500.14721/26422