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With the rise of neoliberal reforms and efforts to privatize education, there is a growing need to examine how actors and groups from the public and private sectors influence educational policy change together. In this article, we advance a critical approach to understanding the changing discursive space of educational politics by following discourses through an expansive policy network that goes beyond its traditional boundaries. Specifically, we draw on argumentative discourse analysis (ADA), which allows for the analysis of how and why various actors and groups come together to assign certain meanings to educational phenomena or problems, leading to policy responses or changes. Rooted in Foucault’s notions of discourse and power, ADA offers a unique approach to discourse analysis that can illuminate policy change through discourse coalitions. Three case studies from educational policy scholarship are discussed to illustrate the value and utility of ADA in future critical education policy studies.

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With research pointing to increased levels of stress and work demands on school leaders, attention has turned to examining the factors that contribute to their well-being. Studies have also shown that many school administrators not just survive but also thrive in their work and succeed despite work-related challenges. Furthermore, some principals experience flourishing at work, which is characterized by optimal functioning, feeling good, and achieving a balanced life. Our study examined the sense of flourishing of the national award-winning principals in the Canada’s Outstanding Principals program, which recognized outstanding contributions of principals in publicly funded schools. In this article, we describe the participants’ perceptions in relation to the following constructs in the overall flourishing: flow, thriving, resilience, and grit. This study highlights the conditions, behaviours, mindsets, and characteristics that are critical for the well-being of school administrators.

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In response to the changing demographics of schools in Canada and efforts to better equip principals to challenging inequity, leadership preparation programs have adopted new policies focused more on leading with an equity lens. However, studies have demonstrated a disconnect between what is covered in these leadership programs and how school principals actually perceive their ability to lead equitably and work with diverse learners. Six current school principals and vice principals in Ontario, Canada who have successfully completed a Principal Qualification Program (PQP) course were interviewed to understand their perceptions on the program’s ability to prepare them to lead, and their perceptions on concepts of equity, diversity, and inclusion (EDI). The racial experiences and identities of each participant shaped their definitions of EDI, as well as their understandings of difference. Study findings indicate several critical areas of change for principal preparation programs in Ontario: training guidelines, efforts to prepare educators to be equitable leaders, and the educators’ perceptions on their preparedness to lead. Utilization of Critical Race Theory in Education and Applied Critical Leadership additionally help frame analysis and support the need to integrate culturally relevant pedagogical practice into leadership preparation programs.

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This study examines the impact of teachers’ professional development on Canadian allophone students’ learning and reading performance levels. We used the data from the Pan-Canadian Assessment Program 2016 involving Grade 8/Secondary II Canadian allophone students (N = 2,244) and teachers in French and English Language Arts (N = 598). Our correlation results show that Canadian allophone students’ reading achievement was positively associated with teachers’ professional development activities such as academic pursuits (e.g., university courses) and marking or scoring sessions. The correlations also demonstrate that teachers’ professional practice of curriculum development had a positive influence on the learning levels of Canadian allophone students who were born in Canada, while teachers’ participation in professional learning communities had a positive effect on Canadian allophone students who were not born in Canada.

EN :

During the COVID-19 pandemic, student services leaders needed to adapt to working entirely virtually, find creative solutions to adjust their service delivery, and change how they engaged with their teams. Before COVID-19, studies of virtual leadership focused on virtual teams developed because of the geographical distance between team members. This qualitative study investigated virtual leadership and virtual teams developed because of the move to virtual work during the COVID-19 pandemic. It examined how student services leaders changed their leadership behaviours in response to moving to the virtual work environment. Using data gathered through a questionnaire, interviews, and documentation, four themes reflecting how leaders changed their behaviours and practices were identified: reimagining communication, reconstructing work using technology, reframing team support, and reorienting toward hybrid work. Understanding how these leaders managed their virtual teams at a midsized university in southern Ontario provides insight into what practices might be helpful for teams that continue exclusively virtual work and those that transition to a hybrid work approach.

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Given the substantial impact school leaders have on school improvement, the imperative for continuous professional learning for leaders is evident. In this two-year action research study, researchers collaborated with a school division, forming a research-practice partnership, to design and explore a collaborative professional learning and coaching program. The primary objective of this program was to align with local leadership standards and foster leadership development. The central research question was: How does implementation of a collaborative professional learning and coaching program contribute to leadership development? Data were collected from district and school leaders and included pre and post surveys, interviews, and focus groups. The findings of this study indicate that district leadership practices show promising potential in fostering inservice opportunities for leadership development. These practices include the following: (a) ensure programs are sustained with a consistent focus, (b) utilize collaborative learning approaches, (c) assess growth through reflection and feedback, and (d) use action research to support continual improvement. This study aims to provide valuable insights to school districts and researchers regarding the implementation of sustained and job-embedded professional development for school leaders, with a specific focus on leadership development.

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The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted academic labour, with women being disproportionately negatively affected. This scoping review provides an exploratory snapshot into the corpus of literature investigating the impact of the pandemic on academic labour. We used a set of criteria to first identify the 86 titles from which we selected 45 as the data set. We analyzed the data on characteristics of location, investigative methods, publication information, and discipline. The findings showed that most of the data were global in context; used primarily qualitative methodologies; published in a wide variety of journals; and spanned diverse disciplines, including science and health, education, business, sociology, and political sciences. We then analyzed the data thematically. The themes we identified were gender inequity, identities and intersectionality, performing work-home binaries, and invisible labour. We added a fifth theme, lived experiences, consisting of women academics’ firsthand accounts. We consider this theme unique, despite its overlap with the other themes, because it is evidence of women academics telling their personal stories. We discuss how our findings show that pandemic conditions worsened existing inequities. The solutions most often cited in the data place emphasis and responsibility on the individual, but we argue that institutions should instead be responsible to redress inequities through improving workplace labour processes. Our research can aid future research on how policy theory can inform socially just policies and practices in the post-pandemic university.

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L’impact du développement des technologies numériques sur l’éducation fait l’objet de recherches soutenues (Huang et al., 2020), mais ce sujet n’est pas systématiquement pris en compte dans les documents d’orientations gouvernementales destinés au personnel de direction d’établissement d’enseignement (DÉ). Afin de comprendre ce qui peut expliquer l’absence d’une référence aux technologies numériques dans des référentiels de compétences des DÉ, il importe de s’attarder aux exigences liées à cette fonction. Dans le cadre d’un projet de recherche s’inscrivant dans un parcours doctoral, l’analyse documentaire de 24 référentiels de compétences a permis d’identifier les endroits où nous trouvons des références aux technologies numériques. Également, l’analyse structurale et sémantique des énoncés liés aux compétences et repérés dans ces référentiels a permis d’identifier les habiletés et les connaissances associées aux technologies numériques.

FR :

Cette étude de cas à méthodes mixtes vise à comprendre auprès des diplômés d’immersion française (IF) qui étudient à l’Université de l’Alberta, leurs motivations liées au choix de la langue dans la poursuite des études postsecondaires. Nos résultats ont révélé que les élèves qui poursuivent une éducation postsecondaire dans les programmes francophones sont altruistes et manifestent des motivations instrumentales par rapport à la langue française (par exemple : perspectives d’emplois encourageantes pour les personnes bilingues, sauvegarde des acquis linguistiques). De plus, ces personnes ont une régulation identifiée (prise de conscience de l’importance du français pour atteindre des buts personnels) supérieure à celle de leurs collègues qui étudient en langue anglaise. Néanmoins, la notoriété perçue des établissements offrant des programmes francophones, ainsi que l’identité linguistique construite par ces élèves durant leur séjour en IF exercent une réelle influence sur leur processus décisionnel.

EN :

Real Fillion asks what the place of electives, particularly philosophy, are in the contemporary Canadian university. In light of current priorities placed on career training and preparation, is there such a thing as learning for it's own sake? This book review overviews Fillion's argument that the development of the elective mind is crucial to the both the individual and to society and must be maintained. The authors analyze gaps in his appraisal of the current situation according to developments in the university in the twentieth century and provides a recommendation for additional scholarship to complete his assessment.