About Me

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I have been an elementary and secondary school teacher and administrator. Currently, I am a faculty member in the Faculty of Education at Wilfrid Laurier University, Waterloo, Ontario, Canada. My M.Ed. and Ph.D. had a focus on the educational and linguistic experiences of children who moved from other countries to Canada.

Monday, March 20, 2017

Book on school leadership in fragile and challenging contexts

I've been asked to edit a book on educational leadership in fragile and challenging contexts. As I've thought about the book, and have done a scan of the literature, I've been reminded of some key issues:

1. Why “education” and not "school"? The book will focus on what school leaders "do" in fragile contexts but will also examine beyond the school level to include regional and national efforts. For example, some colleague and I have been working on a book chapter that examines educational policy development in Haiti and Jamaica. Policy development at the national level can have a significant impact on localized practices.

2. Why “leadership”? To emphasize current practices and action which can lead to sustainable development. The focus will not be on what teachers are doing but how principals, superintendents/directors, and policy makers lead schools in these contexts.

3. Why “fragile and challenging contexts”? The book focuses on those countries and regions that have challenging socio-political-economic contexts due to war, unrest, or natural disasters. Countries are noted as fragile and developing based on various risk factors such as demographic pressures, refugees and internally displaced individuals, uneven economic development, etc. I wrote a blog post on this a few months ago and for more information, see Fund for Peace Fragile Country Rankings 2016

There is very limited literature that examines school leadership in fragile and challenging contexts. I hope that the book will fill this gap and will be of value to not only those in such contexts but also to those who are in more stable settings. Developing global awareness AND leadership competencies go hand-in-hand in today's connected world.


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