Policy as Outcome: Inequities Generated from Unintended Policy Outcomes

Intended and unintended outcomes of economic, political, and educational policy can create employment arrangements and work environments that limit opportunities for career advancement, professional development, and employment equity for certain groups of teachers. This paper, written from a critical lens, attempts to demonstrate how national and local policy outcomes in England have negatively impacted some educators who worked for Teacher Recruitment Agencies (TRAs) in the 1990s. In conclusion, the collective impact of policy outcomes for recruitment agency teachers has resulted in: a lack of control over workplace environment in schools that require extensive supports, financial arrangements that result in limited pay, no benefits, government legislation which results in poor union representation and limited legal recourse, and agency policies which discourage stability and commitment. Les résultats intentionnés ou non-intentionnés des politiques sur l’économie, la politique soi-même ou l’enseignement peuvent créer des arrangements d’emploi et des milieux de travail qui limitent les possibilités d’avancement pour certains groupes d’enseignant(e)s dans leurs carrières, de développement professionnel, et d’ égalité dans leurs emplois. Cet article, écrit sous une optique critique, essaie de démontrer comment les résultats de la politique nationale et locale en Angleterre ont une influence négative sur quelques éducateurs and éducatrices qui travaillaient pour les agences de recrutement des enseignants (TRA) pendant les années 1990-1999. En conclusion, l’effet collectif des résultats de ces politiques des agents de recrutement des enseignants a contribué à: un manque de contrôle des milieux de travail dans les écoles qui exigent un soutien extensif, des arrangements financiers qui aboutissent aux salaires limités, sans bénéfice, une législation gouvernementale qui introduit une pauvre représentation syndicale et des limitations aux recours légaux, et enfin des politiques des agences qui encouragent ni stabilité, ni engagement

Differentiated Access to Teaching: Teacher Recruitment Agencies and Flexible Work Arrangements

This paper explores the differential way in which employment practices utilized by Teacher Recruitment Agencies (TRAs) in England generate inequitable access to the teaching profession. Specifically, this paper critically examines the ways in which the present labour practices of TRAs impacts particular groups of women and marginalized people. The paper first describes the teacher recruitment agency phenomena, followed by an account of the feminist perspective that I use and the impact of educational reform on work arrangements. Next, I discuss flexible work and gender. Finally, I describe the place of foreign-born teachers and professional development issues in these new employment practices. Cet article explore les différentes venues que les pratiques d\u27emploi utilisées par les agences de recrutement des enseignants (TRA) en Angleterre, pratiques qui engendrent un accès inéquitable à la profession des enseignants. Particulièrement cet article examine en critique les effets créés sur les groupes particuliers des femmes et des personnes marginalisées par les pratiques de travail de ces agences de recrutement. L\u27article décrit d\u27abord le phénomène de ces agences, suivi par le compte du point de vue féministe ulilisé par l\u27auteur, puis l\u27effet de la réforme de l\u27éducation sur les arrangements de travail. Ensuite, l\u27auteur discute le travail flexible et le sexe. En dernier lieu, l\u27auteur décrit la place tenue par les problèmes ayant trait aux enseignants étrangers en Angleterre et au développement professionnel dans ces nouvelles pratiques d\u27 emploi

Administrator and Teachers\u27 Perceptions of School Success in a Publicly Funded Catholic School in Ontario, Canada

School success is a complex and abstract notion. Asking questions about what is meant by school success is important, since the ways in which educators and administrators define school success tends to guide their practice, and may have implications for current and future policy initiatives. This qualitative case study explores how one publicly funded Catholic school in Ontario, Canada, conceives of school success. First, a brief historical description of publicly funded Catholic schooling in Ontario is given, followed by a short introduction of the contemporary school success discourse. Next, the methodological approach is described, leading into a detailed account of the study’s findings. Last, a comprehensive discussion follows around a particular publicly funded Catholic school’s notions of success in their local context. This study pays particular attention to the question of whether or not narrow achievement priorities from the provincial government dominate local school discourse and practices

Marginalization and the Occasional Teacher Workforce in Ontario: The Case of Internationally Educated Teachers (IETs)

This article considers the marginalization of internationally educated teachers (IETs) as occasional teachers. In particular, it explores the experiences of three IETs as they try to gain access to full-time teacher employment within the Ontario, English-speaking public school system. Data used in this article was generated from a qualitative study of occasional teachers who worked in the Ontario English-speaking public school system. Findings indicated that these teachers engaged in considerable amounts of unpaid work, participated in a great deal of informal and formal learning, and accepted all and any occasional work available – all practices associated with the cycle of marginalization.

Marginalization and the Occasional Teacher Workforce in Ontario: The Case of Internationally Educated Teachers (IETs)

This article considers the marginalization of internationally educated teachers (IETs) as occasional teachers. In particular, it explores the experiences of three IETs as they try to gain access to full-time teacher employment within the Ontario, English-speaking public school system. Data used in this article was generated from a qualitative study of occasional teachers who worked in the Ontario English-speaking public school system. Findings indicated that these teachers engaged in considerable amounts of unpaid work, participated in a great deal of informal and formal learning, and accepted all and any occasional work available – all practices associated with the cycle of marginalization

School Principals\u27 Understandings of Student Difference and Diversity and How it Influences Their Work

This article explores how Ontario principals make sense of difference within student populations and how this sensemaking influences how they do their work. The article reports on a qualitative study in Ontario, Canada that included 59 semistructured interviews with school principals from English Public, secular school districts in Southern Ontario. Four themes emerged in principals’ descriptions of student populations: (a) perceiving everyone as the same, or homogeneous; (b) perceiving visible differences associated with particular religions, race, and cultures; (c) perceiving invisible or less visible differences, such as academic differences, socioeconomic status, mental health issues, gender identity, and sexual orientation; and (d) perceiving both visible and less visible differences through an inclusive lens. When asked about how their understanding of difference influenced how they did their work, principals’ responses varied from not influencing their work at all to influencing practices and activities. Participants’ context—both personal and local—influenced some of the work they did in their role as school principal. Lastly, multiple sources of disconnect emerged between how principals understood difference and the practices that they engage in at their school site; between their sensemaking about difference and diversity and preparing students for 21st century competencies as global citizens; and between principals’ understanding of difference and diversity and existing provincial policy. Study insights contribute to an existing body of literature that examines principals’ sensemaking around difference, but also extend this line of inquiry to consider how this sensemaking influences their professional practice. These findings pose additional research questions about how to approach principal professional learning for inclusive and equitable education. For example, even though principals are contractually responsible for students in their care, why is it that their efforts toward equitable and inclusive schooling appear to be limited to the school site and not the wider community? Study findings can be used to inform principal preparation programs and professional learning opportunities. Namely, these programs should provide the skill development required as well as the time needed for principals to reflect on their local context and beliefs, and to consider how their local context and beliefs are connected to larger societal efforts to create a more inclusive and equitable society. Although other articles have examined how principals make sense of difference and diversity in student bodies, this article also explores how this sensemaking influences how school leaders do their work

PROBLEMS OF PRACTICE: CANADIAN CASES IN LEADERSHIP AND POLIC

This special issue is dedicated to case teaching in the Canadian context. It features a case study approach that is designed to help those who train aspiring and current administrators. Written by academics, graduate students, principals, higher education instructors, and education consultants, the cases are intended to be employed by program developers, trainers of leaders, and university instructors to assist education leaders to interrogatetheir leadership practices, develop new leadership skills and knowledge, and consider alternative practices, solutions, and possibilities to current problems of practice

Teaching Policy by Collaborating Across Borders

Drawing on research from two cross-border course collaborations, we show that focused cross­ border online dialogues between Canadian and American graduate students can broaden students\u27 thinking beyond national borders, provide insight into how policies are implemented in schools, enable access to diverse perspectives on policy issues, and support learning about the influence of local, state/provincial, and national contexts on policy processes

Preparing politically savvy principals in Ontario, Canada

Purpose We argue that principal preparation programs should help candidates: 1) recognize the political role of the school principal; 2) develop political skills (including the ability to strategically appropriate policy); and 3) understand that the political approach of the principal influences teaching, learning, relationships, governance, and reform efforts. In addition, we report findings of our analysis of Ontario’s Principal Qualification Program guidelines to determine if they require principal preparation programs to develop aspiring school leaders’ political skills. Design/methodology/approach We reviewed theoretical arguments and empirical studies from the fields of school micropolitics, business, educational leadership, and critical policy studies to establish five political skills principals require. We then conducted a content analysis of Ontario’s Principal Qualification Program guidelines to determine if they require principal preparation programs to develop aspiring leaders’ political skills. Findings Ontario’s Principal Qualification Program guidelines do not explicitly direct principal preparation programs to help candidates develop political skills. However, the guidelines recognize that principals pursue political goals and work in political 2 environments, and they offer opportunities for appropriating the guidelines in ways that promote the development of principal candidates’ political skills. Originality/Value The paper is the first to analyze Ontario’s Principal Qualification Program guidelines to determine if they require principal preparation programs to develop aspiring leaders’ political skills. It also identifies policy appropriation as a political skill that should be developed in principal preparation programs and provides a model of how principal preparation policies themselves may be appropriated to support a focus on developing aspiring principals’ political skills