Abstract
Educators and leaders across Canada must re-conceptualize their pedagogies and leadership approaches and reflect on their own worldviews to enhance the transitions of new immigrant, international and refugee students into their schools. This paper reports on ongoing case study research in New Brunswick, Canada. The researchers are investigating the impact and implications of immigration and demographic changes on school and community stakeholders. The authors discuss the social justice and participatory methodological framework they are employing in the first school of five in their investigation and report the mid-case thematic findings related to the changing demographic conditions in the province. The findings have been consistently shared with school leaders and teachers through active participation, open communication and co-construction of meanings. The authors are hopeful that the key findings from this research will inform educators and policy-makers as they respond to the educational and social needs of their students and community members.
Highlights
Like many provinces across Canada, New Brunswick is becoming increasingly diverse as families from many countries around the world move into this region
New Brunswick was one of many provinces that responded to the Canadian government’s mandate to welcome 25,000 Syrian refugees early in 2016 (Donkin, 2016). When we began this investigation, our team anticipated that our research protocols would have to be adjusted throughout our data collection to align with emerging realities that often characterize a rapidly changing diverse school
We have discussed some early key findings and by communicating them back in continuous dialogue with the school stakeholders, we believe we have provided them opportunities to reflect upon and adjust their leadership and classroom pedagogies
Summary
Like many provinces across Canada, New Brunswick is becoming increasingly diverse as families from many countries around the world move into this region. Building on the work of Canadian researchers (Bernhard, 2010; Hamm, 2009; Goddard & Hart, 2007; Pollock, 2012; Ryan, 1999), in regions where rapid demographic changes have affected community composition, school compliment, and the pedagogy and professional development of educators, this project officially began in April, 2015. Our early findings suggest that New Brunswick educators are not prepared effectively for what is already here and what is on the horizon in many more schools and communities; that is, increasingly complex diverse communities and classrooms. The researcher (who is a co-writer on this project) did not know at the time that the educational leader’s words would echo within him long after he completed that study and moved his research program to a university in New Brunswick
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