Awneet Sivia, Vandy Britton, Sheryl MacMath, Janet Carroll | University of the Fraser Valley
Friday, April 26, 2019
12:30 – 2:00 pm
Scarfe 1214
* Light refreshments will be served at 12:00 pm.
* Lecture will commence at 12:30 p.m.
Host: Dr. P. Grimmett
Abstract
In the current climate of K-12 educational reform and innovation, leading and mentoring within the profession are taking on even greater significance. This presentation brings forward a particular vision of leadership and mentorship that aims to enhance education and empower educators in these dynamic contexts. Leadership and mentorship, viewed as a “hybrid configuration of practice” (Gronn, 2000), require fundamentally different understandings of leading and mentoring. In considering this notion of a hybrid, our talk centers on the question: How can we envision leadership and mentorship, typically perceived as two distinct fields of practice, differently and more synergistically? To address this question, we introduce the concepts of ‘reframing leadership and mentorship’, ‘re-culturing the profession’, the ‘fourth wave of education’, and ‘leader-mentor identities’. These concepts are central to our understanding that an effective leader must also be a strong mentor; and, alternatively, effective mentors are leaders who re-culture communities of practice (Wenger-Trainer, 2015). In contesting the conventional notions of leadership as effective organizational management and mentorship as solely a practice of masters and protégés, we argue for a conceptualization of leadership and mentorship as a hybrid configuration of practice that calls for educators to become leader-mentors.
Bios
Awneet Sivia is an Associate Professor in the Teacher Education Department at UFV. She teaches courses in social justice, science, and technology education, school reform, classroom research, and reflective practice. She held teaching and leadership positions in K-12 and in post-secondary. Awneet developed and taught in numerous educational programs to support the diverse needs of students, including international education, paraprofessional upgrading, foreign-credentialed teacher education, and graduate certificate and master of education degrees. Awneet’s research interests include science teacher education, social justice education, diversity leadership, self-study in teacher education, teacher learning, and school innovations.
Sheryl MacMath is an Associate Professor in the Teacher Education at UFV. She teaches courses in planning, assessment, classroom management, elementary math methods, and elementary social studies methods. Outside of teaching courses, Sheryl mentors teacher candidates on practicum and provides professional development for practicing teachers to ensure a strong connection between the university and the field. Her research interests include assessment driven planning, project based learning, curriculum integration, and teacher education admissions.
Vandy Britton is an Assistant Professor and the department head for Teacher Education at UFV. Currently, she teaches courses in social justice, reflective practice, and arts-based practices and methods within the BEd. Prior to UFV, Vandy worked as a faculty associate and program coordinator in Professional Programs at SFU, instructing and mentoring pre-service, in-service and seconded teachers. Her research interests include Indigenous education, social justice education, teacher education, and teachers’ professional learning.
Janet Carroll is the Program Coordinator for the BEd program at UFV and a member of the MEd Program Working Group. Aside from teaching duties in the department, Janet is responsible for coordinating school placements, in-servicing Teacher Mentors, recruiting and mentoring Faculty Mentors, and overseeing Teacher Candidates while in practica. Before joining the Teacher Education Department, Janet had a long career in Chilliwack School District as a classroom teacher, principal, coordinator, district principal and director. During her tenure as District Principal of Human Resources, Janet was responsible for chairing the District Mentoring Committee responsible for the support, training and resource allocation for new career teachers.
View EDCP 2019 April 26 seminar poster
View EDCP 2019 April 26 seminar video