Browsing by Author "Hamm, Lyle"

Now showing 1 - 7 of 7
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    Becoming a transformative vice-principal in culturally and linguistically rich diverse schools: “Pace yourself. It’s a marathon, not a sprint”
    (Emerald Insight, 2017) Hamm, Lyle
    Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to examine the leadership role(s) of vice-principals in diverse, multi-ethnic schools and communities and understand the supervision and mentoring support they require to help them become more effective leaders within them. The research questions guiding this study were: what forms of mentoring do vice-principals, who serve in diverse schools in rapidly changing communities, require? Who is in the best position to provide mentoring for them? Design/methodology/approach: The author used a qualitative case study methodology. Data that were analyzed for this paper were drawn from surveys, semi-structured interviews, one focus group interview and school and community documents from three data sets within two case studies in Canada. The first data set was part of the author’s doctoral research program in a diverse school in Alberta; the other case study was part of a larger collective case study that the author is currently involved with and leading in New Brunswick. Several vice-principals were part of both studies. The author then constructed a survey questionnaire specifically focused on mentoring vice-principals in diverse schools. Vice-principals in both provinces, who were part of the two studies, were invited to respond to the follow-up survey. Using a constant comparative analytical approach, the author coded and analyzed the data from all three sets together. The author formed several categories and ultimately collapsed the categories into five distinct themes that illustrated and confirmed the social realities of the vice-principals in their schools and communities. Findings: Five key findings emerged from the analysis of the data sets. They were building leadership capacity, fostering positive relationships, increasing global awareness, reducing stress and anxiety and becoming a diversity champion and peace-builder. Originality/value: To this researcher’s knowledge, this paper contributes to a significant gap in the literature on vice-principals who serve in diverse schools and communities.
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    Integration of Bhutanese-Nepalese refugees in the schools of Fredericton, New Brunswick
    (University of New Brunswick, 2017) Khanal, Nigam; Sears, Alan; Hamm, Lyle
    This research explores the real experiences of young Bhutanese-Nepalese refugees who were admitted to Canada as Government Assisted Refugees (GAR). Five themes emerged during the research which helped me understand their struggle in schools :1) Language Barrier Leading to Frustration and Isolation; 2) Importance of ESL Classes; 3) Changing Dynamics Between the Teacher and Students; 4)The Importance of Sports for the Newcomers and 5)Hope and Resilience Among the Youths. The recommendations listed in the last chapter are in the words of the participants. They help us understand the current needs of the former young refugees across Canada and possibly frame policies which will help them have a sense of belonging in the school community and larger society.
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    ‘New Canadian’ Minority, Immigrant, and Refugee student leadership in New Brunswick and Alberta: “It’s more than just a tour”
    (2019) Hamm, Lyle
    Purpose: The federal Canadian government and its provincial counterparts have welcomed thousands of refugee and new immigrant families seeking safety from war and economic opportunities to help them get their lives back together. Most newcomers have settled in larger cities across Canada; however, rural regions and smaller “rurally-influenced” cities are also seeing large numbers of newcomers increasing the cultural, linguistic, religious and socio- economic diversity of their communities. This article examines ways that educators are including newcomer ‘new Canadian’ refugee and immigrant students and helping them adjust to their new social environments through leadership opportunities in their schools. Research Design and Methods: This comparative case study draws data from two projects that involved two large high schools – one school is in western Canada, and one was in New Brunswick. Both communities experienced sharp increases in immigration the past 10 years, which impacted the schools. Data were collected through surveys, semi-structured interviews and focus groups. The author used an iterative approach when constantly comparing the data and several key themes emerged in the process. Findings: Significant findings include: the importance of teacher leaders for newcomer students, parental connections with schools, intentionally constructing leadership opportunities, and honoring the dreams of students. Implications for Research and Practice: As schools continue to increase in diversity across Canada, particularly in provinces like New Brunswick where rapid demographic change through increasing immigration is still a recent phenomenon, the author argues that it is important for educators and school based leaders to acknowledge the leadership abilities of minoritized and newcomer students so they can be equally and equitably included in their schools and communities.
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    Pending Summative report for School A in collective case study: The impact and implications of immigration, demographic changes and increasing diversity on teachers and administrators in a New Brunswick high school context
    (2017) Hamm, Lyle; Oulette, KayLee; Hamm, Lauren
    This pending summative report is based on approximately seventeen (17) months of qualitative case study research in Eastern Coastal High School (pseudonym). The study was originally conceptualized as a collective case study consisting of four additional high schools within an Anglophone school district in New Brunswick. Recent and on-going global events since we began on April 22, 2015, have affected several planned stages of our data collection and analytical stages in this first inquiry. As a consequence, in February, 2016 when the school welcomed an influx of Syrian students and their families into the school community, our team decided to pull back and pause in the project. This decision was intentional and made in collaboration with our colleagues in the school who were part of and supporting this work. Many of our participants agreed with us that it was important to allow their colleagues abundant time to adjust to the flurry of recent demographic changes in the school. As a result we were unable to collect data from newcomer students. This student data set is an important part of this study, and it is our hope that the school and its administration will extend us one more data cycle in 2017 to acquire the perspectives of newcomer/new Canadian students. Case study research is bounded in time and place (Creswell, 1998; Stake, 1995); as researchers and educators, we are cognizant of the demands placed on educators and respect the reality that they and their students need to proceed with the daily rigor of teaching and learning. We have decided to report on selected data that we have collected in our inquiry in this pending summative report. We will not be able to report on all the data as a portion of it needs to be compared and substantiated with the student data. Further, if we attempt to write a full scale summative report, a monograph of many hundred pages may be produced and we believe it will not serve and support the efforts of the participants and their colleagues in the school. We do believe that our findings to date have the potential to make a valuable contribution to ongoing school and district planning so we report the main thematic findings in this report based on several categories we identified early in the study and developed into the thematic statements as the inquiry progressed.
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    Perceptions and roles of educators in an ethnoculturally diverse school
    (University of New Brunswick, 2018) Maston, Matthew T.D.; Hamm, Lyle
    This qualitative single-site case study was conducted within a large, ethnoculturally evolving secondary school in the Greater Moncton Area of New Brunswick, Canada. Using a constructivist framework, the purpose of this research was to gain insight into the perceptions educators have of this ethnoculturally diverse school context, the roles educators believe they have in this setting, and how supported they feel as educators within this new reality. Ten educator interviews were conducted with additional data collected that included observations of the site and documental evidence. It was found that participants held mostly positive attitudes of ethnoculturally diverse newcomers and have worked to build connections and implement strategies to work with these students. However, challenges do exist with language emerging as a critical theme. There is a need for further professional learning opportunities for educators, additional supports from higher-ups, and systemic considerations to be made.
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