Researcher's site: Dr. Jacqueline Kirk

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Contact Information

Email: kirkj@brandonu.ca

Research Interests

My research is grounded in Educational Leadership within the school and within the community. Experience working both as a school principal and as part of a school division administrative team has motivated me to have a general curiosity of developing different ways to bring people together and encouraged me to think deeply about positive leadership strategies that build community, especially within communities that struggle to grow as a result of their diverse demographic elements. Emerging from my work as a school principal, I am interested in developing both the recognition for school administrators in their role as the first point of contact for members of the school community, who find themselves in crisis for a variety of reasons. I believe that the intensity and frequency of these discussions necessitates the need for school principals to be trained to know how to respond to those in crisis. Although we train principals to have a variety of skills to "fix" problems, make decisions, or address issues within the school, when individuals in crisis share their pain with the school principal, the leader needs to be skilled in listening and responding in a way that is more reflective of individuals that work in the helping professions.

Recently, I have had several opportunities to explore Duo-Ethnographic methodology and I have become very excited about how the process changes the way that I consider difficult and divisive issues, like social justice or racism, for example. In collaboration with a research partner, I have started to explore how the foundational discussion strategy from Duo-Ethnography research can be used as a way to build more caring and empathetic communities.

In the past, my work has had strong connections to leaders' transitions during change (school division amalgamation, for example) and to technology in education (both technology integration and the use of social media for learning). I continue to work in these areas of interest when I have an opportunity. Additionally, I completed a study during the pandemic that renewed my interest in the work of the classroom teacher and our role as teacher educators.

Research Area

Leadership in Education, Caring and Empathetic Leadership, School Division Amalgamation, Duo-Ethnography Methodology

Keywords

Educational Leadership; Building Inclusive Communities; Caring and Empathetic Leadership; Duo-Ethnography; Caring and Empathetic Communities; Teacher Education; Technology in Education; School Division Amalgamation; Professional Development in Education; Roles of the School Principal; Leaders' Transitions; Rural Education; Rural Education Leadership

Field(s)

Leadership & Educational Administration

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