Steps- 1 and 2
People belonging to the Aboriginal groups in the remote areas of Canada have been getting involved and increasing their participation in vocational training and education at increased rates with the advancement of technology and education in all spheres of the world. However, it has been observed that the learning ability or the retention power of the students belonging to the Aboriginal groups with disabilities is found to be belonging to the lower socio-economic backgrounds. These groups also happen to belong to the rural areas. I was able to observe that such students belonging to such backgrounds and groups were having diminished learning which denotes the fact that these groups of students are slower in obtaining the leanings or lessons that are taught during the academic hours in the institution (Fabes, et al., 2013).
The educational environment where I work deals with providing educational programs for developing and enhancing dynamic and best-performing leadership for ensuring that the graduates receive and acquire skills that are tangible and can be put to implementation immediately (Gherasim, Butnaru&Mairean, 2013). Graduates are given platforms to be well prepared for applying the methods of those data-driven, strategies for developing, evaluating, implementing, and researching the programs associated with education.
It was found that the students belonging to the lower socio-economic status had less than a 50 percent chance of going to higher education than the students belonging to the higher socio-economic status. Around 25 percent of the students belonging to Aboriginal groups residing in the rural areas of the country and having lower socio-economic status, were found to have diminished leanings in leadership education. It was also found that the rates of participation of the students belonging to Aboriginal groups with lower socio-economic status from the rural background decreased from 15.1 percent to 14.6 percent from the years 2011 to 2006 (Häfner, Oberst& Stock, 2014). It was also observed that the rate of retention of the students belonging to the rural areas and the Aboriginal groups had a decrease of around 7 percent to 10 percent low in comparison to the students belonging to the urban backgrounds.
All of the decreases in the above rates incurred due to diminishing learning and losing confidence in them regarding retaining knowledge (Hyland, 2014). It was also found from the assessments of the teachers in the institute that in the years between 2001 and 2005, evidence stated that there was a reduced difference in the retention rate among the students belonging to the Aboriginal group along with lower socio-economic groups.
Only 30 percent of the students belonging to the Indigenous groups such as the Aboriginal group attained higher secondary education. The Canadian students belonging to the Aboriginal group would only account for 1.2 percent who receive higher education from the entire population of 2.3 percent of the Indigenous population which is completely due to the diminishing learning of the Aboriginal students (Lau, et al., 2014).
Step-3
The educational institution where I happen to work has been integrating specialized seminars which are completely in the orientation of the establishment of the requirement of the specialized education programs and sessions imparted to the students belonging to the Aboriginal group, lower socio-economic background, and rural background to make them comfortable in retaining the knowledge. The format of these special sessions or classes was to teach and impart the Aboriginal students the lessons regarding leadership studies at a comparatively slow pace so that these students shall be able to obtain the knowledge presented to them (Madjar, Nave & Hen, 2013). This seminar and sessions also have been helping the students in building a healthier and more amicable relationship with their faculties which is helping them to grasp the knowledge in a better way.
The sessions also include seminars that are only meant for the teachers and professors which recommended the professionalism of the faculty body working for the enhanced learning of the students belonging to the Aboriginal groups through various kinds of conferences, professional associations, and professional journals. The program also included curriculum materials for leadership learning that were especially targeted for the better comprehension of the studies by the students belonging to the Aboriginal groups and diminishing learning (Patel, 2014).
These seminars have also been correcting the attitudes of the teachers who are non-Aboriginals and their need to be aware culturally which is eventually posing an impact on the learning ability of the students belonging to the Aboriginal group and lower socio-economic background in the rural areas. The training sessions also highlighted the pro-diversity approach in providing training regarding leadership which could successfully bring out changes and improvement in the analysis of the discriminatory behaviors and attitudes among both the teachers and the students. The development of the education and training programs was considered to be very much necessary for both enhancing the learning abilities of the students belonging to the Aboriginal groups along with informing teachers regarding changes and modifications in the behavior of the faculties towards such students.
The role of positional leadership came into play during the management of the training and educational sessions and explained to the Aboriginal students the need for attending such sessions for their development from an authority position (Putwain& Daly, 2014). The role of informal educational leadership came into significance during the one on one explanation of the lessons to the students who wanted to understand the chapters personally and when the teachers and trainers wanted to build friendly relationships with the students.
The key reasons for the success of the separate training and educational session are the special feelings that the students belonging to the Aboriginal community and lower socio-economic and rural background could feel which they were unable to experience during the general classes with the other students. However, it is very much required to be aware of the fact that these students should not be given treated so special that they would cease to get trained and educated with the general students (Tondeur, et al., 2013).
Step-4
Through various types of research, it has been found that the students belonging to the Aboriginal group, lower socio-economic background, and belong to rural areas have the highest rate of dropouts from their respective educational institutions. The most important factor that has been; leading the list of the causes that lead to such cases is the diminishing learning and the inability to understand and keep up with the pace of learning of et general students.
The cost of diminishing learning for society as a whole and the Aboriginal students is specific is huge. In a country like Canada, without proper leadership and communication skills, students and candidates, in general, are denied the opportunity to get recruited, promoted, or trained in any work organization (van Dinther, et al., 2014). Moreover, it has also been found from extensive research that the students from the Aboriginal groups along with the other general people have been denied of getting access to a general structure of career and education. These aspects have been posing negative implications for the youth and their families. It is posing stress on the individuals their families, and students belonging to the Aboriginal grouse in general.
The young people in the Aboriginal community are often acquiring the position of becoming the youth at higher risk along with experiencing other social issues such as suicide. As the rate of unemployment is already very high on reserves, the youth, moreover the Aboriginal youth with lower skills of leadership abilities are left with very limited options, other than becoming burdens to society and communities. The percentage of students belonging to the Aboriginal communities who receive assistance from society is approximately five times higher than the entire population of Canada (Wallace & Newton, 2014).
The cause for the failure of the education system to fulfill the requirements of so many students belonging to the Aboriginal background has its roots in the experience of education of these Natives. The blame can be put partially on colonialism, which is an attitude that claims for existing toward the natives of Canada at the present age. The role of the elders was very critical and was accountable for teaching lessons to their children and their children were always taught to be in the proximity of the adults and learn through various observations. This has affected the ability of the students belonging to the native community like Aboriginals regarding having fast theoretical learning. By determining the reasons for the students to have diminishing learning, potential initiatives can be identified and measures can be devised for preventing them from being in the pattern of diminishing learning.
The factors that were associated with the diminishing learning of the students belonging to the Aboriginal community were majorly lower socio-economic status and rural background (Wilkins, Shams &Huisman, 2013). The parents of these students also were observed to not have an adequate educational qualifications which further added to the diminishing confidence among the students belonging to the Aboriginal natives. These students have been found to project poor results in their educational and leadership tests. The students belonging to the native groups, especially Aboriginals have also been observed to have low performance in academics, retention in grades, absenteeism, issues in discipline, and along with losing interest in developing leadership abilities and skills.
Execution of various specialized training programs for the students belonging to the Aboriginal groups, having lower socio-economic status, and belonging to the rural background would require a seamless continuum of assistance and support in the form of services from key stakeholders like the government and other agencies and other than the teachers, special trainers, other authorities of the school, board of the schools, service organizations and agencies along with NGOs (Wallace & Newton, 2014).
The key stakeholder for the success of this process of intervention is the government of the country it can devise a proper and inclusive system of education that would take accountability for all the students belonging to the Aboriginal groups, having a disability, belonging to the lower socio-economic status and rural background. The government would render its participation by getting aware of the facts at the ground level and can devise policies and structures which would focus on the strengths of these students and assist in optimizing the intervention process which would assist in their abilities instead of their limitations (Wilkins, Shams &Huisman, 2013).
The participation of the government would enhance the sharing of the commitment of the process of intervention-oriented towards the enhancement of learning of these students. The key stakeholders including the school authorize and the board of school has a major role to play as they would provide the equipment and make the necessary arrangements for the conduction of special sessions and training for the students belonging to the Aboriginal group, lower socio-economic status, rural background, disability, and diminishing learning.
The school authority would be assisting the conduction of such classes by providing effective and enhanced tools and resources for the programs of study. The NGOs and other service organizations would assist in spreading awareness as well as suggesting refined strategies for the assessment of the growth and progress of the sessions and training program (Putwain& Daly, 2014).
The devising of the policies by the government at all the levels of state, local, and province would help in the implementation of a potentially inclusive system of education that would instigate every individual to work and think differently. This can be achieved by the implementation of the policies devised by the government through the devising of a very strategic and collaborative model which will be based on collective accountability for the leadership success of each student having diminished learning (Madjar, Nave & Hen, 2013).
The government would be able to support the services for these students which will be delivered collaboratively in the most natural and logical frameworks to encompass the student with diminished learning. The government, through its policies, can provide support and efforts that will be needed to expand the potential of the education system to integrate such special sessions and training programs about leadership skills that will act as a response to the requirements of all the students (Häfner, Oberst& Stock, 2014).
There are possibilities for these specialized programs to be confronted by challenges such as cultural differences and improper management. Many trainers and teachers providing these special classes may not be skilled and acquainted with the native language of the Aboriginals. The native students may not be receptive to the language and another language for communication completely. Moreover, the improper coordination between different departments, the board of the school, NGOs, and government can hinder the conduction of such programs (Gherasim, Butnaru&Mairean, 2013).
These challenges can be eradicated by the teachers and trainers getting themselves properly trained in the native language of the Aboriginals and building amicable relationships and chemistry with the students which will help the students in feeling comfortable in learning leadership skills. The management and the authority of the school need to be careful regarding proper coordination between various departments so that the training sessions and special classes can be conducted without any intervention (Häfner, Oberst& Stock, 2014). The board and authority of the school also need to maintain consistent and coordinated relationships and communication with both governmental and non-governmental organizations for extensive support and assistance.
The data collection plan for the intervention of the special training session and programs for the students with diminished learning in leadership skills included interviews with the parents of the students along with the students, members of the native community including the Aboriginal groups, native students’ administrators and the assessments of the school teachers and the trainers. The interviewees were invited for responding beyond the queries and questions. Their responses were analyzed and transcribed for framing the themes. The data and conclusions were derived from the interviews and assessments. It was found that only 44 percent of the Aboriginal students completed the leadership courses.
The strategy undertaken to assess the effectiveness was regular tests and analysis of the feedback from the trainers and the trainers have proven to be very effective (Madjar, Nave & Hen, 2013). The Aboriginal students were found to undertake leadership skills training due to industrial needs. Around 78. 4 percent were found to be underperforming and having diminished learning. After the inclusion of the intervention programming for enhancing the learning of the Aboriginal students, it was found that the learning of these students increased by 75 percent.
Step-5
Leadership for the concept of social justice incorporates the facilitation of the moral amalgamation of high achievement in academics and affirming relationships with Aboriginal students from socio-economic backgrounds and levels of abilities along with keeping the epistemological awareness, practice, and value orientation towards social justice. It is also been characterized by the alerting and fighting of institutionalized discrimination, inequalities, and injustices that take advantage of a few students and pose damage to much more.
These theories of leadership for social justice facilitate the underlying beliefs and purposes of the principal leaders of the trainers’ learning (Häfner, Oberst& Stock, 2014). However, this concept has not emphasized the principal leadership on the professional development of the teachers and the trainers or surprisingly on the learning of the Aboriginal students for social justice. Ensuring the facilitation of social justice in the institutions providing training regarding leadership skills is observed to be closely associated with the leadership behaviors of the administrators of the schools.
The schools comprise different teachers, trainers, and students in terms of various factors such as gender, ethnicity, and gender. Fostering and ensuring social justice in the social environment of these kinds is very crucial for trainers and teachers for having an understanding of the social justice concept and demonstrating suitable behaviors (Wilkins, Shams &Huisman, 2013).
Strengths in the proposed intervention can be reflected in the way trainers and teachers build amicable relationships with the students belonging to the Aboriginal community, lower socio-economic status, students with disability, and belonging to rural backgrounds. The strength of the proposed intervention could also be observed from the increase in the confidence level of the students along with an increased sense of leadership which they can be able to practice during their industrial services (Wallace & Newton, 2014).
The potential pitfalls in the proposed intervention can be the disproportionate ratio of the number of teachers and trainers to the number of students in the institution providing training in leadership skills. If the number of trainers and teachers available to take these special training sessions for the Aboriginal and disabled students, then the provision of training will not be effective and the conduction of the special classes cannot be fruitful. To have effective and equal imparting of the training, it is very much necessary that the ratio of teacher or trainer to the students in one session is less.
The collection of data through the research study used mixed design methods that included a series of qualitative interviews that were conducted with the help of the stakeholders. The data collection helped in devising ways regarding enhancing the learning of Aboriginal students belonging to lower socio-economic status and rural backgrounds, even of the students who happened to have certain kinds of disabilities (Madjar, Nave & Hen, 2013).
The data collection assisted in getting an overall idea regarding the completion of the leadership course and training that will be helpful to the students during their industrial recruitment. The indicators of success could also be recognized due to the collection of data as the figures and other data that assisted in the provision of enhanced training in the institution. The special training sessions and classes were guided in the knowledge of the stakeholders with the representatives from every department (Putwain& Daly, 2014).
These enhanced training sessions would help the students belonging to the Aboriginal communities, students from lower socio-economic status, and rural backgrounds in having high chances of getting recruited by various organizations such as government and private departments. They would also gain ideas regarding how to provide services, such as being training providers, service providers, etc. the function of the special classes and training sessions would also guide various aspects of the research that would include the involvement of the educators and other stakeholders, along with other students which would assist in the overall growth of the students and other students also.
The role of leading for social justice in the planned intervention stems back to the roots of improvement of the quality of education and life among the students and people belonging to the Aboriginal community, from rural and lower socio-economic backgrounds. The role of leadership is very significant in the provision of social justice in the planned intervention as devising and conducting programs for the enhancement and development of the people who belong to the backward and underdeveloped community is a major change (Tondeur, et al., 2013).
To have effective leadership implications on the intervention, several references have to be taken to achieve success in bringing social and educational equality. Instructional leadership is oriented toward the intense involvement of the authorities and other individuals in the instructional and curricular issues which would directly affect the achievement of the students. The instructional leadership in this case would include the prioritization of the individuals, authorities, and government regarding conducting and implementing the special session for the Aboriginal students. Moreover, the instructional leadership would also encompass the research regarding Aboriginal students in a scientific approach. Effective instruction and information reading scientifically would assist in the better selection and implementation of the special session and classes. Through the implementation of the transformational leadership approach, changes in the Aboriginal students’ attitudes and behavior along with their learning abilities can be brought in a positive way. This would happen with the enhancement of motivation, performance, and morale of the Aboriginal students through a wide variety of techniques.
To bring changes in society in the orientation of providing development needs a lot of leadership abilities. Through such changes in society at large, students, as well as people, can obtain various perspectives of opportunities for growth in their life as a whole. It would enhance the confidence and available opportunities for the people belonging to the backward and underdeveloped sections of society as being a leader would instill leadership abilities in other individuals to a great extent.
References
Fabes, R. A., Pahlke, E., Martin, C. L., &Hanish, L. D. (2013). Gender-segregated schooling and gender stereotyping. Educational Studies, 39(3), 315-319.
Gherasim, L. R., Butnaru, S., &Mairean, C. (2013). Classroom environment, achievement goals, and maths performance: gender differences. Educational Studies, 39(1), 1-12.
Häfner, A., Oberst, V., & Stock, A. (2014).Avoiding procrastination through time management: An experimental intervention study. Educational Studies, 40(3), 352-360.
Hyland, T. (2014).Mindfulness-based interventions and the affective domain of education. Educational Studies, 40(3), 277-291.
Lau, H. H., Hsu, H. Y., Acosta, S., & Hsu, T. L. (2014). Impact of participation in extra-curricular activities during college on graduate employability: an empirical study of graduates of Taiwanese business schools. Educational Studies, 40(1), 26-47.
Madjar, N., Nave, A., & Hen, S. (2013). Are teachers’ psychological control, autonomy support, and autonomy suppression associated with students’ goals?☆. Educational Studies, 39(1), 43-55.
Patel, L. (2014). Countering coloniality in educational research: From ownership to answerability. Educational Studies, 50(4), 357-377.
Putwain, D., & Daly, A. L. (2014). Test anxiety prevalence and gender differences in a sample of English secondary school students. Educational Studies, 40(5), 554-570.
Tondeur, J., Roblin, N. P., van Braak, J., Fisser, P., &Voogt, J. (2013). Technological pedagogical content knowledge in teacher education: In search of a new curriculum. Educational Studies, 39(2), 239-243.
vanDinther, M., Dochy, F., Segers, M., &Braeken, J. (2014). Student perceptions of assessment and student self-efficacy in competency-based education. Educational Studies, 40(3), 330-351.
Wallace, M. J., & Newton, P. M. (2014).Turnaround time and market capacity in contract cheating. Educational Studies, 40(2), 233-236.
Wilkins, S., Shams, F., &Huisman, J. (2013). The decision-making and changing behavioral dynamics of potential higher education students: the impacts of increasing tuition fees in England. Educational Studies, 39(2), 125-141.
