Indigenous women in educational leadership: identifying supportive contexts in Mi’kmaw Kina’matnewey

ABSTRACT

This article is drawn from a larger qualitative case study that examined the leadership context and leadership approaches of five Mi’kmaw women school principals in Mi’kmaw Kina’matnewey (MK), an Aboriginal educational authority, located in Nova Scotia, Canada. This article aims to identify the contextual supports within MK that have enabled Mi’kmaw women educators to obtain and retain positions as principals. The use of a decolonizing methodology positioned the participants to work in partnership with the researcher during data collection and analysis. Data collection and analysis involved the use of one-on-one and sharing circle conversations with the principals. Findings suggest that the social, cultural, and organizational contexts where women lead have had a significant influence on their lives. More specifically, familial, collegial, community, and organizational supports have enabled these women to hold positions as principals and enabled Mi’kmaw cultural revitalization to occur within their school communities. Although the contexts within MK are not reproducible, aspects of the supports within these contexts can be employed by schools and school districts to support the hiring and retention of minoritized members of society in educational leadership.

Acknowledgments

We are so privileged to have had the opportunity to work alongside Dawn Stevens, Denise Toney, Joanne Alex, Marjorie Pierro, and Newell Johnson with this research study. The tremendous trust they gave allowed us to learn with them about their lives and their communities. We know that we cannot speak for them and so our work is a reflection of their sharing of themselves and our shared understanding of who they are as leaders in their communities. We also acknowledge the funding support provided by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada to complete this research.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Correction Statement

This article has been republished with minor changes. These changes do not impact the academic content of the article.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada under Grant # 752-2015-1223.

Notes on contributors

Ingrid M. Robinson

Dr. Ingrid M. Robinson, PhD is an Assistant Professor in the Faculty of Education, St. Francis Xavier University, Antigonish, Canada. Her research interests focus on Aboriginal educational leadership, women and educational leadership, culturally relevant pedagogy, citizenship education, and social studies education.

Robert E. White

Dr. Robert E. White, PhD is an Associate Professor in the Faculty of Education, St. Francis Xavier University, Antigonish, Canada. His research interests include literacy, learning and leadership, and globalization.

Daniel B. Robinson

Dr. Daniel B. Robinson, PhD is An Associate Professor and Chair of Teacher Education at St. Francis Xavier University, Antigonish, Canada. His research focuses on culturally responsive physical education, gender and racialized minorities, service learning, and in-school health promotion programming.