Flourishing Teachers, Thriving Schools: Insights from Recently Retired School Division Leaders

• In Event: AERA Roundtable Session Wednesday 1:45 pm
  In Roundtable Session: Centering Teachers in Systems Improvement

Abstract

The global education system, including Canada and the United States, faces unprecedented sustainability challenges, with teacher shortages reaching critical levels and burnout rates at historic highs (UNESCO, 2024). While existing research extensively examines school-level leadership approaches to teacher well-being (Cann et al., 2021; Carroll et al., 2022; Ford et al., 2019; Kutsyuruba et al., 2021), a considerable gap remains in understanding how division-level leadership creates systemic conditions for educator flourishing at scale.
This qualitative study, grounded in critical narrative inquiry (Pino Gavidia & Adu, 2022), explores recently retired division leaders’ perspectives on organizational structures and practices that foster teacher flourishing. This study contributes to AERA’s 2026 theme by unforgetting retired leaders’ experiences to inform future-making grounded in historical understanding.

Author

• Karen Elaine Belter, Edmonton Public Schools