Ontario School Administrators' Insight and Self-Reflection: An Exploration of the Influence of Expressive Writing and the Luminaspark Inventory on Self-Awareness

• In Event: Leading in a Time of Crisis

Abstract

Overview: Effective school leadership remains an ambiguous concept associated with an extensive body of research literature. Over the past several decades, the school administrator role has intensified and shifted into a tangle of responsibilities that leaves a leader unsure of their impact and focus. Two current workload studies of Ontario Elementary Administrators, sponsored by the Ontario Principals’ Council (OPC), the University of Western Ontario (UW) and the Institute of Education Leadership (IEL) align with this reality. These studies indicate Ontario administrators acknowledge that relationship-building skills are vital to the interpersonally intense school-administrator role and report that operational demands typically take up 90% of administrators’ time, which leaves inadequate margins for connection, conversation, and coaching of staff (Leithwood & Azah, 2014). In addition, administrators identified the need for “reassurance of worth, reliable alliances, and opportunities for professional development and nurturance to carry out the job effectively” (Leithwood & Azah, 2014, p. 6).

Using third-party recruitment, a small sample of Ontario elementary administrators were randomly divided into two intervention groups: a) LuminaSpark and b) expressive writing. Group A digitally completed the LuminaSpark© psychometric assessment, received their profile and participated in a full-day workshop over six weeks. Group B completed six expressive digital writing experiences over the three weeks totalling 50 expressive writing artifacts. The 20 minutes of expressive writing was a free flow digital writing experience with no attention being paid to grammar, word choice or structure initiated through specific writing prompts. Preliminary coding analysis was completed to identify emergent themes in Qualtrics in order to frame the mixed methods data analysis measuring the fidelity of implementation and research question outcomes. Results indicate the LuminaSpark© and expressive writing interventions provided a mirror to help educators cultivate self-awareness to lead authentically.
In conclusion, Ontario school administrators' and educators’ work-intensified reality (Leithwood, 2014; Pollock, 2017), as recognized before the COVID constraints in education, demands that well-being be prioritized through a recursive Audaemonist Leadership model© to cultivate authentic leading by fostering self-awareness,

Author

• Lisa Devall-Martin, Redeemer University College