Papers by Sabre Cherkowski
A paper presented at CASEA for CSSE, May 28-Jun 1, Calgary, AB
Journal of Professional Capital and Community, 2018
Purpose – This paper documents findings from a qualitative research project on flourishing in sch... more Purpose – This paper documents findings from a qualitative research project on flourishing in schools using a positive organizational research approach. The purpose of this paper is to uncover and bring to description
educators’ experiences of the conditions, forces and influencing factors for flourishing in their context. The main objectives were to inform research and practice in school improvement from a positive perspective,
provide knowledge and practice about noticing and growing well-being for educators and to encourage an attention on individual and collective well-being as an organizational imperative.
Design/methodology/approach – To gain a rich description of what it means for educators to feel a sense of flourishing in their work, the researchers used qualitative, case study methods and appreciative research activities. For the case study reported on in this paper, data were collected through open-ended, appreciative, focus group conversations and researcher observations in the participants’ classrooms. Conversations were recorded and transcribed. The researchers analyzed the transcripts using an iterative process of coding, categorizing and abstracting data.
Findings – Participants grew their adaptive communities through balancing structures (collaboration, purpose, administrator support) with flexibilities (synergy, creativity, tinkering, friendships) for adaptation and co-creation. Well-being was connected with feeling collegial support, care, shared meaning and engagement and where positive relationships were central in their work. These relational conditions seemed to contribute to building a social container that promoted flourishing. This led to innovation as teachers worked together in ways that promoted their learning and growth as a group, and increased their sense of vitality in their work. The researchers found that the principal plays a vital role in fostering, encouraging and sustaining conditions for teachers to cultivate adaptive community.
Research limitations/implications – While small in scale and not generalizable across contexts, this research offers particular examples of what is working well for these teachers. Insights from these examples are
intended to be generative, potentially resonating with and inspiring others to examine the possible benefits and potentials that may come from a positive approach to research and practice in school improvement in their own contexts. Engaging in positive organizational research in schools led to new insights on the work of teaching, learning and leading in schools. The researchers suggest that this positive, appreciative and generative
perspective offers potentials and benefits for new understandings on school improvement.
Practical implications – The findings from this case study indicate that more attention is needed to supporting educators to cultivate the conditions necessary to experience rich and meaningful relationships
within which they will thrive, grow and innovate in their teaching. At a system level, the authors argue for a re-orientation of schools toward well-being and a more holistic and human-development perspective on schooling.
Social implications – Currently and internationally, schooling is under re-design as the authors learn more about the need to organize the schools in ways that encourage the kinds of teaching and learning necessary to
prepare young people for an increasingly unpredictable future. The findings from this study highlight the importance of attending to teacher well-being as a fundamental aspect of encouraging the kind of teaching
needed for the kinds of learning desired in schools across all contexts.
Originality/value – This case study provides the findings that illustrate the potential and benefits of research on school organizations from a positive organizational perspective. Additionally, this study is a reminder of the systemic nature of all living systems, such as schools, and the associated need to ensure well-being for all members of the learning community.
International Journal of Leadership in Education: Theory and Practice , 2014
Ideas about human flourishing, once the purview of philosophy, have crossed disciplinary lines an... more Ideas about human flourishing, once the purview of philosophy, have crossed disciplinary lines and these notions are being taken up in research in the social sciences such as psychology and organizational studies. Schools have long been the domain of those attend- ing to factors allied to children’s flourishing, and educational researchers have endeavoured to associate with efforts to study the conditions for flourishing settings designed for learning. In this conceptual article, the authors argue that the recent generation of positive frame- works for human flourishing provides the language and insights for engaging new questions about how best to develop communities of belonging, connectedness and compassion in schools. They further proffer that these refreshed perspectives and complementary research findings have much to contribute to the development of school improvement research agenda, based on positive principles of learning, positive psychologies and allied theories related to flourishing.
Teacher Development, 2018
This article documents the first year of a qualitative case study investigating the experiences o... more This article documents the first year of a qualitative case study investigating the experiences of reciprocal learning teams of teachers within a small, rural secondary school. The purpose of this study was to examine how teachers experienced collaborative professional development (PD) and how their experiences contributed to developing the culture and structure of their school. Collected data were analyzed using an iterative process of coding, categorizing, and abstracting data. Three themes emerged: (a) self- and co-regulated learning in teams invigorated collegial relationships and contributed to a sense of agency toward change at the school level; (b) differentiating support for collaborative inquiry among teachers and within teams is critical; and (c) creating structures to support collaborative inquiry among teachers engages teachers in their ongoing professional learning. This case study of a rural secondary school demonstrates how deep and substantial school change can happen when teachers co-construct and co-regulate their PD.
Professional development for teacher educators must recognize and account for how aspects of our ... more Professional development for teacher educators must recognize and account for how aspects of our pedagogies often run counter to institutional, managerial, and bureaucratic demands. We need professional development that nurtures our minds, hearts, and spirits, and that is congruent with our values. In this paper, three teacher educators who co-teach an intensive, interdisciplinary, inquiry-based semester in a secondary teacher education program, explore how collaborative approaches to narrative forms of inquiry and reflexive analysis supported them to enact their learning, as well as helped them to surface the situated, complex, and emergent aspects of their own—as well as their students’—identities.
Peer-Reviewed Articles by Sabre Cherkowski
International Journal of Teacher Leadership, 2018
This special issue started as a conversation about what has occurred in teacher leadership since ... more This special issue started as a conversation about what has occurred in teacher leadership since York-Barr and Duke’s (2004) seminal review. We aimed to explore what has been happening, and to identify promising avenues for “what’s next” for teacher leader research and practice. We knew we wanted the special issue to be both a reflection on where we have been and the work that we have done as a community of scholars, as well as a look forward to developing teacher leader roles and responsibilities, ways of being and acting, and potential models for future collaboration among researchers and practitioners. We believe that the articles in this special issue addressing the theme, "Re-visioning teacher leadership for the 21st Century: What's next?" provide engaging insights that will help move forward this question.
International Journal of Teacher Leadership, 2018
Linking theory and research on positive psychology and positive organisational scholarship, with ... more Linking theory and research on positive psychology and positive organisational scholarship, with a focus on positive leadership, this article provides a conceptualisation of teacher leadership as an intentional reflective process of learning to grow wellbeing for self and others. Aligned with increasing international research on the importance of wellbeing in schools, the author suggests teacher leadership may have a role to play in cultivating school cultures that foster wellbeing for all. In this way, teacher leadership is assumed to be a mindset, a way of seeing the work of leadership as an opportunity to build collective capacity for growing wellbeing as central to school improvement work. Further research is needed to determine the benefits and potentials of developing and supporting positive teacher leadership in schools.
Journal of Authentic Leadership in Education, 2018
Journal of the Canadian Association of Curriculum Studies, 2015
Overview In this qualitative self--study, we explore how curriculum theory informed the learning... more Overview In this qualitative self--study, we explore how curriculum theory informed the learning of teacher candidates within an intensive semester that serves as the foundation for a Secondary Teacher Education Program (STEP). Wanting to immerse teacher candidates in educational theory and position them as learning professionals from the first days of their program, we engaged them with the work of eleven curriculum theorists (Appendix A). Guiding questions for this inquiry include: How did teacher candidates take up and negotiate theory as part of their
This study raises the question of how the Canadian educational system can avoid promoting cultura... more This study raises the question of how the Canadian educational system can avoid promoting cultural or ideological racism in a student population that is increasingly Indigenous and immigrant. It responds to this question by pointing to the need to expand knowledge systems in teacher education programs, presenting a multi-thematic discussion that explores how contemporary ways of teaching and learning can be transformed into a diverse, sustainable, and global curriculum. The focus of the article is on school culture, specifically the Aboriginal way of knowing about language-learning, creating multicultural teachers, leadership for a culture of inclusion and diversity, and the idea of resistance to change.
Schools do not always reflect the diverse cultural reality of our global societies. Educational l... more Schools do not always reflect the diverse cultural reality of our global societies. Educational leadership is an essential component of establishing school culture. Ensuring school leaders reflect deeply on the issues of diversity, multiculturalism and how leadership plays a role in constructing cultures that inhibit or promote inclusion as a way of life is an essential component of creating sustainable changes in our schools. However, leadership is no longer the sole purview of the principal or vice-principal. This article provides new lenses for viewing the notion of educational leadership and argues that creating conditions for increased leadership capacity among teachers in a learning community is an essential component of developing learning cultures where issues of diversity, multiculturalism, sustainability, and inclusion are explored and addressed.
Are you looking for an innovative, fun way to incorporate physical activity into your elementary ... more Are you looking for an innovative, fun way to incorporate physical activity into your elementary classroom? In January 2011, an Integral Yoga session was offered to primary age students as a component of the British Columbia’s Ministry of Education Daily Physical Activity (DPA) initiative. The DPA initiative implements 30 minutes of daily physical activity for students up to Grade 9. Yoga was chosen as a daily physical activity because of the overwhelming research indicating that it can help develop flexibility, strength, endurance, agility, balance, coordination and cardiovascular health (Birdee, Legedza, & Philips, 2007; Khalsa, 2007; Moliver, 2011; Tran, Holly, Lashbrook, & Amsterdam, 2001). Specifically, Integral Yoga, is a Hatha Yoga practice that incorporates a holistic approach to physical activity by focusing on overall mind-emotional- body-spiritual union through pranayama (breath-control exercises), asana (physical yoga), and chanda (meditation).
NASSP BUlletin, 2001
In education today there is a growing appreciation for the significance of effective in-school le... more In education today there is a growing appreciation for the significance of effective in-school leadership. In addition, one can appreciate the fact that little effort is being made toward improving ways for preparing principals for this critical leadership role. This article explores behaviors that constitute effective leadership and suggests that mentoring combined with creativity have the potential to positively affect leadership styles.
LEARNing Landscapes, 2011
The authors advocate professional inquiry as purposeful, site-based learning for teacher leaders ... more The authors advocate professional inquiry as purposeful, site-based learning for teacher leaders and school administrators. A key argument, social symmetry, proposes that creating engaged, inquiring learners requires teachers to own their learning through professional inquiry. A four-meeting model scaffolds collaborative inquiry from problem framing, through experimentation, and toward new convictions and commitments.The design of this professional inquiry platform has been informed by action research and school improvement and inspired by 21 st Century Learning. F ormative assessment experts have advocated a series of instructional innovations, from clear learning intentions and criteria to descriptive feedback and goal setting, all aimed at developing students who own their learning (Kaser & Halbert, NPBS website, n.d.; Black & Wiliam, 1998). Learners who have achieved the ultimate goal, a sense of ownership, understand their unique strengths and needs and routinely identify personalized goals. Familiar with inquiry processes, these students can frame and pursue personally meaningful topics of investigation and share their discoveries in their own confident voice (Brown, Klein, & Lapadat, 2009). They know what they want to work on next and their learning has been energized by the ability to make these choices. Recent case studies have established that developing school-wide student ownership of learning in an elementary school is indeed possible and of great benefit to the young learners (Koehn, 2011).
Physical & Health Education Academic Journal , 2012
The aim of this pilot project was to determine if Yoga, as a daily physical activity (DPA), promo... more The aim of this pilot project was to determine if Yoga, as a daily physical activity (DPA), promotes elements of physical literacy in primary school children. Using an Integral Education framework, we examined educational behaviours, educational experiences, educational cultures and educational systems of the teacher and the students. Within the parameters of a short-term observational study, one co-researcher observed the Yoga practice and a second co-researcher observed the level of physical literacy of the grade one students. We found that Yoga can be an innovative way of engaging grade one students in daily physical activity, that the development of certain types of physical literacy can engender positive self esteem and self confidence, and can promote the development of perceptive and empathetic interaction with the self and with others.
Journal of Educational Administration , 2012
Purpose – This study aims to establish the use of active scholar assessment (ASA) in the field of... more Purpose – This study aims to establish the use of active scholar assessment (ASA) in the field of education leadership as a new methodology in ranking administration and leadership journals. The secondary purpose of this study is to respond to the paucity of research on journal ranking in educational administration and leadership. Design/methodology/approach – This empirical study uses on-line survey research methods with analysis of variance (ANOVA) statistical analysis. Findings – The main findings of this study are: ASA minimizes noted limitations in peer assessment studies; publishing rates and years of service do not significantly influence quality assessment bias; ASA provides a comprehensive and fair assessment of journals; and ASA responds to established criteria as a new, independent system for journal ranking. This study also provides current rankings of educational administration and leadership journals. Research limitations/implications – This study points to the importance of continued research using ASA in journal assessment in education and other social sciences. Originality/value – This study provides a new methodology in assessing journal quality, awareness, and importance to the field for journals in educational administration and leadership.
Canadian Journal of Education , 2012
The findings from this qualitative case study reveal how a principal's demonstration of compassio... more The findings from this qualitative case study reveal how a principal's demonstration of compassion and deep care towards his teachers was influential in the participants' renewed desire for a greater commitment to and improvement of their craft. Understanding how school leaders can nourish and sustain passion and commitment is an essential area of research on learning communities. Exploring the impact of emotions in leadership is highlighted as an important consideration for fostering conditions for sustainable learning communities. Résumé Les résultats de cette étude de cas qualitative révèlent à quel point la manifestation de compassion et l'attention profonde de la part d'un principal envers les professeurs ont eu une influence dans le désir renouvelé des participants pour un plus grand engagement et une amélioration de leur métier. Comprendre comment les chefs d'établissement peuvent nourrir et maintenir la passion et l'engagement est un domaine essentiel de la recherche sur les communautés d'apprentissage. Explorer l'impact des émotions dans le leadership est souligné comme étant un facteur important dont il faut tenir compte afin d'encourager les conditions favorables à l'établissement de communautés d'apprentissage durables.
Northwest Journal of Teacher Education, 2013
In this article, the authors unpack taken-for-granted elements in a question central to their res... more In this article, the authors unpack taken-for-granted elements in a question central to their research and teaching: “What if the primary role of teachers is to learn how to thrive as educators and, in so doing, to continually co-explore and facilitate all means by which everyone in their learning communities flourishes most of the time?” As they explore a positive orientation to teaching and research, they work to understand the potential for generative and positive growth in themselves and school communities. Their article focuses upon seeking to create and sustain personal and professional flourishing at the heart of educational practice and consider how flourishing may be central to what it means to become a teacher.
Journal of Educational Administration and Foundations, 2013
In this conceptual article, the authors suggest that, in tune with the movement in popular cultur... more In this conceptual article, the authors suggest that, in tune with the movement in popular culture towards intentionally creating a more compassionate and caring society , we ought to increasingly focus research with schools on factors and forces related to helping schools becoming more compassionate, caring, and positive organizations. The authors claim that there is a critical mass of scholarship that encourages us to give enhanced attention to what is working, researching what gives life, focusing on what we want more of, and figuring out how to develop and sustain thriving communities. Viewing school improvement research through positive lenses offers a different and complementary model of traditional school improvement perspectives. The authors suggest that a focus on the human capabilities, capacities, and potentials of the school organization—attending to the human flourishing—can be an important component of developing sustainable learning communities within which students and their teachers thrive. positive school improvement, flourishing learning communities, compassion in school organizations
Canadian Journal of Education , 2013
This narrative study of four administrators in British Columbia was an initial investigation of d... more This narrative study of four administrators in British Columbia was an initial investigation of distributed leadership using their provincial leadership standards as an organizing framework. Participants described their understanding and practice of distributed leadership. Three themes were identified: the importance of (a) sharing vision for distributed leadership, (b) leading with character and integrity, and (c) helping others find their leadership voices. Participants’ use of formal structural designs for creating and sustaining distributed leadership reflected a set of purposeful administrative practices of distributing leadership, particularly when it pertained to distribution of responsibility for developing instructional leadership capacity in their schools. The practice of establishing distributed leadership was found to be coherent with the development of a sustainable learning community and with the moral stewardship emphasis of the provincial standards.
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Papers by Sabre Cherkowski
educators’ experiences of the conditions, forces and influencing factors for flourishing in their context. The main objectives were to inform research and practice in school improvement from a positive perspective,
provide knowledge and practice about noticing and growing well-being for educators and to encourage an attention on individual and collective well-being as an organizational imperative.
Design/methodology/approach – To gain a rich description of what it means for educators to feel a sense of flourishing in their work, the researchers used qualitative, case study methods and appreciative research activities. For the case study reported on in this paper, data were collected through open-ended, appreciative, focus group conversations and researcher observations in the participants’ classrooms. Conversations were recorded and transcribed. The researchers analyzed the transcripts using an iterative process of coding, categorizing and abstracting data.
Findings – Participants grew their adaptive communities through balancing structures (collaboration, purpose, administrator support) with flexibilities (synergy, creativity, tinkering, friendships) for adaptation and co-creation. Well-being was connected with feeling collegial support, care, shared meaning and engagement and where positive relationships were central in their work. These relational conditions seemed to contribute to building a social container that promoted flourishing. This led to innovation as teachers worked together in ways that promoted their learning and growth as a group, and increased their sense of vitality in their work. The researchers found that the principal plays a vital role in fostering, encouraging and sustaining conditions for teachers to cultivate adaptive community.
Research limitations/implications – While small in scale and not generalizable across contexts, this research offers particular examples of what is working well for these teachers. Insights from these examples are
intended to be generative, potentially resonating with and inspiring others to examine the possible benefits and potentials that may come from a positive approach to research and practice in school improvement in their own contexts. Engaging in positive organizational research in schools led to new insights on the work of teaching, learning and leading in schools. The researchers suggest that this positive, appreciative and generative
perspective offers potentials and benefits for new understandings on school improvement.
Practical implications – The findings from this case study indicate that more attention is needed to supporting educators to cultivate the conditions necessary to experience rich and meaningful relationships
within which they will thrive, grow and innovate in their teaching. At a system level, the authors argue for a re-orientation of schools toward well-being and a more holistic and human-development perspective on schooling.
Social implications – Currently and internationally, schooling is under re-design as the authors learn more about the need to organize the schools in ways that encourage the kinds of teaching and learning necessary to
prepare young people for an increasingly unpredictable future. The findings from this study highlight the importance of attending to teacher well-being as a fundamental aspect of encouraging the kind of teaching
needed for the kinds of learning desired in schools across all contexts.
Originality/value – This case study provides the findings that illustrate the potential and benefits of research on school organizations from a positive organizational perspective. Additionally, this study is a reminder of the systemic nature of all living systems, such as schools, and the associated need to ensure well-being for all members of the learning community.
Peer-Reviewed Articles by Sabre Cherkowski
educators’ experiences of the conditions, forces and influencing factors for flourishing in their context. The main objectives were to inform research and practice in school improvement from a positive perspective,
provide knowledge and practice about noticing and growing well-being for educators and to encourage an attention on individual and collective well-being as an organizational imperative.
Design/methodology/approach – To gain a rich description of what it means for educators to feel a sense of flourishing in their work, the researchers used qualitative, case study methods and appreciative research activities. For the case study reported on in this paper, data were collected through open-ended, appreciative, focus group conversations and researcher observations in the participants’ classrooms. Conversations were recorded and transcribed. The researchers analyzed the transcripts using an iterative process of coding, categorizing and abstracting data.
Findings – Participants grew their adaptive communities through balancing structures (collaboration, purpose, administrator support) with flexibilities (synergy, creativity, tinkering, friendships) for adaptation and co-creation. Well-being was connected with feeling collegial support, care, shared meaning and engagement and where positive relationships were central in their work. These relational conditions seemed to contribute to building a social container that promoted flourishing. This led to innovation as teachers worked together in ways that promoted their learning and growth as a group, and increased their sense of vitality in their work. The researchers found that the principal plays a vital role in fostering, encouraging and sustaining conditions for teachers to cultivate adaptive community.
Research limitations/implications – While small in scale and not generalizable across contexts, this research offers particular examples of what is working well for these teachers. Insights from these examples are
intended to be generative, potentially resonating with and inspiring others to examine the possible benefits and potentials that may come from a positive approach to research and practice in school improvement in their own contexts. Engaging in positive organizational research in schools led to new insights on the work of teaching, learning and leading in schools. The researchers suggest that this positive, appreciative and generative
perspective offers potentials and benefits for new understandings on school improvement.
Practical implications – The findings from this case study indicate that more attention is needed to supporting educators to cultivate the conditions necessary to experience rich and meaningful relationships
within which they will thrive, grow and innovate in their teaching. At a system level, the authors argue for a re-orientation of schools toward well-being and a more holistic and human-development perspective on schooling.
Social implications – Currently and internationally, schooling is under re-design as the authors learn more about the need to organize the schools in ways that encourage the kinds of teaching and learning necessary to
prepare young people for an increasingly unpredictable future. The findings from this study highlight the importance of attending to teacher well-being as a fundamental aspect of encouraging the kind of teaching
needed for the kinds of learning desired in schools across all contexts.
Originality/value – This case study provides the findings that illustrate the potential and benefits of research on school organizations from a positive organizational perspective. Additionally, this study is a reminder of the systemic nature of all living systems, such as schools, and the associated need to ensure well-being for all members of the learning community.
ISBN-10: 1498579426
ISBN-13: 978-1498579421
ISBN-10: 0995978220
ISBN-13: 978-0995978225
ISBN-10: 149857078X
ISBN-13: 978-1498570787
ISBN 978-1-4985-0667-0