How Are District and School Administrators Enacting EE Policies Within a Rural Ontario District School Board?

Abstract

I used qualitative case study methodology to gain insight into EE policy enactment at one Ontario rural school board. Qualitative research is best suited to explore a problem and develop a detailed understanding of a central phenomenon (Creswell, 2012), in this case how district and school administrators make sense of EE policies and how that sensemaking process impacts policy enactment. A case study is defined as “conducting an empirical investigation of a contemporary phenomenon within its natural context using multiple sources of evidence” (Hancock, Algozzine, 2006, p. 15). Although I could not access schools and district offices, I have been able to collect data through a variety of ways (i.e., interviews, district websites, documents shared by interviewees). Key findings include that participants (district and school administrators) are mostly unaware of the existing EE policy framework; EE is seen as legitimate in schools, yet low priority; EE remains mostly driven by passionate administrators and educators.