Alison Taylor

This study explores the complex interplay of power, politics, and identity by examining the narratives of first-generation Iranian migrant women in British Columbia, Canada, within broader structures of global dominance. It examines how global power dynamics, historical inequalities, and domestic socio-cultural structures shape individuals’ and communities’ perceptions of identity and belonging. While existing scholarship has addressed diaspora Iranians’ identities, this study deepens the inquiry by situating belonging within intersecting systems of oppression. Drawing on frameworks of transnationalism and transnational feminism, the study traces how Iranian identity has been racialized due to the lasting effects of colonialism and global imperialism. It examines how geopolitical events, such as the 1979 Revolution and 9/11, have contributed to the essentialization of Muslim and Middle Eastern bodies. Through an anti-colonial lens, the study highlights how global power structures are implicated in the construction of Iranian identity as the “Other” and in shaping women’s experiences of belonging in diaspora.The study is a qualitative mixed-methods inquiry, encompassing online semi-structured interviews, group interviews, and arts-informed narrative inquiry. Twenty-four participants, including four community leaders, reflected on identity and belonging through personal experiences and community observations. The arts-informed component involved reflections on curated visual and textual artworks centered around migration and displacement. Participants narrated individual and collective experiences of settlement, including how they negotiated identity and belonging in the face of systemic and structural discrimination. Their narratives revealed the prevalence of precarity, which is closely tied to socio-economic, political, and cultural struggles rooted in multiple patriarchies and colonial hierarchies perpetuated through existing gender- and race-based biases. In this context, the concept of “contingent belonging” is introduced to describe the fluid and contradictory nature of belonging in diaspora experiences. Additionally, participants identified intra-community divisions stemming from religio-political tensions and class differences, further complicating the development of belonging and solidarity.The findings revealed that in response to racialized assumptions, many respondents internalized a “burden of proof.” A key response was what is termed here “strategic re/presentations,” an approach to resist stigma and reclaim a self-defined Iranian identity, even if it at times involves conforming to other essentialist constructs and narratives.

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The role of place of in education is complex and multifaceted; place is both a topic of inquiry and a context for education. Yet many Western approaches to education continue to be structured around universal approaches to knowledge and skills development that neglect the role of place in education. The result is education operating under the illusion of placelessness, which obscures how Western society exerts power over people and land in the places of education. This dissertation responds to the problem of placelessness by examining the author’s location as an educator in Stó:lō Téméxw, the land of the Stó:lō people, commonly known as British Columbia’s Fraser Valley. This project draws on the curriculum research method of synoptic text, a form of inquiry that explores relevant historical and cultural knowledge on topics in society and education. Synoptic text research is used to explore the historical impacts of possessiveness and superiority in settler colonialism in this region, providing relevant examples from the author’s own practice. This research contributes to the field of place-based education by drawing on concepts from critical place-based and Indigenous land-based education to address the complexities of Indigenous and settler connection to the land. Connection to the land is surveyed within both Stó:lō and settler history. The wisdom of Stó:lō relationship and responsibility to the land is examined alongside the settler assumptions of possessiveness and superiority. By engaging the complicated conversations between Stó:lō and settler perspectives and practices, this curriculum research invites educators to refuse easy solutions to the complexity of decolonization in education. The curriculum research findings lead to discussion on practices of unlearning and relationality that contribute to decolonization in education. Research conversations with Stó:lō educators and leaders and experiments with curriculum examples are included to illustrate ways the relevant knowledge of Stó:lō Téméxw can inform educational practice. The iterative and contextual nature of these conversations and curriculum examples invite educators to consider the implications for unsettling education in their own places of education.

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This study explores the practices of student affairs professionals as they do the work of accommodating students with disabilities within one BC post-secondary institution. It examines the widely used accommodation model that is based on the idea that disability is a medical condition that needs to be remediated. The very model that is intended to assist students with disabilities access higher education acts as a barrier to their participation. Students report that accessing accommodations is complicated, and invariably makes them more visible or “othered” in the classroom. The number of students using accommodations, and the complexity of their needs, is increasing at an alarming rate, and the accessibility offices are not adequately resourced to meet the demand. Faculty also feel overwhelmed by the growing diversity in their classrooms and the volume and complexity of accommodation requests. Both staff and faculty recognize that change must happen. However, they report being so busy maintaining the accommodation apparatus that they lack the time to explore how they could change the ways they do their work. An “expectant inertia” exists, whereby administrators are waiting for the accessibility staff to lead change, accessibility staff are waiting for faculty and curriculum designers to embrace change, and faculty and staff are looking to administrators to lead the change. This research uses institutional ethnography (IE) to explicate the invisible rules that explain this expectant inertia. IE is both a conceptual framework and a methodology that explores the rules and regulations that structure and limit day-to-day work, making it an ideal framework from which to explicate this phenomenon. This research is that the accommodation model is based on human rights law and is maintained because it is a system that works for the institution. The various forms and work tools that have been developed help workers process students as cases, but have negative and unintended consequences for students. This research revealed that the desire to change is not enough; it will take the concerted effort of administrators who align their exposed values on equity, diversity, and inclusion with resources to champion change.

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Historically, public universities have played a role in the development of society through the creation and sharing of knowledge and upholding democratic values. In recent decades, governments and the public have looked to universities to help drive economic prosperity and address the complex issues plaguing society (Benneworth, 2016; Fisher et al., 2006). This has been accompanied by declining base funding from provincial governments in Canada. The result has been an expansion of universities’ traditional purposes and roles to include their engagement with social and economic communities outside the university while also seeking ways to increase revenues. This research examines the practice of community-university engagement (CUE) in Canada by identifying existing tensions and contributions of CUE practitioners identified as “boundary spanners.”I took a qualitative research approach to this study, utilizing three sources of data: interviews with boundary spanners across Canada, reflective essays outlining their path to their positions, and key university documents articulating their values and place in society. My analysis involved a comparison of values, attitudes, and beliefs between boundary spanners and their institutions focusing on the purposes and roles of public universities in society, CUE practice, and the utility of formal evaluation of CUE practice. I draw upon the institutional logics perspective, as well as literature on boundary spanners and CUE, to understand and articulate the factors and dynamics that characterize their environment of practice.This research uncovers points of tension regarding the role of public universities, the place of CUE practice, and the ways in which formal evaluation responds to calls for accountability. Understanding the complexity and dynamics of CUE practice contributes to understanding institutional processes and to the creation of new imaginaries for higher education.

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In both Canada and the United States, women are earning more university degrees than their male counterparts, including terminal degrees (National Center for Education Statistics, 2021; Universities Canada, 2019). Yet as the pathway proceeds towards senior leadership, the relative percentage of women occupying leadership positions decreases remarkably in both countries (Melidona et al., 2023; Universities Canada, 2019). While the reasons for this are complex, the literature regarding women and postsecondary administration exposes issues related to care as a point of tension and a barrier to leadership (e.g., Cardozo, 2017).This study, informed by Joan Tronto’s (1993, 2010) theorizing of care ethics, sought to understand more about the experiences of women academic leaders in the United States and Canada. What meanings do women in postsecondary academic leadership positions give to the notion of care? What perspectives do women from traditionally excluded or marginalized populations have about care and caring in their professional lives?Nine participants took part in semi-structured interviews, which were transcribed before applying an interpretative phenomenological analysis. In keeping with the study’s aims to reposition emotional knowledge alongside intellectual knowledge (Jaggar, 1989), found poems were constructed from the interview transcripts and shared with participants.Five superordinate themes emerged as significant to help in our understanding of participants' experiences and perspectives of care in their leadership practices: 1) Authenticity as a caring leader; 2) Performative optics of care leadership; 3) Caring for oneself; 4) Motherhood and leadership; and 5) Boundaries: establishing and/or maintaining physical and emotional limits. Each superordinate theme incorporated multiple sub-themes. The experiences and perspectives shared by participants confirmed the political and public nature of caring.The study surfaced issues related to performative allyship, where institutions may engage in superficial demonstrations of care without meaningful action. It highlights the challenges and disincentives for authentically active allyship in academic institutions, particularly for leaders from marginalized groups. It also illuminates structural issues that contribute to tensions between caregiving responsibilities and the demands of academic leadership, which include the pressure to meet institutional expectations in a neoliberal context.

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The notion of quality in higher education has received considerable attention in the literature in recent years, often acknowledging that it is a contested concept. Given the wide range of views on quality, practices related to quality and quality assurance have at times had a mixed reception within higher education. Quality assurance is broadly described as the practice of assessing quality as an important way of improving quality. Closely connected are other concepts such as accountability, transparency, autonomy, and trust, each of which add to the complex picture around quality within higher education. This study examines the 2016 policy introduced by the Province of British Columbia called the Quality Assurance Process Audit (QAPA). This policy applies to all public post-secondary institutions, and requires that institutions undergo an audit of their quality assurance processes led by an appointed panel of experts. My research looks at the range of influences that led to the development of the QAPA policy to explore how and why it came to be implemented, and how it is being perceived and interpreted in practice by senior academic leaders within BC’s college and institute sector. The study draws on Bowe, Ball and Golde’s (1992) contexts of policy framework, the notion of policy borrowing, and the literature on the sociological concept of institutions, with a focus on Lawrence and Suddaby’s (2006) notion of institutional work. The findings from this study indicate that key influences leading to the QAPA policy include the 2011 Stubbs Report, policy borrowing from Alberta and other provinces, and the growing need to align with international standards and evolving expectations around quality assurance in higher education. The policy is characterized by senior academic leaders as a constructive addition to quality assurance in the province, providing clarity in expectations while recognizing institutional diversity. The policy builds on past practices and contributes to further institutionalizing quality assurance at the provincial and individual institutional levels. It has also amplified the need for intentional work, sustained attention, and knowledgeable, reflexive actors to establish and maintain quality assurance practices to ensure the persistence and stability of the institution of quality assurance.

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Universities underwent tremendous change and growth over the last decade triggering a rise in management and professional (M&P) staff. A combination of factors contributed to the changes including the implementation of corporate and new public management (NPM) strategies to manage and monitor specialized and growing areas in higher education. Some of these emerging areas included: internationalization; fundraising and development; community outreach; revenue generating venues; and, innovative teaching and learning initiatives. Universities began to rely increasingly on professional staff, with specialized expertise, to run institutional services and operations. The University of British Columbia (UBC), a large, publicly-funded, research-intensive university located in British Columbia, Canada, was no exception. In 2018, M&P staff numbered 4,530 members (AAPS, 2018), or 28% of the university’s reported workforce of 16,089 employees (UBC, Overview and Facts). M&P staff now makes up the single largest workforce sector at the university. This burgeoning group of highly-educated, skilled ‘new professionals’ (Gornall, 1999) is recognized by the university as a unique employee group through its professional organization, the Association of Administrative and Professional Staff (AAPS). However, despite their professional contributions to the operations and the strategic long-term mission of the university, in institutional literature these employees are bundled under the homogenizing term ‘staff’. This terminology clearly separates them from the ‘other’ employee group, academic faculty, and effectively positions them in a blurred, or ‘third space’ (Whitchurch, 2013), a conceptual place sandwiched between the unionized staff and faculty members. Through one-on-one interviews with 15 participants and document analysis, this research explored how some M&P staff members made sense of, and navigated, their occupational and organizational identities within that third space at the university. In addition, the study explores how participants coped with challenges around recognition, professional development, and high turnover. As the higher education sector continues to evolve and grow, the roles of M&P staff will also evolve and grow. This research contributes to understanding how M&P staff make sense of their positioning within the university, and in turn, how this workforce can be better supported in order to minimize the challenges they face and to promote a more productive work environment.

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This formative intervention study used activity theory and expansive learning frameworks (Engeström, 2001) to examine how a working group of 12 educational leaders from one British Columbia school district co-constructed their understandings of competencies. These leaders were supporting school and district colleagues with the redesigned curriculum, originally known as the BC Education Plan (2012a) and later as Building Student Success: BC’s New Curriculum (2018a), as well as with the Ministry of Education’s revised Student Reporting Guidelines (2016). Over nine research sessions, participants explored their contexts and future-oriented visions of learning with a focus on competencies. These sessions were audio-taped; the audio tapes were then transcribed. Transcripts were initially sorted for sensitizing concepts according to the theoretical concepts of activity theory: subject, object, mediating instruments, rules, community, and division of labour. This coded data was then analyzed for themes and sub-themes reflecting needs at each state of the expansive learning model: questioning, double-binds of practice, contextual resistance, and reflection on realignments. The analysis that emerged from this process showed how participants co-constructed understandings of competencies that went beyond demonstrations of knowledge, skills, and aptitudes; instead, they focused on competencies as a collective need to honour local collaborative learning communities, co-construct diverse learning paths, and shift systemic practices toward expansive learning. Participants described the importance of professional collaboration, engagement, relationships, and new assessment models, as well as the challenges of supporting colleagues to act on their ideals and contribute to shifting district practices. This study provides a rich perspective on how activity theory and expansive learning can be used as models for understanding the complexities of systemic change in public education systems.

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