Positionality

Many educators can relate to burnout, feeling run down, emotionally fatigued and

overall, not always having the best wellbeing. As an education leader, how can I come to

understand what educators around me need and focus on others' wellbeing as much as my

own? Educators spend their time concentrating on the needs of others, and most importantly,

their learners. While educators know they should look after wellbeing, it is fair to say that it is

not always at the forefront of our minds. What can I do to support the educators around me

through burnout, stress, and wellbeing issues? What can I do to encourage educators to

support their own wellbeing? These are the questions that came to a head during my first year

in leadership. I wanted to help other educators, but how do I go about it? After all, the health

and wellbeing of educators are the key to learners' success, and helping educators feel

supported is one of the most critical areas leaders must work upon. Tantillo et al. (2019, p. 60)

state if a conscious effort is not made towards educators' wellbeing as a priority, the emotional

and mental state will affect the students.

The number of educators meeting the criteria for having mental health problems is

double that of the general population (Katz & Lamoureux, 2018. P.36). Educators are stretched

for time; we are constantly creating and supporting. Educators gain joy and pleasure in

supporting learners; however, while educators experience satisfaction from listening to and

comforting their students, they may also experience an adverse effect called compassion

fatigue (Figley, 2002). Well-being itself has many layers to it, and by wellbeing, in this context,

we are looking at how to positively impact our own wellbeing and the wellbeing of others.
Chessemen (2021) defines wellbeing as a multi-dimensional construct that refers to a positive

psychological state where one experiences more positive than negative emotions (p. 149).

Educators are not likely to share their emotional needs with leaders, especially if they look at

the play's power balance. There are also limitations on time for many educators; when can we

fit this into our schedules. For this study, I will define wellbeing as a positive state of emotional

health, similarly to Health Canada (retrieved, October 2021) who defines mental health as a

state of wellbeing that allows us to feel, think, and act in ways that enhance our ability to enjoy

life and deal with the challenges we face. Well-being will be explored further through literature

reviews, and I will explore its impact on educators further.

Against this backdrop, the presented study aims to better understand what I do as a

leader to support educators around me through reflective practice, journaling, and professional

development. Mental wellbeing and wellness are stigmatized topics; as a leader, I am privileged

and see into many people's daily lives. It may be possible to see patterns, and I can sometimes

be in a unique position to recognise the first signs of changes in employee wellness. Kaser and

Halbert (2009) state those who ask probing questions and listen intently are better equipped to

reframe and then solve fundamental problems of leadership practice. If I have that overview,

but I am not in a counsellor position, how can I encourage staff to seek help or recognize they

need help or help them realize they need help? One answer is through empowering them to

incorporate reflective practice into their daily lives. Its also important to note that not all

educators being their wellbeing needs to the forefront, this in itself is an area that requires in-

depth exploration; however, the plan of this study is to implement actions that will in turn

support all educators around me, even if their needs are not clear.
Researcher Context
A leader must know their values and understand themselves. Brown (2018) believes

that living and practicing our values is walking our talk. Brown says that if we are clear about

what we think and hold essential, we can take care of our; intentions, words, thoughts, and

behaviours align with our values. My story and identity have required many years of deep self-

exploration and reflection in order to articulate them. I have been very fortunate within my

educator journey; every single step and every layer of me pathed out my journey.

At the age of twenty-two, I began my teaching career, but I spent a lot of time helping

others even before that. I was that person who people came to ask for help and support. My

first teaching position was at a maximum-security prison in the United Kingdom. I began

teaching straight after completing a Bachelor of Arts Degree with honours in Fine Art,

specialising in drawing and painting. I spent my years at school focusing on myself, my life, my

attachment to home and the world around me. Art Therapy was what I wanted to do, but I

would have to go through therapy myself to apply for that degree. I wasn't ready to unpack my

life and open pandora's box. I went through school, often struggling with writing. At this time, I

discovered I had Dyslexia; this would explain why school was so hard. As I began to teach, I

initially taught Math and Art. By mixing my love and passion for art into my Math classes, I

found that student grades and retention improved significantly, intake for the course doubled,

and I even created a new program: "Math4Art". I understood my own difficulty in learning and

how to explain topics in simplistic ways. Though teaching in a maximum-security prison, many if

not all of my students faced mental health barriers. I was somehow able to understand, even if

at that time I didn't understand my own mental health and wellness.

 An intersectionality lens appears that it was designed for the learners I was facilitating.

The interconnected nature of the groups I was teaching all facing their own mixed backgrounds,

races identities, needs and traumas, all in a one package. Crenshaw (1989) coined the term

"intersectionality" in a paper to help explain the oppression of African American women and

explore the many areas of in-equities they faced. Crenshaw introduced the theory of

intersectionality as an augment for that the experience of being a black woman cannot be

understood on its own, nor could it be understood as just being black or as just being a woman;

each area impacts the oppression faced by African American women. To explore the needs of

equity-seeking learners we must see the multi-faceted needs of each individual.

Looking at an intersectional approach to my identity and my many layers of being that

make me who I am today all lead me to this point. My love of art, my passion for helping others

and my empathetic approach due to my own learning difficulties, so why wellness? Why mental

health? Another layer in my journey is my mental wellbeing; school was hard, day-to-day life

was hard, and life was hard. Was this normal? Did everyone feel this way? The answer is no,

without knowing I spent twenty years of my life battling depression and anxiety. It wasn't until I

almost had a nervous breakdown that I sought help. Now at the age of thirty-five and as many

treatments as you can name; medication, group therapy, counselling, cognitive behavioural

therapy, meditation, the list goes on, I can see who I am and what I can see I need. So, we have

the layers now: art, teaching, mental health, and wellbeing; how did they all become one, and

why?

After eight years of teaching and leading at the prison, my family took a leap to move to

Canada. Still fighting my triggers in education and my own mental health battles, but now being
settled, I began a journey of self-exploration and was finally able to vocalize that I had mental

health battles. I had a manager I could trust and be open and honest with, and I told him. I

eventually opened up to colleagues over the following years and let them know. This is why I

want to help the educators I work with; I do not want anyone to struggle alone. Not everyone's

trauma will be the same. Not everyone will recognize their needs, but when I see someone who

needs help or vocalizes their help, I want to offer ways to support them.

Purpose of the study

As a department leader at a post-secondary institution, my role is to provide a wide

range of support, project management, strategic planning, goal setting and development

activities for staff. I am responsible for establishing and maintaining supportive working

relationships. Relationship building and networking constitute a vital element of this position to

successfully support the customization and delivery of trades training programs in various

sometimes challenging environments with equity-seeking groups in trades training. The need

for a supportive working environment has led me to this study. The wellbeing of others impacts

my day to day; for the purpose of this study, I will not ask educators that I am a workplace

leader for as this may affect responses, this study will explore outside of my work pace to a

range of educators who have spent a minimum of 5 years in education, and have spent some

time as coaches, mentors, informal leaders, or managers.

My first year in the Master of Education Leadership program at Vancouver Island

University was profound and transformative. The depths I went to through exploring theory

and self-reflection had been a large part of this transformation. My identity is formed from my

multiple layers. My story has taken many years of deep self-exploration and reflection to
discuss, and the way I can initiate this articulation is through visual journaling. My initial topic of

resilience leads to me look at myself and others around me. Just like an ethnographer's

approach, it describes what it means to be human by first entering a field of experience, e.g.,

identifying and gaining access to a culture of shared practices, identities, or experiences;

establishing rapport with community members; and participating in and observing social life. I

completed my own fieldwork. Mental health was always the area I needed to explore, and I

inevitably chose; however, it felt more like the universe chose me. During the time of the

COVID 19 Pandemic was the year I ended up at school for my Masters. It was a time when

mental health was at the forefront and remained to be, a time when the stigmatization of

mental health is being put to the side because it can no longer be ignored. I'm living through a

would changing life shift and documenting it as I go. What I realised and what leaders must

realise is that unless they can support themselves, they are not able to help others. I have had

the privilege of speaking with 50 other educator leaders living this experience across British

Columbia, Canada. In all different contexts, different stages of leading and leering and a whole

cross-section of ages. Having previously completed an equivalent to a Bachelor of Education in

the UK, the universe brought me together to be studying for a master's and living my studies.

Justification of the study

My entire role is to provide a wide range of essential support for staff. I am responsible

for establishing and maintaining supportive working relationships, relationship building and

networking. "Relationships promote emotional and physiological Wellbeing and the

relationships that form my networks and also give you the courage to sustain my heart and

mind" (Allison-Napolitano, 2014, p. 42). How can I do this when educators are facing mental
health challenges? Mental health and wellbeing can be very personal experiences; through my

journey this year, I found by reflecting and learning from the available literature and then

internalizing this into my practice, I become a much more confident and supportive educator.

We already know that educators should spend time reflecting on their own beliefs plan towards

professional development and take care of their own wellbeing through a work-life balance.

Reflective practice allows us to see things differently, think differently, feel differently, behave

differently and ultimately experience life through another lens. (Ganly, 2017).

Research/inquiry question and hypothesis 

Educators can explore wellbeing through reflection and artistic journaling and ask how I

can support myself and the educators around me? Reflection can enhance emotional resilience

and the associated competencies, and therefore it is essential to cultivate reflection processes

within a professional identity (Grant & Kinman, 2014). The purpose of this study is to research

the impact of arts-based journaling and reflection, exploring its potential benefits for wellbeing

and resilience for educators. I seek to answer the following question: Can arts-based journaling

and reflective practice support educator well-being? The project for this study is in the form of

a professional development focussed art-based journal workbook.

The project for this study is in the form of a Professional Development, Art-based

Journal workbook. With the creation of the Journal workbook, I envision it being used as a

standalone tool to support one's own wellbeing and be used as a professional development

tool for leaders and professors in Education institutions. With the workbook being made open

source, it will be shareable and adapted to the needs of the education professionals. The key
topics such as identity, self, wellbeing, trust etc. they are very relatable areas for reflection and

discovery.

Overview of study
The Wellness Reflective Journal workbook will introduce reflective practices using visual

art techniques and include excerpts from a literature review on various forms of reflective

professional development that support teacher wellbeing. Reflective practice allows us to see

things differently, think differently, feel differently, behave differently and ultimately

experience life through another lens (Ganly, 2017). There are many contemplative practice

forms; this study will use various art-based reflections, text, storytelling, and listening to others

to reflect circularly. Following the chosen reflective practice using my own artwork and

potentially the visual journaling of other educators.  The project seeks to advocate for

professional development centred around wellbeing, and reflective practice may highlight the

work that still needs to be done for the wellbeing of educators.

Design phase:

Participants are provided critical topics of exploration under the theme of educator

wellbeing these may include nature, collaboration, communication, connection, and

community. Voluntary participants will be recruited and provided with literature reviews.

Participants will choose the topic that aligns with their identity as an educator leader or one

that sparks a memory from a previous application.

Try Phase
 At this point, participants will be invited to take part in storytelling and journal page

creation using arts-based research. Arts-based visual research is an umbrella term for research

that searches for ways to utilize visual arts to study the human experience. (Leavy, 2017). An

example visual art piece/journal page will be created by myself. The additional artwork will be

made in one of two ways: The participant narrates a story recorded via voice Recorder, the

investigator creates artwork (journal page), which reflects the story or the participant creates

their own account or art piece. As this phase continues, I will begin to map out the journal

workbook and the editing process and review it throughout.

Reflect Phase-

At the completion of their reflective writing……. Follow-up research interview questions

will be completed, participants will have prompting questions after their work is created. Such

as, how did the completion of this PD exercise improve wellbeing? Does this study support the

educators around me through times of burnout, stress, and wellbeing? In what ways might co-

creating a visual journal build and support educator wellbeing? Following the reflections made

by the participant educators, the study will ask the key questions, in what way did the reflective

practice support wellbeing? Is this an area they will continue to peruse in their everyday lives?

My proposed hypothesis is the act of taking time aside to reflect and including exploring key

topics, whether through visual or written storytelling, educators will be better able to articulate

needs for future reflection verbally, wellbeing support and referral. By empowering educators

to incorporate reflective practise into daily lives, we can better support ourselves and those

around us.
 With the main focus of the study being that of wellbeing and how it can be supported,

it is essential to view the terminology around wellbeing in its context of educators. With my

area being post-secondary education with a group of educators who are not only instructors

but support workers, career coaches, curriculum designers, and many other areas, the chosen

focus of wellbeing will look closely at educators who support others. The educators I lead, assist

students through various life challenges or crises that impact their wellness and academic

success. These educators offer confidential support, help connect students with appropriate

support, and guide them on the following steps to improve their educational success. This area

of support that is provided by the educators in itself may affect their well being. For this reason,

it is important to explore the impact that being in education has on their own wellbeing.
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