Project Outline

Issue & Aims The number of educators experiencing mental health problems is double that of

the general population (Katz & Lamoureux, 2018). Education leaders are challenged to support

ourselves and promote the well-being of our colleagues. This study examines the impact of

arts-based journaling and reflection by exploring its benefits for well-being and resilience.

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

differently and ultimately experience life through another lens (Ganly, 2017). The project’s

guiding purpose is to determine how visual journaling and reflective practice can support

educator well-being. Based on the research conducted, the goal is to produce an open-access

art-based journal workbook (The Wellness Reflective Journal) to be used in the context of

professional development (PD), as these types of wellness programs have been shown to

improve educator well-being and ultimately student outcomes (Greenberg et al., 2016). The

journal will introduce reflective practices using visual art techniques and include excerpts and

guidance from the literature (examples include, Aguilar, 2018; Allies, 2020; and Brown, 2018)

on various forms of reflective PD that support educator well-being. The project will also

advocate for PD centred around well-being and reflective practice and highlight future work

that could be done to improve the well-being of educators. This autoethnographic inquiry

involves exploring various elements of PD practices and taking a deeper dive and critical look

into the benefits of reflective art journaling through both a review of the literature and

documenting the actual experience of using these methods on my own my own well-being

journey.
Framework 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). This project uses visual art

making to study my own human experience as I incorporate my own artwork to inspire and

guide the process. The journal will follow the structure of 1) reviewing and citing related

literature, 2) creating a visual journal page, 3) offering prompting questions for future

reflection.

Methods Part 1 Scan, Focus, Develop a hunch During the 2020-21 academic year, I followed a

Spiral of Inquiry (Kaser & Halbert, 2017) and through this process, I was able to identify

leadership actions that cultivate resiliency and wellbeing. A Spiral of Inquiry offers a disciplined

action-research based approach to professional inquiry that aims to transform how educators

can make a difference for their learners by identifying needs and taking action (Kaser & Halbert,

2017). Through my own Spiral exploration, I identified an area of action to improve was my

well-being and the ways to improve it included PD and reflective practice, specifically my use of

journaling. Next, I will review reflective PD practices and further explore visual journaling

practices.

Methods Part 2 Learn, Take Action The portfolio-based project will collect primary research

from myself in the form of visual journal pages, these pieces of imagery will act as artifacts. I

have begun an extensive literature review to determine key topics under the theme of educator

well-being and PD practices which will continue to evolve over the year. The workbook will

initially include exploring the following topics: well-being, reflection, and art-based research. I

will gather and represent (artistically) various themes that I find in doing my inquiry, in the

process of designing a journal.

Methods Part 3 Check I will record the ongoing experiences of engaging in reflective practice

myself and how it impacts my well-being. The images (pages) and literature reviews will be

shared with peers who will be invited to share their perspectives on it while piloting the journal

pieces. Completed samples will be provided to educators for their own PD practice and they

may provide feedback to guide my process.

Knowledge Sharing Once all the visual journal pages are created along with example prompt

questions, each one of these artifacts will be bound together in the form of a journal workbook.

Once completed, the workbook will be printed and provided free to all participants, anyone

involved in the project, and the Master of Education Leadership professors. The workbook will

become an open-source document using creative commons licencing, specifically under an

Attribution-Non-commercial-NoDerivs CC BY-NC-ND licence (About The Licenses - Creative

Commons, 2017). The preliminary design and ultimately the final work will be presented at

conferences such as Vancouver Island University’s MED Student Showcase and CREATE, the

Vancouver Island Leadership Conference, and Camosun College’s Walls Optional.

 References

About The Licenses - Creative Commons. (2017). Creative Commons License.

https://creativecommons.org/licenses/

Borton, T. (1970). Bortons Developmental Framework. In Jasper, M. (2013): Beginning

Reflective Practice (2nd Ed.). Andover EMEA. Pp. 99-104

Crowder, R., Lock, J., Hickey, E., McDermott, M., Simmons, M., Wilson, K., Leong, R., & de Silva,

N. (2020). Art as Meditation: A Mindful Inquiry into Educator Well-Being. The

Qualitative Report. Published. https://doi.org/10.46743/2160-3715/2020.4061

Kaser, L. and J. Halbert. (2017). The Spiral Playbook: Leading with an inquiring mindset in school

systems and schools. C21 Canada.

Katz, J., & Lamoureux, K. (2018). Ensouling Our Schools: A Universally Designed Framework for

Mental Health, Well-Being, and Reconciliation (Teaching to Diversity). Portage & Main

Press.

Leavy, P. (2019). Handbook of Arts-Based Research (Reprint ed.). The Guilford Press.

Ganly, T. (2017). Taking time to pause: Engaging with a gift of reflective practice. Innovations in

Education and Teaching International, 1–11.

https://doi.org/10.1080/14703297.2017.1294492

Greenberg, M. T., Brown, J. L., & Abenavoli, R. M. (2016). Teacher stress and health. Effects on

teachers, students, and schools. Edna Bennett Pierce Prevention Research Center,

Pennsylvania State University and Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.

 Statement of Interest
 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.

What can I do as a leader to support ourselves and promote the support of educators

around me? Mental well-being and wellness are stigmatized topics; as a leader, I am in

privileged positions and see into many people's daily lives. I am able to see patterns; I can see if

someone is in need, and I am often in a unique position to recognise the first signs of changes in

employee wellness. Leaders provide first-line support and referral; however, if it's not a referral

that is needed or is already happening, I must support daily needs. 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.

My love of art, my passion for helping others and my empathetic approach due to my

own learning difficulties, so why wellness? A layer in my journey is my mental well-being;

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, anxiety, and ADHD. This is my story, and these are the layers of me now: art,

teaching, mental health, and well-being. This is why I want to help the educators I work with; I
do not want anyone to struggle alone. Not everyone's needs are the same. Not everyone will

recognize their needs, but when I see someone who needs help or vocalizes them, I want to

offer ways to support them. I want to provide educators and leaders a place to reflect, learn

and support educators around them through their own journey of self-reflection and knowing.