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  5. Dr. Donna Swapp

Dr. Donna Swapp

Profile image for Donna Swapp
Chair, Elementary Education Program
Subject Area Chair, Educational Leadership (EDL)
Assistant Professor - Educational Leadership and Education Core Studies

Contact Info

Office: 306-585-4531
ED 221.7
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Education/Qualifications

MEd, PhD (Western)

BEd (University of the West Indies)

OCT

Teaching Areas

Education Core Studies (ECS)

Courses Taught: ECS 102; ECS 310

Educational Leadership

Courses Taught: EDL 819; EDL 824; EDL 825; EDL 826; EDL 870AD

Research Interests

School leadership; school administrators’ work and wellbeing; social justice leadership; critical education policy

Research Frameworks

critical theory; postcolonial theory; decolonizing theories of education; anti-racism & anti-oppressive frameworks

Current Research Projects

Decolonizing School Leadership across Transnational Spaces: Exposing, Disrupting, and Transforming Inequitable Colonial Regimes in the Work and Wellbeing of Black School Principals in Canada, Grenada, and Jamaica, 2022-2025

  • Principal Investigator (PI)
  • Co-Investigators: Dr. Annette Walker, Dr. Katina Pollock, Dr. Fei Wang
  • Funder:  The Spencer Foundation (external)
  • Funding Amount: $102,258.75 (US $75000)

Black School Leaders’ Work & Wellbeing in Saskatchewan During and Beyond COVID-19, 2021-2023

  • Principal Investigator (PI)
  • No Co-Investigators
  • Funder: CERCD (internal)
  • Funding Amount: $5250

Supporting Saskatchewan School Leaders in the COVID-19 Era, 2020-present (ongoing research collaboration with the STF)

  • Principal Investigator (PI on Phase II)
  • Co-Investigator: Dr. Pamela Osmond-Johnson (PI on Phase I)
  • Funder: CERCD (internal)
  • Funding Amount: $10000 (Phase I); $4700 (Phase II)

School Leaders’ Value Systems in Advancing Social Justice, 2023-2025

  • Principal Investigator (PI)
  • Co-Investigator, Dr. Paul Clarke
  • Funder: CERCD (internal)
  • Funding Amount: $5000

The Teaching Profession and the Dynamics of Privilege and Marginalization Within Schools: A Pan-Canadian Comparative Study

  • Co-investigator
  • PI: Dr. Adriana Morales-Perlaza; Other co-investigators: Dr. Martial Dembélé, Dr. Canisius Kamanzi,
  • Funder: SSHRC, Knowledge Synthesis Grant (external)
  • Funding Amount: $30000

Publications

Peer-reviewed articles

Swapp, D. H., & Osmond-Johnson, P. (2023). Approaching Burnout: The Work and Wellbeing of Saskatchewan School Administrators During COVID-19. Leadership & Policy in Schools. https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/15700763.2023.2265457

Swapp, D. H. (2020). Principal leadership and prioritizing equity in an era of work intensification: Must wellbeing be sacrificed? A case for A Special Issue, Canadian Cases: Issues and Challenges of Educational Administrators’ Work Intensification. Canadian Journal of Educational Administration and Policy 192, 52-58. (Volume Two).

Faubert, B. C., Le, A. T. H., Wakim, G., Swapp, D., & Watson, K. (2019). Using the EBAM across educational contexts: Calibrating for technical, policy, leadership influences. International Journal of Education Policy and Leadership, 14(4), 1-19. (Special Issue on the Canadian Context). http://journals.sfu.ca/ijepl/index.php/ijepl/article/view/865

Swapp, Donna (2017) "Critical Thinking, Active Learning, and the Flipped Classroom: Strategies in Promoting Equity, Inclusion and Social Justice in the B.Ed. Classroom," Teaching Innovation Projects: Vol. 7: Iss. 1, Article 8. http://ir.lib.uwo.ca/tips/vol7/iss1/8

Swapp, D. H. (2015). International organizations and their educational mandates: Challenges for small islands in the Caribbean region. Caribbean Educational Research Journal, 3(2), 17-32. https://www.cavehill.uwi.edu//fhe/education/resources/c-bean-educational-research-journal-sept-2015.aspx

Pollock, K., Murakami, E., & Swapp, D. H. (2015). The work of school leaders: North American similarities, local differences. International Studies in Educational Administration, 43(2), 5-20/19-34.

Book Chapters

Swapp, D. H. (in press). Grenadian School Principals in Their Middle Years Leading (Through) the Lean Years. Book chapter prepared for Navigating the Leadership Continuum: Connecting Theory, Research and Practitioners’ Perspectives, Edited by Ian Marshall and Grace-Anne Jackman, Information Age Publishing.

Pollock, K., Walker, A., Swapp, D. H., & Ben Jaafar, S. (2019). Personal resources for leading. In, J. Weinstein and G. Muñoz (Eds.), Cultivating leadership in education/Cómo cultivar liderazgo educativo. Trece miradas (pp. 140-171). Santiago, Chile: Educational Leadership Development Center/Ediciones Universidad Diego Portales (UDP).

Book Reviews

Swapp, D. H. (2022). Making a grade: Victorian examinations and the rise of standardized testing (2021) by James Elwick. University of Toronto. A book review prepared for the Canadian Journal of Educational Administration and Policy (CJEAP), 202, 112-115. https://journalhosting.ucalgary.ca/index.php/cjeap/article/view/75704

Swapp, D. H. (2017). A review of Leadership Re-Imagination: A Primer of Principles & Practices, by Canute S. Thompson, PhD, 2013. Forum for International Research in Education, 3(3), 101-104. https://preserve.lehigh.edu/fire/vol3/iss3/6/

Swapp, D. H. (2014). "Book Review: Miller, P. (Ed.) (2013). School leadership in the Caribbean: Perceptions, practices, paradigms.," Canadian and International Education / Education canadienne et internationale: 43(1), Article 11. https://ir.lib.uwo.ca/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?&article=1305&context=cie-eci

Swapp, D. H. (2014). A review of How School Principals Sustain Success Over Time: International Perspectives, edited by L. Moos, O. Johansson, & C. Day. Leadership and Policy in Schools, 13(2): 223-227. https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/15700763.2014.912666#.VENfzvldWTk

Professional Journals

Swapp, D. H. (2023). Principal Teachers as Nimble, Social Justice Leaders in Times of Change. Canadian Association of Principals (CAP) Journal, (Winter 2023). https://cdnprincipals.com/category/winter-2023/

Swapp, D. H., & Walker, A. R. (2018). Attending to student wellbeing: Making a case for equity and inclusion. Canadian Association of Principals (CAP) Journal, 13-15. Winter, 2018 https://mzpinc.ca/ebooks/CAP/PDFs/CAP-T0118.pdf

Swapp, D. H. (Fall, 2017). Exploring Some Core Principles in Leading Student Learning. Canadian Association of Principals (CAP) Journal, 14-16. https://marketzone.ca/ebooks/CAP/2017/CAP-T0317_EMAG/content/CAP_T0317_EMAG.pdf

Theses

Swapp, D. H. (March, 2022). School Principals’ Work in Grenada. [Doctoral Dissertation. The University of Western Ontario]. https://ir.lib.uwo.ca/etd/8420/

Swapp, D. H. (2012). Exploring the current nature of a school principal’s work. [Masters Dissertation. The University of Western Ontario]. ProQuest Dissertations. https://ir.lib.uwo.ca/etd/845/

Swapp, D. H. (2008). What school principals do: Teachers’ perceptions of the leadership practices of their principals. [B.Ed. Dissertation. The University of the West Indies]. Unpublished.