Nyasha Nyereyemhuka
Critical Policy, Equity and Leadership Studies
MEd Brock University, BCom McMaster University
Nyasha Nyereyemhuka
Critical Policy, Equity and Leadership Studies
MEd Brock University, BCom McMaster University
Nyasha is a PhD Candidate in the Critical Policy, Equity, and Leadership stream who holds a Masters of Education degree from Brock University and a Bachelor of Commerce degree from McMaster University. Fortunate to work under the supervision of Dr. Gus Riveros, Nyasha’s research interests are in policy analysis, social-cultural context of education, micropolitics, and administrative leadership.
Education, equity, and leadership is the mantra that drives her commitment to promote equitable and inclusive strategies in Ontario’s K-12 education system through evidence-based research. As a racialized woman pursuing professorship in academia, her identity and purpose for developing research in educational leadership is centered on the emancipation of marginalized voices— honouring those who came before her and those who are yet to come. Consequently, her doctoral research interrogates how Black female principals in Ontario construct their professional identities.
Memberships
Canadian Society for the Study of Education
Canadian Association for Study of Educational Administration
Augusto Riveros, PhD
Supervisor
Research
Nyasha’s doctoral research, entitled Embracing the Race: How Black Female Principals Construct Their Professional Identities, explores the intersection of three multifaceted educational leadership topics: principals, professional identity, and gendered racism. While much is understood about educational leadership, there remains a gap in research that examines how Black female principals in racially diverse urban schools construct their professional identities. Leadership and organizational theorists have neglected the experiences of racialized individuals as factors that contribute to leadership models (Brown, 2005; Sanchez-Hucles & Davis, 2010; Wiley, 2016). Theories of school administration have been perceived by scholars as “a neutral science without taking into consideration changes in the political arena between majority and minority groups’ members such as Blacks and Whites” (Brown, 2005, p. 587). This deficit in literature minimizes the impact that racialized scholars and educators have made in the field of education and negates the contextual nature of leadership. Consequently, the importance of Black principals as a topic is underdeveloped, under-researched, and undervalued in scholarship on educational leadership (Wiley, 2016; Tillman, 2004). Of the studies that are conducted on Black leaders, the intersection of principals’ identity markers is not adequately addressed, if at all (Armstrong & Mitchell, 2017; Nickens & Washington, 2016). These studies often see policy role prescription and experience as influencing principals’ abilities and/or capacities to perform (Mpungose, 2010) with scarce discussion on professional identity.
Course Work Completed
Critical Policy Studies in Education
Equity & Social Justice in Education
PhD Seminar
Qualitative Research in Education
Social Context of Education
Awards
2021—Dr. Allen Pearson Graduate Award in Educational Leadership
2020—Ontario Graduate Scholarship
2018—Brock University Dean of Graduate Studies Spring Research Fellowship
2012—Infundo Ephakemeyo Scholarship
Conferences Attended
Nyereyemhuka, N. (2020, March). Earning Their Stripes: The Recruitment and Retention of Black Principals in Rural Settings. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the Robert Macmillan Symposium in Education, London.
Nyereyemhuka, N. (2019, April). Student Equity and Inclusive Education Policy in Ontario: Perspectives of Three High School Principals. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the Mapping the New Knowledges Graduate Student Research Conference, St. Catharines.
Publications
Peer-review articles (2):
Briscoe, P. & Nyereyemhuka, N. (in progress). Turning leadership upside down and outside in: A change in leadership beliefs during a pandemic. Canadian Journal of Educational Administration and Policy.
Riveros, G. & Nyereyemhuka, N. (2020). Conceptualizing space in educational administration and leadership research: Towards a spatial justice perspective. International Journal of Leadership in Education. Doi.org/10.1080/13603124.2020.1842509
Book Chapters (2):
Nyereyemhuka, N. (in progress). “On the outside looking in”: Perceptions of the mentorship and organizational support of Black female principals in urban centres. In Principal Recruitment and Retention, M. Reichel and C. Rabinowitz (eds), Rowan & Littlefield.
Riveros, G. & Nyereyemhuka, N. (in progress). Conceptualizing space in culturally sensitive research methods. In Culturally sensitive research methods for educational administration and leadership: International perspectives on theory and practice, E. A. Samier and E. S. ElKaleh (eds), UK: Routledge.
Book reviews (1):
Nyereyemhuka, N. (2020). Review of Hasinoff, S. & Mandzuk, D. (2018). Navigating uncertainty: Sensemaking for educational leaders. Canadian Journal of Educational Administration and Leadership, 192, 86-89.
Theses (1):
Nyereyemhuka, N. (2019). Student equity and inclusive education policy in Ontario: Perspectives of three high school principals. [Unpublished master’s thesis]. Brock University.
Papers at upcoming conferences (1):
Riveros, G. & Nyereyemhuka, N. (Accepted). Using the Notion of Place to Investigate the Experiences of Immigrant Parents in Schools. Paper to be presented at the annual meeting of the American Educational Research Association, San Diego.
