Navigating the Challenges of Implementing a New Course: The Case of Southeastern Academy

During the 2016 to 2017 school year, the Québec Ministry of Education announced the rollout of a new course, Financial Education, that would take effect the following September. This sparked a curriculum debate over its potential impact on another Grade 11 course, Contemporary World. Tasked with preparing educators to teach both courses, the Social Sciences pedagogical consultant prepared instructional resources, organized professional learning communities, coordinated professional development training workshops, and arranged meetings with the principal, vice-principals, and board level administrators. This hypothetical case presents issues and challenges that may arise for educational leaders during the development and implementation of a new course.


Introduction
In the Canadian province of Québec, there are various educational leadership positions at the elementary and secondary school level. They include director of educational services, assistant director of educational services, principal, vice-principal, and pedagogical consultant (to name a few). In recent years, the roles and responsibilities of school and board level administrators have changed. Educational leaders across

Teaching Case Narrative
Southeastern Academy is an English-speaking secondary school for Grades 7 to 12 (part of the Southeastern Regional School Board) located right outside of Montreal, Québec. As the largest city in a predominantly French-speaking province, Montreal represents a culturally and linguistically diverse metropolis (Statistics Canada, 2022). This includes Québec's demographically complex English-speaking student population (Ciamarra & Lamarre, 2021).
As one of the English-speaking school boards in Québec, Southeastern Regional plays an integral role in the social and economic development of the community. In general, school boards serve as a microcosm of Canada's liberal democratic processes and institutions (e.g., council of commissioners elected through school board elections) (Gouvernement du Québec, 2008). They also provide educational services for elementary and secondary schools (along with adult general education and vocational training) (Gouvernement du Québec, 2008).
In particular, Southeastern Regional School Board has five schools, including four elementary schools and one secondary school. In recent years, the school board's student population has become increasingly diverse and multi-ethnic. As such, the school board's mission is to develop responsible global citizens prepared to meet the challenges of a globalized society and marketplace.

New Course Announcement
A few months ago, Mr. Louis Richard became Southeastern Regional School Board's Social Sciences pedagogical consultant. Previously, Mr. Richard taught a broad array of social science courses at Southeastern Academy for 9 years, including Geography, History and Citizenship Education, History of Québec and Canada, Contemporary World, and Economics Education. All of these courses, except Economics Education, are currently part of the Québec Education Program.
From 1982 to 2009, Grade 11 students learned about microeconomics and macroeconomics as part of Economics Education (Lefrançois et al., 2017). In 2009, the Québec Ministry of Education decided to replace Economics Education with another mandatory Grade 11 course known as Contemporary World (Lefrançois et al., 2017). Since its inception, this course has encouraged students to "interpret problems and take positions on issues in the contemporary world" (Ministère de l'Éducation et de l'Enseignement supérieur, 2017a, p. 6). It also has aimed to "help students grasp the complexity of the world today and be open to the diversity of the societies that make it up," "help students develop their critical judgment by studying problems and issues of the contemporary world," and "prepare students to participate as responsible citizens in social debate" (Ministère de l'Éducation et de l'Enseignement supérieur, 2017b, p. 1).
Then unexpectedly, the Québec Ministry of Education made a major announcement during the 2016 to 2017 school year. Beginning in September 2017, the ministry noted that every Grade 11 student would be required to complete a two-credit financial literacy course (Financial Education) (Greenaway, 2017;Lefrançois et al., 2017;Valiante, 2017). Québec's education minister stated the proposed course would cover budgeting, credit scores, loans, taxes, interest rates, cellphone contracts, and apartment leases, among other topics (Greenaway, 2017;Lefrançois et al., 2017;Valiante, 2017). Implementing Financial Education would in all likelihood mean cutting the four-credit Contemporary World curriculum in half and removing environment and power from the other course themes (population, tensions and conflicts, and wealth) (Lefrançois et al., 2017;Soroko, 2021).
Shortly after the announcement, several Québec teachers' unions, including the Québec Provincial Association of Teachers (QPAT), the Fédération autonome de l'enseignement (FAE), and the Fédération nationales des enseignantes et des enseignants du Québec (FNEEQ), raised concerns (McCallum, 2016;Soroko, 2022;Valiante, 2017). The QPAT, representing teachers from the Québec English school boards, noted there may not be enough time to translate the course material from French to English, and questioned whether the course mainly represented the interests of financial institutions (Valiante, 2017). The FAE, representing Montreal's largest teachers' federation, also expressed concern over the course content (e.g., amount of input from the banking and financial services industry) (Valiante, 2017). At the same time, the FNEEQ wondered whether this would put additional pressure on teachers (McCallum, 2016).
In addition, some Québec English school boards provided their impressions on the proposed course (Greenaway, 2017;McCallum, 2016). Some of the teachers, for instance, questioned if there would be enough time for PD training workshops and sessions (Greenaway, 2017). Others asked why the course was being introduced in Grade 11 at the expense of the Contemporary World course rather than Grade 10 (when students may have more time to delve into financial literacy) (Greenaway, 2017).

Discussing the Proposed Curriculum
To prepare for the proposed curriculum, Mr. Richard began to take proactive steps without delay. First, he took an inventory of the instructional resources currently used by teachers at Southeastern Academy. This included online databases, digital magazines, eBooks, and any other reference materials. Next, Mr. Richard contacted his counterparts at the other English school boards. He told the consultants to develop an action plan for their next Leadership Committee for English Education in Québec (LCEEQ) monthly meeting. They also created a Google document to share ideas in advance.
In the meantime, Mr. Richard arranged a meeting with Ms. Isabelle Lemieux, Southeastern Academy's principal, along with vice-principals Ms. Céline Renault and Mr. Jonathan Moore. He also asked Ms. Jennifer Stewart, Director of Educational Services, and Mr. Marc Tremblay, Assistant Director of Educational Services, to attend the meeting. They all agreed to speak in Ms. Lemieux's office.
At the meeting, Mr. Richard made a brief presentation detailing the Ministry of Education's proposed curriculum. He then opened the floor to questions. Ms. Lemieux inquired how long it would take to prepare teachers for the proposed course. Mr. Richard replied, "Isabelle, it may take a few months, and I have started planning." Ms. Stewart then asked, "Louis, do you know how many of our teachers have a background in financial literacy?" He responded, "Jennifer, that is a great question. I do not believe any of our teachers have direct experience in this content area. The vast majority have a background in geography and history." At this point in the conversation, Ms. Renault and Mr. Moore interjected. Both vice-principals have assisted Ms. Lemieux for years in allocating teaching assignments. They explained that many factors come into play when determining faculty schedules and room assignments. Ms. Renault acknowledged that "Experienced educators prefer to teach courses like Contemporary World since they are not required to prepare students for high stakes provincial exams and generally have more flexibility in choosing course content." Mr. Moore agreed, but added a caveat: Céline, that is normally true. At the same time, you and I both know that veteran teachers tend to be less interested in adding another prep to their current course load, especially when they are unfamiliar with the subject matter.
Throughout the meeting, Mr. Tremblay listened to his colleagues and took notes. As Assistant Director of Educational Services, he is tasked with supporting teachers, evaluating pedagogical methods, and managing curricula. Before leaving Ms. Lemieux's office, Mr. Tremblay asked Mr. Richard whether they should start planning PLCs and PD activities for the next few pedagogical (in-service) days. "Louis, if you have a few minutes now, we should take a look at the calendar and begin scheduling a variety of financial lit workshops and seminars." Mr. Richard responded, "Marc, that's a great idea. I also plan to discuss this with consultants from other school boards later in the week. We may even be able to partner with them to offer some meaningful activities." After thanking everyone for attending the meeting, Mr. Richard briefly spoke with Mr. Tremblay about potential PD and learning opportunities. Mr. Richard also invited him to attend his next pedagogical meeting with the social science teachers.
Mr. Richard now turned his attention to the upcoming LCEEQ consultant meeting. To prepare, he gathered curricular resources from other provinces and federal educational programs. Mr. Richard learned, for example, that several provinces (e.g., British Columbia, Manitoba, Nova Scotia, Ontario, Prince Edward Island) begin teaching financial literacy as early as primary school (Marr, 2016;Nelson, 2015). In addition, he noticed that other provinces are either in the process of developing a new financial literacy program (e.g., Alberta, New Brunswick) or recently incorporated it into the existing curriculum (e.g., Newfoundland and Labrador) (Marr, 2016).
During the course of his research, Mr. Richard also discovered that the Financial Consumer Agency of Canada (2015) launched its first-ever National Strategy for Financial Literacy. Its goal is to "strengthen the financial well-being of Canadians and their families" by "collaborating and sharing"; "tailoring programs"; and "reaching and engaging Canadians" (Financial Consumer Agency of Canada, 2015, pp. 7-8). While Mr. Richard found it somewhat helpful to review recent strategies, research studies, and surveys, he thought hands-on resources from the Government of Canada website (e.g., financial toolkit as well as a financial basic and credit report workshop) and elsewhere may be of more value in the classroom.
After reviewing provincial and other educational initiatives, Mr. Richard was prepared to speak with his counterparts. At the LCEEQ meeting, he cited curricular examples from other provinces along with resources provided by the federal government. In particular, they discussed implementation, development, and evaluation strategies. Based on his colleagues' input, Mr. Richard compiled a list of PD workshops and sessions that could help teachers during the implementation phase. Next, they developed pedagogical approaches and frameworks to complement the proposed course. Finally, they debated which data analysis tools and resources would be best suited to periodically evaluate and measure student progress. By the end of the meeting, each pedagogical consultant felt confident in devising their school board's strategic plan, objectives, and policies for Financial Education.

Articulating the Proposed Curriculum
At the next department meeting, Mr. Richard and Mr. Tremblay spoke to the social science teachers at Southeastern Academy. Mr. Richard began by updating them on the proposed financial literacy course. He then introduced Mr. Tremblay who reassured them that the Educational Services Department would do everything in its power to advocate for teachers. He reiterated that the school board was prepared to add to the existing budget (e.g., purchasing financial lit technological tools, e-learning programs, supplementary materials). Mr. Tremblay also mentioned dates for upcoming training and information workshops.
After Mr. Tremblay finished his remarks, Mr. Richard answered a few of their questions. As one of the new Contemporary World teachers, Ms. Lee appeared a little concerned. "Louis, how will this affect teaching assignments moving forward? As you know, I have a lot on my plate. Besides teaching Contemporary World, I am preparing my History of Québec and Canada students for the end-of-the-year provincial exam." Mr. Richard paused for a moment to reflect before responding. "Olivia, I prefer to wait before discussing individual teaching assignments. We will have time to meet with Céline and Jonathan to review schedules for next year." Ms. Lee replied, "Okay, that is fine. I also want you to know that I really enjoy teaching Contemporary World because of its focus on multiculturalism." As a follow up to Ms. Lee's question, Mr. Gauthier mentioned that he would appreciate it if Mr. Richard and the rest of administration would let them know about scheduling at their earliest convenience. "Louis, I have been teaching Contemporary World since 2009 and it would help to know who will be assigned Financial Education." Mr. Richard responded, "Edouard, we are working tirelessly to cause as little disruption as possible to everyone's schedule." Ms. Bouchard then added, "I think we would all agree that you, Mr. Tremblay, and the rest of administration are doing your very best. We just want to prepare for the possibility of teaching a new prep." Upon briefly consulting with Mr. Tremblay, Mr. Richard concluded the meeting and promised to speak right away with the vice-principals about next year's scheduling.

Making Room for Financial Education
The following day, Mr. Richard scheduled a meeting for Tuesday at 10 a.m. with Ms. Renault and Mr. Moore. As Mr. Richard entered Ms. Renault's office, Mr. Moore was in the process of explaining the challenges with scheduling. "Céline, I am trying to accommodate every faculty member's request. But at the same time, some teachers will have to teach a third prep." Mr. Richard interjected, "Jonathan, you are right. There is no way around that. But I also believe that we should as a general rule base our scheduling decisions on seniority." Ms. Renault agreed with Mr. Richard, noting that, "We need to fill three sections of Contemporary World and Financial Education. Since both will be taught as halfyear courses, we probably need to assign these courses to three teachers." Mr. Moore then pointed out that "Olivia, William, and Juliette have the least amount of teaching experience in the department. Yet out of the three, only Olivia has taught Contemporary World. That would mean William and Juliette will be given two additional preps." Mr. Richard thought about it for a moment before changing his mind. "Now that I think about it, asking William and Juliette to teach two new courses seems a little unfair, especially given the fact that they do not have experience in either subject area." As a compromise, Ms. Renault suggested that Mr. Gauthier and Ms. Wilson teach the other sections. She explained that "We are only asking Edouard to teach one additional prep. And since someone has to assume two new courses, we should probably give that to the least senior person. She just started teaching here last year." Mr. Richard and Mr. Moore seemed to be in agreement.
After leaving Ms. Renault's office, Mr. Richard visited the classrooms of Ms. Lee, Mr. Gauthier, and Ms. Wilson. Ms. Lee was teaching a lesson on the sustainable development goals (SDGs) and climate change in her Contemporary World class. After class, Ms. Lee brought up how much she enjoys teaching about the environment and wishes it would stay as one of the course themes. "Louis, it is a shame that students may not have a chance to learn about sustainable development, key environmental groups, and international agreements with the recent change. Today, we just spoke about the significance of the recent Paris Agreement." Mr. Richard replied, "Olivia, I hear what you are saying and agree on the importance of this topic. On a separate note, I wanted to let you know that your schedule will slightly change next year with the addition of Financial Education." Ms. Lee did not appear surprised by the news. "Louis, I suspected that was the reason for your visit. Anyway, I plan to attend a few of those PD sessions during our next pedagogical day and will start preparing lesson plans for the upcoming school year." Mr. Richard thanked her before going down the hall to Mr. Gauthier's classroom.
With only 5 min left before the end of class, Mr. Richard patiently waited outside. Mr. Gauthier had just concluded a lesson in Cultural Geography. Mr. Richard then entered and asked if they could speak for a few minutes. Mr. Gauthier agreed. Mr. Richard went on to describe the reason for his visit. "Edouard, I know how you feel about teaching another course. But after meeting with Céline and Jonathan, we decided that it would be best for you to teach Financial Education." Mr. Gauthier responded, "For the past two decades, I have been teaching at Southeastern Academy and think it is a little unfair that you are now asking me to learn an entirely new subject area at this point in my career." Mr. Richard acknowledged that Mr. Gauthier had a point. "Edouard, the reason I thought you should teach this course is because you and Olivia already teach Contemporary World and this is one additional prep. Otherwise, more than one of your colleagues would have to teach two new preps." Mr. Gauthier replied, "Louis, I understand what you are saying. One thing I will ask of you though is to provide release time throughout the year so I can adequately prepare for Financial Education." Mr. Richard agreed to his request before traveling to Ms. Wilson's classroom.
When he arrived, Ms. Wilson was teaching a lesson on the negative impact of industrialization in her History and Citizenship Education class. Mr. Richard decided to observe the last 20 min of class. She explained to her students how the difficult working and living conditions during the Industrial Revolution led to the passage of landmark legislation and formation of labor unions. At the end of class, Mr. Richard told Ms. Wilson how much he enjoyed her lesson. He then proceeded to tell her about significant changes for next year's schedule. "Juliette, we have decided to assign you two additional courses. We know you prefer teaching the citizenship education course over Geography. For that reason, you will be teaching History and Citizenship Education, Contemporary World, and Financial Education." Ms. Wilson responded, "Well, I am okay with teaching Contemporary World, but I have an issue with Financial Education. As you know, the proposed financial literacy course aims to develop personally responsible rather than justice-oriented citizens." Mr. Richard responded, "Juliette, I am aware of your views. While I personally disagree with your perspective, I have no problem with you exposing students to other viewpoints as long as you cover the course objectives." Ms. Wilson seemed relieved by Mr. Richard's response. "In that case, I am fine with teaching Financial Education, provided that I have the opportunity to delve into more topics than goods and services, the workforce, and education." As Mr. Richard returned to his office, he reflected upon his conversations with Ms. Lee, Mr. Gauthier, and Ms. Wilson. Although he had a few doubts and misgivings, he was overall pleased with the progress made over the past few weeks. In addition, Mr. Richard was eager to tell Ms. Lemieux, Ms. Stewart, and Mr. Tremblay about what transpired earlier today. With only a few months before the start of the next school year, however, he knew that there was no time to rest on his laurels. Mr. Richard had plenty of work to prepare teachers for the new course. This was just the beginning of the long road that lay ahead.

Teaching Notes
This teaching case considers the challenges facing administrators when the Québec Ministry of Education announces the creation of a new course. In particular, it explores the varying roles and responsibilities of a pedagogical consultant-from providing support during the implementation, development, and evaluation of educational initiatives to assisting teachers with pedagogy, PD, and technological programs. As former teachers, pedagogical consultants are able to recognize challenges within the profession (Bacon et al., 2017). To carry out educational directives, however, they need to establish credibility among teachers by demonstrating expertise in the content area (Bacon et al., 2017). This case also highlights the type of interactions that take place between pedagogical consultants and school/board level administrators (e.g., vice principals, the principal, other pedagogical consultants, the assistant director of educational services, and the director of educational services).
In addition, this case introduces several approaches to school leadership, including directive and distributed leadership. Directive leadership or any top-down approach (Lessy et al., 2022) "is primarily located in the person at the top of the school" (Arthur & Souza, 2023, p. 4). While distributed leadership is closely related to other leadership approaches (e.g., shared leadership, democratic leadership, team leadership, etc.), Spillane (2005) characterizes it "as a product of the interactions of school leaders, followers, and their situation" (p. 144). By including the input of several leaders (Spillane, 2005), the distributed leadership approach expands the decision-making process, empowers educators to advocate for themselves or their students, and encourages reflection (Hilal et al., 2022;O'Shea, 2021). The communication style of this approach involves a respectful and calm demeanor, open dialogue, honest feedback, and empathy (Lessy et al., 2022). These attributes can increase the effectiveness of a school leader.
As pedagogical consultant, for example, Mr. Richard had to develop his own leadership approach to implement a provincially mandated course. He conferred with pedagogical consultants across Québec and several educational stakeholders (e.g., school leaders, teachers, etc.) within his own school board. In addition to organizing meetings, PLCs, and PD activities, Mr. Richard conducted extensive research on other financial literacy programs across Canada. He also communicated with social science teachers about their concerns over the addition of Financial Education.
To achieve teacher buy-in, educational leaders need to communicate effectively and build leadership capacity among faculty (Lunenburg, 2010;Slater, 2008). By opening the lines of communication, Mr. Richard attempted to develop a climate of trust. While Mr. Richard sought the input of other educational leaders, he did not include social science teachers in the school board decision-making process. Professional collaboration and more involvement in the decision-making process can increase teacher self-efficacy and job satisfaction (Cansoy & Parlar, 2018;Liu et al., 2021). Through greater engagement in the process, teachers also may overcome feelings of uncertainty caused by a lack of self-efficacy or motivation (Lucas, 2021;Snipes, 2017).
The Québec Ministry of Education's decision to develop a mandatory course reflects a recent trend to teach financial literacy (Lefrançois et al., 2017). Countries around the world have increasingly incorporated financial literacy education into their social studies curricula (Lefrançois et al., 2022). In some cases (especially Canada and the United States), this has come at the expense of history, civics, or geopolitical courses (Soroko, 2022). For instance, the recent adoption of the Economics and Personal Finance course (e.g., economics, income and education, money and credit management, financial planning, critical consumerism) by the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction (2021) has impacted the American History curriculum (Soroko, 2022).
At the same time, some have questioned the goals of the Québec Financial Education program. The Québec curriculum addresses key financial issues related to "consuming goods and services" (e.g., consumption, debt, savings, purchasing power); "entering the workforce" (e.g., taxation, remuneration, employment); and "pursuing an education" (e.g., financing, training, qualifications) (Ministère de l'Éducation et de l'Enseignement supérieur, 2018, p. 10). Referencing Westheimer and Kahne's (2004) three types of good citizens, Lefrançois et al. (2017) contend that Financial Education (solely focused on personal finance) seeks to create personally responsible (e.g., follow the law, pay taxes, etc.) rather than justice-oriented (e.g., challenge social and economic inequities) citizens. This was highlighted in the aforementioned discussion between Mr. Richard and Ms. Wilson. Throughout their conversation, Ms. Wilson expressed reservations about Financial Education given her economic views. Although Mr. Richard disagreed with Ms. Wilson's point of view, he still wanted her to teach the course as long as she followed the provincially mandated course objectives and themes.
Others have objected to the ministry's decision to reduce the instructional time of Contemporary World (Greenaway, 2017;McCallum, 2016;Soroko, 2022;Valiante, 2017). Ever since Canada implemented a federal policy on multiculturalism and the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms a few decades ago (Evans et al., 2009;Ghosh, 2004;Hébert & Abdi, 2013;Mundy et al., 2007), there has been a greater emphasis (including in Québec) on internationalism and teaching global issues. This partly explains why the ministry faced some resistance when proposing changes to the Contemporary World course. Ms. Lee's dialogue with Mr. Richard exemplified this sentiment. The discussion questions and classroom activities below delve into the main issues explored in this case.

Discussion Questions
11. Which leadership approach should pedagogical consultants use when implementing, developing, and evaluating a new course? Please explain your rationale.

Classroom Activities
1. Consider implementation, development, and evaluation strategies for a new course. Debate which pedagogical approaches/frameworks and data analysis tools/resources should be adopted to support teacher growth. 2. Survey financial literacy programs across Canada. Evaluate which provincial programs introduce financial literacy most effectively. 3. Based on the research from the previous classroom activity, determine which techniques and methods should be introduced in the curriculum (from elementary to secondary school) to prepare students for Financial Education. 4. Suggest sample formative and summative assessments for the financial literacy and contemporary world issues course given the proposed reduction in instructional time of Contemporary World. 5. Simulate a school board meeting where educational (e.g., school/board level administrators, teachers, etc.) and community (e.g., council of commissioners, parents, university professors, etc.) stakeholders explore ways to implement the new course (Financial Education) mandated by the Ministry of Education. During role-play activities, publicly elected commissioners and parent commissioners of the school board evaluate the curriculum implementation timeline of Financial Education. In addition, parents and community members participate in an open forum to consider whether Contemporary World should be a two-credit course or remain a four-credit (which then comes at the expense of another elective to make room for Financial Education) course. 6. Design a plan for coordinating professional learning communities and training sessions on financial literacy during pedagogical days. Discuss which types of professional development activities will be most useful for teachers and pedagogical consultants.

Declaration of Conflicting Interests
The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

Funding
The author(s) received no financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.