Ken Brien

Education

• BA, BEd, University of Western Ontario
• MEd, University of New Brunswick
• EdD, University of Alberta
• LL.M., York University

Key areas of interest

• Educational law, policy, governance
• Professional learning communities
• Roles of principals and vice-principals
• Parental involvement in education
• Distance education

Teaching

• ED 5070 Cultural Contexts of Education
• ED 6003 Administrative Theory
• ED 6005 Planning for Organizational Change.
• ED 6007 Legal Aspects of Education
• ED 6011 Educational Theory and School Administration
• ED 6012 Politics and Policy in Educational Administration
• ED 6014 Secondary School Administration

Practicum/professional mentoring

• Supervision of about 60 course-based MEd students in Educational Administration and Leadership each year.
• Completed supervision of two MEd thesis route students.
• Completed supervision of nine PhD students as of July 2024.
• External examiner for 29 doctoral dissertations and two MEd theses as of July 2024.

Professional practice, committees and volunteer work

• Canadian Association for the Study of Educational Administration (CASEA): Served as 2nd Vice-President (2010 – 2012), 1st Vice-President (2012 – 2013), President (2013 – 2016), and Past President (2016 – 2018).
• Commonwealth Council for Educational Administration and Management (CCEAM): Served as Vice-President (2013 – 2014) and President (2014 – 2018).
• Ontario teacher certification since 1983.
• Reviewer for several journals, grant applications, university programs, and conference proposals.

Selected publications

Brien, K. (2017). [Review of the book A decade of research on school principals]. Leadership and Policy in Schools, 17(1), 166 – 170.

Drukpa, K., & Brien, K. (2013). Educating for Gross National Happiness: A new paradigm for education in Bhutan. Antistasis, 3(2), 11 – 15.

Williams, R., Brien, K., & LeBlanc, J. (2012). Transforming schools into learning organizations: Supports and barriers to educational reform. Canadian Journal of Educational Administration and Policy, 134, 1 – 32.

Brien, K. (2010). Videoconference teaching for graduate courses in educational administration. In Collected essays in learning and teaching (Vol. III) (pp. 38 – 42). Toronto, ON: Society for Teaching and Learning in Higher Education (STLHE).

Brien, K., & Williams, R. (2010). Promoting organizational and cultural change in New Brunswick schools. Antistasis: A New Brunswick Education Journal, 1(1), 3 – 5.

Broster, R., & Brien, K. (2010). Cyber-bullying of educators by students: Evolving legal and policy developments. Education & Law Journal, 20, 35 – 61.

Brien, K., & Stelmach, B. L. (2009). Legal and cultural contexts of parent-teacher interactions: School councils in Canada. International Journal about Parents in Education, 3(1), 1 – 14.

Williams, R. B., Brien, K., Sprague, C., & Sullivan, G. (2008). Professional learning communities: Developing a school-based readiness instrument. Canadian Journal of Educational Administration and Policy, 74, 1 – 17.