Grounded in community epistemology and scholarship, this edited volume explores how doctoral educational leadership programs can evolve to remain socially responsive and globally relevant amidst a rapidly shifting global landscape, using a specific Educational and Community Leadership (EDCL) program as a case study.
Positioning the EDCL program as a living case study, the book explores the intersection between educational leadership and socio-political dynamics. Chapters examine how graduate students navigate contested spaces such as globalization versus localization, democracy versus centralized control, and the impact of neoliberalism in politically unstable environments. Within this paradigm, the book explores a broad range of themes including self-reflexivity and identity formation, community-centred leadership and social justice, and feminist reflections on growth and resistance. In particular, the book examines and further develops several key theories and models that have the potential to significantly enhance the inclusivity and resilience of education systems and community structures. By examining the intersections of leadership, equity, innovation, community engagement, and systemic transformation, this volume offers insights that extend beyond one single institution, serving as both a blueprint and a call to action for shaping future educational leadership development programs worldwide.
Ultimately extending theoretical discussions on leadership education beyond institutional boundaries, the book provides a globally relevant framework for understanding leadership in times of transformation. It will therefore be of interest to scholars, researchers, and postgraduate students in the fields of educational leadership strategy.
Table of Contents:
Section 1: Genealogy of the EDCL Program 1. The Genealogy of the School Improvement Doctoral Program Since Inception: Knowledge Production, and Impact 2. Reflections on Program Design Section 2: Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion 3. The PhD as Fertile Ground: Feminist Reflections of Empowerment and Evolution 4. Always Becoming: An Autoethnographic Exploration of Programmatic and Personal Evolution Section 3: People, Places, Space, and Culture 5. Leveraging Cultural Connections in Doctoral Writing Groups 6. Learning, Practice, And People: Navigating Spaces To Impact Change 7. Exploring the Intersectionality of Parenthood, Community Activism, and Educational Leadership: A Dissection and Future Path of Transformation 8. From Possibility Conversations to Necessary Work Section 4: Impact and What's Next 9. Learning to Lead with Courage: A Doctoral Program Journey 10. A Room of One’s Own: Making an impact through leadership in research, teaching, and service at an HSI 11. Self-Reflexivity in Pedagogy: Navigating the PhD Journey through Self and Sisterhood 12. Reflecting On Effective Educational Leadership 13. Schools as Centers of Change: Post-COVID-19 Practices and Community-Centered Leadership in Educational Transformation 14. Transforming The Teaching And Learning Process: A Collaborative Approach In Developing Leaders For Social Justice
About the Author :
Khalid Arar is Professor of Educational Leadership and Policy, Texas State University, US.
Miguel A. Guajardo is Professor, Educational and Community Leadership Program, and Co-Founder of the Community Learning Exchange, Texas State University, US.
Melissa A. Martinez is Professor, Educational and Community Leadership Program, Texas State University, US.
Rolf Straubhaar is an education policy scholar trained in anthropology.
Review :
'This important book connects doctoral programs to global social and economic challenges to offer a valuable new perspective on educational leadership within a powerful transformative framework.'
Professor Tony Bush, Editor-in-Chief, Educational Management, Administration and Leadership Journal
'This new book is a great new addition for our field - this text will be useful on all doctoral programs where staff teams and individual leaders taking part, are wanting to appreciate our ever-changing learning frontiers, and gain alignment despite these permanently shifting inside our neo-liberal systems.'
Deb Outhwaite, BELMAS Chair
'This book provides an invaluable and timely reflection on how leadership doctoral programs can be revitalised in profound, participatory and democratic ways. Drawing on the 'living laboratory' of Texas State University’s PhD in Educational and Community Leadership (EDCL) the book illustrates in profound ways how leadership doctoral education can be rethought as dialogic inquiry grounded in community epistemology. At a time when university doctoral programs that focus on leadership preparation, innovation AND equity are increasingly threatened, the book is a timely intervention in what is possible beyond the technocratic focus of so many leadership doctoral programs.'
Professor Jane Wilkinson, Monash University-Australia and Joint Editor, Journal of Education Administration and History
'This book traces the transformative journey of a doctoral program that centers equity, community, and cultural responsiveness in educational leadership. Through powerful personal narratives and critical scholarly reflections, the contributors demonstrate how doctoral education can become a catalyst for systemic change when it honors the lived experiences of diverse scholars and practitioners. This book is an essential read for anyone reimagining how we prepare educational leaders to navigate and transform today's complex learning systems.'
Jayson W. Richardson, PhD, Professor, Educational Policy, Planning and Leadership Department, William & Mary School of Education, Joint Editor, Journal of Educational Administration
'This book brilliantly traces the historiography of an educational leadership program—documenting its radical transformation from one that successfully prepared individuals to “perform” a particular function within an existing school system, to one that now prepares school leaders to fundamentally change institutions, structures, practices and mindsets to better serve student and community needs. In this book, we hear from the program’s faculty, students, and alumni as they reflect on this revamped program, its import, and its overall impact. I highly recommend this book for faculty, school leaders, community members, and anyone interested in learning about organizational change and the effect a single educational leadership program can have in schools and society as a whole.'
Professor Gerardo R. López, Editor, Education Administration Quarterly, Michigan State University
