Transformative Praxis through Doctoral Educational Leadership Programs A Blueprint for Fostering Resilient, Future-ready Leaders

Introduction: A Global Landscape of Educational Management and Leadership in Action (EMLA)

Section 1: Genealogy of the EDCL Program

1.          The Genealogy of the School Improvement Doctoral Program Since Inception: Knowledge Production, and Impact
Khalid Arar, Miguel A. Guajardo, Danielle Bryant and Isabella Vigil

2.          Reflections on Program Design
Stephen P. Gordon, Rosa M. Peña, Rachel Solis and Donna Kubena
Section 2: Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion

3.          The PhD as Fertile Ground: Feminist Reflections of Empowerment and Evolution
Melissa A. Martinez, Kelley T. Glover, JessicaC.E. Bent, Katherine Lewis, and Patricia Rocha

4.          Always Becoming: An Autoethnographic Exploration of Programmatic and Personal Evolution
Dionne L. Davis
Section 3: People, Place, Space, and Culture

5.          Leveraging Cultural Connections in Doctoral Writing Groups
Christina Hernandez, Marissa De Hoyos, April J. Mouton, Kelley T. Glover, Jarell Routt, and Michael Ota

6.          Learning, Practice, And People: Navigating Spaces To Impact Change
Letti Romero Grimaldo and Genise Henry

7.          Exploring the Intersectionality of Parenthood, Community Activism, and Educational Leadership: A Dissection and Future Path of Transformation
Michael Ota

8.          From Possibility Conversations to Necessary Work
Greg Rodriguez
Section 4: Impact and What’s Next

9.          Learning to Lead with Courage: A Doctoral Program Journey
Katherine Lewis

10.       A Room of One’s Own: Making an impact through leadership in research, teaching, and service at an HSI
Israel Aguilar

11.       Self-Reflexivity in Pedagogy: Navigating the PhD Journey through Self and Sisterhood
Isabella Vigil, Amber M. Joyce and Nancy Valdez-Gainer

12.       Reflecting On Effective Educational Leadership
Nolan Jager Loyde

13.       Schools as Centers of Change: Post-COVID-19 Practices and Community-Centered Leadership in Educational Transformation
Sarah Jean Baker and A. Minor Baker 

14.       Transforming The Teaching And Learning Process: A Collaborative Approach In Developing Leaders For Social Justice
Juan Manuel Niño and Dessynie Edwards

Conclusion: Beyond the Case Study: Leadership Education in a Changing World — Connecting Micro Context to the Macro World
Khalid Arar, Rolf Straubhaar, Miguel A. Guajardo and Melissa A. Martinez

Biography

Khalid Arar is Professor of Educational Leadership and Policy, Texas State University, USA.

Miguel A. Guajardo is Professor, Educational and Community Leadership Program, and Co-Founder of the Community Learning Exchange, Texas State University, USA.

Melissa A. Martinez is Professor, Educational and Community Leadership Program, Texas State University, USA.

Rolf Straubhaar is an education policy scholar trained in anthropology.

'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