Taking Responsibility for EdD-Activism: Recognizing the Hidden Value of Self-Study

• In Event: Racial Identities, Social Justice, and Activism in the Self-Studies of Teacher Educators

Abstract

Our EdD program is in the process of augmenting our existing social justice emphasis by conceptualizing and implementing an EdD-Activism framework. As we four teacher educators wondered how to help our students become EdD-Activists, we began to reflect on our own responsibility to adopt a similar identity. To interrogate our own understanding(s) of and relationship to EdD-Activism, we turned to self-study, guided by the following questions: 1) How do we define activism? 2) To what extent are/should we (be) activists? 3) How can exploring our identities and beliefs, in turn, shape them? This presentation will share insights from qualitative analysis of weekly meeting transcripts and preexisting survey data, illustrating how we came to recognize the value of self-study.

Authors

• Elizabeth Currin, University of South Carolina

• Suha Tamim

• Christopher Bogiages

• Yasha Becton