Educational Design for Collective Liberation: Rethinking Leadership Development in a Critical EdD Program

• In Event: Critical & Equity-Oriented Leadership Preparation

Abstract

Preparing equity-focused leaders through intensive EdD programs presents profound challenges: supporting transformative growth while students manage careers, families, and politicized environments. This study examines an EdD program serving 75% BIPOC and 70% women and shows how this program redesigned leadership preparation to cultivate collective liberation. Using educational design research, we analyzed interviews with alumni, faculty, and founding leaders to identify what supports transformative leadership development. Findings are organized into five design-based principles aligned with program changes: fostering identity alignment, structuring practitioner inquiry, building relational accountability, supporting adaptive learning, and cultivating faculty learning. Together, these principles offer a framework that integrates personal growth with strategic practice. We share implications for justice-centered EdD programs amid attacks on equity and public education.

Authors

• Violet Ballard, San Francisco State University

• Barbara A. Henderson, San Francisco State University

• Chu Hsi Tseng, San Francisco State University

• Robert Gabriner, San Francisco State University