Defining and Operationalizing Social Justice in Ed.D. Programs

• In Event: 44.084 - Roundtable Session 18
  In Roundtable Session: 44.084-1 - Educational Leadership Doctoral Program Enhancement: Strategies for Improving Program Quality

Abstract

In an educational context driven by harmful neoliberal policies and characterized by widening inequalities, preparing educational leaders to work for social justice in P-16 settings is more critical and urgent than ever. In this paper, we focus on the particular problem of the construct of social justice itself, adopting a self-study-informed approach to examine the ways “social justice” is understood and “put to work” in two EdD programs. The following questions guided our inquiry: 1) How do we define social justice programmatically? 2) How do we currently operationalize that understanding in muliple program facets? 3) How can we improve the way we operationalize social justice in those program facets?

Authors

• Kathryn Jill Strom, California State University - East Bay

• Bradley J. Porfilio, Seattle University

• John Joseph Lupinacci, Washington State University - Pullman