EdPrepLab at University Council for Education Administration
November 11-14, 2021 | 9 AM - 6 PM
The University Council for Educational Administration (UCEA) convention will be held November 11-14, 2021 in Columbus, OH. We are excited that members from several EdPrepLab institutions will be presenting over the course of the convention. See below for a list of session titles and descriptions, presenters, dates, and times.
EdPrepLab-affiliated institutions are indicated with: 
Understanding How a Leaders of Color Network Supports the Retention of a Diverse Leader Workforce
Asynchronous
Participant:
- Rebecca Cheung, University of California, Berkeley
This paper presents an intrinsic case study of a Leaders of Color Network implemented by a university-based leadership preparation program in a school district that is attempting to diversify its workforce. The participants experienced increased workplace stress, and the network provided promising supports in service of the retention and efficacy of leaders of color. This case presents the need for targeted and systematic support that uplifts, empowers, and amplifies the needs of leaders of color.
Philanthropy in the Counterpublic: A History of Black Philanthropic Leadership in Education Until the Mid-19th Century
Asynchronous
Participant:
- Jeremy Martin, University of California, Berkeley
This essay argues that, historically, Black philanthropic organizations and their leaders operated in counterpublics. First, I examine current scholarship on philanthropy and k–12 education to argue that Black philanthropic practices have been erased. Second, I argue that Black philanthropists created alternative publics to assert their humanity and positive views of themselves and their communities. Finally, the paper ends with implications on how to examine Black philanthropic leadership in the contemporary era.
The “Mother Tongue” Bilingual Education Policy in Singapore: Policy Analysis
Asynchronous
Participants:
- Martin Scanlan, Boston College
- Qiyang Zhang, Johns Hopkins University
Singapore is a multiracial, multicultural, and multilingual city-nation in Southeast Asia. This analysis found that Singapore’s bilingual policy has exacerbated racial inequality since its inception. To alleviate the problems, we propose three recommendations to revise the current bilingual policy: (a) the policy should be named as “Asian language,” not “mother tongue” language; (b) the policy should diversify language choices and grant more flexibility; and (c) reduce the stakes on the mother tongue language exam.
Mirroring, Adding, and Pushing: Novice Teachers and District Racial Frames
Wednesday, November 10, 2021 | 5:00-6:10pm ET (In person: Floor 2 Union ABC)
Participant:
- Joy Esboldt, University of California, Berkeley
Graduate Student Symposium Roundtable: Decolonizing School and Education
Equity Audits: Possibilities, Pitfalls, and Perils
Thursday, November 11, 2021 | 3:45-5:00pm ET (In person: Floor 2 Delaware A)
Participants:
- Gretchen Givens Generett, Duquesne University
- Mark Anthony Gooden, Teachers College, Columbia University
- Terrance Green, University of Texas at Austin
- Muhammad Khalifa, Ohio State University
- Kofi Lomotey, Western Carolina University
- Sharon I. Radd, St. Catherine University
- George Theoharis, Syracuse University
- Henry Turner
Facilitator:
- Martin Scanlan, Boston College
In responding to educational inequities, educational leaders often use equity audits to diagnose systemic barriers to opportunities to learn and point toward structural change. Equity audits are often lauded as powerful tools for leaders espousing social justice reform. The purpose of this session is to engage participants in a Critical Conversation that interrogates this assumption, exploring the possibilities, pitfalls, and perils regarding how equity audits are used (and not used) in schools.
Deepening Our Commitment to Equity and Social Justice: Professional Learning for Leadership Coaches
Thursday, November 11, 2021 | 3:45-5:00pm ET (Virtual Roundtables: Floor 1 Hayes)
Participants:
- Soraya Sablo-Sutton, University of California, Berkeley
- Viet Nguyen, University of California, Berkeley
Leadership coaches have the potential to support preservice and practicing leaders to disrupt systems of oppression. To engage in this work, coaches need sustained professional development to prepare them to have real-time coaching conversations about issues of inequity. This participatory action research study describes a model of professional learning that enables coaches to make personal connections to systemic oppression, grapple with their own biases, and work collaboratively to understand how oppression manifests in schools.
How State English Language Arts Coordinators’ Social Networks Shape Instructional Resource Curation
Thursday, November 11, 2021 | 3:45-5:00pm ET (In person: Floor 2 Delaware D)
Participants:
- Emily Hodge, Montclair State University
- Serena Jean Salloum, Ball State University
- Susanna Benko, Ball State University
In the wake of states adopting the Common Core State Standards, state education agencies (SEAs) sought to support instructional practice. Research found that states’ approaches to supporting standards varied widely, with some SEAs providing resources created internally, by other states, or by external organizations. We investigate the social networks of state English language arts (ELA) coordinators, who are key decision-makers in each state for supporting teachers’ literacy instruction across an entire state. We find that the ELA coordinators’ social networks shape curation behaviors.
“One Big Thing” to Change Outcomes for Students With Disabilities
Thursday, November 11, 2021 | 5:15-6:30pm ET (Virtual Roundtables: Floor 1 Hayes)
Participants:
- Lihi Rosenthal, University of California, Berkeley
- Thomas Green, University of California, Berkeley
- Morgan Bessette, University of California, Berkeley
Special education is a tricky enterprise, but you would not know it by looking at the professional learning options made available to its leaders. This roundtable session describes one university’s efforts to address this gap through the establishment of a community of practice for teams of special education leaders. A review of current research will be followed by a discussion of additional areas of inquiry that would benefit the field.
Viewing School Leaders’ Challenges From Inside Out Through Multiple Lenses: Why It Matters
Thursday, November 11, 2021 | 5:15-6:30pm ET (In person: Floor 2 Delaware C)
Participants:
- Pat Maslin-Ostrowski, Florida Atlantic University
- Ellie E. Drago-Severson, Teachers College, Columbia University
- Jessica Blum-DeStefano, Bank Street College
Facilitator:
- Michelle D. Young, Loyola Marymount University
Based on our mixed-methods, longitudinal research with 141 leaders, we highlight central learnings about how leaders make sense of their most pressing challenges inside-out, how leaders help teachers manage change, and how leaders understand their internal experiences of leading for social justice; building individual, team and organizational capacity; and supporting student learning. Findings underscore the social-emotional and developmental capacities needed to exercise leadership. We emphasize implications for strengthening leadership practice, preparation, and workplace learning to sustain leaders.
Understanding How a Leaders of Color Network Supports the Retention of a Diverse Leader Workforce
Thursday, November 11, 2021 | 5:15-6:30pm ET (In person: Floor 2 Delaware B)
Participant:
- Rebecca Cheung, University of California, Berkeley
Facilitator:
- Kathleen M. W. Cunningham, University of South Carolina
This paper presents an intrinsic case study of a Leaders of Color Network implemented by a university-based leadership preparation program in a school district that is attempting to diversify its workforce. The participants experienced increased workplace stress, and the network provided promising supports in service of the retention and efficacy of leaders of color. This case presents the need for targeted and systematic support that uplifts, empowers, and amplifies the needs of leaders of color.
Mirroring, Adding, and Pushing: Novice Teachers and District Racial Frames
Thursday, November 11, 2021 | 5:15-6:30pm ET (Virtual Roundtables: Floor 1)
Participant:
- Joy Esboldt, University of California, Berkeley
Teacher Preparation, Networks, and Relationships
The Crucibles of School Improvement: When Problem-Driven Development Meets “Best Practice” Implementation
Friday, November 12, 2021 | 8:00-9:10 am ET (In person: Floor 2 Delaware B)
Participants:
- Elizabeth Arnett Zumpe, University of California, Berkeley
- Corrine Aramburo, San Francisco State University/University of California, Berkeley
- Heinrich Mintrop, University of California, Berkeley
The prevailing school improvement paradigm centers around training teachers to implement research-based “best practices,” but in recent years an alternative, and more promising, approach has emerged: problem-driven development. Shifting toward problem-driven development in districts must, however, contend with an ingrained logic of implementation. The proposed paper explores key tensions in this shift—what we call “crucibles”—using data from participant observation with a district leadership team and three schools as part of a research–practice partnership.
Fostering Continuous Improvement in Districts: Affordances of a Design for Professional Development for Educational Leaders
Friday, November 12, 2021 | 10:40-11:50 am ET (In person: Floor 2 Franklin D)
Participants:
- Elizabeth Arnett Zumpe, University of California, Berkeley
- Corrine Aramburo, San Francisco State University/University of California, Berkeley
- Heinrich Mintrop, University of California, Berkeley
Continuous improvement (CI) methods have garnered increasing attention in education, but little research exists about the learning processes entailed for leaders to undertake CI in typical district environments. This paper uses data from participant observation with a district leadership team at a professional development series about a CI method designed by a university team in a research–practice partnership. The paper traces key affordances and challenges of the series for fostering more productive problem-solving.
Infusing Racial Justice in Preparation Programs: Sense-Making and Meaning-Making
Friday, November 12, 2021 | 10:40-11:50 am ET (In person: Floor 1 Taft - A)
Participants:
- Pascal Barreau, Virginia State University
- Janis Carthon, Albany State University
- Robert Corley III, Virginia State University
- Tim Drake, North Carolina State University
- Richard Gonzales, University of Connecticut
- Stacy Leggett, Western Kentucky University
- Daniel Reyes-Guerra, Florida Atlantic University
Facilitators:
- Alejandro Gonzalez Ojeda, San Diego State University
- Ann O’Doherty, University of Washington
Leadership preparation programs across the United States have been conceptualized with a specific sequence of courses. This Critical Conversation extends a mixed-methods study to explore decisions that influence course sequence in selected leadership programs. We define how their program has addressed racial justice; what has been learned from the past year around content, delivery, and/or sequencing of learning experiences; and what actions have been or will be taken based on what has been learned.
How Are University–District Partnerships Using Improvement Science to Address Current Problems of Practice?
Friday, November 12, 2021 | 1:20-2:30 pm ET (Floor 2 Madison)
Participants:
- Cynthia Kay Barron, University of Illinois at Chicago
- Shelby A. Cosner, University of Illinois at Chicago
- David H. Eddy Spicer, University of Virginia
- Sandy J. Lochhead, Denver Public Schools
- Margaret Terry Orr, Fordham University
- Natasha Saunders, Fairfax County Public Schools
- Farnoosh Shahrokhi, George Mason University
- Elizabeth Leisy Stosich, Fordham University
Facilitators:
- Erin Anderson, University of Denver
- Kathleen M. W. Cunningham, University of South Carolina
- Kris DeFilippis
- Tinkhani White
This Critical Conversation will explore the ways university–district partnerships are addressing the problems of practice that pre-K-12 educational leaders currently face as they react to the impact of COVID-19 on their school communities. Participants will be invited to discuss responses to examples of how university–district partnerships are using an improvement science lens to address three pressing problems of practice: educational equity, unfinished learning, and social-emotional considerations.
Toward a Research-Based, Developmental Continuum of Social Justice Educational Leadership
Saturday, November 13, 2021 | 8:00-9:10 am ET (In person: Floor 2 Delaware B)
Participants:
- Ellie E. Drago-Severson, Teachers College, Columbia University
- Jessica Blum-DeStefano, Bank Street College
- Deborah Brooks-Lawrence, Teachers College, Columbia University
Facilitator:
- Terah Talei Venzant Chambers, Michigan State University
Drawing from in-depth qualitative interviews and developmental assessments with 50 educational leaders in various roles from across the United States, this paper presents a developmental continuum of social justice leadership. More specifically, it explores how leaders’ ways of knowing influence their leadership on behalf of social justice, as well as how the unique strengths and growing edges of different meaning-making systems can influence practice. Implications for leadership preparation and in-service professional development are discussed.
Parenting in the Pandemic: A Collision of School, Work, and Life at Home
Saturday, November 13, 2021 | 8:00-9:10 am ET (In person: Floor 1 Taft A)
Participants:
- William Black, University of South Florida
- Joshua Bornstein, Fairleigh Dickinson University
- Vincent Cho, Boston College
- Decoteau J. Irby, University of Illinois at Chicago
- Melissa Ann Martinez, Texas State University
- Raquel Muñiz, Boston College
- Sharon I. Radd, St. Catherine University
- Jessica G. Rigby, University of Washington
- Rosa Rivera-McCutchen, Lehman College, CUNY
- Carrie Sampson, Arizona State University
- Martin Scanlan, Boston College
This Critical Conversation examines the realities of parenting as education professors during the COVID-19 pandemic. Kicking off with readings of excerpts from a new collection of essays, we create space for critical reflection and discussion. We bring authors and audience together to explore fundamental questions about the purpose and design of schooling, the value of our work as education professors, and the precious relationships we hope to maintain with our children through this difficult time.
Reimagining the Educator Workforce: Transforming Preservice and In-Service Educators Into Self-Improving Teams
Saturday, November 13, 2021 | 10:40-11:50 am ET (In person: Floor 2 Franklin D)
Participants:
- Nicole Thompson, Arizona State University
- Betsy Hargrove
Facilitators:
- Manuelito Biag, Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching
- Louis Gomez, University of California, Los Angeles
- David Imig, University of Maryland
This symposium features studies from six district–university partnerships engaged in the Improvement Leadership Education and Development (iLEAD) network. The session explores how partnerships between school districts and universities can serve as a strategic resource to build capacity for student-centered improvements in educational practices, particularly during periods of instability. We seek to demonstrate how partnerships focused on continuous improvement can overcome traditional ways of working and institutional boundaries to enable more coordinated responses to shared challenges.
Shaping a Principal Supervisor Learning Design Through a Research–Practice Partnership
Saturday, November 13, 2021 | 10:40-11:50 am ET (In person: Floor 2 Franklin D)
Participants:
- Shelby A. Cosner, University of Illinois at Chicago
- Cynthia Kay Barron, University of Illinois at Chicago
Facilitators:
- Manuelito Biag, Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching
- Louis Gomez, University of California, Los Angeles
- David Imig, University of Maryland
This symposium features studies from six district–university partnerships engaged in the Improvement Leadership Education and Development (iLEAD) network. The session explores how partnerships between school districts and universities can serve as a strategic resource to build capacity for student-centered improvements in educational practices, particularly during periods of instability. We seek to demonstrate how partnerships focused on continuous improvement can overcome traditional ways of working and institutional boundaries to enable more coordinated responses to shared challenges.
Inwardly Facing Inequitable and Racially Unjust Practices While Outwardly Dealing With the Challenge of the Online Learning Environment Around Implicit Bias and Structural Racism
Saturday, November 13, 2021 | 2:40-3:50 pm ET (In person: Floor 2 Franklin D)
Participants:
- Tim Drake, North Carolina State University
- Bonnie Fusarelli, North Carolina State University
- Lacey Seaton, Virginia Commonwealth University
- Mario Jackson, North Carolina State University
Five district–university partnership educational leadership programs explore the impact of the compound crisis starting in March 2020. Given the explicit and implicit inequities the pandemic caused or amplified—compounded by the racial injustices revealed and rapid transitions that were experienced in terms of learning facilitation—this symposium focuses on how this influenced curriculum, program delivery, and partnerships. Dialogic engagement will prioritize the present and future challenges to promote effective educational equity leadership.
What’s (New) Normal? Institutional Logics and Restorative Practices
Saturday, November 13, 2021 | 2:40-3:50 pm ET (In person: Floor 2 Delaware C)
Participants:
- Hilary Lustick, UMass Lowell
- Vincent Cho, Boston College
- Katie Kinnaman, Boston College
Through the lens of institutional logics (Bridwell-Mitchell & Sherer, 2014), we examine the perspectives of educators at one urban charter school. This frame allows us to surface the myriad logics that play a role in teachers’ and leaders’ perspectives. These include a commitment to justice in theory and a sense of accountability to academic standards. We translate these into dilemmas that practitioners should think through in order to promote a sustainable and equitable restorative practice.
Interns’ Reflective Learning During a Full-Time Principal Internship
Saturday, November 13, 2021 | 4:00-5:10 pm ET (In person: Floor 2 Delaware C)
Participants:
- Tim Drake, North Carolina State University
- Lacey Seaton, Virginia Commonwealth University
- Laura Ivey, North Carolina State University
The internship is considered one of the most important components of high-quality principal preparation. We use weekly reflection logs of 26 full-time principal-interns to explore how interns make sense of their internship, including how it shaped their conceptions of leadership and what experiences were most formative. We found that interns who openly and consistently reflected on their learning seemed better able to advocate for and receive opportunities to experience the full breadth of the principalship.
Critical Conversations: Supporting Leadership for Equity Through Sustained Statewide Researcher–Practitioner Collaboration
Saturday, November 13, 2021 | 4:00-5:10 pm ET (In person: Floor 2 Madison)
Facilitator:
- Rebecca Cheung; University of California, Berkeley
This Critical Conversation centers on the affordances, possibilities, and challenges of a unique statewide partnership that seeks to provide equity-centered professional learning for educational leaders of schools and districts across a state. A brief overview, discussion, and questions will be facilitated among the panel and participants. For example, how does engagement in the partnership impact and influence the work of faculty and programs?