But I Don't Teach in PK-12

Cultivating Space for Community and Higher Education Professionals in a PK-12 Dominant EdD Program

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.5195/ie.2026.568

Keywords:

professional students, higher education, social justice, curriculum, education doctorate

Abstract

This essay reflects the conversational nature of CPED’s dialogue exchange format, in which we collaboratively explore and respond to shared prompts. We present a discussion to understand how professional students and faculty have worked within our EdD program to relate the content to varied forms of educational practice. Additionally, we asked our students and alumni to consider how they have been informed by the ‘social justice in public schooling’ emphasis of our EdD program and what challenges or successes they have experienced in implementing what they learned into their professional contexts outside PK-12. Insights from our reflective discussion convey that students are proactively adapting content to their own contexts but would benefit from more guidance to integrate ideas across educational settings. They recognized both faculty and peers as learning resources and felt successful in applying a social justice lens to their fields. This essay concludes with recommendations for EdD programs.

References

Baker, V. L. & Lattuca, L. R. (2010). Developmental networks and learning: Toward an interdisciplinary perspective on identity development during doctoral study. Studies in Higher Education, 35(7), 807-827. https://doi.org/10.1108/SGPE-04-2019-0048

Burriss, T. L., & Mayers, E. (2024). The role of theory in a practitioner-based EdD program: A braided dialectical interplay between professor and scholar-practitioner. Impacting Education: Journal on Transforming Professional Practice, 9(4), 49–54. https://doi.org/10.5195/ie.2024.449

Carnegie Project on the Education Doctorate. (2023). CPED 2023 member data findings. CPED Initiative. https://resources.cped.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/2023-Member-Data-Findings-Report.pdf

CPED convening manual (2018). Carnegie Project on the Education Doctorate.https://www.cpedinitiative.org/assets/docs/convening_planning_manual_8.pdf

Gillham, J. C., Williams, N. V., Rife, G., & Parker, K. K. (2019). Problems of practice: A document analysis of education doctorate dissertations. Impacting Education, 4, 1–9. https://doi.org/10.5195/ie.2019.85

Hajian, S. (2019). Transfer of learning and teaching: A review of transfer theories and effective instructional practices. IAFOR Journal of education, 7(1), 93–111. https://doi.org/10.22492/ije.7.1.06

Herr, K., & Anderson, G. L. (2005). The action research dissertation: A guide for students and faculty. Sage. https://doi.org/10.4135/9781452226644

Kennedy, B. L., Altman, M., & Pizano, A. (2018). Engaging in the battle of the snails by challenging the traditional dissertation model. Impacting Education, 3(1), 4–12. https://doi.org/10.5195/ie.2018.27

Ladson-Billings, G. (1995). But that’s just good teaching! The case for culturally relevant pedagogy. Theory Into Practice, 34(3), 159–165. https://10.1080/00405849509543675

Leberman, S., & McDonald, L. (2016). The transfer of learning: Participants' perspectives of adult education and training. Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315552118

Ma, V. W., Dana, N. F., Adams, A., & Kennedy, B. L. (2018). Understanding the problem of practice: An analysis of professional practice EdD dissertations. Impacting Education: Journal on Transforming Professional Practice, 3(1), 13–22. https://doi.org/10.5195/ie.2018.50

Mangan, K. (2025, June 20). ‘A banner year for censorship’: More states are restricting classroom discussions of race and gender. Chronicle of Higher Education. https://www.chronicle.com/article/a-banner-year-for-censorship-more-states-are-restricting-classroom-discussions-on-race-and-gender

Moreno, R., Guthrie, K. H., & Strickland, K. (2023). Incorporating arts-based pedagogy: Moving beyond traditional approaches to teaching qualitative research. Teaching & Learning Inquiry, 11. https://doi.org/10.20343/teachlearninqu.11.15

Owens, A., Brien, D. L., Ellison, E. & Batty, C. (2019). Student reflections on doctoral learning: Challenges and breakthroughs. Studies in Graduate and Postdoctoral Education, 11(1), 107–122. https://doi.org/10.1108/SGPE-04-2019-0048

Paris, D. & Alim, H. S. (2017). Culturally sustaining pedagogies: Teaching and learning for justice in a changing world. Teachers College Press.

Patel, L. (2015). Decolonizing educational research: From ownership to answerability. Routledge.

Shaw, L. F., Paré-Blagoev, J., & Quaynor, L. (2024). Reimagining the EdD in a time when the future of public schooling is at stake. Impacting Education: Journal on Transforming Professional Practice, 9(1), 16–22. https://doi.org/10.5195/ie.2024.399

Sullivan, P. (2012). Qualitative data analysis using a dialogical approach. Sage. https://doi.org/10.4135/9781446268391.n1

Tran, H., Cunningham, K., Hardie, S., Moyi, P., & Roberts, E. (2024). (Re)designing a CPED-oriented EdD program to improve its emphasis on equity in a post pandemic world. Impacting Education: Journal on Transforming Professional Practice, 9(1), 63–70. https://doi.org/10.5195/ie.2024.386

Turner, C. R., & Allen, K. R. (2024). “She’s a friend of my mind”: a reflection of Black sisterhood in academia. Race Ethnicity and Education, 27(7), 1107–1124. https://doi.org/10.1080/13613324.2022.2088724

Wahlgren, B., & Aarkrog, V. (2020). Bridging the gap between research and practice: how teachers use research-based knowledge. Educational Action Research, 29(1), 118–132. https://doi.org/10.1080/09650792.2020.1724169

Wenger, E. (1999). Communities of practice: Learning, meaning, and identity. Cambridge University Press.

Zambo, D., Buss, R. R., & Zambo, R. (2015). Uncovering the identities of students and graduates in a CPED-influenced EdD program. Studies in Higher Education, 40(2), 233–252. https://doi.org/10.1080/03075079.2013.823932

Downloads

Published

2026-07-29

How to Cite

Moreno, R., Linville, D., Cosper, S. M., Fisher, J., Ibrahim, S., Kluge, S. L., & Myers, M. (2026). But I Don’t Teach in PK-12: Cultivating Space for Community and Higher Education Professionals in a PK-12 Dominant EdD Program. Impacting Education: Journal on Transforming Professional Practice, 11(3), 81–87. https://doi.org/10.5195/ie.2026.568