EdD-Activism Through the Dissertation in Practice and Beyond

An Introduction to the Special Issue

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.5195/ie.2025.591

Keywords:

activism, action research, dissertation in practice

Abstract

This special issue celebrates our colleagues, graduates, and current students for being, becoming, and supporting EdD-activists. Grounded in the Carnegie Project on the Education Doctorate framework, our program has long emphasized advocating for equity and social justice, yet we recently went a step further by framing students’ action research dissertations as opportunities for activism. Stemming from these ongoing efforts, this issue may nourish comparable transformation in other schools and communities. This introduction outlines our aim to introduce and illustrate the concept of EdD-activism, aided by a range of student, graduate, and faculty voices. By highlighting students’ and graduates’ experiences and achievements as EdD-activists and describing the structures and approaches that give rise to EdD-activism, we hope to inspire other educators to see and act upon the activist potential in their own practice, as well as encouraging fellow teacher educators to instill or enhance that mindset in the students they serve.

References

Baker, L. (2022, April 5). Forever changed: A timeline of how COVID upended schools. Education Week. https://www.edweek.org/leadership/forever-changed-a-timeline-of-how-covid-upended-schools/2022/04

Becton, Y. J., Bogiages, C., Currin, E., D’Amico, L., Jeffries, R., Lilly, T., & Tamim, S. (2020). An emerging framework for the EdD activist. Impacting Education: Journal on Transforming Professional Practice, 5(2), 43–54. https://doi.org/10.5195/ie.2020.131

Becton, Y. J., & Jeffries, R. B. (2020). EdD program reform and signature pedagogies for activism. Impacting Education: Journal on Transforming Professional Practice, 5(2), 1–2. https://doi.org/10.5195/ie.2020.149

Becton, Y. J., & Jeffries, R. B. (2021). Energizing activism: Motivating activism within EdD programs. Impacting Education: Journal on Transforming Professional Practice, 6(1), 1–2. https://doi.org/10.5195/ie.2021.194

Blakely, E., & Hemphill, D. (2021). Opening third spaces for research in education: Challenging the limits of technocratic methods. Myers Education Press.

Bradley-Levine, J. (2018). Advocacy as a practice of critical teacher leadership. International Journal of Teacher Leadership, 9(1), 47–62. https://eric.ed.gov/?id=EJ1182705

Brydon-Miller, M., Greenwood, D., & Maguire, P. (2003). Why action research? Action Research, 1(1), 9–28. https://doi.org/10.1177/14767503030011002

Carini, P. (2001). Starting strong: A different look at children, schools, and standards. Teachers College Press.

Carnegie Project on the Education Doctorate. (2022a). The CPED framework. https://www.cpedinitiative.org/the-framework

Carnegie Project on the Education Doctorate. (2022b). Our members. https://www.cped.org/current-members

Carnegie Project on the Education Doctorate. (2022c). Our vision and mission. https://www.cpedinitiative.org/vision-mission

Caro-Bruce, C., Flessner, R., Klehr, M., & Zeichner, K. (Eds.). (2007). Creating equitable classrooms through action research. Corwin Press.

CBS News. (2023, October 7). At least 250 killed in unprecedented Hamas attack in Israel; Prime minister says country is “at war.” https://www.cbsnews.com/news/israel-attack-hamas-unprecedented-rocket-invasion/

Coble, T. G., Mason, C. W., Overholser, L., & Gwaltney, W. W. (2020). Opening up to hard history: Activating anti-racism in an immersive Ed.D. cohort experience at heritage sites in Montgomery, Alabama. Impacting Education: Journal on Transforming Professional Practice, 5(2), 26–32. https://doi.org/10.5195/ie.2020.132

Cochran-Smith, M. (2010). Toward a theory of teacher education for social justice. In A. Hargreaves, A. Lieberman, M. Fullan, & D. Hopkins (Eds.), Second international handbook of educational change (pp. 445-467). Springer.

Cochran-Smith, M., & Lytle, S. L. (2009). Inquiry as stance: Practitioner research for the next generation. Teachers College Press.

Currin, E., Tamim, S., & Becton, Y. (2023). Consensus is a journey: A programmatic framework for EdD-activism. Impacting Education: Journal on Transforming Professional Practice, 8(1), 49–57. https://doi.org/10.5195/ie.2023.293

Dana, N. F., & Yendol-Hoppey, D. (2020). The reflective educator’s guide to classroom research: Learning to teach and teaching to learn through practitioner inquiry (4th ed.). Corwin.

Efron, S. E., & Ravid R. (2020). Action research in education: A practical guide (2nd ed.). The Guilford Press.

Fortin, J. (2024, September 6). What we know about the Apalachee high school shooting. The New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/2024/09/06/us/apalachee-high-school-georgia-shooting.html

Gecker, J., Balingit, M., & Melia, M. (2024, October 16). Many schools are still closed weeks after hurricane Helene: Teachers worry about long-term impact. AP News. https://apnews.com/article/schools-hurricane-helene-education-0375767ce9ff4754dd95dd29423fc788

Herr, K., & Anderson, G. L. (2015). The action research dissertation: A guide for students and faculty (2nd ed.). Sage.

Kemmis, S. (2009). Action research as a practice-based practice. Educational Action Research, 17(3), 463–474. https://doi.org/10.1080/09650790903093284

Kochhar-Bryant, C. A. (2017). Symbiotic space: Exploring the nexus of rigor, problems of practice and implementation. Impacting Education: Journal on Transforming Professional Practice, 2(1), 6–14. https://doi.org/10.5195/ie.2017.25

Krebs, M., & Torrez, C. A. (Eds.). (2022). K–12 teacher inquiry and reflections: A pathway to enduring transformation. Lexington Books.

Noel, M. (2023, July 20). Author Ta-Nehisi Coates attends school board meeting to support teacher banned from using his book on race in class. Essence. https://www.essence.com/news/ta-nehisi-coates-school-board-meeting-book-bans/

Pape, S. J., Bryant, C. L., JohnBull, R. M., & Karp, K. S. (Eds.). (2023). Transforming identities: How an EdD program develops practitioners into scholar–practitioners. Myers Education Press.

Perry, J. A. (2024). Reclaiming the education doctorate: A guidebook for (re)designing EdD programs. Myers Education Press.

Porfilio, B. J., Strom, K., & Lupinacci, J. (2019). Getting explicit about social justice in educational doctoral programs in the U.S.: Operationalizing an elusive construct in neoliberal times. Educational Foundations, 32(1–4), 104–123.

Putman, S. M., & Rock, T. (2018). Action research: Using strategic inquiry to improve teaching and learning. Sage.

Rasmussen, H. T. (2018). Getting to maybe: Improving the education doctorate in an era of uncertainty. Impacting Education: Journal on Transforming Professional Practice, 3(2), 24–29. https://doi.org/10.5195/ie.2018.59

Richards, E. (2020, June 4). Kids need to talk about George Floyd, protests and racism: With coronavirus school closures, it’s hard to do. USA Today. https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/education/2020/06/04/george-floyd-protests-kids-coronavirus-school-closures/3128780001/

Robertson, C., Rojas, R., Paybarah, A., Medina, E., & Tankersley, J. (2021, December 13). Deadly tornado aftermath: At least 74 dead in Kentucky tornadoes; Biden to visit this week. The New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/live/2021/12/13/us/tornadoes-kentucky-illinois

Ryan, A. M., & Watson, S. (2021). Impact and inclusion: Transforming an EdD program into a crucible for systems change. Impacting Education: Journal on Transforming Professional Practice, 6(1), 11–16. https://doi.org/10.5195/ie.2021.123

Santoro, S. A., & Cain, L. (Eds.). (2018). Principled resistance: How teachers resolve ethical dilemmas. Harvard Education Press.

Shulman, L. S., Golde, C. M., Bueschel, A. C., & Garabedian, K. J. (2006). Reclaiming education’s doctorates: A critique and a proposal. Educational Researcher, 35(3), 25–32. https://doi.org/10.3102/0013189X035003025

Storey, V., & Fletcher, R. (2023). Developing scholar activists: The role of the EdD. Impacting Education: Journal on Transforming Professional Practice, 8(1), 1–8. https://doi.org/10.5195/ie.2023.277

Wergin, J. F. (2011). Rebooting the EdD. Harvard Educational Review, 81(1), 119–140. https://doi.org/10.17763/haer.81.1.fp775268x77n0122

Downloads

Published

2025-11-11

How to Cite

Currin, E., & Tamim, S. (2025). EdD-Activism Through the Dissertation in Practice and Beyond: An Introduction to the Special Issue . Impacting Education: Journal on Transforming Professional Practice, 10(4), 1–6. https://doi.org/10.5195/ie.2025.591

Issue

Section

Themed- EdD-Activism: The Dissertation in Practice and Beyond

Most read articles by the same author(s)