UCEA Center for Educational Leadership and Social Justice

Duquesne University School of Education

Advancing Equity and Excellence

Educational Leadership and Social Justice

Program Center’s Purpose 

The primary focus of the UCEA Center for Educational Leadership and Social Justice is to investigate the relationship between educational leadership and social justice. 

Program Center’s Assumptions and Activities 

Although ontological innovation is a primary goal in the investigations of this UCEA Center, we believe strongly that academics have theorized about issues of social justice in education long enough; that we need to do more to identify and remedy those conditions that marginalize, trivialize, and suppress “have not” students, schools and communities. We believe further that educational leaders must possess the capacities to recognize and ameliorate social justices in their own work context, not simply in some amorphous sphere of dialogic contention. All too often educational leaders attend only to the injustices their assumptions allow them to address, and–intentionally or unintentionally–ignore so many others. We want to change that; we want to shine a bright light of interrogation on the relationship between educational leadership and social justice in order to facilitate the formation of scholars of the discipline and scholars of practice who can examine their own assumptions and beliefs in light of social justice imperatives and who can share their learning to influence policy. We seek to establish a nexus of scholarship, practice, and policy that will improve how all students are taught and how all educational leaders are prepared. 

Program Center’s Assumptions and Activities 

We intend to investigate the relationship between educational leadership and social justice critically, comprehensively, and collaboratively. 

• Critical investigation of the relationship means rigorous interrogation of the assumptions that underlie the practice of educational leadership and the formation of educational leaders who take action in their own lives and in cooperation with others to effect positive social change. 


• Comprehensive investigation means investigating the relationship within and across the complex contexts in which educational leaders practice and are formed, the theoretical and empirical antecedents that operate in those contexts, and the theoretical and empirical consequences of practical efforts to identify and resolve issues of social justice. 


• Collaborative investigation means investigations that include and address practitioners, researchers, and policy makers from diverse scholastic, academic, community, and government institutions. 

For additional information, please contact: 

James E. (Jim) Henderson, Ed.D. (henderson@duq.edu) Professor of Educational Leadership, and
Director, UCEA Center for Educational Leadership and Social Justice 

-or- 

Darlene Miller (millerd@duq.edu) 
Assistant to the Director, Director, UCEA Center for Educational Leadership and Social Justice 
Duquesne University School of Education
103A Canevin Hall, Pittsburgh, PA 15282-0502
412-396-4038 FAX: 412-396-6100