In the Lead with UCEA

In this episode of In the Lead with UCEA, Executive Director Dr. Mónica Byrne-Jiménez talks with Dr. Paula Cordeiro, Dammeyer Distinguished Professor of Global Leadership and Education at the University of San Diego, and president of UCEA from 1997-1998, about the globalization of ed leadership, and how the field has expanded internationally. Paula shares how her own journey started with a US-centric approach and expanded to international horizons, emphasizing how she saw cultural diversity enrich the fabric of academia. Paula brings with her a treasure trove of experiences, discussing the milestones that have reinvented educational leadership and policy, as well as the vital role UCEA has played in pioneering this expansive vision. 

Paula and Mónica dissect the profound impact of global partnerships, the significance of study tours, and how these experiences have the power to improve our understanding of our domestic education systems. Paula also reflects on what she thinks UCEA’s role will be in this field going forward into the future. Paula’s insights shed light on the importance of cultural understanding and the transformative power of international collaboration in shaping the educational leaders of both today and tomorrow.

In the Lead with UCEA is produced by University FM.

On exploring how knowledge generation has evolved over time

Phil Hallinger, I remember this distinctly. It was the late 1990s. Hallinger said to me, "Yeah, I'm going to Thailand." And I said, "Well, how can you possibly be a professor at Vanderbilt and also be a professor at Chulalongkorn University in Thailand?" And he did it. And that was the day that I said to myself, "I don't have to make my international interests tangential. I can put them in the core of my work because other professors are doing it." And by the way, I have to add, you know, Vanderbilt's a private university. UConn, public. It was harder. I get to USD. It's a lot easier to internationalize in the privates. It just is because we tend to be smaller with interdisciplinary work being supported and incentivized.

This is what Paula strongly believes in

A person who knows only one educational system knows no educational system. And it's when you're visiting schools, engaging in deep conversations with educators and policy makers in those nations, where you're exploring different practices. I learned about the practice of looping teachers in grades when I lived and worked in Venezuela. I thought it was so strange that a teacher, an elementary school teacher, moved from first to second to third grade with her students, and then would rotate back. When I came back to the U.S. and talked about that, you know, people were like, "What are you talking about? That's absurd." Well, fast forward… lots of school districts have adopted looping policies. Some of John Hattie's work looked at the impact of looping policies.

Finding her community in UCEA

As a new professor, I found my tribe. I found people who were passionate about school leadership. And it didn't matter if it wasn't international or not. They were just passionate about school leadership. So, that was key. And I think the other part was, you know, I was, I think, maybe about 38 when I became president. Somewhere around there. And it just gave me confidence being in the plenum, representing UConn there. And then sitting on the UCEA leadership group and being president just gave me confidence that I didn't have. And I felt respected by my colleagues. And I liked my colleagues. And I see UCEA doing that. I have several graduates that are UCEA faculty members from institutions that are UCEA members. And that's what UCEA does for them.

• Faculty Profile at the University of San Diego
• LinkedIn Profile
• Amazon Author Page

This episode of In the Lead with UCEA, Executive Director Dr. Mónica Byrne-Jiménez talks with Dr. Gerardo R. López, Professor in the Department of Educational Administration at Michigan State University’s College of Education, and president of UCEA from 2019-2020, about the layers of challenges that hit scholars and practitioners unexpectedly with the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, testing many in the field on their ability to master crisis management. Gerardo provides a compassionate lens on the collective trauma endured by students, families, and educators, advocating for schools to morph into bastions of healing. 

Mónica and Gerardo tackle the impact of the pandemic on disrupted research methodologies, highlighting the critical pivot our leadership must make to thrive in a world forever changed. Gerardo explains the essence of 'Fourth Wave Leadership', a philosophy he champions as critical for steering through the complexities of our interwoven global existence. This episode casts a spotlight on the necessity for systemic, holistic leadership that can pivot with challenges. Join us in this commemorative episode that not only honors UCEA's storied past but also forges a path for the future of educational leadership.

In the Lead with UCEA is produced by University FM

The essence of ‘Fourth Wave’ leadership

I do think that we're in this, kind of, fourth wave, if you will, this, kind of, apertura, this fourth wave of us, you know, like, that I don't know what it's called yet, but it really is about, like, leadership for, like, an interconnected world that is dealing with the unpredictable, that deals with things that are more complex, challenges that are more complex. And I think we're also, kind of, like, re-examining things where I think, whereas, in the past, we used to want to opt for things that had, like, facile solutions to really complex problems. Now, we're really trying to deal with the complexity of these problems, right? And so, I do think that it's leadership that thinks deeply about some of these issues. And really, you know, that in order for them to solve them, it's going to require a different type of thinking. It's going to require much more systemic, much more holistic thinking, much more innovative and creative solutions in order for us to solve some of these perennial problems that are plaguing education.

How the pandemic isolated the UCEA community & the scholars

I think that lots of things changed during the pandemic. And, you know, and having to work in isolation, research opportunities were lost because we couldn't collect data in the traditional ways that we did, especially if you were doing qualitative research. We couldn't go out and do interviews. We were disconnected from our colleagues. So, there was this, kind of, loss of colleagueship and having to work in a different space. There was loss of learning that students were experiencing with. And of course, that's the one we're most familiar with. But I think that we were forcing ourselves to deal with loss on so many multiple levels and loss that was compounded by the issue of isolation. And so, I think what ended up happening with the pandemic is that it really taught us the importance of and the need for connection

Even the field wasn’t prepared for the pandemic 

I think the pandemic taught us so many different things. I think it taught us that we were largely unprepared for things like crises, when crises happen — not just unprepared as individuals, but unprepared, I think, as a field. And you think about, like, how did we as a community, how do we as scholars, how do we as academics prepare our administrators. How do we prepare our future principals? How do we prepare our leaders for that? I mean, I think that there was not, really, a lot of work that's been done on how to do that kind of work. And so, I think we were all learning. Practitioners were trying to learn. As administrators, as a field, as professors, I think we were also trying to, kind of, figure it out.

• Faculty Profile at Michigan State University College of Education
• Gerardo López Google Scholar Page

In this episode of In the Lead with UCEA, Executive Director Dr. Mónica Byrne-Jiménez talks with Dr. Michael Dantley, Dean Emeritus of Miami University College of Education, and president of UCEA from 2005-2006. They discuss his rich experience spanning five decades in Education. Michael talks about the seismic shifts that leadership theories have undergone in that time—from the once-dominant positivist models to today's more critical and inclusive frameworks. Michael's insights shine a spotlight on how critical race theory and feminist perspectives have reshaped our understanding of educational leadership. 

Michael dives into his focus on the spiritual component of leadership and expounds on these ideas more in his book, Leading with a Critical Spirit: New Strategies for Educational Leaders. Michael and Mónica also look ahead to the exciting potential brought forth by emerging scholars in the field. This is not just a retrospective—it's a glimpse into the future fabric of educational leadership. Don’t miss this excellent conversation.

In the Lead with UCEA is produced by University FM.

Bringing a fresh perspective on educational leadership & UCEA’s impactful contribution

We began to present at UCEA. And there were persons who, you know, still had great allegiance to the way we had been thinking about leadership, who were pushing, you know, and saying, this whole notion of social justice that we were talking about and looking at issues of race and gender and social aspects of leadership, they were like, “No, we don't need to do that, because leadership is leadership, period. That’s something that you guys are trying to put into the field that's not necessary.” So, there was real honest-to-goodness pushback on folks. But we continued to fight by making these presentations at UCEA at the annual conference. Some of us — a lot of us — got elected to be representatives for our organization, for our institution. And so, UCEA then became, really, a space where our ideas could at least gain some footing.

What Michael discovered about the role of spirituality in leadership

One of the areas that I really have enjoyed exploring has been leadership and spirituality. And so, I really did begin to ask a question about, how does one's spirit… one's spiritual acumen, if you will, how does that impact leadership? And so, I did a study of principles through the snowball effect. And I came up with five or six principals across the country who claim that their spirituality impacted the way that they lead.

I looked at some principals in Michigan, in Louisiana, and here in Ohio. And you're right. As I explored those interviews, I went to those places and those observations. I thought, yeah, this is true. These people's spirituality is really playing a major role in how they lead their schools.

The endless possibilities UCEA has given Michael Dantley

I think the camaraderie and the companionship of other scholars in educational leadership was one of the real benefits of UCEA. UCEA gave me opportunities to lead in ways that I had not even dreamed of. I had never thought of being the president of UCEA. I never thought that could be, you know, would be possible. I was editor for JCEL, and, you know, I didn't think I would ever be an editor of a journal. And so, it has given me space. It's given me space to share my thoughts. It's given me space to be a leader. And it's given me space to see other young people come to the fore. That's been a real joy of mine.

Passing the torch: Young scholars pursue deeper questions in UCEA's academic landscape

I was thinking about some of the young scholars that I remember presenting with at UCEA and just excited about what they're doing now, you know. And some of them, I was able to see at AERA this past week. And honestly, I don't want to sound paternalistic but I was very proud of these young scholars who have really made phenomenal contributions to our field. And it gave me great, great pleasure to see even younger scholars coming up to them and thanking them for their work. And then they introduced me to them and say, “Well, this is Dr. Dantley, and he da, da, da, da,” all that stuff. But I mean, it's just passing the torch, you know. It's just moving on and on. And that, I was really excited about that.

• Leading with a Critical Spirit: New Strategies for Educational Leaders
• Michael Dantley LinkedIn 

This episode of In the Lead with UCEA kicks off Season 2 and the new UCEA Issues series. UCEA Executive Director Dr. Mónica Byrne-Jiménez talks with Dr. Martha McCarthy, Presidential Professor Emeritus at Loyola Marymount University and Chancellor's Professor Emeritus at Indiana University, about her insights on the evolution of educational leadership and UCEA's role in shaping it. Martha discusses pivotal moments in leadership, the impact of funding on research and practice, and the importance of UCEA conventions in fostering community and advancing the field. The conversation also touches on equity and social justice, the changing demographics of educational leadership faculty, and the personal impact of UCEA on Martha's career. Listen in!

In the Lead with UCEA is produced by University FM.

Broadening UCEA’s reach through conventions

06:20: Annual conventions are very important, as far as the development of our field. Really, Mónica, prior to the '80s, UCEA’s reach was not that broad. It didn't impact those that weren't at UCEA programs. And even those programs, the PSR was involved, but maybe some of the faculty didn't know much about what UCEA was doing.

And it's interesting now, I know Gerardo said, the lore is… Jay Scribner and I were sitting in a room, and I said, “Hey, let's start UCEA conferences.” I don't have any recollection of that particular conversation. Well, I do remember talking with Pat Forsythe and the executive committee and saying, “Let's think about how we can broaden the reach and conferences will be one way we could do that.”

The interrelationship between the development of the field and the development of UCEA

10:33 UCEA has really been important at every stage of the development of the field itself. And if you look at the national commission that I mentioned, UCEA was very much involved in that. And Dan Griffiths was completely committed to UCEA, and he was the chair of that group.

But in subsequent things, the shift, and some of these shifts have been more gradual, but the shift to focusing on equity and social justice, UCEA has played a critical role there. The Jackson Scholars, I know in the studies we did of the professoriate, and I'd be glad to talk more about them, we saw an increase in the minority representation. But my guess is that last study we did was in 2008, that it's much higher now.

How Female Representation in Faculty Has Shifted

12:55 One of the major differences are female representation. And there was 2% of the faculty, literally, I was just saying we can meet in a phone booth when I entered the deal, and that was true. But we had four female faculty members already. We truly could meet in a phone booth. But 2% of the faculty were women in ‘72. And then by ‘08, almost at parity. And my guess is now probably more of the faculty are women than men. So, that was huge. And in some of those studies, women were more oriented towards social justice and equity, issues that, by the ‘08 study, the differences in attitudes was not nearly as significant as it had been in the earlier studies

• Martha McCarthy LMU Profile

Welcome to Season 2 of In the Lead with UCEA. I'm your host, Mónica Byrne-Jiménez, Executive Director of the University Council for Educational Administration.

In this podcast, UCEA presents pivotal conversations with people making an impact on educational leadership, preparation, practice, and policy. Learn about the latest happenings and cutting-edge research from UCEA community of scholars.

Check out our previous season on the University Principal Preparation Initiative and stay tuned for new episodes and interviews every other week celebrating UCEA's 70th anniversary and exploring insights with some of UCEA's past presidents. 

In the Lead with UCEA is produced by University FM.

How has a culture of openness among academia has led to a fertile ground of collaboration? How did the pandemic change everything from methods of education to the percentages of principals staying on or leaving the job?

On this episode of In the Lead with UCEA’s podcast series on the University Principal Preparation Initiative (UPPI), UCEA Executive Director Dr. Mónica Byrne-Jiménez talks with Susan Gates, a senior economist at RAND who applies economic theory and methods to help policymakers identify effective practices and make better decisions on a wide range of topics.

In the Lead with UCEA is produced by University FM.

The importance of understanding the principal preparation

09:54: Another surprise was to see the development of models for universities to collaborate with districts other than the state's large urban school districts. One of the challenges we've observed through our earlier research in this space of principal preparation is that everybody understands that principal preparation relies on access to authentic learning environments in schools and districts. And that these principals are being prepared to work in school districts. Therefore, universities need to partner with school districts to stay up-to-date on what's going on in the school districts and what it means to be a principal today to provide those hands-on learning opportunities.

On changing the traditional principal selection criteria

13:36: The UPPI programs all shifted their selection criteria to rely more heavily on district input and focused explicitly on whether, based on a person's work in the district, they were a good candidate for a principal preparation program at this time. So, it was less academic and based on things like test scores and grades and more oriented toward the authentic work of a principal and a person's ability to succeed not only in an academic program but also on the job as a principal.

On navigating trust and roles 

04:09: One challenge from a research perspective was just building that trust: What would we be documenting? What would we be saying? Another challenge that I hadn't really run up against in prior research studies, which in the education field had typically focused on efforts within school districts because this initiative was bringing representatives from universities and specifically university faculty to the table; they are researchers. And so they wanted to be involved in the research. I was sort of like, "Well, wait a minute, we're the researchers here." So, I would say that was one of the biggest unexpected challenges that we had to navigate as we went along.

• Professional Profile at RAND
• Susan Gates Publications
• LinkedIn Profile
• ResearchGate Page 

How can inquiry questions and illustrations serve as catalysts for inspiring fresh perspectives and encouraging further thought? What if you had the power not only to identify but also to rectify problems within a program?

On this episode of In the Lead with UCEA’s podcast series on the University Principal Preparation Initiative (UPPI), UCEA Executive Director Dr. Mónica Byrne-Jiménez talks with Dr. Shelby Cosner, Professor of Educational Organization and Leadership in the Department of Educational Policy Studies and the Director of the UIC Center for Urban Education Leadership (CUEL).  

In the Lead with UCEA is a production of University FM via a grant from The Wallace Foundation.

• UIC’s History of Program Improvement | 1:11
• Developing a Cycle of Inquiry | 4:42
• Attitudes and Relationships Evolving Over Time | 12:22
• Guiding Other Programs Through Redesigns | 18:12
• Navigating the Bigger Picture | 26:15
• Mentor Programs and Mentor Coaches | 29:06
• Summary & Closing | 32:12

On mentoring for growth through data use

10:44: As the process went along, my mentoring role, in particular, leaned heavily into teaching about impact logics, teaching about the kinds of data that you would need to collect, and helping them to actually design data collection instruments and collect those data, teaching them about a cycle of inquiry and guiding them through the cycle.

On leveraging cycles of inquiry

When I can start to see something that's an opportunity, oftentimes, it allows me to step back for a moment, and even a day or two or three, to really think about, what would be the really powerful inquiry questions that will allow somebody to ponder this in a way that I'm pondering it on my own right now?

• UIC Homepage
• Center for Urban Education Leadership Homepage
• Faculty Profile at UIC
• Profile at the Center for Urban Education Leadership  
• LinkedIn Profile

Ever wondered how institutions can tangibly incorporate diversity and equity into their educational programs? How is NC State striding towards equity in the education sector through initiatives like public conversations on race? 

On this episode of In the Lead with UCEA’s podcast series on the University Principal Preparation Initiative (UPPI), UCEA Executive Director Dr. Mónica Byrne-Jiménez talks with Dr. Bonnie Fusarelli, Professor of Educational Leadership and Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis at NC State University and Director of NC State’s Leadership Academies.  

In the Lead with UCEA is a production of University FM via a grant from The Wallace Foundation.

• How did NC State decide to pursue this initiative? | 1:13
• NC State’s process of defining Equity and Diversity | 2:02
• Diversity, Equity, and NC State’s Legacy | 6:34
• Making Partners True Equals | 7:48
• The Impact of this Equity work | 10:46
• Creating Safe Spaces to Grow Together | 15:06
• Changes in District Partners | 17:34
• How Have the Conversations Evolved? | 19:19
• Summary & Closing | 22:03

Reflecting on district partners' changes from the integrated learning approach in the redesign

07:08: We saw a lot of our district partners start to have more courage to engage in those conversations publicly. One of our proudest examples is Edgecombe County, where they did an entire process where they brought together the community about what do we want for our kids. Let's talk about how racism and all the other isms have impacted their ability to learn at high quality. And they've just done some amazing work to build community and practice.

Humility helped develop a shared definition of equity and diversity

15:19: We all have bias, but it's about seeing how our bias impacts other people and hurts other people and how can we tap that down and exchange that for ways that we're building up people. And I think really the main way we've done that is really focusing on humility. And so, we are open to the idea that we're all flawed people. And so by focusing on that instead of perfection, that really helps us to recruit the right kind of students.

Building a culture of teamwork in education

20:09: We work together. Our team was willing to say, "I'm not just teaching my course. I'm a part of this program." And you heard me call them team because we don't refer to our faculty, or I don't think my friends do either, that I work with. We don't go, "Oh, we're the faculty." We say we're the team with educational leadership. And I think by viewing that as teamwork, we really have been able to take it from coursework to program.

• Bonnie Fusarelli Faculty Profile at NC State
• Bonnie Fusarelli Profile on LinkedIn

Welcome back to In the Lead with UCEA’s podcast series on the University Principal Preparation Initiative (UPPI). Join UCEA Executive Director, Dr. Mónica Byrne-Jiménez as she talks with Dr. Alejandro Gonzalez Ojeda, Assistant Professor at San Diego State University (SDSU) in the Department of Educational Leadership.  

How did SDSU iterate their programs to create effective and sustainable school leaders? How did the five types of thinking mindsets and leadership dispositions play a vital role in building a sustainable framework and capacity?

In the Lead with UCEA is a production of University FM via a grant from The Wallace Foundation.

• How did SDSU decide to pursue this initiative? | 1:15
• Sustaining momentum in redesign work | 5:45
• The importance of shared vision in the process | 9:42
• Making redesign part of the culture of the program | 12:39
• The challenges around sustainability | 14:24
• Effective practices to help leaders be responsive | 19:13
• Creating an adaptable program for a changing world | 22:15
• Summary & Closing | 25:30

On the importance of preparing leaders for the redesigning process

18:10: We need to prepare our leaders for that perseverance. It's not easy. It's not easy being a teacher. We don't do this job just for ourselves. We do it because we believe that there's much we can offer our communities. And,so, I think that's key in helping not to change the narrative but to be a part of the narrative.

The value of shared vision

10:21: When we talked about equity, we came to our partners and said, What is your equity statement? What is your district's equity statement? And how does our program reflect that? And in our definition of equity, we were able to create a more holistic and comprehensive definition around five types of thinking that a leader needs to have: data-driven, school climate, achievement, systems, thinking, and learnership. So, we are able to identify thinking mindsets that we want to incorporate in our courses to highlight the type of thinking that leaders should be able to practice.

Sustainability is critical, and enrollment numbers are key

08:57: When thinking about sustainability, enrollment numbers are critical in order to sustain the program. And so we're able to leverage that high need or area of interest to say, okay, we're not only preparing leaders within our realm, but we're also preparing leaders serving very similar demographics across the state or leaders who are very much in tune with what we believe is required to prepare an effective leader, an equity-driven leader, essentially.

• Alejandro Gonzalez Ojeda Faculty Profile at SDSU
• Alejandro Gonzalez Ojeda Profile on LinkedIn

Welcome back to In the Lead with UCEA’s podcast series on the University Principal Preparation Initiative (UPPI). Join UCEA Executive Director, Dr. Mónica Byrne-Jiménez as she talks with Dr. Daniel Reyes-Guerra, Associate Professor at Florida Atlantic University’s (FAU) School Leadership Program within the Department of Educational Leadership and Research Methodology of the College of Education.  

How did FAU coordinate and evolve partnerships with some of Florida’s largest school districts? And how are they revolutionizing their curriculum and internship programs?

In the Lead with UCEA is a production of University FM via a grant from The Wallace Foundation.

• How did FAU pursue this initiative? | 0:55
• Relationships with other school districts | 2:03
• How did the faculty make power sharing easier? | 9:33
• Evolving the partnerships with other districts | 13:17
• The lasting impacts of this process | 16:45
• Summary & Closing | 22:13

On creating deep institutional approach to partnerships

07:08: This idea of being equal partners and working together towards that common goal is something that's extremely difficult to do, but it's also something very rewarding, and I say difficult because these are two organizations that are very different. The culture within each of these organizations is very different. And so you have to create some really strong personal relationships across the university, the district, and back to really make the partnership work.

How did the partnership and relationships between districts evolve over the course of the redesign effort?

15:19: Bringing the three districts to the table was really insightful. For the leadership development across all three districts, they started communicating and learning from each other. They're in the same state, and in our state, they all run off the same standards. They all run off the same evaluation platforms, and they basically have the same instructional leadership needs. These districts are very similar in terms of their demographics as well. So, all of a sudden, they were talking to each other, and we were the medium by which they were actually communicating and getting the research scholarship, perhaps even calling it an outside observation of what it was that they were doing. And so this really helped, in terms of strengthening those other partnerships and connecting them much more to the work of each other and to the work of the university.

An important fact that we need to take into account when entering into partnerships

17:04: Universities are a huge font of not only knowledge but applicable professional learning that they can use not only for a partnership program but that they can use for other professional learning that they do with ed leaders in their district.

• Daniel Reyes-Guerra Faculty Profile at FAU
• Daniel Reyes-Guerra Profile on LinkedIn