CPED Conference Offers Presentation Opportunities for EdD Candidates

Webster’s Doctor of Education (EdD) program aims at preparing educator-scholars who are equipped with knowledge and skills to lead a dialogue on important education topics, with the goal to transform the status quo of inequities in global educational systems.

As the Director of the EdD program, Dr. Yin Lam Lee-Johnson advocates for doctoral candidates to actively participate in knowledge construction and dissemination via conference presentations and publications.  

Andrea Jackson, a current EDD student at 2024 CPED Conference

Doctoral candidates are encouraged to present their research topics, methodologies and findings at professional conferences such as the American Educational Research Association (AERA) Annual Convention and the Carnegie Project on the Education Doctorate (CPED) Convening. Lee-Johnson stated that presentations at “these conferences offer invaluable professional networking experiences, and they foster academic exchanges related to our doctoral candidates’ research topics.” 

At the 2024 CPED Convening, the EdD program candidates made multiple presentations, including a professional presentation session with Lee-Johnson and three doctoral candidates, Trish Laiennaro, Ethel Smith and Andrea D. Jackson; an overview of an upcoming article in the CPED Journal Special Issue in a session; and two professional posters presented by doctoral candidates Jackson and Smith. Lee-Johnson also represented Webster’s EdD program at the CPED Delegates’ Meeting.  
  
Jackson presented a professional poster on the lived experiences of Black queer teachers juxtaposed to those of Black cisgender heterosexual teachers in K-12 public schools through narrative methodology.

When asked about the importance of this topic as pertaining to public schools in the U.S., Jackson shared her professional journey as a classroom teacher saying, “I have seen the way classroom expectations have changed, even from when I entered the profession in 2012. There was not as much talk about teachers potentially indoctrinating students for living their private lives authentically. With changes in legalities across the nation, however, teachers have reported feeling unprotected and it begs the question, ‘To what degree does this impact teacher authenticity?’ This study is timely, as new laws are shaping our education system, from how history is taught in schools, to how much of oneself can a teacher bring into the classroom, particularly if that teacher is Black.”    
  
 Jackson shared that presenting her research at the 2024 CPED Convening  reinforced her quest for social justice, stating that “as social injustices continue to plague our nation, and the effects of colonialism remain in place at educational institutions nationwide and worldwide, we hold the responsibility to be a change agent and shift the status quo. A failure to stand up and speak out not only results in inaction, but perpetuates the true limiting, often divisive, nature of colonialism.”  
  
It is within this context that Jackson recalled the recurring phrase “be a disruptor!” that she heard at the conference. According to Jackson, it is the “one message of criticality that was embedded throughout each presentation.   
  
“Attending the 2024 CPED Convening in Hawaii (via Webster’s EdD program) was a transformational experience, which further fueled my passion for social justice and advocacy to impact the people and issues that matter most,” Jackson said.

Learn more about Webster University’s Doctor of Education program.

By Yupa Saisanan, EdD