This article describes how a secularized version of Lectio Divina is used within the classroom as a model for engaging in anti-racism and social justice discussions. Lectio Divina is an ancient tool for understanding texts. From its religious beginnings, it has been adapted to its secular forms for critical contemplative practice in twenty…

This article discusses the conceptual bridges between the leadership learning framework; specifically, its emphasis on metacognition and social justice advocacy, and explores how leadership education might be revamped. The focus of the article is practicing socially shared metacognition using the American Counseling Association's (ACA) advocacy…

Despite the growing recognition of social workers' important role in addressing environmental injustices, there is a gap in the literature concerning approaches for educating social work students about these issues. This article examines the effectiveness of a collaborative community-based intervention whereby students, community members, and…

One model for engaging young people to be more civically minded and to help them develop a critically conscious sociopolitical identity is through youth organizing and participatory action research. Over the last 3 years, I have worked with Leaders Organizing 2 Unite and Decriminalize (LOUD) members--a majority of which we system-involved--who…

Science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) teachers need sources of empowerment to effectively guide education policy and continue to participate in advocacy-based activities. This study surveyed 208 STEM teachers on their acts of advocacy to advance STEM education. The question that guided this research was as follows: What are the…

In this quantitative study, the relationship between levels of empathy and advocacy competencies among a sample of K-12 educational leaders are examined. The researchers determined higher levels of empathy to be a positive, statistically significant predictor of advocacy for students at the individual as well as community levels. Researchers…

Social justice and health equity are foundational to community health nursing. Arts-based pedagogy has learning and reflexive value for community and population health education within nursing and health professions curricula. Art has been increasingly used in health care and in promoting health, including in nursing education. However, research…

School psychology has faced longstanding challenges in advancing equity and parity due to persistent oppression, racism, and colonialism in the field. These challenges have contributed to critical shortages of faculty and practitioners who are Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC), racial disparities in educational and mental health…

My study documents the formation and impact of the student-led movement of Black Lives Matter in Higher Education (BLMHE) that is housed within Teachers College Higher and Postsecondary Education Program (HPSE). This group consists of HPSE students and faculty that have come together to analyze the effects of systemic societal forces on members of…

This article is a creative collaboration, a dialogue between a professor and a doctoral student who dismantle power dynamics in the academy, demonstrating the "liberatory voice" (hooks, 1989, p. 29) through (a collective chorus of Black Womens' contemplative criticality (Canon, 2021; Holmes, 2017; Williams, 2022) and ART, or activism,…

Context: Systemic oppression is one of the most pressing problems in U.S. society. However, relatively little is known about the process by which college students become committed to social justice agendas. In addition, systematic empirical inquiries that examine how Asian American students, in particular, develop such commitments are difficult to…

Recent union-supported teachers' walkouts and strikes across several U.S. states and cities highlighted union-led and grassroots efforts to amplify teachers' voices. Yet, the recent U.S. Supreme Court decision, "Janus v. AFSCME, Council 31," provides a strength test for teachers' unions and members engaging in social justice/equity work…

While parent involvement has been shown to have positive academic outcomes for their children, for structural changes to be made, parents have to go from being active to taking on a more activist role, thus "stoking the flame" of the norm. Parent advocacy and empowerment groups play a vital role in the transformation of parent activists,…

This case study examined how the Michigan Youth Policy Fellows program--which aimed to create a space for a team of adolescents to engage in a collaborative photovoice project with peers from diverse backgrounds--empowered young people to critically analyze and interrupt racial segregation. The study describes how nine racially and…

In the wake of 2020's racial tension and civil unrest in the United States, Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) art therapists and graduate students found themselves in need of support from like-minded, social justice-oriented peers. A virtual monthly peer support group called the BIPOC Art Therapists' Circle was formed. A different…