Leading on the EDJE (Education Deans for Justice and Equity) : A Framework for Advancing Justice in Schools of Education (Leading for Justice and Equity in Schools of Education)

What does it mean for a school of education to advance justice and equity? Is it enough for its mission statement to include words like "justice" and "democracy," to offer signature programs about justice, or for there to be a critical mass of scholars who write on this topic? Since its formation in 2016, Education Deans for Justice and Education (EDJE), a group of more than 400 education deans and leaders from large and small institutions, has been grappling with what it means to advance — as well as to trouble — justice and equity in and through our schools of education and education systems more broadly. Leading on the EDGE brings together ten chapters, along with an introduction and conclusion, written by deans and leaders from a diverse set of institutions across the United States. These leaders have implemented ideas that support an equity stance in their institutions using the EDJE Framework for Assessment and Transformation, an instrument designed for this purpose. As leaders of schools of education, many of us constantly ask: how can we transform our institutions in meaningful ways to foster justice and equity? What actions can we take that go beyond the essentials of revising the curriculum or diversifying our faculty, staff, and students? How can we take a holistic approach to the transformation of all aspects of our institutions, our governance structures, fundraising strategies, and external relationships with communities? We are living and working in precarious times with justice-oriented work at universities threatened at the federal level with possible serious ramifications at both public and private universities. With diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs, affirmative action measures, and equal opportunity policies under attack, university leaders committed to actions that support equity and access in their institutions require resources to support their work. Many initiatives that claim to address issues of justice and equity focus solely