The uneven march toward social justice: Diversity, conflict, and complexity in educational administration programs

Purpose ‐ This paper aims to provide a framework for the development and implementation of educational administration programs that encourage practitioners and educational administration faculty to push application and preparation beyond reproducing tendencies of the status quo as well as to open education to the potential of embracing silenced or marginalized learners. Design/methodology/approach ‐ Two programs developed and implemented by the Department of Educational Management and Development (EMD) at New Mexico State University are described and discussed. The programs are reviewed to show the gradual but significant transformation to a social justice content beginning with the more traditionally-aligned program in educational administration, the Community College Leadership Doctoral Program (CCLDP), and concluding with a detailed description of the Educational Leadership Doctoral Program (ELDP), a leadership program that unites traditional educational administration curriculum with social justice inquiries of power and privilege. Findings ‐ The detailed information attempts to teach practitioners and educational administrators how to gain entry into institutional power structures so communication, collaboration, and reform can occur. Originality/value ‐ The paper provides the tools to survive in existing systems and the awareness to see inequalities. The capability of creating change in educational environments expecting a business-as-usual-paradigm is also discussed.