Autoethnography as Praxis: The Art of Transformative Learning in Educational Leadership

This paper explores how autoethnography, arts-based research, and transformative learning intersect to shape educational leadership. Influenced by Mezirow’s transformative learning theory and Ellis’s approach to arts-based autoethnography, this research highlights a culminating project in a CPED-aligned EdD program. Through autoethnographic artifacts, doctoral students and faculty explored identity, agency, and systemic inequities in education. This work demonstrates how autoethnography challenges traditional leadership paradigms, interrogates inequities, and empowers educators as agents of change through the use of personal narrative and creative expression. It highlights the potential of creative and reflective practices to deepen understanding, enhance leadership identity, and promote socially just educational practices.