New book by Alsup

Publication Title

Critical Reflections on Leading in Educational Contexts: Entering Identity Portals

Author

Janet Alsup

Publisher

Palgrave Macmillan

Publication Date

May 2, 2026

About the Book

This book is a written account of a qualitative, narrative-based critical autoethnography exploring the development of leadership identities of women leaders, including the author, working in various educational settings, including K-12 schools, universities, politics, research centers, and community non-profit organizations. The author layers key findings from these participant stories with her own experiences, as well as with dominant U.S. cultural ideologies about leadership, to capture the lived experiences of participants. Alsup also examines leadership identity through the lens of the animal-human bond, by integrating personal experience and scholarship about animals and their complex, evolutionary relationships with humans.

Free download of the eBook version available to Purdue University personnel via Springer Nature Link

About the Author

Janet Alsup is a professor of English Education at Purdue University, where she has been a faculty member since 2000. She is a former department head in Purdue’s College of Education, as well as a former high school teacher. Her research focuses on teacher professional identity development; young adult literature, empathy and identity; qualitative and narrative inquiry, and leadership identity. She teaches graduate and undergraduate courses in English and literacy education.