Faculty Profile: Ranjini JohnBull

Name: Ranjini JohnBull

Title: Assistant Professor

Department: Educational Leadership and Foundations

Hometown: Springfield, IL

Colleges attended and degrees received: Washington University in St. Louis, Bachelor of Arts with a major in Music and a minor in biology. University of Virginia, Master of Education in Administration and Supervision. University of Virginia, PhD in Educational Leadership.

Years working at ECU:

I have been working at ECU for one year. Previously, I worked at Johns Hopkins University for 13 years as a post-doc and then a faculty member.

What do you love about ECU?

I absolutely love my colleagues and students at ECU. From my first interview to this day, I continue to be impressed with my colleagues’ deep love and passion for serving educators in the most sincere and practical ways. The servire mission runs through every conversation for supporting our student communities, and our students live this mission out and bring a similar passion to their learning. It is a privilege and honor to get to support such innovative and servant-minded practitioners in collaboration with such amazing colleagues.

What are your research interests? 

My research interests center on building educators’ sense of professional self-efficacy for serving their communities of practice and building their intersectional identity awarenesses. To do this, I engage in research that uses strategies aligned with neuroeducation principles and culturally relevant pedagogy. For example, I’m collaborating with a computer science faculty member to create a game for both aspiring and current educational leaders where they will navigate scenarios in a virtual graphic novel-style game. Our hope is that engaging in this type of game will provide memorable experiences and build practitioner knowledge and self-efficacy for mitigating challenges in the real world. The best way to learn a new practice is to actually engage in the new behavior. In this game, educators can gain these experiences in a safe space. By integrating the arts, repeated rehearsals, active retrieval, novelty, fun, and gamification, we hope that the memories and skills will be easier to recall and apply in the workplace. Ultimately, the foundation of my work is on investigating ways to improve and enhance practitioner self-efficacy and intersectional identity awareness by promoting wholistic practices that create joyful and loving working and learning environments for everyone.

What is your favorite course that you have taught or currently teach?

Currently, my favorite course to teach is Organizational Theory and Culture because we get to dive into two areas of learning simultaneously. We discuss the wide variety of theories that explain organizational behaviors and we integrate personal and professional leadership identity. By the end of the course, the students have engaged in beautiful work of integrating their knowledge of their personal and professional identities into how they navigate and lead organizations. I love seeing the students’ growth throughout the course as they dig into their practices, their organizational goals and dissertation topics, and the theories that align with their leadership identities. 

What do you enjoy most about working with students? 

The students in our ECU EdD programs are on transformational journeys from advanced practitioners to becoming scholar-practitioners. To me, this is one of the most lovely and challenging times of growth and discovery in personal and professional development. Getting to support students through both teaching and advising during this evolution brings me such joy. These practitioners want to improve their work with students and adults in their schools and organizations, and they are hungry for the learning. During their time in the program, I get to see them immediately take new insights back to their schools, pilot practices, and share new insights during class and one-on-one meetings. Our students authentically share and create warm spaces in our courses through this journey, and by doing that, they grow together and create trusted communities of practice. 

What drew you to educational leadership?

When I was a K-8 music teacher in St. Louis city, I taught every student, which meant that I had the opportunity to work with all teachers in the school. Through these collaborations and friendships, I learned and observed how much the school leaders’ actions influenced teachers’ confidence in themselves. I also observed how leadership practices affected school climate. The best school leaders brought out the best in teachers and all adults in the building. I later observed this same pattern in rural Ugandan schools when I served in the US Peace Corps and collaborated with school leaders on a pilot program in several elementary schools. Educational leaders have the power to lift up and bring out the best in their school teams to serve students. Experiencing these similarities between leadership outcomes in St. Louis schools and rural Ugandan schools confirmed my desire to pursue a career in educational leadership to support educators in serving children.

What accomplishment are you most proud of professionally?

Nothing compares to the joy of supporting my doctoral students through their dissertation journeys and beyond. It is a true honor to get to collaborate with my doctoral students and hood them at graduation. While I am proud of my publications from my collaborative studies, grants, and the recent co-edited book, my greatest accomplishments are the long-lasting relationships with deeply reflective scholar-practitioners that I have had the privilege of journeying with.

What advice would you give to aspiring educational leaders?

Know yourself, and be kind to yourself. Take time to feed your mind, brain, body, and soul, in whatever ways are best for you. Also, ensure that you have at least a couple of “critical friends” who you can vent to, share with, learn from, and be supported by. Educational leadership is demanding and beautiful work. Having a couple of people to share your frustrations with outside of the workplace will help you process your thoughts and see the way forward more clearly. All this advice boils down to taking care of yourself so that you can better take care of the community you are leading.

Outside of work, what are your favorite hobbies or interests?

There are numerous activities that bring me joy. I love attending Zumba and HIIT dance classes at my local YMCA. Dancing is my happy place. Also, getting to play the piano with our church ensemble is a new endeavor for me because it is pushing me to perform music in a very different way than playing classical music. It requires me to listen to the other instruments and fill in the sound and textures of the songs using an electric keyboard. I also enjoy cooking Sri Lankan food for family and friends and sharing that part of my culture with others. Lastly, I love traveling with my family and friends to familiar and new places. Spending time on any North Carolina beach with our daughters is probably my favorite way to savor a summer day.