Faculty Directory

Julia Mahfouz PhD

Associate Professor/ Director of Prosocial Leader Lab

School of Education & Human Development

Email Address:julia.mahfouz@ucdenver.edu

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Bio
Research, Publications, Projects

Julia Mahfouz, Ph.D., is an associate professor in the Leadership for Educational Organizations program, School of Education and Human Development at the University of Colorado-Denver. She is also the director of the Prosocial Leader Lab. She is one of the inaugural cohort members of CASEL Weissberg scholars and has recently received the Joseph E. Zins Distinguished Scientist Award for Outstanding contributions to action research in Social and emotional learning. She has a Ph.D. from the Pennsylvania State University in Educational Leadership with minors in Comparative International Education and Curriculum & Instruction.

Her research agenda has been shaped by my educational work as an international educator in the capacity of high school teacher, department chair, principal (K-12), and curriculum director. Her research explores the social, emotional, and cultural dynamics of educational settings placing specific emphasis on Adult SEL, specifically school administrators and the integration of systemic SEL into principal preparation programs. She also investigates how preparation programs, professional development, and certification standards can be strengthened to enhance effective leadership by supporting principals to deepen their social and emotional competencies.

Her research has been published in journals such as Journal of Educational Administration, Educational Management Administration and Leadership, International Journal of Leadership in Education, Education and Urban Society, Mindfulness, College Student Affairs Journal, and in practitioner outlets such as The Learning Professional and Education Canada.

She has been the program chair of International Studies SIG and Social and Emotional Learning SIG, and the chair of Leadership for School Improvement SIG under American Educational Research Association (AERA).

She is also the co-editor of two books: Supporting Leaders for School Improvement through Self-Care and Wellbeing and the book, Demystifying Educational Leadership and Administration in the Middle East and North Africa.

Areas of Expertise

Social Emotional Learning
Mindfulness
School Improvement
Leadership Development
Qualitative & Mixed Methods

Education, Licensure & Certifications

Ph.D., Educational Leadership The Pennsylvania State University
- Minors: Curriculum & Supervision
- Comparative & International Education
M.A., English Literature, American university of Beirut
Post B.A. Teaching Diploma, American university of Beirut
B.A., English Literature, American University of Beirut

Resumes/CV:

Mahfouz, Julia

Awards

School Faculty Excellence Award for Contributions in Research and Creative Work (2024)
Joseph E. Zins Early Career Award for SEL Action Research, CASEL (2023)
CASEL Roger Weissberg Scholar (2021- 2023)
Donald J. Willower Award of Excellence in Educational Administration, The Consortium for the Study of Leadership and Ethics in Education (2019)
Dissertation of the Year Finalist of Leadership in School Improvement SIG (2018)
Donald J. Willower Dissertation Award in Educational Leadership (2017)
Recipient of Dissertation Research Initiation (2016 - 2017)
David L. Clark Scholar (2016)
Barbara Jackson Scholar, UCEA (2015 – 2017)
Recipient of Robert Mitstifer Memorial Award (2016)
Recipient of Robert F. Nicely, Jr. & Donna C. Nicely Research Fund in Education (2016)

Affiliations

Advisory Boards

Advisory Board Member, Greater good Science Center Education Program, UC Berkeley
Advisory Board Member, The Adult Development Instrument, Tel Aviv University
Council Member, T-SEL, UC Berkeley

Editorial Boards

Editorial Board Member, Journal of Educational Sciences (2021 – present)
Editorial Board Member, Journal of Trauma Studies in Education (2021-2023)
Editorial Board Member, Journal of School Leadership (2020-2023)
Editorial Board Member, Stress and Health (2018-present)
Editorial Board Member, Research in Educational Administration and Leadership (2018-present)

Professional Memberships

University Council for Educational Administration (UCEA) (2013 – present)
American Educational Research Association (AERA) (2013 – present)
European Educational Research Association (EERA) (2022 – present)
Comparative and International Education Society (CIES) (2014 – present)
American Mindfulness Research Association (AMRA) (2016 – present)
Consortium for the Study of Leadership and Ethics in Education (CSLEE) (2015 – present)
American Educational Studies Association (AESA) (2020 – present)
American Psychological Association (APA) (2020 – present)
The Maxine Greene Center for Aesthetic Education and Social Imagination (2015 – present)

Research

Mahfouz's three overarching strands of inquiry that comprise her program of research are: a) professional development, preparation programs, and interventions, b) SEL framework, implementation science, and culturally sustaining pedagogies, and c) school improvement, policies, and educational reform. These understandings seek to deepen the understanding of SEL with school administrators and thus, help create spaces equitable for all where all could flourish, thus, utilizing policy as a lever for change and as a powerful context that shapes education at multiple levels of the system.

Mahfouz aspires for my research and scholarship through her Prosocial Leader Lab to advance the field of educational leadership by privileging long-term research relationships and co-authorships with diverse colleagues, students, and community members.

Strand 1: Professional development, preparation programs, and interventions. Development of the social and emotional competencies of both adults and young people through professional development, preparation programs, and interventions, is at the core of her work. Mahfouz focuses on exploring how SEL-based professional development programs influence the school leaders’ wellbeing and leadership—an area given relatively little empirical attention until now. This research focuses on supporting and improving their social emotional competencies so that they are better equipped to create pro-social learning environments that are equitable for all. Unpacking the effects of such practices on school leaders adds an important and unexamined element to the types of professional development school leaders need: SEL based programs. Her findings show that with the different types of stressors faced, school leaders are in need of similar professional development programs that attend to their wellbeing and provide them with SEL skills to adopt in their day-to-day leadership. These programs, however, need to address the specific contexts of the schools, and so should be cognizant of the specificity of the context.

Strand 2: SEL framework, implementation science, and culturally sustaining pedagogies. In efforts to imagine more equitable spaces of learning for all students, Mahfouz's second strand of research investigates how SEL programs can address the needs of marginalized, minoritized, and/or historically under-resourced students by using CASEL’s SEL framework and critical discourse studies to examine issues of social, emotional, and cultural equity in contexts of education. Monolithic approaches to student/educator well-being silence nuanced cultural, social, political, and geographic diversities relevant to how local communities self-determine and support intergenerational learning.

Strand 3: School Improvement, Policies, & Educational Reform. Mahfouz's third strand of research examines the relationships among policy, school improvement, SEL, and international education via several other collaborative projects such as TAMAM project, Purple Schools Program, ISLDN social Justice Leaders.

Publications and Presentations

Mahfouz, J., Greenberg, M.T., Weissberg, R.P., Kim, C., & Turksma, C. (2025). The prosocial school leader: Theory, research, and action. Social and Emotional Learning: Theory, Research, and Practice. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sel.2025.100102

Darwich, L., DeBay, D., Forbes, L., & Mahfouz, J. (2025). Play, reflect, cultivate social and emotional learning: A pathway to preservice teacher Sel through playful pedagogies. Frontiers in Education, 6, 1-11. https://doi.org/10.3389/feduc.2024.1478541

Doyle Fosco, S.L., Schussler, D.L., Brown, M.A., Mahfouz, J., Levit-Binnun, N., Cantrell, T., Cherkowski, S., Frazier, T., Jennings, P.A., Krisch, K. (2025). A conceptual framework for whole-school implementation of mindfulness programs and practices: wisdom from the field. Psychology in the Schools.

AlZandi, H., & Mahfouz, J. (2025). The path to a knowledge-based economy through reforming public K-12 education: Educational policies and educator professional development in Saudi Arabia. In Khalid Arar, Selahattin Turan, Mohammed Elmeski, & Seher Iscan (Eds.) Educational Policy, Reforms and Change in the Middle East and North Africa/ or in the Global South. Abingdon, UK: Routledge.

Mahfouz, J., & Greenberg, M.T. (2025). Social and emotional competencies of principals. In Joseph A. Durlak, Celene E. Domitrovich, & Joseph L. Mahoney (Eds.), Handbook of Social and Emotional Learning. NY: The Guilford Press.

Braun, S.S., Hatchimonji, D.R., Crowder, M.K., Anderson, R.C., Alamos, P., Graham, J., Mahfouz, J., & Guillaume, C. (2025). Afterward: An Invitation for Collaboration and Growth. In Joseph A. Durlak, Celene E. Domitrovich, & Joseph L. Mahoney (Eds.), Handbook of Social and Emotional Learning. NY: The Guilford Press.

Schonert-Reichl, KA., Braun, S.S., & Mahfouz, J. (2025). Toward Widespread Effective Practice. In Joseph A. Durlak, Celene E. Domitrovich, & Joseph L. Mahoney (Eds.), Handbook of Social and Emotional Learning. NY: The Guilford Press.

Mahfouz, J., Steed, E.A., & Shapland, D. (2023). Culturally responsive social and emotional learning: Perspectives of early childhood teachers. Early Childhood Education Journal, 1-8. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10643-023-01599-0

Mahfouz, J., Shapland, D., & Steed, E.A. (2023). Barriers to ethics of care: The perceptions of early childhood teachers. Early Childhood Education Journal, 1-8. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10643-023-01601-9

Torrance, D., Forde, C., King, F., Mahfouz, J., Ärlestig, H., Misfud, D., Flood, L, Angelle, P., Chisolm, L., Harvie, J., McGowan, J., Mitchell, A., & Travers, J. (2023). Conducting comparative analyses of social justice leadership: Creating an international research team from diverse country, policy, and education system contexts. Equity in Education and Society.

Arar, K., Turan, S., Gümüs, S., Sellami, A. & Mahfouz, J., Eds. (2023). Demystifying Educational Leadership and Administration in the Middle East and North Africa: Challenges and Prospects. Abingdon, UK: Routledge.

Mahfouz, J., & Karami, R. (2023). Principalship in Lebanon: The unsung heroes. In Khalid Arar, Selahattin Turan, Sedat Gümüs, Abdellatif Sellami, & Julia Mahfouz (Eds.), Demystifying Educational Leadership and Administration in the Middle East and North Africa: Challenges and Prospects. Abingdon, UK: Routledge p.140 – 154.

Carpenter, B., Mahfouz, J., & Robinson, K., Eds. (2023). Supporting leaders for school improvement through self-care and wellbeing. Charlotte, NC: Information Age Publishing.

ElHess, M., Mahfouz, J., & Summers, L. (2023). Cultivating campus belonging for refugee college students through effective academic and social integration. In Thomas DeVere Wolsey & Ibrahim M. Karkouti (Eds.), Teaching refugees and displaced students: What every educator should know. Springer International Publishing p. 127 – 138.

Hon, D., Sauve, J., Mahfouz, J., & Schonert-Reichl, K.A. (2023). Cultivating SEL-ready teachers. In Sara Rimm-Kaufman, Michael J. Strambler, & Kimberly A. Schonert-Reichl (Eds.), Social and Emotional Learning in Action: Creating Systemic Change in Schools. Guilford Press p.115 – 137.

Khoury, N. & Mahfouz, J. (2023). Amina Wadud: Critical self-reflection in Islam, toward radical transformation. In Melanie Brooks & Miriam Ezzani (Eds.), Great Muslim Leaders. Charlotte, NC: Information Age Publishing, p.171- 182.

Davis, S.J., Lettis*, B. M., Mahfouz, J., Vaughn, M. (2022). Deconstructing racist structures in K-12 education through SEL starts with the principal. Theory into Practice, 61(2), 145-155. https://doi.org/10.1080/00405841.2022.2036061

Schussler, D., Mahfouz, J., Broderick, T., Berenna, E., Frank, J., & Greenberg, M.T. (2022). Shifting to embodiment: A longitudinal qualitative investigation into the experiences of high school teachers teaching mindfulness. Mindfulness, 13(2), 509-525. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12671-021-01811-5

Mahfouz, J., King, K., & James, L. (2021). Lessons from the storm: Emotions, meaning-making and leadership during transition. The Asia-Pacific Education Researcher,30(4), 339-347. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40299-021-00574-w

Örücü, D., Arar, K. & Mahfouz, J. (2021) Three contexts as the post-migration ecology for refugees: School principals’ challenges and strategies in Turkey, Lebanon, and Germany. Leadership and Policy in Schools, 20 (1), 41-56. https://doi.org/10.1080/15700763.2020.1833044

Frank, J.L., Broderick, P.C., Oh, Y., Mitra, J., Kohler, K., Schussler, D.L., Geier, C., Roeser, R.W., Berrena, E., Mahfouz, J., Levitan, J., Greenberg, M.T. (2021). The effectiveness of a teacher delivered mindfulness-based curriculum on adolescent social-emotional and executive functioning. Mindfulness, 12, 1234-1251. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12671-021-01594-9

Mahfouz, J. & Richardson, J. (2020). At the crossroads: Well-being and principalship preparation. Journal of Research on Leadership Education, 16(4), 360-384. https://doi.org/10.1177/1942775120933914

Schussler, D., Oh, Y., Mahfouz, J., Levitan, J., Frank, J., Broderick, P., Mitra, J., & Greenberg, M. (2021). Stress and well-being: A systematic case study of adolescents’ experiences in a mindfulness-based program. Journal of Child and Family Studies, 30(2), 431-446. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10826-020-01864-5

Hayes, S. & Mahfouz, J. (2020). Principalship & mentoring: A review of perspectives, evidence, and literature 1999 – 2019. Research in Educational Administration and Leadership, 5(3), 722-751. http://doi.org/10.30828/real/2020.3.4

Katz, D., Mahfouz, J., & Romas, S. (2020). Creating a foundation for teachers and better futures for students: The need for SEL curriculum in teacher education programs. Northwest Journal of Teacher Education, 15(2). https://doi.org/10.15760/nwjte.2020.15.2.5

Mahfouz, J. & Gordon, D.P. (2020). The case for focusing on school principals’ social-emotional competencies. Management in Education, 1-5. https://doi.org/10.1177/0892020620932351

Anthony-Stevens, V., Mahfouz, J., & Bisbee, Y. (2020). Indigenous teacher education is tribal nation building: Stories of capacity building and capacity strengthening in Idaho. Journal of School Leadership, 30(6),541-564. https://doi.org/1052684620951722

Mahfouz, J., & Anthony-Stevens, V. (2020). Why trouble SEL? The need for cultural relevance in SEL. Bank Street Occasional Paper Series, 43, 1-14. Retrieved from https://educate.bankstreet.edu/occasional-paperseries/vol2020/iss43/6 2019

Mahfouz, J., El-Mehtar, N., Osman, E., Kotok, S. (2019). Challenges and agency: Principals responding to the Syrian refugee crisis in Lebanese public schools. International Journal of Leadership in Education, 23(1), 24- 40. https://doi.org/10.1080/13603124.2019.1613570

Mahfouz, J. (2020). Principals and stress: Few coping strategies for abundant stressors. Educational Management Administration & Leadership, EMAL.,48(3), 440-458. https://doi.org/10.1177/1741143218817562

Karami, R., Mahfouz, J., & Mansour*, S. (2019). Sustaining school-based improvement: Considering emotional responses to change. Journal of Educational Administration, 57(1), 50 - 67. https://doi.org/10.1108/JEA-01-2018-0022

Mahfouz, J., Sausner, E. B., & Kornhaber, M. L. (2019). U.S. international schools overseas and the common core. International Journal of Leadership in Education, 22 (4), 406 - 420. https://doi.org/10.1080/13603124.2018.1481529

Broderick, P., Frank, J., Barrena, E., Schussler, D., Kohler, K., Mitra, J., Khan, L., Levitan, J., Mahfouz, J., Shields, L., Greenberg, M. (2019). Evaluating the quality of mindfulness instruction delivered in school settings: Development and validation of a teacher quality observational rating scale. Mindfulness, 10 (1), 36- 45. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12671-018-0944-x

Levitan, J., Mahfouz, J., & Schussler, D. (2018). Pragmatic identity analysis as a qualitative interview technique. Forum: Qualitative Social Research, 19(3), 1-22. https://doi.org/10.17169/fqs-19.3.3032

Mahfouz, J. (2018). Mindfulness training for school administrators: Effects on well-being and leadership. Journal of Educational Administration, 56 (6), 602-619. https://doi.org/10.1108/JEA-12-2017-0171

Mahfouz, J., Levitan, J., Schussler, D., Broderick, T., Dvorakova, K., Argusti, M., & Greenberg, M. (2018). Ensuring college student success through mindfulness-based classes: Just BREATHE. College Student Affairs Journal, 36 (1), 1-16. https://doi.org/10.1353/csj.2018.0000

Mahfouz, J., Barkauskas, N., Sausner, E., & Kornhaber, M. (2018). Leadership roles of administrators under the common core reform. Education and Urban Society, 50(9), 793 - 817. https://doi.org/10.1177/0013124517714309

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School of Education & Human Development

CU Denver

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Denver, CO 80204

303-315-6300

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Faculty Directory

Julia Mahfouz PhD

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School of Education & Human Development