Ismail Hussein Amzat is an Associate Professor at the Department of Social Sciences and Educational Leadership, International Islamic University Malaysia (IIUM). He was a senior visiting lecturer at the School of Education, Universiti Utara Malaysia, and a visiting assistant professor at the College of Education, Sultan Qaboos University, Oman. He is an editor of the books 'Fast forwarding Higher Education Institutions for Global Challenges: Perspectives and Approaches' (Springer, 2016), 'Teacher Empowerment towards Professional Development & Practices: Perspectives across Borders' (Springer, 2017), 'Teacher Professional Knowledge and Development for Reflective & Inclusive Practices' (Routledge, 2017), 'Predictive Models for Educational Leadership and Practices' (IGI Global, 2019), and 'Supporting Modern Teaching in Islamic Schools: Pedagogical Best Practices for Teachers' (Routledge, 2023). In 2022, he was awarded as one of the 50 top contributors to IIUM's research performance, and Highest Top Researchers of Joint Publications for 2019-2021 in IIUM. Dr. Muhammad Khalifa is a professor of Educational Administration and the Executive Director of Urban and Rural Initiatives at The Ohio State University, United States. His research examines how urban school leaders enact culturally responsive leadership and anti-oppressive schooling practices. He was previously a teacher and administrator in Detroit Public Schools, and he has also contributed to community-informed education projects in Africa, Latin America, and Asia in various capacities.

Dr. Khalifa has written extensively on minoritized student identities in school, how schools can become liberatory spaces for youth, and how schools can begin to recognize and value community and ancestral knowledges in and around schools. He is the author of the book, 'Culturally Responsive School Leadership' (Harvard Education Press, 2018). He is also coeditor of three other books and has published in education journals, including Review of Educational Research, Teachers College Record, QSE, Urban Review, Educational Administration Quarterly, and Race, Ethnicity, and Education.