“For apart from inquiry, apart from the praxis, individuals cannot be truly human. Knowledge emerges only through invention and re-invention, through the restless, impatient, continuing, hopeful inquiry human beings pursue in the world, with the world, and with each other.”
- Paulo Freire, Pedagogy of the Oppressed
Education
Louisiana State University
Ph.D., 2013, Curriculum and Instruction: Literacy
M.A., 2013, Educational Leadership, Research, & Counseling: Applied Educational Research
Methodology & Evaluation
Ed.S., 2010, Curriculum and Instruction: Literacy and Special Education
M.S., 2007, Human Resource Education: Adult Education
B.A., 2005, English
Biography
Dr. Leah Katherine Saal is a professor of literacy at Loyola University Maryland, School of Education. Passionate about lifelong learning, she has over 20 years of experience designing, teaching, researching, and evaluating educational and training programs for adolescents and adults with and without disabilities in schools and organizations.
Dr. Saal believes literacy is a fundamental human right. She teaches graduate courses in literacy assessment, instructional methods, and data-based individualization and intervention and co-directs the suite of graduate literacy programs. Dr. Saal is passionate about mentoring students to serve as reflective literacy leaders capable of translating scientific research into practical, evidence-based solutions for learners, professionals, and systems. Throughout her teaching and service, she facilitates and supports graduate students and community partners in their original inquiries, research, and evaluations.
Research Interests
Dr. Saal’s engaged scholarly agenda explores literacy skills and practices as a social determinant of public health. A mixed methodologist, Saal is informed by her ongoing experiences teaching and researching with and learning from adults, families, and communities. Her nationally recognized and awarded work is often conducted with interdisciplinary and/or interinstitutional research partnerships and teams. Dr. Saal’s scholarship has been published in premier academic venues such as International Journal of Educational Research, Journal of Adult and Continuing Education, Adult Education Quarterly, Adult Literacy Education, Adult Learning, Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy, and The Reading Teacher.
Dr. Saal, along with Dr. Lisa Schoenbrodt, Professor of Speech Language Pathology, created the LEAD Model in 2016. LEAD is a train-the-trainer model which supports adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities to serve as self-advocate educators (SAEs). SAEs provide content instruction, panel discussions, and scenario-based training for law enforcement, emergency medical technicians and service providers, firefighters, correctional supervisors, and court personnel. Over 1,000 public servants have been trained using programs/projects incorporating the LEAD Model. LEAD Model projects have proven, positive outcomes and have received external funding from the Maryland Department of Disabilities - Ethan Saylor Alliance, the Maryland Developmental Disabilities Council, the Arc of Maryland, and the Horizon Foundation. The Eric Davis Myers Memorial Fund was also established by his parents to support projects implementing the LEAD Model.
Research Honors and Awards
- Faculty Award for Excellence in Community-Engaged Scholarship, Loyola University Maryland. 2025
- Exemplary Paper Award, Adult Literacy and Adult Education SIG, American Educational Research Association, 2024.
- Exemplary Paper Award, Adult Literacy and Adult Education SIG, American Educational Research Association, 2021.
- Early Career Engaged Scholar Award, Campus Compact Mid-Atlantic, 2019.
- Early Career Scholar Award, Adult Literacy and Adult Education SIG, American Educational Research Association, 2018.
- J. Michael Parker Award for Adult Literacy Research, Literacy Research Association, 2012.