Digital Commons Network^™

Exploration Of The Public School Education: Still Perpetuating Indoctrination In Our Modern World, Shaniqua B. Bowden

Senior Projects Spring 2023

Senior Project submitted to The Division of Social Studies of Bard College.

The History Of Teaching The Holocaust In Public Secondary Schools In The United States, From The 1960s To The Present, Julia Highbury Spenser

Senior Projects Spring 2023

Senior Project submitted to The Division of Social Studies of Bard College.

Increasing Numbers Of Chinese Students At U.S. Higher Education: Theories, Discussions, And Survey Findings In Context Of Chinese Education And Social Stratification, Youren Yu

Senior Projects Spring 2022

The U.S. Immigration and Custom Enforcement reports that Chinese international students have been increasing continuously for over a decade, and they are also the biggest group of international students in the U.S. Reviewing key theories and literature on social stratification such as the rational choice model, maximally maintained inequality, and effectively maintained inequality, and conducting in-depths surveys with 15 Chinese students studying in U.S. higher education institutions, I discuss micro and macro level reasons why some Chinese students choose U.S higher education. I argue at the micro level, the decision can be explained by individual disagreement with the Chinese education …

Who Is Anointed? The Psychological And Social Justice Implications Of Gifted And Talented Programs In The United States, Emma Caroline Gossett

Senior Projects Spring 2022

This paper explores the repercussions of gifted and talented programs in the United States, looking specifically at resulting psychological effects and social justice implications. This analysis is positioned within the discussion of global power struggles for technological advancement. After the success of the Russian Sputnik satellite in 1957, the United States bolstered initiatives in education to ensure they were producing students who could contribute to the prowess of the nation. Gifted programs allowed for a more in-depth focus on those children deemed useful to the labor market. This resulted in additional pressures placed on certain students to excel. The anointment …

The Monocultural Agenda: How Denmark's Culture Of Assimilation Undermines The Benefits Of Child-Centered Practice For Minority Children, Eva C. Jensby

Senior Projects Spring 2022

Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC) in Denmark adheres to the tradition of social pedagogy, a child-centered practice that emphasizes holistic development. While social pedagogy produces many developmental benefits that support the formation of positive self concepts and transitions to classroom environments, Denmark is overwhelmingly homogenous and the dominant culture demands assimilation to Danish traditions and values. This, compounded with longstanding stereotypes and negative representations of Muslims in particular, has the potential to undermine the development of positive self-concepts in minority children, who face perceptions of incompetence and do not see their backgrounds as valued resources. Theoretically, social pedagogy would …

When Punishment Doesn’T Work: The Ideology And Infrastructure Of Restorative Justice In Public Schools, Anna R. Schupack

Senior Projects Spring 2022

Using interview data collected over a span of three months, this project serves as a case study and critique of the recent orientation toward restorative justice as an alternative to a punitive orientation and as a means to address racially disproportionate suspension rates in schools. In this paper, I argue that the attempts we see today to address disproportionate suspension rates and opt for less punitive methods of governance, in general, do little to undo a history of punitive discipline which upholds racial, economic, and gendered hierarchies. I am less concerned with the individual intention of every actor within the …

Why Did You Come To Study In The United States? Analysis Of The Phenomenon Of Modern Chinese Students Studying In The United States, Beitong Liu

Senior Projects Fall 2022

The occurrence of Chinese students studying in the United States is becoming increasingly prevalent, and the factors that drive Chinese students to study abroad are changing with time. This senior project, after the explicit framework for the history and development of modern Chinese students studying in the United States. I use Push-Pull Factors to explore some of the important factors that influence Chinese students' decision to study abroad in the present day. For instance, I argue that significant internal Chinese push factors include the pressure of the gaokao, the education difficulties caused by the hukou, and the comprehensive service of …

Online Education And The Socioeconomic Achievement Gap: A Solution Or A Problem?, Narain Darakananda

Senior Projects Spring 2021

The socioeconomic achievement gap refers to how students of lower socioeconomic status (SES) underperform academically relative to their higher SES peers. In addressing this issue, researchers have considered online learning as a potential solution. Because online learning platforms provide increased flexibility and access for students, some argue that online education will democratize education and narrow the socioeconomic achievement gap. As such, in recent decades, online learning has increasingly been used as an addition to and, in some cases, even a replacement for in-person learning. A closer examination of the subject, however, reveals that the widespread adoption of online learning may …

Instructing Normalcy, Anna R. Derosa

Senior Projects Spring 2021

Senior Project submitted to The Division of Multidisciplinary Studies of Bard College.

Bildung As Cult: Education Through Secret Societies In German Literature, Henry Charles Smith Levin

Senior Projects Spring 2021

This paper will focus on aspects of German literature that convey ideas of education in unorthodox ‘classrooms’, namely through the tutelage of mystic organizations, or cults if you will. Cults are typically associated with Manson style blood-soaked ritual, passionate and even erotic worship of a charismatic pseudo-intellectual. However German literature often features a more benevolent form of cult, where the proposed magic is real, the leader worthy of their pedestal, and the purpose is to oppose either literal oppressive regimes or more abstract regimes of malaise and doldrums.

The Magic Flute puts the cult of Sarastro’s Brotherhood and its Egyptian …

Communicating With Play: Helping Adults Recognize Separation Anxiety Disorder And Social Anxiety Disorder In Preschool Children, Katlynn Marie Shamro

Senior Projects Spring 2021

Senior Project submitted to The Division of Social Studies of Bard College.

Despite well-founded and agreed upon evidence showing preschool-aged children experience anxiety (CDC, 2020), children ages 2-6 are continuously understudied, underdiagnosed, and undertreated for these disorders (NIMH, 2019). Researchers attribute this to the primarily cognitive, as opposed to behavioral symptoms of anxiety, communication deficits during the preschool years, and the nature of childhood amplifying already existing barriers to a diagnosis of anxiety. Because diagnosis is the first step to gaining access to mental health resources and early intervention mitigates symptoms and impaired functioning (Barstead et al., 2018), as well …

The New “Duck-And-Cover” — School Security As Contemporary Civil Defense And Mimetic Of The National Security State, Justyn C. Díaz

Senior Projects Spring 2020

The purpose of this project is to interrogate the parallels between school and state security policies. The project also positions these similarities ultimately as part of the program of schooling that seeks to create citizens in the interest of national security through the mimicry of the state security practices, inculcating a fear in students across the country that serves to constitute state power.

How Our Public Education System Discourages Curiosity And Encourages Depression And Anxiety, Michael Buffett Greenberg

Senior Projects Spring 2020

The increase in adolescent depression over the last decade has been well- documented. Though promising treatments continue to be developed, the rate of increase is clearly outpacing our ability to help those who suffer. As such, it is worth taking a look at what factors may be contributing to this increase. The argument contained in this paper is that the nature of public education, in particular its existential reliance on extrinsic motivation, encourages depression through both implicit and explicit discouragement of curiosity. Curiosity will be posited as key marker of human vitality, and human vitality will be investigated as an …

A Case For The Congo: How Can Education And Agriculture Lead To Economic Development?, Arthur Kilongo

Senior Projects Spring 2020

Since its independence from Belgium in 1960 until this point in time, the Democratic Republic of the Congo has more than often experienced violence and political instability that have prevented the creation of a stable economy and functional political system. As a result, quality education and high paying jobs are scarce in the DR Congo today, resulting in poverty to the extent where many people in the country live on less than $1.90 per day. According to the International Labour Organization, as many as 68.7% of Congolese worked in agriculture in 2019. This paper investigates how education and training can …

Lean On Me: Increasing Help-Seeking Behavior In Black College Men Through Institution Based Intervention Programming, Zien Celeste Hodge

Senior Projects Spring 2019

The disparity between the academic success of Black males and their White peers in the United States is robust. Research supports the disparity is not only the result of low financial status but also racial and gender barriers that affect how Black males navigate academic environments.Intervention programs to improve Black males’ quality of life through mentorship and motivationenhancement have impacted the academic success of Black males greater than those that provide financial resources. Yet, these interventions do not target Black males in primarily white education settings where academic stressors are greater, racial and gender barriers more commonplace and ability to …

Practicing Engagement, Isabella Powers Yannoni

Senior Projects Spring 2018

For this project I lead two rehearsal processes with peers, and a movement class for middle schoolers, all of which centered around engagement. I have investigated how my own and others’ engagement can contribute to a rich experience for participants and observers, using collaborative games and storytelling as a means of working with these ideas. I believe in the power of questioning together, as opposed to determining alone. Throughout these processes, we, the participants, have learned from each other and have had to re-negotiate our roles and responsibilities to the work as well as to each other.

Dancing with people …

Transition On The Han: The Agricultural Roots Of Development On The Korean Peninsula, Ivan Glinski

Senior Projects Spring 2018

One of the crucial preconditions for growth in the East Asian Economic Miracle were high levels of human capital, yet an explanation for their origin has not been forthcoming in the economic literature. This project investigates the origin of these high levels of human capital in South Korea through the frameworks of induced development and labor-intensive growth. By examining both long-term processes and the effect of policies during the Japanese colonial period (1910-1945) in the Korean countryside, it's argued that labor-intensive modes of production, particularly in the case of rice cultivation, induced changes in economic preferences and behaviors. These shifts …

Girls' Education: A Behavioral Analysis, Syeda Zahra Ahmed

Senior Projects Spring 2018

Universal education has been an international development goal for a very long time, and gaps still exist in gender parity in developing countries. This project aims to address the fact that while the provision of affordable and accessible education in- stitutions have seen great successes in the past, perhaps the way forward now is to analyze the demand side issues. Due to cultural norms, demand for girls’ education in developing countries is lacking. The first part of the paper explores the psychological constraints of present bias, role model effect and stereotype threat in the context of girls’ educational demands. The …

Two Concepts Of Education, Vikramaditya H. Joshi

Senior Projects Spring 2018

Senior Project submitted to The Division of Social Studies of Bard College.

The foundation of the current discourse on education is grounded in the funding and distribution of a ‘good’ called education. The Common Core State Standards, as a set of shared goals stipulated by the federal government, considers education to be a “stepping stone” towards joining the workforce in a competitive global marketplace. The lexicon of economic commodities instrumentalizes education due to its tacit assumption that education is a means to an occupational end. It treats education as an individual possession deposited by a school, via its teachers, into …

The Arts In The United States: Can The Arts Become A Public Good?, Alexander Van Der Veen

Senior Projects Fall 2018

Senior Project submitted to The Division of Social Studies of Bard College.

Lin Yaoji: The Legend Of Violin Education In China, Bihan Li

Senior Projects Fall 2018

Senior Project submitted to The Division of Languages and Literature of Bard College.

Does It Take A Village To Teach A Child? Lessons From Experiments In Education, Piyush Kuthethoor

Senior Projects Spring 2017

Why should we and how do we incorporate a community-based development model into the design, implementation and targeting of experimental programs? This project is motivated to create a useful theoretical framework or “lens” for development that reflects social reality, one which sees communities, the space of patterned, meaningful interpersonal relationships, as a locus of development. It is interested in ways that such a framework can help design adaptable policy innovations/developmental programs and come up with successful and sustained solutions to pressing human needs. First, a “lens” of community is developed for analysis using findings from behavioral studies, historic observations, philosophy, …

Putting Microaggressions Under The Microscope: Examining The Short-Term Effects Of Microaggressions In A College Classroom, Glenisha Keiara Givens

Senior Projects Spring 2017

In 1970 Chester Pierce identified the term microaggressions as subtle insults toward African-American students that could be intentional or unintentional, conscious or subconscious, and verbal or nonverbal. In recent years following some of Pierce’s work, researchers have begun focusing on what exactly constitutes as a micro aggression, which spaces this form of racism manifest and the various effects it has victims. Most of the past findings indicate that microaggressions have detrimental effects to mental health and even effects students in educational settings. The current study aimed to explore whether microaggressions have immediate effects on self-esteem, mood, attitudes toward a professor …

The Effects Of Where You Grew Up On Your Future Opportunity, Christopher Josiah Lockwood

Senior Projects Spring 2017

Senior Project submitted to The Division of Social Studies of Bard College.

Neighborhoods effect developing children from several areas. The influence that a community possesses can either bolster socioeconomic status or inhibit it. Some experiments have been done in the US to aid struggling families in disadvantaged neighborhoods that have produced significant results. This purpose of this senior project is to analyze and discuss the varying ways in which neighborhoods can affect its inhabitants (i.e. education, health/nutrition), the experiments aimed to helping poor families, and offer a possible solution to mitigate these issues.

The Limits Of Education Reform In New Orleans And Chicago, Damonika Stokes

Senior Projects Spring 2016

Senior Project submitted to The Division of Social Studies of Bard College.

Computing Language And Thinking: Analysis, Design, And Assessment Of Introductory Computer Science Workshops In The Liberal Arts Experience, Kathleen Teresa Burke

Senior Projects Spring 2016

This project seeks to assess and improve upon a new required introductory computer science workshop for first year students at Bard College. It addresses the design and implementation of the course itself, along with the improvements needed in order to continue the program. Many students are not offered computer science courses prior to college; this program has been designed to remedy that by requiring all students to learn key concepts in computer science as a part of their orientation. The program consists of a 90 minute lesson taught by professors with expertise in fields outside of computer science, in addition …

The Analysis Of Moral Education In China And Its Effect On Chinese Children’S Moral Development, Wen Grace Shu

Senior Projects Spring 2016

Senior Project submitted to The Division of Science, Mathematics and Computing of Bard College.

On Environmental Education, James Mackinnon Michel Spreuwenberg-Stewart

Senior Projects Spring 2015

Senior Project submitted to The Division of Social Studies of Bard College

Is Dependence On Property Tax Funding Stifling Academic Achievement? Evidence From Public High Schools In New York, Nathan Sean Reece

Senior Projects Spring 2015

The United States has historically demonstrated a fervent interest in its public education system. Performance concerns have inundated the system for years, prompting overarching policy reforms that have received vast criticisms. This paper aims to highlight the link between these performance deficiencies and the nature in which public education in funded in the United States, and in the process of doing so argues that this system is outdated and needs to be changed. Our results indicate that a strong relationship exists between school districts that rely more heavily on property tax revenue and academic achievement in the form of graduation …

A Blueprint For Higher Education Institutions Of Today: Supporting African American Students Through An Institutional Cultural Shift, Karimah Janelle Shabazz

Senior Projects Spring 2015

Senior Project submitted to The Division of Social Studies of Bard College.