Education Commons^™

Critical Embodied Praxis For Social Justice And Peace Educators: A Story Of Personal Transformation Through Analysis Of My Jewish And Settler Identities, Cara Michelle Silverberg

Capstone Collection

In this paper, I examine definitions of and relationships between violence, oppression, peace, liberation, and embodiment in the context of critical pedagogy in order to construct a theory of critical embodied praxis for social justice and peace educators. Considering the body to be a tangible vessel through which narratives and mechanisms of violence are expressed and maintained, I explore the potential of the body to be a vessel through which liberatory narratives may be generated and shared. After constructing a theory of critical embodied praxis, I illustrate this framework in action through a personal narrative that explores the intersections …

The Dynamics Of Participatory Monitoring And Evaluation (Pm&E) In Traditional Pakistan., Aamer Shams

Capstone Collection

This research seeks to explore the interpretation and application of Participatory Monitoring and Evaluation (PM&E) in the context of Educational Empowerment by analyzing insights gathered from multiple stakeholder groups in four cities of Pakistan, Islamabad, Lahore, Quetta, and Peshawar. Analysis of the findings reveals nuances of PM&E, including “Equality and Equity, Respect and Tolerance” (pg. 58-61) that limit the potential of this transdisciplinary empowerment process. Empowerment and educational programs often employ the continuous processes of Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) to gain an understanding of the implementation, efficiency, impact, and overall performance of the program. M&E also provides valuable information about …

Towards Soulful And Sustainable Service: The Role Of Ethics In Global Service-Learning Programs Within Faith-Based Tertiary Institutions, Corrie Johnson

Capstone Collection

This research evaluates the practices of specified faith-based institutions within the field of undergraduate global service learning through the lens of each of the major themes in the Fair Trade Learning framework. These themes include equal partnership, mutual learning, cooperative and positive social change, economic equity, transparency, and sustainability. Initial survey outcomes present an overall picture of where these particular universities are at in regards to balancing student and community outcomes. Interview outcomes provide a more in-depth perspective of how mutual benefit for student participants and host communities is being considered within the global service-learning programs these programs facilitate. Some …

The Heart Of Experience: The Education Of A Practitioner's Journey, Tai Mesches

Capstone Collection

This Capstone, The Heart of Experience: The Education of a Practitioner’s Journey, is an illustrative reflection of myself experiencing my learning cycle, taking the reader through my own journey of growth as an experiential education practitioner. To engage the reader, I first shine light on the context of what role experience played in my life as a form of education, specifically reflecting on my time living abroad in China and my cross-cultural work with Chinese youth in Manhattan, New York, emphasizing basketball’s involvement as a tool for engagement. I describe how such experiences helped me return to school. To portray …

Connecting Beyond The Circle: A Restorative Approach In Co-Creating A Safe Space For Social Justice Education At Utec, Nikki F. Pelonia

Capstone Collection

“Social justice is both a process and a goal. The goal of social justice education is full and equal participation of all groups in a community that is [co-created] to meet the members’ needs. Social justice includes a vision of a community that is equitable and all members are physically and psychologically safe and secure” (Adams, Bell, & Griffin, 2007, p. 1). In the process, one is used to going straight to issues of social justice before connecting by building trusts and relationships. This Course-Linked Capstone in Training focuses on SIT Graduate Institute coursework from Training Design in Experiential Learning …

The University Of Hawaii At Hilo: National Student Exchange Four-Part Workshop For The Outgoing Students At The University Of Hawaii At Hilo, Kadian Shaw

Capstone Collection

The University of Hawaii at Hilo (UH Hilo) is part of the National Student Exchange Consortium, a unique, not for profit organization of nearly 170 accredited, baccalaureate-granting Colleges and Universities that provide exchange opportunities to undergraduate students. These exchange opportunities are across the US mainland, the US territories and Canada. The purpose of the National Student Exchange Office at the University of Hawaii at Hilo is to provide UH Hilo students with exchange opportunities at a reasonable and affordable cost. This capstone explores the idea that it is important to prepare students for a domestic exchange program. This capstone will …

The Green Classroom Initiative: Developing A Non-Formal Educational Resource To Promote Positive Youth Development In An Elementary School In The Central Valley Region Of Costa Rica., Marlee Cea

Capstone Collection

While Costa Rica is not the most under-developed country in Central America, it still experiences poverty and school drop outs on par with neighboring countries and some exceptional regions of the United States. The primary focus of this thesis is to discuss how the “Green Classroom” initiative, a Peace Corps Volunteer’s attempt to create sustainable change, is rooted in modern educational theories; and how they have influenced the organizations and practical methodologies used to engineer this project. A secondary focus is on the process the volunteer and vital project partners experienced to create a sustainable educational resource for a primary …

Mind The Gap: Understanding The Lack Of Social Integration Between U.S. National And International Students, Danika Delano

Capstone Collection

This capstone paper explores the issue of social integration between international and U.S. national students and focuses on the international student community of the Foundation for International Understanding Through Students (FIUTS), a non-profit that supports students at the University of Washington-Seattle (UW). A survey was administered to 106 UW students involved in FIUTS to test the hypothesis that the FIUTS community desired to have more U.S. nationals involved in the program. After establishing a desire for increased social integration between U.S. national and international students from within the FIUTS community, fifteen U.S. national students who were not involved in FIUTS …

Strategic Study Abroad: A Program Proposal For Continued Faith Development Of Chi Alpha Students Studying Abroad, Erin Leonard

Capstone Collection

With around 28,000 individual participants, Chi Alpha is a diverse network of Christian students on U.S. college campuses. By regularly meeting in groups and collectively reaching out to the community, students develop their faith and build lasting relationships.

Faith development is an integral part of Chi Alpha students’ lives. Yet, because community is an important aspect in faith development, studying abroad can cause challenges. Students expressed missing accessible Christian peer support and mentorship while abroad. They further expressed disconnection from their faith and felt their spirituality had declined while studying abroad.

As study abroad participation has been increasing over the …

The Global Village: Improving Intercultural Experiences At Keene State College Through Living/Learning Communities, Laura Zuelch

Capstone Collection

Comprehensive internationalization is a paradigm in higher education that recognizes the many aspects of higher education affected by an internationalizing world (Hudzik, 2011). At Keene State College, internationalization is limited to the outbound study abroad students and the few inbound exchange students each semester. There are also few opportunities for Keene State students to gain an intercultural experience without leaving campus, which can be difficult for some students to manage. There is an opportunity to build on the existing Living/Learning Community framework to create a new Living/Learning Community that can address the trend for increased internationalization on campus as well …

Engagement And Global Learning Through Philanthropy: A Youth Philanthropy Council For International Baccalaureate Students, Erin Gorman

Capstone Collection

Unprecedented global migration and a flattened global economy have influenced the skills, knowledge, and competencies all high school youth need to be engaged participants and effective workers in the 21^st century global economy (Mansilla & Jackson, 2011). Research indicates that many youth, especially those at risk for dropping out of school or from minority and low-income backgrounds, do not have adequate opportunities to develop the global competence and 21^st century skills needed for engagement and success in the workforce of the 21^st century (Afterschool Alliance, 2010). This paper presents a replicable global learning afterschool program model that …

Community Perspectives- How Study Abroad With Service Learning Impacts The Locals, Sarah J. Delcambre

Capstone Collection

This case study focuses on the community perspectives of homestay families, partner organizations, and local program staff that collaborated with Xplore USA Summer Language Adventure Camps in the Summer of 2011, in Asheville, North Carolina. The researcher focused on the service work aspect of the Xplore programming, and its impact on the local community via the local community’s perspective, to inform the reader of an underexplored subject. Interviews and survey results showed that the volunteer service projects performed by Xplore students and their local brothers and sisters were perceived as beneficial by an overwhelming majority of all local parties concerned: …

Addressing The Learning Needs At Occupy Dc, Andrew J. Batcher

Capstone Collection

The purpose of this paper is to examine how learning can help the Occupy movement in Washington DC. It explores three questions. What are the learning needs of the movement? What educational content can help meet those needs? And how can education be practiced in a way that most effectively addresses the learning needs within the real world circumstances of the movement? Research methods include participant observation, surveys, interviews, focus groups, literature review, and primary document review. Data was coded into 11 outcome oriented learning needs and 3 educational orientations which are geared towards meeting those needs. This paper is …

Reciprocity And Reflection: Creating An Evaluation Plan For Proworld Belize, Kelly Kocher

Capstone Collection

The evaluation plan for ProWorld Belize is intended to focus on the primary principles of service-learning, which include reciprocity between the community served and the service providers, as well as reflection on the interaction between the program participants and the community served. This plan aims to facilitate ProWorld’s mission to empower communities, promote social and economic development, conserve the environment, and cultivate educated compassionate global citizens, by addressing the needs for mutual relationships and intentional self-reflection in service-learning. This plan offers assessment tools for including community partners in the evaluation process of ProWorld Belize’s programs and for evaluating the cross-cultural …