Education Commons^™

Be A Tree: Reconceptualizing Early Education Through The Roots And Fruits Methodology Of Teaching And Learning, Virginia Dearani

Occasional Paper Series

This past Winter, my seven-year old son lived through a traumatic experience, resulting in the amputation of a significant portion of his middle finger. While reflecting on the concept of being a “Whole Child,” I was engaging in conversations with my son, exploring questions on wholeness, such as, “What is the purpose of our bodies? How will my hand work now with the loss of this finger? How will my classmates see me, and view my finger? When will my nerves re-align as I place my stubbed finger on different textures of fabric, petting our dog, holding my bike handle-bars, …

Gentle Action Theory As A Method Of Deliberative Democracy In Addressing The Lack Of Voice For Indigenous Students In Institutions Of Higher Education, Carma J. Corcoran

Amplify: A Journal of Writing-as-Activism

This paper examines how Indigenous college students attending non-tribal colleges and universities in the United States experience feelings of alienation and marginalization. The concept of democracy and deliberation from the model of the larger oppressive society is not a cultural norm. Civic engagement is experienced differently in Indigenous communities. This paper articulates the outcomes of a deliberative forum which examined the concept of democracy employing Gentle Action Theory as the method to provide the students an opportunity to share their thoughts and experiences and to express their frustrations and needs regarding their academic endeavors. The comparison of Traditional Ways and …

Unlearning Your Colonial Course Description To Transform Your Learning Culture, Zen Parry

Experiential Learning & Teaching in Higher Education

Education has undergone multiple transformations with preset syllabi and modes of presentation to learners. Within the learning models utilized today, critical discussions on issues in higher education, social, economic, environmental, and racial justice settings have become important and at times, media headlines. Reading through course descriptions in an academic catalog or brochure will inform you about what the curriculum offers and what it does not. The course description wording brings into question two issues: whether the language used affects the understandability and relatability of the content by students of the course or, the course description represents the perspective of the …

Fashion, Identity And The Muslim-American Narrative, Shireen Soliman

Artizein: Arts and Teaching Journal

In this pivotal time, assumptions, boundaries, power structures and relationships within society are being reconsidered and reimagined. My research project, “Fashion, Identity and the Muslim- American Narrative” builds off of well-established prior models and responds to this moment. Through this multidisciplinary, multimedia design workshop series geared towards Muslim American female adolescents, we are able to leverage the powerful intersection of design, technology, community, social media and social justice. In this affirming, enlightening space, we use fashion, dress and personal narrative as the springboard and means of exploring the intrinsic connection between social and emotional issues surrounding identity development, social justice …

Using Liminality To Understand How Identity And Temporary Status Influence Interns’ Vulnerability, Michael A. Odio, Christopher M. Mcleod

Experiential Learning & Teaching in Higher Education

Viewing internships as a transitionary stage (i.e., a liminal space) where interns are shedding their student identity and developing their professional identity provides a useful lens for understanding the experiences of interns and holds implications for social and economic justice. As interns adapt to the temporary and transitionary space of the internship they experience powerlessness, ambiguity, and, in many cases exploitation, sexual harassment, and abuse. The stress and precarity of this status are compounded for interns from marginalized or underrepresented groups that must also conform to the (typically white male and middle class) hegemony of the workplace, all of which …

Am I Canadian: Making Canadian History Personally Relevant To Students (And To Me), Melanie V. Williams

The Councilor: A National Journal of the Social Studies

This reflection explores the challenges and opportunities inherent in teaching and learning Canadian history when the majority of the learners – and the teacher herself – are first- and second-generation Canadians. The intersectionality and constructed-ness of identity, and the effects of individual versus collective memory on identity, can either alienate students from Canadian history or provide them with a variety of entry points into the subject. Historiography also plays an important role in engaging students in Canadian history, academically as well as personally. Ultimately, what students must learn in history class is the ability to construct Canadian histories that reflect …

Whose Story Is It? Thinking Through Early Childhood With Young Children’S Photographs, Tran Nguyen Templeton

Occasional Paper Series

Child-centered practices and pedagogies of listening to children are part and parcel of progressive early childhood education. As critical early childhood teachers and researchers, we demonstrate that we value the voices and narratives of children by placing them at the center of our classroom and research agendas. Simultaneously, however, young children’s social position can put them at the mercy of adults’ (teachers’ and researchers’) whims, and their stories may easily be consumed in the name of provocative classroom displays or academic articles. This work explores the potential for visual participatory research, guided by critical childhood studies, to grasp the stories …

The Queer Agenda: A Fluid Education, Charlee Corra

Summit to Salish Sea: Inquiries and Essays

Throughout this paper, I weave together various aspects of my identity in order to investigate how fluidity and questioning form an undercurrent of my being and therefore of the way I teach. Through metaphors and narratives of my experiences within environmental education and experiential learning I seek clarity and expansiveness rather than definitive answers, leaning into the certainty that change is inevitable and there are rarely any static answers. Using queerness, Judaism, and my scientific background as the layers of my unique identity lens and positionality, I explore the ways in which the power of questioning, critical thinking, democratic education …

Using Visual Journals As A Reflective Worldview Window Into Educator Identity, Christina Belcher, Terry Loerts

International Christian Community of Teacher Educators Journal

This ethnographic case study research and content analysis presents the conclusion of a three-year study involving 37 teacher candidate participants across a three-year study within a two year (2 semester program) Bachelor of Education program at a university in Ontario, Canada. Each academic year participants were intentionally given time over two semesters of literacy courses to engage in literacy practices and knowledge of self through the use of multimodal visual journals. Candidates reflect on their conceptions of literacy, teaching, identity and worldview within an institution grounded in the Christian faith. Findings, philosophical ponderings and content analysis suggest that the identity …

Womxn: An Evolution Of Identity, Ash D. Kunz

Summit to Salish Sea: Inquiries and Essays

Environmental Education is situated firmly in the hegemony of White, settler-colonial, capitalistic, able-bodied and –minded, heteronormative, patriarchal society. Individuals whose identity does not conform to this dominant metanarrative are excluded from and marginalized by “othering”. Trauma and violence are commonplace in society against Indigenous peoples, Black and Latinx folx and People of Color, womxn, people with disabilities, people in the LGBTQIA+ community, and all minoritized identities. That history of trauma, coupled with social and physical isolation can lead to mental and emotional struggles that negatively impact personal wellbeing. A lack of wellbeing, in turn can lead to or further depression. …

The History Curriculum And Inculcation Of National Consciousness In History Students In Ghana, Charles Adabo Oppong

The Councilor: A National Journal of the Social Studies

Abstract

National consciousness plays an important role in socio-economic and political developments in many nations. Mostly, national consciousness promotes national unity, sustainable development, peace, respect for diversity, patriotism, and others. Undoubtedly, most of the variables mentioned are acquired through the study of national history. This study stems from the motivation to find out whether the Ghanaian senior high school history curriculum addresses the canons identified as variables of national consciousness. The study, therefore, aimed at examining the content of the Ghanaian history syllabus, as a curriculum document, whether it inculcates national consciousness or otherwise. 125 Form Three history students in …

Being, Fxminist, Aly Gourd

Summit to Salish Sea: Inquiries and Essays

This presentation explores various expressions of voice, arguing the importance of defining and implementing a feminist [fxminist] perspective to inform a cultural shift in how we work to communicate truthfully, resist fear and violent oppressive systems, and find hope. A variation of the following was presented as a capstone presentation in March 2017 and has been reconstructed to reflect aspects of the speech and activities as well as an analytical orientation to the capstone.

Scholastic Liberation: Schools' Impact On African American Academic Achievement, Aaron M. Johnson

Language Arts Journal of Michigan

This article addresses some of the factors that contribute to low achievement observed in African American students. It is common that either schools or school districts are unable to fix the problem or they are unaware about how the beliefs and attitudes about African American students can contribute to their low performance in school. Furthermore, this article encourages school institutions to examine themselves and change school environments to align to the identities of African American students. African American students must be liberated from negative assumptions about them and to do that, individuals and the institution of school as a whole, …

Sharing Identity: Indexing Cultural Perspectives Through Writing Responses To Graphic Novels, Alex Romagnoli

SANE journal: Sequential Art Narrative in Education

Indexing identity through writing responses among ELL students in response to a graphic novel helps provide insight into how writing responses represent people and how graphic novels can aid in that process of self-discovery through their inherent multimodalities. This study takes looks at four students in an ELL class at an urban high school in southern Pennsylvania as they responded in writing to a portion of Will Eisner's New York: Life in the Big City (2006). All of the participants took events from the portion of the graphic novel provided to them and indexed their urban, cultural perspectives through their …

Intention, Questions, And Creative Expression: An Antidiscriminatory Diversity Statement, Hannah S. Bright

Scholarship and Engagement in Education

Supporting education that reflects diversity involves maintaining awareness of one’s personal positionality, creating safe and inclusive learning communities, and using creativity and choice to empower and honor student voice and individual development. When working in educational settings, teachers may involve students in selecting relevant materials, and follow their lead in creating critical dialogue about salient factors of identity.

Academic Problem-Solving And Students’ Identities As Engineers, Mirka Koro-Ljungberg, Elliot P. Douglas, Nathan J. Mcneill, David J. Therriault, Christine S. Lee, Zaria Malcolm

The Qualitative Report

Socially constructed identities and language practices influence the ways students perceive themselves as learners, problem solvers, and future professionals. While research has been conducted on individuals’ identity as engineers, less has been written about how the language used during engineering problem solving influences students’ perceptions and their construction of identities as learners and future engineers. This study investigated engineering students’ identities as reflected in their use of language and discourses while engaged in an engineering problem solving activity. We conducted interviews with eight engineering students at a large southeastern university about their approaches to open and closed-ended materials engineering problems. …

Academic And Community Identities: A Study Of Kurdish And Somali Refugee High School Students, Franco Zengaro, Mohamed Ali, Sally Zengaro

Journal of Research Initiatives

This research examined the experiences of 11 high school students and their academic and social experiences in the U.S. using identity and agency in figured worlds. We collected data through interviews and field notes and analyzed them using constant comparative analysis. The findings revealed two main themes: the importance of continuity in promoting and maintaining a positive academic environment and the importance of support in creating positive identities. In addition, there was a strong awareness between being accepted, recognized, and encouraged at school and feeling accepted as a Muslim student. In the end, the participants experienced two different realities which …