Education Commons^™

Borderland Voices: Exploring The Educational Journey Of Transfronterizx Students, Families, And Educators For Enhanced Engagement And Empowerment, Sobeida Velazquez

Dissertations

Transfronterizx students and their families cross the U.S.–Mexico border for academic, economic, social, cultural, and linguistic reasons. Socioeconomic disparities, deportation, and work have propelled some families to live in Mexico and enroll their U.S.-born children in U.S. schools to provide more socioeconomic opportunities in the United States. Educators of transfronterizx students are uniquely tasked to work with these nontraditional students. Moreover, transfronterizx students and their families have distinct needs in U.S. schools; as such, there is a need for further research on the transfronterizx experience in the U.S. K–12 system. This qualitative narrative inquiry study aimed to understand the experiences …

The Overture! Then Is Here-And-Now: Hindsight Is Twenty, Twenty?, Elena Kydd

Music Therapy Theses

My existence and presence as a Black woman and graduate scholar in music therapy have allowed me to share my experience of racial trauma and oppression in the hallways of GCSU’s music therapy program. Autoethnography is the method I use to write my thesis on the relationships between Blackness, pedagogy, and music therapy. Thus, I perform an evocative autoethnographic study that allows me to share my personal experience of racial trauma and oppression within the culture of music therapy and to critique the larger social structures of whiteness that disenfranchise and dominate me and other Black student music therapists (SMTs). …

Resistencia Indocumentada: Exploring The Lived Experiences Of Higher Education Undocumented Students In The San Diego-Tijuana Border Region, Adan Escobedo Sanchez

Dissertations

Undocumented students face myriad obstacles while attending higher education institutions that would deter them from completing their academic journeys. Furthermore, they are placed with a dual narrative that labels them as either dangerous or exceptional. This study explored the lived experiences of undocumented students in college in the San Diego-Tijuana border region to consider what factors have led to resilience and resistance in their academic journey. By understanding these factors, the research aimed to tackle the dual narrative that burdens undocumented students from the illegality as a master status they possess.

This study used narrative inquiry and a literature review …

A Critical Analysis Of The Graduate Socialization Of Racially Minoritized School Psychology Students, Tatiana J. Broughton

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

By centering the voices of racially/ethnically minoritized school psychology graduate students I sought to understand how racially minoritized individuals experience their socialization process into the field, to critique and expose oppressive structures in place in their graduate programs, and to utilize garnered information to provide implications to address and dismantle oppressive structure within school psychology programs. Additionally, I sought to provide insight for school psychology training programs by identifying antiracist practices that minoritized graduate students view as supports in their training programs. Participants were eight racial/ethnic minoritized graduate students who participated in one to two virtual interviews discussing their experiences …

A Cord Of Many Strands: A Case Study Of Inclusive Practice Within The Archdiocese Of Los Angeles, Patrick James Allison

LMU/LLS Theses and Dissertations

The foundational philosophy of Catholic schools impels them toward inclusive practice. Scholars have repeatedly established that a moral mandate exists in Catholic Social Teaching for Catholic schools to include all students. However, students with disabilities have traditionally been excluded from Catholic school settings due perceived resource constraints, lack of practitioner skill, and the disposition that students with disabilities are better served in public schools. Many Catholic schools have made tremendous progress in inclusive practice, and stand at the forefront of this work, but these efforts have not been replicated at scale.

The purpose of this study was to explore how …

Bullying Prevention And Social Justice: Recommendations For Teachers, Anna Grigorian-Routon

Theses and Dissertations

Though bullying was once considered a "rite of passage," in recent years experts have begun to re-conceptualize bullying as an imbalance of power between the bully and the victim and to recognize the deleterious mental health outcomes that are often the result of having experienced or having participated in bullying. This phenomenon is also coming to be viewed more broadly as a human rights violation as it creates and perpetuates barriers for specific student populations to equal access to education. Historically, teachers have been among the most outspoken advocates of social justice issues and are on the front lines of …

Social Justice Leadership In Catholic Secondary Schools: A Critical Examination Of Social Justice Orientation And Praxis, Linda Nguyễn

LMU/LLS Theses and Dissertations

This study sought to understand the impact of a leader’s social justice orientation on their praxis of social justice. The study also sought to discover the successes and challenges associated with enacting social justice. Nine Catholic secondary school leaders in the California Archdiocese participated in the study. Semi-structured interviews and document analysis were used to understand how social justice orientation affects social justice praxis. The data analysis indicates that the social justice outcomes of a school site are greatly impacted by the school leader’s justice-orientation. Findings revealed that justice-orientation is dependent on two factors: the self-efficacy of the leader and …

Promoting Community Engagement Through Basic User Tutorial Of Epa Geospatial Screening Tools, Jonas Nguyen

Master's Projects and Capstones

Social inequalities are riddled with health disparities and outcomes leading toward lower life expectancy. Communities of color, low income, and rural neighborhoods lack the voice and resources to effectively oppose industrial settlement which would likely lead to the release of toxic wastes into the water, air and ground ultimately affecting residential health. Empowering members through community engagement is a relatively new strategic process where researchers are finding mutual benefits in design, implementation, and results. This study aims to identify and promote tools for community engagement within the scope of environmental justice by working with EPA geospatial screening tools and designing …

Supporting Biracial Students Through An Equity Lens: Multicultural Literature And Advocacy In School Libraries, Jacqueline Ahlborn

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Biracial students make up a substantial allocation of the school population, and their demographics are only expected to increase within the coming years. With this emergence of a larger Biracial community, schools need to consider how they will implement equitable resources and practices to meet the needs for this unique population. School librarians, serving as instructional leaders, can provide the necessary materials and strategies to support their students who are Biracial in order to foster positive racial identity. The purpose of this study is to explore school librarians’ perspectives on the influence of multicultural literature on students’ acceptance and understanding …

To Be (A Doctor) Or Not To Be – An Exploration Of The Abd Experience Of Female Minority Doctoral Students In Cacrep-Accredited Counselor Education Programs, Tracey Kim Snow

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

This is a dissertation that focuses on the lived experiences of culturally diverse female counselor education candidates on their dissertation experience. Chapter 1 addressed the background of the issue and the need for such a study. It also addresses the research questions that drove the study. Chapter 2 provides a comprehensive literature review of the main topics. Literature and research on six areas form this study’s conceptual framework: (a) “All but Dissertation” (ABD) status, (b) persistence, (c) the historical context of social justice within counselor education and supervision, (d) women’s development, (e) female doctoral students, and (f) culturally diverse doctoral …

Enduring Resilience: An Exploration Of Puerto Rican Colonization, Hurricane Maria, And Ongoing Healing Through Cultural Rituals, Jasmin Isabel Torrejón

Expressive Therapies Capstone Theses

This thesis seeks to illuminate the economic, cultural and social subjugation of Puerto Rico, and its people, through the stripping of personal and political self-determination imposed by U.S. colonization. This research explores historic examples of Puerto Rican perseverance and analyzes psychologically protective factors supporting survivorship and resilience, such as familism and ontological security. The effects of Hurricane Maria on mental health are highlighted in the research, as is the correlation between a lack of electrical power and adverse health/wellness outcomes. Models for collective liberation and social justice are discussed and exemplified through the case study of a march that took …

Counselor Educators' Social Justice And Advocacy Beliefs And Relationship To Their Actions, Marcia Colantha Davis

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Using Bandura's social learning theory as a frame, this quantitative survey study examined the relationship between attitudes and beliefs of counselor educators and the importance they placed on taking social justice as well as advocacy action in their personal and professional lives. Two survey instruments, the Social Issues Advocacy Scale and the Social Justice Scale, were given to faculty members of graduate counselor education programs to examine the question of whether a statistically significant relationship exists between faculty attitudes and beliefs regarding the value of social justice and advocacy, and faculty taking action in social justice and advocacy initiatives in …

Influences On The Choice Of Library Science Graduate Study: An Examination Of Cultural And Social Capital, Economic Factors, Gender, And Race, Rhonda K. Armstrong

Ed.D. Dissertations

The demographics of the library and information profession in the United States, which is primarily White and female, do not reflect the diversity of the population and those libraries serve. To further the understanding of who chooses library science graduate programs and how one might take social justice actions for more diversity, this study employed a post-positivist, quantitative study blended with critical theory. The study used Perna’s college choice model, which considers cultural capital, social capital, and economic factors as influential on college choice decisions. The study utilized a secondary data set, the Baccalaureate and Beyond Longitudinal Study 2008/2012 data …

Reshaping What Emerges: Empowering Student Employees To Be Authentic, Amber Williams

M.A. in Higher Education Leadership: Action Research Projects

The purpose of my study was to understand who my students are authentically and discover what keeps them from being authentic within the workplace. I focused on culturally minoritized students in the context of professional expectations and intersecting identities. The research questions that guided my study are: How do I help students be authentic in their role as culturally minoritized employees at a multicultural center? What does authenticity look like for the students I work with, and where do they find it most difficult to express their most authentic selves within the United Front Multicultural Center? What interventions and/or practices …

Investigating The Causes And Cures For Unclear Scholarly Writing, Marlene Ingrid Mahony

Doctoral Dissertations

This qualitative dissertation investigated possible causes and cures for unclear scholarly writing. For this study, a stipulative definition of unclear scholarly writing, or “academese,” is that the language tends to be vague and verbose. The problem, according to the included literature, is that people who use or accept vague language have less academic, social, professional, and civic power. Academese, some say, can detach readers and that can accordingly diminish collective exchange. Because higher education is meant to share knowledge, promote agency, and prepare students to communicate powerfully within and beyond the university, this study researched the causes and cures of …

Folklórico Testimonios: Identity, Community, And Agency As Social Justice Cultural Performance For Dancers Of Mexican Folklórico, Manuel Alejandro Perez

Doctoral Dissertations

Mexican students in higher education have few opportunities to learn about their heritage and history outside of Ethnic Studies courses. Some students seek alternative opportunities to learn about their identity and to build community with other Mexican students through folklórico. In Mexican folklórico, dancers learn the techniques and skills to communicate stories about their history, culture, and heritage through movement, song, and dance. This study is the story of Mexican students and folkloristas on their journey to (re)discover identity, community, and agency as they move through higher education.

This study uses testimonio to capture the voice, the struggle, and the …

Child Development Theory As A Mediator Of Novice Teachers' Ethnotheories To Increase Learning And Justice In The Classroom, Nancy Michele Cardwell

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Many urban public schools use teaching methods that isolate and silence children to compel compliance (Schwebel, 2004; Saltman & Gabbard, 2003; Baumrind, 1991). In these contexts, black and brown children are disciplined more often and harshly than white, sent through the court system 70% of the time (Alexander, 2012). Novice teachers, appearing expert without expertise, use unconscious personal theories or ethnotheories to compel compliance, projecting an illusion of expertise without understanding the consequences for children's development and achievement (Elliott, Stemler, Sternberg, Grigorenko & Hoffman, 2010; Skovholt, 2004). An advance in the field would be to learn how ethnotheories interact with …

Awareness Of Privilege And Oppression Scale-2: Construction And Initial Validation, Michael J. Mcclellan

Theses and Dissertations--Educational, School, and Counseling Psychology

The purpose of this study was to revise the Awareness of Privilege and Oppression Scale (Montross, 2003) and to improve upon the psychometric properties of the original instrument. The APOS-2 is a diversity training outcome measure that is designed to measure the social justice-related construct awareness of privilege and oppression. I retained 26 items from the original APOS (Montross, 2003) and utilized an expert focus group to generate new test items for the APOS-2. Feedback from an expert rater group was solicited and then incorporated into the APOS-2 to help reduce the number of items, improve item content, and evaluate …