Education Commons^™

“A Real Man . . .”: Deconstructing Machismo Heteronormative Standards With K–12 Latino Male Educators Through Dialogic Spaces, Mario Echeverria

Dissertations

In a K–12 educational landscape where 75% of educators are white women, recruitment of Latino male educators is crucial for diversification, yet these educators represent just 2% of the teaching workforce in the United States (NCES, 2020). These educators grapple with a layered sense of identity as they navigate expectations of hegemonic masculinity and machismo norms that dictate their roles as disciplinarians and saviors, especially for young boys of color (Brockenbrough, 2018; Lara & Fránquiz, 2015; Martino & Kehler, 2006; Mills et al., 2004; Singh, 2021). Unfortunately, Latino male educators leave the profession at twice the rate of their Latina …

Making Space For Adolescents Of Refugee Background In Public Libraries, Danielle S. Dejonge

Culminating Experience Projects

Refugee adolescents go through multiple transitions that affect identity while settling in their new country of relocation. The ability to recognize the complexity of identity in a healthy way is fostered by safe spaces of belonging that encourage agency. Libraries, as spaces already effectively serving diverse populations including refugee youth, have the resources to be a safe space for these adolescents. One resource that has been trending in libraries is a makerspace. Makerspaces offer multimodal activities, whether they be arts-based or STEM-based, that not only encourage critical thought, but also allow for development of belonging and agency for healthy dynamic …

Nigerian Students’ Experiences With Class Rank And Its Implications For Academic And Personal Adjustments: A Narrative Inquiry, Tobiloba Ojomu

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Class ranking remains a prevalent practice in Nigerian primary and secondary schools, yet research has not explored how Nigerian students perceive and experience this practice. This study sought to address this gap in the literature by delving into four Nigerian primary and secondary school alumni’s experiences and perceptions of the class ranking practice. Through their unique stories, this narrative inquiry study sheds light on the extent to which class ranking has impacted them. The findings of this study revealed that class ranking had a profound influence on the participants, both within and beyond the classroom setting. It shaped their self-perception, …

Storying The Experiences Of A First-Year Teacher’S Mathematics-Related Teacher Identity With A Communities Of Practice Lens, Kelly Jean Navas

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This longitudinal narrative inquiry explores the influences on a first-year elementary teacher’s mathematics-related teacher identity, employing a community of practice lens. Identity is a complex concept. In this study, identity is viewed as socially constructed through new experiences. These social interactions can be seen as an individual participates in their communities of practice. A mathematics-related teacher identity intertwines a teacher’s mathematical identity with their teacher identity. This can influence their classroom decisions, as well as their planning and implementation of mathematics lessons. To gain insights into the evolution of this mathematics-related teacher identity, I listened to the stories of Suzie, …

What Brings Bipoc Preservice Special Educators To The Field Of Education?, Charly Mcallister Taylor

Theses and Dissertations

BIPOC special educators are a needed profession throughout the country. The listener's guide was used to determine how 30 BIPOC special educators identified themselves in application essays to a special education teacher program. The essays were then used to determine common themes in BIPOC students' decision to become a special educator. These common themes were found throughout specific moments of someone's life. These moments are referred to as plotlines. These plotlines were broken down into categories: prior to elementary school, elementary school, junior high/middle school, high school, and post high school. It was found that during the elementary school plotline, …

An Intersectional Grounded Theory Study Examining Identity Exploration For Former Student-Athletes Against The Backdrop Of 2020, Crystle M. Dorsey

Health, Exercise, and Sports Sciences ETDs

The purpose of this study was to understand how student-athletes explored and made meaning of their intersecting identities through identity-focused curriculum against the backdrop of 2020. With intersectionality as a theoretical framework, this study examines how axes of oppression influenced the process of identity exploration for student-athletes. Guided by constructivism and critical theory as its epistemological foundations, this constructivist grounded theory study included three guiding research questions alluding to the how, what and why student-athletes explored their identities in 2020. The outcome of this study was an intersectional grounded theory detailing how student-athletes explore and make meaning of their intersecting …

Student Veteran Innovation Workshop: Exploring Purpose-Driven Camaraderie, David Brian Kartchner

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

There 1 million veterans enrolled in higher education in the U.S., and we know relatively little about them. In this work, the term student veteran refers to both former and current military service members. Most of the small body of literature on student veterans is focused on perceived issues found within this population, rather than the strengths they bring to their academic experience. In recent years, academic work has emerged that advocates a shift to looking at the positive traits of the student veteran community. Building on the emerging strength-based perspectives, the concept of purpose-driven camaraderie among student veterans introduces …

Analyzing The Influence Of Mathematics Intervention Teacher Actions On Students' Mathematics Identities: An Examination Of Bipoc Student Perceptions And Past Learning Experiences., Sydni P. Morris

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation examines mathematics education's past and present state in the United States, emphasizing mathematics intervention instruction. This dissertation includes a complex and critical analysis of intervention practices and historical and structural inequities based on race present in these interventions and mathematics education. In combination, it examines the construct of mathematics identities, their role in student success with mathematics, and trends surrounding mathematics education and its impact on populations of students of color. Using Critical Race Theory as an underlying framework and Critical Counter-Narrative as a methodology, it argues a need for marginalized student voices to be present in the …

Exploring Translanguaging And Identity Among Jordanian Graduate Students In Ontario, Mohamad Almashour

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

This study investigated the use of translanguaging strategies by Jordanian graduate students in Ontario, Canada, as a means of adjusting to the local language and culture. It further scrutinizes the influence of these practices on their identities. The study also probes into the potential opportunities and impediments that these students may encounter in higher educational establishments in Ontario.

Data collection was accomplished through semi-structured online interviews, which were subject to qualitative analysis to respond to the research queries. The analytical process was grounded in a theoretical framework combining sociocultural theory, critical literacy, and language ecology, thereby offering a profound understanding …

Becoming A Badass: Developing Positive Embodiment In Women, Nicole O'Connor

School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Theses and Dissertations

Becoming a Badass: Developing Positive in Embodiment in Women Nicole O’Connor Abstract Almost everyone hates their bodies (normative discontent), but women and girls are most likely to engage in extreme behaviors to adjust their appearance. The United States’ history as a heteronormative, white supremacist, patriarchal, capitalist society contributes to myths about weight and health leading to anti-fat bias and harm on fat bodies. A focus on body image has limited the scope of research and Niva Piran’s Developmental Theory of Embodiment offers an alternative framework for healing normative discontent. As a woman living in a large body, the author interviewed …

Identity And Public History, William Holderfield

Dissertations

This paper considers the creation of identity and self through interaction with museums. By understanding whether there is a correlation between how someone views themselves and their placement within society and the national narrative, consideration of alternative actions in combating social issues is possible. Likewise, through this knowledge, there is the potential for museums and public spaces to become of greater interest as places where topics relating to social concerns are presented and discussed. A qualitative research method was used to gather evidence of the correlation between identity and museums and revealed a relationship between identity and self-understanding and museum …

From One Tired Black Student To Another: The Understanding Of Blackness In Non-Formal Spaces, Kenique Brown

Masters Theses, 2020-current

Black students all over the world are at a disadvantage. They are misunderstood and oppressed. Black students do not receive an adequate intentional education in traditional educational spaces. Non-formal educational spaces have been supportive to Black students since slavery. Non-formal spaces have provided a space for Black people to feel seen and learn in a safe space. In this phenomenological qualitative study, four female Black Zambian gap-year students within a non-formal educational space were interviewed individually to describe the impact of a non-formal space on their understanding of Blackness. Through individual, semi- structured interviews, and additional data from the researcher’s …

Forming A Global Citizen: Personal Development Through Study Abroad, Anna L. Reiter

Honors Thesis

This literature review examines key benefits of studying abroad, while investigating which elements most contribute to students’ overall success. Current literature suggests that benefits of studying abroad include, but are not limited to, second language acquisition (SLA), identity formation, and intercultural competence. The degree of which each is improved depends on a multitude of variables. SLA improvement is explored via consideration of students’ baseline proficiency level, degree of receptivity of the host country, and length of the study abroad program. Students’ identity formation is explained through the three bases of identity: person, role, and group/social. Finally, intercultural competence in study …

Fostering Connection Through Ecological Identity: Expanding Colonial Concepts Of Outdoor Adventures, Elizabeth Farrell

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

How can I foster ecological identity? Defining ecological identity as a sense of awareness of how one relates with nature, and identity as an ecological being that is nature, this action research project will explore the ways in which people connect to the natural world through everyday moments. In understanding that the foundations, practices, and industry messaging of the outdoors can be exclusive and perpetuate systems of oppression, I am seeking to expand the notion of what nature connection can be. The hope is to create more accessible, inclusive, and equitable outdoor education practices. Research design included a survey and …

Transformative Social Emotional Learning: A Call To Heal The Effects Of Racial Trauma On Identity And Self-Efficacy, Elizabeth Trostle

West Chester University Master’s Theses

Growing up I was never a child that loved school. I fell in love with learning in environments that did not look or feel like classrooms. And in 2005 I learned that I had a passion for learning about pedagogy. I entered the classroom again this time as a teacher, ready to engage students in learning. What I was offered was curriculum and learning standards that left little room for experiences. Despite my efforts, and after a decade of experience, I was still baffled by the resistance to learning.

I wanted to understand this because I saw that education—when you …

First Year Teacher In Appalachia: Place, Identity, Tensions, Michael Renee Lane

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports

This study centers on one first-year Social Studies teacher who is beginning her teaching career in a rural middle school in central Appalachia. Grounded in sociocultural theory, this qualitative study focuses understanding how the focal teacher discursively constructs her teaching identity including how she makes use of sociocultural resources, social practices, and the discourses she draws from as she describes her experiences. Data is drawn from a five-month interpretive qualitative case study that included semi-structured interviews, classroom observations, and the focal teacher’s personal journals. Data analysis indicated that place is crucial in shaping teachers’ beliefs and practices—including their conceptions of …

The Strong Black Woman Schema: How It Informs The Gendered Racial Identity Development Of Black College Women/Non-Binary Students And Their Navigation Of Pwis, Whitney Ngozi Akalugwu

MSU Graduate Theses

The strong Black woman schema (SBW) is known to be a salient aspect of Black womanhood. This culturally specific schema can be understood as a protective factor against the social inequities that Black women are subjected to. However, not much is known on how the SBW schema informs Black college women’s gendered racial identity development and how it informs their navigation of PWIs. The purpose of this study is to explore the strong Black woman schema and how it informs the gendered racial identity development of Black college women/non-binary students and their navigation of PWIs. This study will also address …

Identity And Language Socialization Of Asian Transnational Adolescents Across Communities Of Practice: A Critical Narrative Study, Ming-Tso Chien

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

A large percentage of the international secondary students in the United States come from Asian countries. Their enrollments are closely connected to the cultural, curricular, and extracurricular diversity of their American schools. Despite their contribution, stereotypical depictions of these students and deficit-informed research still abound in educational settings, leaving serious consequences for the social and academic well-being of the students.

These problematic educational framings about Asian international students and the majoritarian narratives about them are mutually informative. Therefore, to counter the dominant discourses, this multimodal critical narrative study set out to recruit stories from a group of Asian transnational adolescent …

The Perceived Impact Of Project-Based Learning (Pbl) On Middle School Students’ Science, Technology, Engineering, And Mathematics (Stem) Identity And Engagement, Jonathan Olivera

Theses and Dissertations

Despite multiple calls to action, the United States educational system is not producing enough viable contributors in the areas of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). These fields continue to grow, and the STEM workforce continues to expand. However, the pool of citizens prepared to enter these professions is not keeping up with the demand. Part of this issue can be attributed to a diminishing interest in STEM by students, particularly during their identity forming adolescent years. Active learning strategies have proven successful in preventing this decline with project-based learning (PBL) being one of the most successful active learning strategies. …

Identity Composition: A Qualitative Study Of Community College English Composition And Lgbtq-Inclusive Pedagogical Practices, Lucas Michel Gassen

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

This research investigates the identity-based practices and experiences of English composition instructors who teach at community colleges and assesses the extent to which LGBTQ-inclusive pedagogical approaches are undertaken to meet the needs of sexual and gender minority students. The participant pool was comprised of community college instructors within the Louisiana Community and Technical College System (LCTCS) who have taught English composition courses within the past five years. This study aims to answer the following research questions: 1. In what ways and to what extent is identity-based instructional content incorporated in community college English composition courses? 2. In what ways and …

Latinidad In Summer Reading: A Collaborative Approach To Multicultural Literacy For Latino/A English Learners’ Self-Efficacy In Transitioning To Middle School, Elizabeth Fincher

Doctoral Dissertations

This qualitative interpretive case study unites literacy education and the field of second language acquisition with quantitative surveys and questionnaires to explore self-efficacy beliefs and literacy learning during transitional experiences of rising fourth through ninth Latino/a/a English Language Learners (LELLs) in a summer reading program. Community Engaged Scholarship in a co-developed summer program with community partner Centro Hispano de East Tennessee frames this research to offer diverse perspectives in curriculum and instructional improvement efforts towards equitable literacy education. How schools and youth-serving organizations support LELLs’ transitional processes in second language acquisition and literacy is shaped by how well teachers and …

Myside Bias Shifting In The Written Arguments Of First Year Composition Students, Lezlie Christensen-Branum

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

This dissertation reports on research conducted to better understand how college student writers learned to work against their own biases as they researched and wrote arguments. I conducted a review of former studies to design a curriculum that would help students avoid bias and increase their ability to write arguments tailored to specific readers in ways that accomplish their goals. This review also informed the kinds of data to be collected and analyzed in order to accomplish the research goal, which was to understand whether and how each of seven students enrolled in a composition course reduced their biases. I …

Afro-Latinx And Afro-Latin Americans In The United States: Examining Ethnic And Racial Experiences In Higher Education, Glenda Maria Vaillant Cruz

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Education research in the United States has vastly excluded Afro-Latinx and Afro-Latin American college students from the canon. Afro-Latinx and Afro-Latin American college students are presented with unique challenges and opportunities for identity exploration and development at the university level. As Schwartz, Kurtines, and Montgomery argue, higher education institutions extend emerging adulthood or the period in which individuals explore identities and develop a sense of self (Shwartz, Kurtines, and Montgomery 2005). Education research in the United States has historically centered around US-based racial formation, suggesting that Blackness and Latinness are mutually exclusive, what researchers Christopher Busey and Carolyn Silva refer …

Professional Stem Identity, Achievement Goal Orientation, And Selfauthorship In Underrepresented Minority Undergraduate Stem Students, Christopher King

Theses and Dissertations

Post-secondary education is meant to build the cognitive and professional growth of the students studying all subjects. Yet, little is known about the development of how students think of themselves as members of the field, nor how they develop from a young novice to a person eligible for employment. A lens of self-authorship was used to compliment and interpret data collected regarding how students think of themselves as member of the STEM community (STEM Identity) and how they perceive their achievement STEM Identity. There was a significant link between student-mentor experiences and a higher professional identity and more progress along …

The Influence Of Identity On Art And How It Can Connect Us To Our Community, Christina Aguila

Education | Master's Theses

Art is often marginalized in academic environments while student mental health and academic achievement gaps are highlighted as areas of priority and concern. This research is situated in a theoretical framework that identifies how middle school is a critical time for adolescent development (Hetrick, 2018), conscientization (Mernick, 2021), community-based art as a practice for social-emotional learning (Farrington & Shewfelt, 2020), and resilience as a way to help promote adolescent social-emotional health (Giselly et al., 2018). This study focused on ten students that participated in a multi-week identity based sculptural project inclusive of qualitative surveys and interviews. In addition, two administrators …

Runaman Tukuy: Language Revitalization Strategies For Runasimi Heritage Learners, Allison B. Bejar

Master's Projects and Capstones

The legacies of colonization remain a pervasive force in society and actively work against Indigenous communities and their right to their languages, knowledge systems, and cultural practices. More specifically, the colonial legacy of linguicide has endangered and marginalized thousands of Indigenous languages all over the world. This field project focuses on Quechua language revitalization and aims to better understand and contribute to Indigenous language and identity scholarship. This field project is informed by a brief qualitative study through participant interviews with six Quechua heritage learners and educators. The study explores the limitations and possibilities of formal Quechua language learning, reiterates …

A Whole New World: Understanding The International Student Experience In The United States Through Acculturation, Identity, And Support, Maria W. Nessim

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

This study explores the feelings and opportunities that international students experience while they are studying abroad. Specifically, it investigates acculturation and adaptation to the host country, the students’ cultural identity and sense of belonging, as well as implications for support provided by the host institution.

In order to evaluate these components, an online survey, compiled of 24 open-ended and multiple-choice questions, was distributed to international students at the University of San Diego, asking them to describe their experiences and any indications of challenge and support from the institution in relation to their sense of belonging. The outcomes of this research …

A Boy Born On Wednesday, Charles Krampah

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

My relocation to America has presented an unprecedented space for self-examination. The components of my identity and personality have been laid bare before me; My blackness in the face of racism and white hegemony, my African heritage in the face of post-colonialism and imperialism, and my faith in the face of an increasingly secular western culture.

Am I who thought I was? Am I more or less? Why do I feel like a different person, and what does this mean for my future?

My research and art practice serve as a form of introspection. I tell an internal story in …

Understanding The Intersectionality Of Bilingual Identities: Language And Biliteracy In Emergent Bilinguals, Natalia Carrillo

Theses and Dissertations

Cummins (2018) argued that “emergent bilingual students struggle, often unsuccessfully, to escape from the externally imposed identity cocoon within which they find themselves” (p. x). This struggle leads to negative views and deficit thinking approaches to educating these students. In today’s educational context, meeting the cognitive needs of bilingual students is not sufficient. Schools must provide learning opportunities to affirm their identities to support their academic success. Research indicates that we must develop a deep understanding of the intersectionality of language, students’ identity construction, and language use (Norton, 2010; Potowski, 2007; Poza, 2016).

This study aimed to examine …

Validation And Measurement Invariance Of A First-Generation College Student Identity Scale, Kelsie K. Allison

Psychology Theses & Dissertations

First-generation college students (FGCS) comprise approximately 56% of the U.S. post-secondary institution population, yet they face substantially more academic, financial, and additional unique issues than continuing-generation college students. Research on FGCS has been steadily growing in recent years, however, literature on identity for this population is sparse. To address these gaps in the literature, the aim of the current study was to adapt, validate, and establish full factorial measurement invariance across Black and White FGCS for a multidimensional quantitative measure of first-generation college student identity. The final sample included 425 current FGCS (81.2% female; M_age = 24.4 years, SD …