Education Commons^™

Navigating Identity Through Education In Literature And In The Classroom, Sofia Sakzlyan

English (MA) Theses

This thesis explores the intricate relationship between education, identity formation, and oppression, drawing from psychosocial and sociocultural perspectives. I delve into how education serves as a critical arena where individuals encounter various internal psychological conflicts and external social influences that shape their sense of self. By analyzing the perspectives of writers such as Paulo Freire, bell hooks, Kate Chopin Charlotte Perkins Gilman, and Erin Gruwell, the thesis seeks to answer how education impacts the self and how it intersects with systems of oppression. Furthermore, I explore the role of education in fostering critical consciousness and empowerment, particularly in the face …

The Eruption Of Disruption: The Manifestation Of Disrupting Whiteness In Secondary Social Studies In Appalachia, Elizabeth Disalvo Osborne

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports

This phenomenological dissertation explores the lived experiences of secondary social studies educators situated in the Appalachian region. Hermeneutic phenomenology was used as a philosophical and methodological approach to gather insights into this phenomenon. Interviews were conducted with three educators to capture their experiences from their childhoods, to their teaching careers, and into their current personal lives. These experiences were analyzed using a Whole-Part-Whole process to understand how they came to disrupt whiteness, the ways they did so, and their understanding of the impact disrupting whiteness for creating learning environments, developing curriculum and making instructional decisions. The findings revealed how these …

Working For Justice: A Black Educators Journey Of Supporting Black Males In An Urban School District, Carey Cunningham

Dissertations

Abstract

This autoethnographic dissertation focuses on my journey as a Black male educator and administrator working in an urban school district. I highlight some of my accomplishments and challenges in dedicating my life to the field of education in the same urban school district that I attended from kindergarten to twelfth grade. This dissertation points out how my journey allowed me to support students, mainly Black boys, who faced challenges in a school district that I know very well. I have increased my, and hopefully others, understanding of the challenges Black male students and Black male administrators face in an …

The Water We Were Swimming In: Transgender And Gender Nonconforming Students' Lived Experiences In Engineering., Natalie Saroff Oliner

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Few studies address the lived experiences of transgender and gender nonconforming (TGNC) students in engineering. Grounded in critical trans politics (Spade, 2015), this dissertation contributes to the literature on TGNC students in engineering by examining their experiences negotiating their identities while navigating interrelated systems of oppression in a field dominated by White, heterosexual, cisgender men. Using a critical constructivism framework, I conducted a narrative inquiry to explore the lived experiences of five TGNC students in engineering programs. Participants experienced TGNC oppression at their universities, built LGBTQ+ and TGNC communities, and described more welcoming climates in non-engineering contexts compared to engineering. …

White Teacher Attitudes Towards Their Experiences With Anti-Racist Initiatives, Rebecca Frances Reaume

Wayne State University Dissertations

The attitudes of white teachers become a critically important aspect of racism and its dismantling. White teachers work within the institutions that have power to inspire and empower students and they have the tendency to hold the structures of the dominant society within their behaviours and actions. This study embraces a mixed method research design through surveys and semi-structured interviews to explore the attitudes that white teachers have towards their experiences with anti-racist initiatives. Teachers are able to either replicate and sustain social patterns of white hegemony or act as agents of change in combat of racism. As a force …

Black Women At The Crossroads: Agency, Interruptions, And Oppression In Education, Kimberly D. Ferrell

Master's Theses and Doctoral Dissertations

This dissertation utilizes intersectionality, critical race feminism (CRF), Black feminist research and case studies to explore Black women’s oppression in education. This research study contributes to a growing body of work on Black females’ experiences of marginalization socially and educationally. The aim of this research was threefold: (a) to provide a theoretical analysis on the marginalization of Black females in society and exercising agency; (b) to explore my own memories and amplify my voice through an autoethnography, highlighting personal lived experiences of oppression in education; and (c) to provide a qualitative analysis on Black women oppression, amplifying the voices of …

Perceptions Of Oppression, Emancipation, Empathy, And Participation In The Workforce, Matthew Smith

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

Human resource development (HRD) is no longer about simply acquiring the skills needed to perform a task and is now a tool which can shape society and the ways in which we interact with one another. At the forefront of this transition are new ways of imagining HRD, including critical human resource development (CHRD) and critical management studies (CMS). This article examines the preconceptions learners bring with them into critical HRD programs. The study presented is an exploratory case study at an international organization with offices in the United States and Canada. Semi-structured interviews with six participants and a document …

From The Voices Of Five African American Teenage Girls: Demystifying The Role Of Stress In School, Selena M. Williams-Yii

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This study explored how African American Teenage Girls framed and navigated their stressful experiences in educational contexts. Drawing from one-on-one interviews and focus groups, this study aimed to raise awareness about the ways African American Teenage Girls defined, interpreted, and internalized the tensions of stress in a school setting. This exploratory qualitative study was grounded in the conceptual frameworks of Black Feminist Theory (BFT), and Critical Race Theory (CRT). These theories were used to explore how systemic oppression may cause stress. By sharing their collective and individual stories, this study revealed my participants grappled with sources of stress, such as …

The Name Curriculum: Exploring Names, Naming, And Identity, Isabel Taswell

Graduate Student Independent Studies

The act of naming, or using and respecting one’s name, is a humanizing act: it is foundational to one’s sense of identity and belonging. Conversely, the act of ‘de-naming,’ or changing, forgetting, or erasing one’s name, is an act of dehumanization: it denies one’s sense of identity and belonging. The Name Curriculum provides an opportunity for third grade students to explore the role of names and naming as they relate to one’s sense of self and community. It draws on the role of developmental psychology, the urgency of historical context, and the power of children’s literature. Specifically, it explores how …

Destabilizing The Ivory Tower: An Autoethnography, Chelsea Mcfadden

Theses and Dissertations

The education system of the western world is a tool of hegemony used to command replication of an ontology rooted in oppression. Teachers interested in combating oppression must work toward decolonizing their praxis, a nuanced task accomplished with the help of critical inquiry done through autoethnography. I seek to synthesize literature that validates and confirms autoethnography as a mechanism of critical inquiry. I will explore the following research questions: How does autoethnography function as a tool of decolonization? Are there ways in which it reifies colonizing practices? How might autoethnography be used in the classroom to encourage nontraditional discourse? Themes …

Fostering Critical And Creative Thinking In The Elementary Social Studies Classroom: Teaching Social Justice Through The Lenses Of Power And Oppression And Site-Based Experiences, Julia R. Wilkins, Chelsea D. Witwer

Dissertations

This joint study in the elementary school social studies setting enacted the explicit intention of facilitating student understanding of social justice. The first study was conducted in a second grade classroom to assess how exploring historical neighborhoods in St. Louis impacted students’ understandings of diversity. Student writings, interviews, artwork, and adult interviews and surveys provided evidence of the impact the curriculum had on the school community and larger city. This study revealed that it is possible for young students to explore hard histories and present day social justice topics through the use of place-based learning and community partnerships. Their learning …

Global Apartheid: Educating Within Colonial Schools, Crystal Kennemer

Global Honors Theses

This thesis examines the racial disparities that continue to plague students of color in both South Africa and the United States, as well as globally, using Critical Race Theory as the theoretical framework. Despite the overthrow of Apartheid, myriad forms of racial oppression continue to take place in South Africa. While education is framed as a way to break the cycle of poverty and oppression, schools remain embedded within previous systems of racial oppression. This racial apartheid is seen through state-enforced unequal resource distribution and school funding disparities that mirror and extend the conditions of poverty in Black townships, as …

Radical Social Ecology As Deep Pragmatism: A Call To The Abolition Of Systemic Dissonance And The Minimization Of Entropic Chaos, Arielle Brender

Student Theses 2015-Present

This paper aims to shed light on the dissonance caused by the superimposition of Dominant Human Systems on Natural Systems. I highlight the synthetic nature of Dominant Human Systems as egoic and linguistic phenomenon manufactured by a mere portion of the human population, which renders them inherently oppressive unto peoples and landscapes whose wisdom were barred from the design process. In pursuing a radical pragmatic approach to mending the simultaneous oppression and destruction of the human being and the earth, I highlight the necessity of minimizing entropic chaos caused by excess energy expenditure, an essential feature of systems that aim …

Gender Identity Work: Oppression And Agency As Described In Lifespan Narratives Of Transgender And Other Gender Non-Conforming Identified People In The U. S., Kathryn O'Brien

Dissertations

The purpose of this research was to critically examine the gender identity work of white transgender and other gender non-conforming identified (TgNCi) people through their stories and the meanings they attach to important artifacts across the lifespan. A single question directed the investigation: How do TgNCi individuals describe gender identity work through lifespan narratives? Thirteen volunteers participated in two interviews: the first, a narration of their life stories and in the second, descriptions of the significance of personal artifacts selected by the participants and photographed by the investigator. Participants’ ages ranged from 22 to 66, according to four pre-determined age …

Moving From Trauma To Healing: Black Queer Cultural Workers’ Experiences And Discourses Of Love, Durryle N. Brooks

Doctoral Dissertations

Within the US context, there is a considerable misunderstanding of what love is. Normative discourse on love within our society is almost exclusively relegated to romance, familial relations, and or sexual connections. However, many scholars (Fromm, 1956, 1976; hooks, 2000, 2001; Tillich, 1952, 1954) have explored love within a critical theoretical construction, which has linked contemporary discourse on love to power, privilege, and oppression. In that sense, normative discourses on love are not innocuous but instead are hegemonic and serve as an ideology to perpetuate individualism and oppression. This qualitative study explores the impact of normative discourses of love at …

Justice... Not Just Us: How One District-Level Social Justice-Oriented Transformative Leadership Team Addresses Marginalization And Oppression, Thomas Arnold Zook

Wayne State University Dissertations

ABSTRACT

Our democracy depends upon an educated populace; thus, educators have an ethical and a moral obligation to provide equitable opportunities for all children to obtain an education “worth wanting” (Howe, 1997). Yet, too often the pleas of countless children yearning to be accepted go unnoticed. In the U.S., millions of students fail to realize similar academic success and social inclusion simply because of their (self or imposed) identification with a non-dominant identity group, and this can only be understood as institutionalized injustice. Often hiding in plain sight, marginalization and oppression take many forms, yet for their victims the results …

A Narrative Of A Teacher’S Awakening Of Consciousness: Learning To Become An Effective Witness, Wendy Lynn Freebersyser

Dissertations

This autoethnographical narrative chronicles the awakening and subsequent conscientization of a middle-class white female teacher through critical reflective praxis. Autoethnography, Liberation Theory and Critical Race Theory (CRT) are used in this study, allowing the researcher to become the focal point of the story. The narrative details the journey in retrospect, revealing the evolution of my conscientization. The research statements guiding this dissertation are as follows: this autoethnographical narrative details the peeling back of the awakening and critical consciousness developed by a white female teacher using Liberation Theory and aided by CRT and Care Ethic Theory as I interrogate each layer …

Interpreting, Stephanie Jo Kent

Doctoral Dissertations

What do community interpreting for the Deaf in western societies, conference interpreting for the European Parliament, and language brokering in international management have in common? Academic research and professional training have historically emphasized the linguistic and cognitive challenges of interpreting, neglecting or ignoring the social aspects that structure communication. All forms of interpreting are inherently social; they involve relationships among at least three people and two languages. The contexts explored here, American Sign Language/English interpreting and spoken language interpreting within the European Parliament, show that simultaneous interpreting involves attitudes, norms and values about intercultural communication that overemphasize information and discount …

“Give Light And People Will Find A Way”: Black Women College Student Leadership Experiences With Oppression At Predominantly White Institutions, Andrea D. Domingue

Doctoral Dissertations

ABSTRACT “Give Light and People Will Find a Way”: Black Women College Student Leadership Experiences with Oppression at Predominantly White Institutions MAY 2014 ANDREA D. DOMINGUE, B.A., THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT AUSTIN M. A., NEW YORK UNIVERSITY Ed.D., UNIVERSITY OF MASSACHUSETTS AMHERST Directed by: Professor Emerita Maurianne Adams Black women college students have a collective history of marginalization and discrimination within systems of higher education (Brazzell, 1996; Turner, 2008). Unlike their White women and Black men counterparts, these women have unique social location in their racial and gender identity where they experience multiple types of oppression from dominant groups …

Multicultural Counseling Competence Of School Counselors: Relationship To Multicultural Behaviors And Perceived School Climate, Jennifer Greene

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Diversity in the United States is steadily increasing with racial and ethnic groups traditionally called minorities expected to account for over 50% of the U.S. population by 2050 (U.S. Census Projections, 2009). At the same time, the school age population is expected to consist of 60% students from "minority" backgrounds. Yet, school counselors are mostly from White, European backgrounds and are projected to continue to come from that background (Brown, Parham, and Yonker, 1996; Pack-Brown, 1999; Vaughn, 2007). This creates frequent cross-cultural counseling relationships within schools necessitating that school counselors have multicultural competence. Multicultural counseling competence (MCC) has been related …

Horizontal Violence In The Nursing Work Environment: Beyond Oppressed Group Behavior, Therese M. Mendez

University of New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

The United States has been experiencing a nursing shortage since the mid-1990s. The shortage is expected to deepen as the provisions of the 2010 Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act are enacted. Horizontal violence is a negative phenomenon in the nursing workplace that contributes to difficulty in recruiting and retaining nurses in hospitals. Horizontal violence has been described as a form of mistreatment, spoken or unspoken, that is threatening, humiliating, disrespectful or accusatory towards a peer. The effects of this nurse on nurse aggression can be devastating for the nurse involved and also for the patients under the nurse's care. …

A Process Of Becoming: U.S. Born African American And Black Women In The Process Of Liberation From Internalized Racism, Tanya Ovea Williams

Open Access Dissertations

Internalized racism is a contributing factor to the inability of African Americans to overcome racism. (Speight, 2007) Because this is a cognitive phenomenon over which individuals can have agency, it is important to study, understand, and seek out ways that African Americans are able to gain a liberatory perspective in the midst of a racist society. By using colonization psychology and post-traumatic slave psychology to define the phenomenon, and Jackson’s Black identity development model theory to ground and analyze participants’ process of liberation, this study used phenomenological in-depth interviewing to understand the experiences of African American and Black women who …

Secrets In Plain Sight: Institutional Covert Discrimination, Jacquelynn Suzette Mcdaniel

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

While dominant national P-20 narratives circulate a discourse of the near achievement of racial equity post Brown v. Board of Education, there remains a large gap between the experiences of people of color and the official record of their inclusion and access. Organizational self-analysis of racial disparities in education often attribute undeniable discrimination to the micro-level performances of individuals; claiming micro-aggressions, lack of training, political/personal conflict, or ignorance. When these reasons cannot fully explain gross inequity; organizations turn to society's socio-economic disparities and mirrored racial realities within the country as instructive on the inevitable realities of racism within schools.

A …

Discovering The Voices Of The Segregated: Oral History Of The Educational Experiences Of The Turkish People Of Sumter County, South Carolina, Terri Ann Ognibene

Middle-Secondary Education and Instructional Technology Dissertations

This qualitative study is a narrative investigation that analyzes the educational experiences of the segregated Turkish people of Sumter County, South Carolina during the integration movement. Four participants share their stories of how attending an elementary school for Turkish students affected their integration into White high schools. Oral history is the specific research methodology that is used. The theoretical framework that guides this study is critical-narrative theory. Through critical research, the researcher analyzes how “the social institution of school is structured such that the interests of some members and classes of society are preserved and perpetuated at the expense of …

African American Women's Perceptions Of And Experiences With Mandated Substance Abuse Treatment: Implications For Counselors, Kathryn Newton

Counseling and Psychological Services Dissertations

African American women, in particular those who are economically marginalized, are disproportionately subject to surveillance by social service and criminal justice agencies (James et al., 2003) and are vulnerable to race- and gender-biased policy implementation (Chibnall et al., 2003; Zerai, 2002). They also experience population-specific personal (Ehrmin, 2001, 2002), social (Riehman, Iguchi, Zeller, & Morral, 2003; MacMaster, 2005), and economic barriers (Tighe & Saxe, 2006) to accessing and entering substance abuse treatment services. These factors contribute to lower rates of treatment entry follow-through (Siqueland et al., 2002) and higher drop-out rates (Scott-Lennox, Rose, Bohlig, & Lennox, 2000) than women from …