Education Commons^™

On Being And Becoming: An Exploration Of Young People’S Experiences With Status And Power, Keri L. Dejong

Doctoral Dissertations

The purpose of this qualitative study is to understand how young people in a high school and a community-based setting experience status and power related to age. This study assumes that discourses of childhood are constructed with a socio-political purpose. Literature from Critical Youth Studies, Postcolonial Theory, Feminist Theory, and Social Justice Education provide the theoretical and conceptual foundations. This research expands social justice education literature to include adultism/youth oppression as a social justice issue, centering the voices and experiences of those targeted by youth oppression. Research questions explored 1) what information young people encounter on a daily basis that …

Coming Of Age In Neoliberal New York, Jennifer Hope Sugg

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Thirty years of neoliberal policies have left New York a divided city, with ever-rising rates of income inequality and widening social disparity. Structural transformations associated with global capitalism have led to divergent experiences for male and female youth coming of age in the 21st century. Girls are experiencing greater social integration and social mobility whereas, boys are facing social exclusion and limited opportunities. As young men precariously forge new transitions to adulthood, young women are constructed as ideal flexible subjects, benefiting from feminist achievements, and advancing in the new service economy. Yet in reality, girls continue to face gendered base …

Youth's Lived Experience Of An After-School Music Program: Understanding The Meanings And Values Placed On Music Learning, Brittany Young

College of Education Theses and Dissertations

The value of arts education in our nation has steadily diminished. As aims for global expansion and development become more geared towards sustaining economic and technological vitality, the role of education naturally follows a similar trajectory, making the permanent implementation of arts curriculum in schooling an obscure reality. Amidst this transition, however, arts educators are relentlessly working to create arts programs for underprivileged youth whose families often times cannot afford private lessons. This thesis will explore the essence of a music educational space that embodies this effort in order to understand the meaning making processes of development and expansion for …

Family Influences On The Educational Aspirations Of Female Youth In Appalachia, Leah K. Vance

Theses and Dissertations--Community & Leadership Development

Family support, both financial and social, can impact the educational aspirations of youth. Studies have shown gender also plays a role in those educational aspirations. While there has been some research done on the educational aspirations of youth in Appalachia, the research on female youth Appalachia is less explored.

This study looks at the educational aspirations of female youth in Appalachia by surveying a group of young women who belong to the Robinson Scholars at the University of Kentucky. Participants completed a brief, one time survey answering questions about the types of social support received and the providers of that …