Education Commons^™

Peace Guardians, Watts Bears And The Maori Haka, Zachariah Fisher

The STEAM Journal

In the summer of 2017, Peace Guardians carried out a summer school program for twenty inner city kids ranging from 8-13 years old in Watts Los Angeles. The program was part of the annual Watts Bears summer school. The Watts Bears are group of student football and track athletes coached by the Los Angeles Police Department. Working in conjunction with the Watts officers and coaches, Peace Guardians and guest teachers spent four hours a day with the students facilitating mindfulness exercises and the Haka as wellness tools to incorporate into their lives in and out of the classroom and football …

Walking The Tightrope Of Visibility, Leigh Patel

Occasional Paper Series

This essay cautions projects of visibility that are twinned with intersectional analyses. Arguing for a deliberate rupture in schooling’s categorical logics and a historical analysis of the cultural force of individual identity, I caution that the individual identity tendencies of modernity hold some risks for the substantial and long-standing imperatives of intersectional analysis. I ground this argument in Audre Lorde’s work and how it is often sampled insufficiently.

Cultural Competence Education In Undergraduate Athletic Training Programs, Katherine L. Liesener

Theses and Dissertations

It is critical for athletic trainers to understand and practice culturally competent health care, which involves being responsive and sensitive to all cultural differences present in the population. The Commission on Accreditation of Athletic Training Education (CAATE) requires that all Athletic Training Programs teach cultural competence in their curriculum. However, programs have the autonomy to determine how and when their curriculum content will be delivered. Furthermore, the current original research examining athletic training and cultural competence is very limited and there is a lack of research focused on the educational practices of cultural competence education in athletic training.

This research …

The Impact Of A Positive Environment And Shared Leadership To Empower Collegial School Culture, Ben Pretz

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study is to develop an empowered collegial school culture to systemically improve the function of the academic institution through the impact of a positive environment and shared leadership. When compared to the other middle schools in the district, Eagle Middle School had the lowest math achievement growth index during the 2014-2015 school year. The discrepancy in math achievement is one element that has created a culture problem for the building. Additionally, the building has a reputation of poor customer service and not serving the community effectively. Because of the poor culture the staff had a lack …

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.

Living In The World, David Penberg

Occasional Paper Series

Penberg's essay highlights that through teaching abroad, he learned to respect the variety of human associations and multiple forms of intelligence. Travel has been an inextricable part of his education. It has enriched his teaching and contributed to his personal development.

The Globalized Classroom: Integrating Technology To Improve Communicative And Cultural Proficiency, Nicholas Frank

International ResearchScape Journal

The purpose of this project was to explore how the integration of technology affects students’ communicative and cultural proficiency in a second language when connecting two world language classrooms from across the globe. Through a series of weekly emails between partner schools, students practiced their interpretive reading and presentational writing skills while gaining knowledge of their partners’ cultures and colloquial language in a meaningful and individualized manner. The participants were U.S. high school students learning Spanish and Spanish high school students learning English. This created an authentic and organic environment for language acquisition, showing improvement in both communicative and cultural …

Trending @ Rwu Law: Michael Bowden's Post: Celebrating Professor Tony Santoro 10-31-2017, Michael Bowden

Law School Blogs

No abstract provided.

Who Do You Say You Are: Relationships And Faith In Catholic Schools, Jennifer S. Maney, Carrie King, Thomas J. Kiely

Journal of Catholic Education

This study aimed to evaluate and articulate what makes Catholic schools special and effective by measuring culture and climate in five Catholic high schools and two Catholic elementary schools in a large metropolitan area in the Midwest United States. The seven schools represented a variety of student demographics, location, and size of school. Findings of this study included: the Catholic identity of schools must become an intentional aspect of the planning, orientation, training, and evaluation of the faculty and administration; faculty-student relationships are rarely measured regarding their effectiveness in bolstering academic achievement or Catholic mission effectiveness; cultural awareness and cultural …

Cultivating Leaders Of Indiana: Global Collaborations And Local Impacts, Jennifer Sdunzik, Annagul Yaryyeva

Purdue Journal of Service-Learning and International Engagement

“Cultivating Leaders of Indiana” was developed to establish connections between the Purdue student body and the Frankfort, Indiana, community. By engaging high school students in workshops that focused on local, national, and global identities, the goal of the project was to encourage students to appreciate their individuality and to motivate them to translate their skills into a global perspective. Moreover, workshops centering on themes such as culture, citizenship, media, and education were designed to empower project participants to embrace their sense of social value and responsibility, not only in their immediate communities, but also globally.

Utilizing Participatory Action Research To Foster Effective Family/School Collaboration At An Urban Prek-8 Catholic School, David L. Shriberg, Ruth Schumacher, Kara C. Mcmahon, Sofia Flores, Gregory E. Moy, Joanna Swidzinski, Nicole A. Tompkins

David Shriberg

This paper describes a study focused on promoting culturally responsive collaboration practices at an urban preK-8 Catholic school. Using participatory action research (PAR) as its framework, a team of school stakeholders and university faculty and students from the psychology department partnered to create a participant driven data collection and analysis procedure that culminated in the implementation of a new communication mechanism judged by educators and parents to have led to significant improvements in family-school communications. Lessons learned from this experience, particularly as they relate to the use of PAR principles in an urban Catholic school, will be shared.

The Perception Of Chinese Higher Educators Toward Leadership Effectiveness In Regard To Gender, Kanglei Meng

Dissertations

This study examines Chinese educators’ perceptions of effective leadership behaviors in order to determine how teachers in Chinese higher education define effectiveness and whether there is a correlation between this perception and leaders’ gender. Factors considered included conscious and unconscious gender bias, Chinese culture, historical background, and identity. As a male-dominated country, China has been deeply influenced by Confucianism; hence, limited attention has been drawn to female leadership. The author identified and reviewed three women’s revolutions and their positive and negative effects in the past century in order to predict the status of female leadership. The researcher modified the Chinese …

The Relationship Between Positive Behavior Interventions And Supports And School Climate/Culture In Elementary Schools, Zaheerah Nadiyah El-Amin

Doctoral Dissertations

Based on the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) mandates, weakened climate/culture, decreased academic scores, and endangered job security, the implementation of a successful behavioral intervention program within the school setting was a necessity (Homer & Sugai, 2000). Quantitative data were obtained from two assessment tools, the School-wide Evaluation Tool (SET) and the School Climate Assessment Instrument (SCAI). To determine the levels of implementation of Positive Behavior Interventions and Supports (PBIS), and if there were significant differences in the levels of the participating schools' climate and culture, the following research questions were answered: (a) What is the level of implementation …

Preparing Early Childhood Professionals For The Culturally And Linguistically Diverse Classrooms And Communities Of Illinois, Amy J. Heineke, Adam S. Kennedy, Anna Lees

Adam Kennedy

Recent Illinois state policies call for mandatory preparation of early childhood educators to address the needs of the large and growing population of young English language learners. University-based early childhood teacher preparation programs across Illinois have responded by integrating content related to cultural and linguistic diversity into existing programs. The authors discuss research and professional literature in support of teacher preparation programs that emphasize field-based experience, particularly clinical experience in culturally and linguistically diverse schools and community organizations. They describe the comprehensive field-based teacher education program at Loyola University of Chicago that was redesigned to address current Illinois policies related …

A Phenomenological Study Of Military Veteran Student Attrition At Western Virginia Community Colleges, Gordon Cavendish

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this phenomenological study was to describe the experience of “discontinued enrollment” for military veteran students at western Virginia community colleges. The theory guiding this study was Schlossberg’s (1981) transition theory, as the military veteran students were in transition from the military to the community college. The research questions were, how did military veterans describe their experiences at the community college, and what factors did military veterans identify as influencing their decision to discontinue enrollment? The methodology chosen was transcendental phenomenology which followed a focused structure and data collection methods including interviews, a questionnaire, member checks, and collection …

National-Cultural Differences In Ethical Decision Making: A Comparison Between Oman And United States University Business Students, Candace Mehaffey-Kultgen, Babu P. George, Gregory Weisenborn

Babu George

Lagim Tehi Tuma/Thinking Together: Between Risk, Restriction, And Learning In A U.S.-Ghana Collaborative, Alice Lesnick

Collaborations: A Journal of Community-Based Research and Practice

As U.S.-based colleges and universities seek to globalize education with experiential learning, the risk of reinforcing assumptions about Western superiority, white supremacy and the “neediness” of “developing” countries increases. This essay discusses the rationale for a program that wrestles with questions of power, communication, and creativity by engaging students from the two U.S. liberal arts colleges (a consortium) and a Ghanaian university in a summer action research project. The program takes place in part on campus in the U.S. and in part in a village in Northern Ghana in partnership with three grassroots educational organizations: a community radio station, an …

Integrating Person Directed Care Into The Client Experience, Tammy L. Marshall Ms., Joann P. Reinhardt, Orah Burack, Audrey S. Weiner

Patient Experience Journal

Culture Change leaders in long term care have identified creative ways to implement a model of Person Directed Care to improve the client experience by providing choice, instilling dignity, and fostering deep relationships among its community members. One organization created an environment of care called ”The Small House” and educated its’ workforce using the Green House® Project Legacy Alignment program to redesign the organizational structure, experience and environment. Interviews were conducted with elders, staff, and family members (N=20) about their experiences living, working or visiting a Small House as compared to experiences in their previous dwelling, a traditional nursing home. …

Culture As Divine Gift, David Henreckson

The Voice

No abstract provided.

Examining Cross-Cultural Affective Components Of Global Competence From A Value Perspective, Nadia Awaida-Nachabe

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to explore perceived importance of cultural values and affective components in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region and their relationships. This study identified which of the nine affective components of global competence and four higher order cultural values were perceived to be important in the MENA region. It also examined the correlations between cultural values and affective components and whether significant differences existed based on gender, age, and country of citizenship.

This research involved the combination of Wallenberg-Lerner’s Affective Component Questionnaire (ACQ) and Schwartz’s Portrait Value Questionnaire (PVQ). In conjunction with a …

Teacher-Student Relationships And How They Encourage Mathematics Achievement Among Black Males, Makeba C. Butler

CUP Ed.D. Dissertations

This research study focuses on positive teacher-student relationships and how these relationships influence the mathematics achievement of African American elementary male students. It identifies some of the characteristics relevant to the establishment and cultivation of the teacher-student relationship and sheds useful insights into how African American male students respond to the interactions with their teachers. Extant literature has increasingly shown that positive-teacher student relationships significantly shape academic progress in Black students. Through teacher surveys and teacher interviews, this dissertation offers a synopsis of how teachers facilitate relationships with their African American male students as well as gives a detailed account …

Exploring Puerto Rico: The Place And Its People, Lydia Marcus

The Voice

No abstract provided.

Haitian Linguistic And Cultural Practices: Critical Meaning-Making Spaces For Haitian Learners, Marie L. Cerat

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This dissertation is concerned with the effects of the exclusion of Haitian linguistic and cultural practices in the education of Haitian learners. Through qualitative data collection and analysis, a set of texts and narratives in the Haitian Creole language, Rara and Vèvè practices were inventoried, reviewed and described. Moreover, a series of focus groups and ethnographic interviews were conducted with Haitian adolescents and Haitian parents with school age children living in New York. These interviews revealed that Haitians deeply value their cultural knowledge, and view them as resources for knowledge preservation and knowledge production. Textual analysis also shows that Haitians …

The Importance Of Play, Mario R.J. Corbin

The ITB Journal

“Play makes an important contribution to the social development of an infant. It allows the individual to gain personal knowledge of other group members; permits certain social skills to be practiced, such as fighting, without risk of injury; and helps the individual to establish long term friendships.” Vince Smith (2003: 86)

Incorporating The Cultures Of English-Language Learners In Daily Lesson Plans: A Two-Way Street, James G. Doyle

Master's Projects and Capstones

Teaching and learning culture have been matters of interest for teachers of English to speakers of other languages during the past half century. Since the development of the concept of communicative competence, theorists and practitioners have asked questions about the role of culture in the classroom. This field project was designed assist teachers in developing a heightened awareness of the roles of culture in the acquisition of communicative competence. It is my hope that teachers will use the awareness and the skills developed in the exercises and interactions presented in the field project to increase their effectiveness by adapting materials …

A Case Study On The Influence Of Frequent Superintendent Turnover On The Culture Of A K-12 Suburban School District, Victoria C. Velazquez

Seton Hall University Dissertations and Theses (ETDs)

The role of school superintendents is varied and complex. Further complicating this role is the issue of frequent superintendent turnover. While there is ample research addressing the links between superintendents and student achievement, superintendents’ relationships with school boards and the shortage of qualified superintendents across the country due to high turnover rates, there is little research focusing specifically on superintendent turnover’s influence on the culture of a district.

The purpose of this study was to conduct an ethnographic, cross-case case study on the influence of superintendent turnover on the culture of a northeastern United States suburban K-12 school district. The …

Catholic School Identity: Perceptions That Influence Teacher Retention, Karen Germany Jakuback

Seton Hall University Dissertations and Theses (ETDs)

The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore teachers’ perceptions of various factors, especially Catholic school identity factors, which are important to them and may influence their job satisfaction and retention in Catholic parochial schools after year five of their teaching career. An additional purpose of this study was to inform Catholic school administrators about factors that may assist them in sustaining a climate, culture, and organizational structure that influences teachers to remain in the Catholic school setting.

School climate is often used as a broad term that refers to teachers’ perceptions of their general work environment. The cohesion …

Women's Education: An International Perspective, Nneka B. Dean

Honors College Theses

The purpose of this study is to dissect a topic that is heavily discussed around the world: women’s education and the many diverse ways in which it is practiced. One of the reasons women’s education is such a highly-debated topic is because there are still many differences in how people believe it should be accomplished while other places do not see the advantage or purpose of educating women. There are many countries with male dominated enrollment because of the women’s traditionally-held gender role of staying at home or because the family’s socioeconomic status. This study compared the experiences of women’s …

From High School To A Four-Year Urban University: Understanding The Transition Experiences Of Latina, Black, And White Female Working-Class Students, Rebecca Marie Freer

Theses and Dissertations

Working-class students’ success in higher education is a growing concern for policymakers and administrators. Previous research has shown that working-class students experience less success in college than students who are of higher social classes (Lauff & Ingels, 2015; Walpole, 2007). This qualitative case study explored how the university environment and students’ cultural wealth influenced success of Latina, Black, and White female working-class students during their transitions to college. Specifically, this study followed 12 students at a large urban public four-year university. Participants engaged in semi-structured interviews three times before and during their first semester of college. The study is framed …

Experiences Of North American Teachers Working Overseas Who Broke Their Contracts Within One Year, Stephanie L. Kattera

CUP Ed.D. Dissertations

The purpose of this qualitative study was to gain insight into the experiences of North American teachers working in international schools and why they chose to leave within the first year. The findings offer insights into the following questions; (1) How do these teachers experience relationships with leadership and students? (2) What role, if any, did their recruitment and induction have on these teachers’ decision to leave? (3) What role, if any, did the culture of the host country play in these teachers’ decision to leave? The struggles experienced from these conditions led teachers to abruptly leave their contracted international …