Education Commons^™

Mi Familia Es Mi Fuerza, Yvonne Borkowski

Theses & Dissertations

Latinx parents have been unfairly blamed for their child’s negative educational outcomes due to how they choose to be involved in their child’s education. School expectations of parent involvement typically follow the Epstein Model, which is aligned with traditional, White, middle-class involvement such as fundraising and bake sales. Meanwhile, Latinx, low-income parents often perceive their involvement as shaping their child’s behavior at home and teaching them about moral values. This qualitative case study examines how five Latinx parents in a predominantly Latinx school district on Long Island defined school-based and home-based parent involvement, advocated for their children, as well as …

A Case Study Of Parentschool Relationships: How Spanish-Speaking Latino Parents Of Elementary Multilingual Learners Perceive Parental Involvement In Schools, Ingrid Corpuz

Theses & Dissertations

This study examined how Spanish-speaking Latino parents of multilingual learners (MLs) perceived their participation in the school community and their role in the educational process of their children. It explored several factors that can influence the involvement of Spanish-speaking parents in their children's education. Social capital, cultural capital, and social learning theories guided this study to provide a deeper understanding of the parental involvement of Spanishspeaking Latino parents in schools. Ten participating parents shared their experiences and described their view of parental involvement in their children’s school. This study concluded that Spanish-speaking Latino parents displayed characteristics of highly involved parents, …

Passing The Camel Through The Eye Of The Needle: Documenting A Culture Of Teacher Praxis At An Affluent Catholic High School, Nicholas S. Vasiliades

Theses & Dissertations

There is a dearth of research concerning critical communities of learning in affluent Catholic high schools. This ethnography captured a culture of praxis developed through the process of five educators team-teaching an interdisciplinary AP Seminar course at St. Aurelia’s Catholic High School on Long Island, New York, from September 2021 to February 2022, with a particular emphasis on Catholic Social Teaching as an authentic avenue for the implementation of social justice education. Observations, one-to-one interviews, focus group discussions, peer-observations, and journals were recorded and coded to explore the facets of the team culture engaged in this collaborative endeavor. A culture …

Seeing The World Through Their Eyes: The Impact Of Place Attachment On Teachers' Understanding Of Worldviews, Kathleen Murray

Theses & Dissertations

Over the past 20 years, Long Island, New York, has seen an increase in linguistic and racial diversity within its schools. The growth in linguistic diversity has brought with it an increase in English language learners (ELLs), representing almost a 50% increase since 2012. As the ELL population has grown, so has the achievement gap between ELLs and their non-ELL peers. The current teaching staff on Long Island does not match the diversity of its student population. Prior research has shown that the cultural mismatch between the teachers and students is one contributing factor to the aforementioned achievement gap. In …

Toward A Transdisciplinary Model Of Social Justice In Academic Librarianship: Promoting Critical Awareness Within Advocates And Privileged Allies, Judith L. Brink Drescher

Theses & Dissertations

Academic libraries are largely comprised of White, middle-aged females, and as part of the overall diversity crisis within higher education, grapple with issues of racism, sexism, heterosexism, classism, and ableism. This mixed-methods study uses an original theoretical framework of critical transcendence, based on the philosophies of Carl Jung and Paulo Freire, to examine what triggers and/or preconditions lead some academic librarians to reflect upon and interrogate their worldview to become actively engaged as advocates and social justice allies (SJAs). An online survey was conducted that obtained data from a sample of 113 academic librarians regarding their interest and commitment toward …

A Case Study Examining High-Achieving Black And Latinx Students’ Reasons For Using Or Not Using Academic Support Services, Nafeeza Uddin-Schmidt

Theses & Dissertations

Black and Latinx students are completing college at lower rates compared to White and Asian students. Many studies have documented the role of academic support services in helping students successfully complete college. Yet, many of the support services are built into students’ course schedules during freshman year to help transition to college. During the sophomore year, many of those supports are no longer built in, and students must seek them out themselves. Therefore, the purpose of this qualitative case study was to examine the reasons high-achieving Black and Latinx students opt in or opt out of using academic support services …

Perceptions Of Secondary Music Educators On The Transition To, And First Years Of The Every Student Succeeds Act, Thomas Rizzuto

Theses & Dissertations

The Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) of 2015 has the potential to be important for American music education. Unlike its predecessor, No Child Left Behind (NCLB), ESSA mentions music by name as one of the components of a “well-rounded education,” rather than including it under the arts. However, there is much that is unknown about ESSA and how it pertains to music education. The purpose of this qualitative case study was to better understand the perceptions of music educators on the transition to and the first years of ESSA. The primary source of data included 18 semi-structured interviews with secondary …

Decolonizing My Classroom During The Covid-19 Pandemic: An Autoethnographic Study, Nadia Khan-Roopnarine

Theses & Dissertations

American schooling is a colonized construct that seeks to maintain white patriarchal hegemony (Battiste, 2013). As a critical educator whose personal epistemologies are shaped by Indo-Caribbean feminism and Coolie feminism, I continually grapple with a large bureaucratic system that thrives on the perpetual dehumanization of teachers, families, and students. The sudden shift to remote learning surfaced the particular cognitive dissonance I navigate, both within myself and in my professional spaces, as I work to decolonize my classroom spaces while inadvertently perpetuating them.

As a high school English teacher serving a population of exclusively BIPOC students in a small urban school, …

Understanding The Homesick Experience Through The Narratives Of First-Year College Residential Students, Talita Santos Ferrara

Theses & Dissertations

Homesickness is a complex phenomenon that operates on a spectrum and impacts individuals' psychological, cognitive, and physical functioning. Sufferers experience a preoccupation of home and a strong desire to return home. In higher education, homesickness among first-year students has been linked to a higher risk of dropping out of school, symptoms of depression and anxiety, and a lack of satisfaction with the overall college experience. Through the lens of belongingness theory, this phenomenological study examined the essence of the homesick experience among first-time undergraduate college students living in the residence halls of a private Catholic college in the Northeast. The …

‘Let Them Be Who They Are’: Discovering Special Education Teachers’ Perceptions Of Oppressive Normativity And Their Practice Of Celebrating Neurodiversity, Caitlin Sweetapple

Theses & Dissertations

Autistic students are faced with ableism and oppressive practices daily in their school environments. Special educators can mitigate this problem by celebrating the neurodiversity of the students in their classroom. Utilizing a critical disability theory lens, I conducted an instrumental case study through observations and interviews with six special education teachers at a special education school. The research objective was to understand how special education teachers approach oppressive normativity in their classroom and adapt their practice for neurodiverse learners. The findings revealed that special education teachers who work strictly with neurodiverse learners do not perceive oppressive normativity in their classroom …

Women In The Superintendency: A Phenomenological Study Of Women Superintendents’ Perceptions Of Social Capital, Victoria Catalano

Theses & Dissertations

Public schools are faced with a shortage of women superintendents in the United States. Although women dominate the teaching profession and outnumber men in educational leadership and doctoral programs in education, there is a disproportionate number of men compared to women leading the nation’s public schools. Using feminist theory and social capital theory, this qualitative phenomenological study examined how nine women superintendents perceived gender-based obstacles, as well as the support of social capital during their ascent to the superintendency. The findings revealed that women in the study faced sex-role stereotyping and gender bias from men and women as they aspired …

Professional Development For Veteran Teachers: Let Them Speak!, Livia M. Gama Fagundes

Theses & Dissertations

Professional development is designed to enhance teachers’ pedagogical knowledge and their professional growth. However, veteran teachers have divergent professional learning needs that must be addressed to positively impact the effectiveness of the professional development they attend. This research study emphasizes the importance of care practices and how veteran teachers want to be heard and included in the planning of the professional development they attend. This study also highlights the importance of positive relationships between school administrators and veteran teachers and how this leads to learning conditions that better serve the professional learning needs of veteran teachers. The purpose of this …

A Phenomenological Investigation Of Academic Momism: Perceptions Of Female College Faculty’S Role Expectations In High-Stakes Stem Courses, Donna Cempa-Danziger

Theses & Dissertations

This qualitative phenomenological study looked at how female faculty in higher education who teach high-stakes courses may experience a role of academic momism (AM) and how they negotiate their roles and responses within a patriarchal system. Gender bias and prescriptive stereotyping of women as communal may lead female STEM instructors to be perceived more as “academic mothers” (Bernard, 1964) rather than respected academicians. Within higher education institutions, students often perceive their female professors as more concerned about their emotional well-being, nurturing, service oriented, and less academic when compared to male faculty members. The demanding nature of high-stakes courses in STEM-oriented …

Cultural Competence And Motivation To Control Prejudiced Reactions Of Criminal Justice Students: A Survey Methods Approach, Carole Marguerite Byrd

Theses & Dissertations

Implicit bias and discrimination in the police department can lead to devastating effects for people of color in racially diverse urban and suburban areas. However, there is very little research on the racial attitudes and assumptions that aspiring police recruits and other criminal justice professionals have about people of color who reside in inner cities and diverse communities. This study focused on assessing cultural awareness and motivation to control prejudiced reactions in a self-selected group of criminal justice undergraduate college students to see what bias they may have prior to entering the police department. Students completed a survey that included …