Education Commons^™

Debating For Success: Academic Achievement, Self-Efficacy, Civic Empowerment And The Milwaukee Debate League, Thomas Noonan

Dissertations (1934 -)

Over the course of the past three decades Urban Debate Leagues have been established on the premise that they improve schooling for underserved students. Founded in predominantly urban areas, these leagues have been positioned as a recent educational reform effort intended to empower students and foster educational and personal growth. This dissertation focuses specifically on the ways in which students involved in a Milwaukee Urban Debate League participating school have been affected by the experience with respect to academic achievement, self-efficacy, and civic empowerment. Through focusing on student voice, this research project examines the ways in which students manifest change …

Historical Implications Of The Black Civil Rights Movement Prior To The Brown Decision On Legislation For The Disabled, Robert Michael Thomas

Dissertations (1934 -)

Black children achieved equal protection rights to attend K-12 public schools following the Brown v. Board of Education Supreme Court holding in 1954. Scholars claimed Brown was a catalyst for admittance of disabled students as well. They believed tactics of the Black Civil Rights Movement influenced advocates of disabled students during the Civil Rights Era (1954-68). Scholars assumed race and minority status were key to obtaining due process legislation for the disabled in the 1970's.

An historical analysis of primary sources including court cases, Congressional testimony, biographical and personal statements of disabled individuals, and secondary sources of authors and journal …