Education Commons^™

Kenneth P. Saurman Award: But I Thought It Would Fit!: Musing On The Clash Between Expectations And Reality, Audrey Claire Redmond

The Vermont Connection

No abstract provided.

The Final Word: Reflections From An Unlikely Faculty Member, Kathleen Manning, Ph.D.

The Vermont Connection

No abstract provided.

A Reflection On Transitions, Bridget Turner Kelly, Ph.D., Robert Kelly, Ph.D.

The Vermont Connection

No abstract provided.

Still Have Some Growing To Do, Deborah E. Hunter, Ph.D.

The Vermont Connection

No abstract provided.

Learning From Student Affairs Professionals: Applying Lessons Of Social Justice, Equity And Inclusion In Higher Education Administration, Jeff Bukowski, Ed.D.

The Vermont Connection

No abstract provided.

Reclaiming All My Parts: A Poetic Journey In Discovering Vulnerability, Carrie Wicks

The Vermont Connection

It is not until we walk the road of transition that we truly feel the way it shakes, unravels, and awakens our core. Drawing from Jones, McEwen, and Abes’ (2007) article, “Reconceptualizing the Model of Multiple Dimensions of Identity: The Role of Meaning-Making Capacity in the Construction of Multiple Identities” and acclaimed cultural critic, feminist, and author, bell hooks, I will explore the ways in which three of my most salient social identities helped to shape and direct my journey within student affairs. I will utilize poetry and personal narrative to explore the impacts that the change in context had …

"Queerituality": Reforming What It Means To Be A Religious Queer, Sean R. Smallwood

The Vermont Connection

College settings often place students in a petri dish where they are able to reflect on their innermost identities, values, and how they come to know the world around them. Through intentional efforts, student affairs professionals can create spaces where students are able to explore identities that society often states as being mutually exclusive. There is a body of research to help student affairs practitioners support queer-identified students developmentally (e.g. Cass’ Identity Model, Fassinger’s Model of Gay and Lesbian Identity Development, and D’Augelli’s Model of Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual Identity Development). The topic of spirituality as it relates to queer …

Affirmative Action And Faculty In Higher Education, Victor A. Sánchez

The Vermont Connection

Lawsuits that dispute the need of affirmative action have surfaced since the establishment of the law in the early 1960s (Park & Liu, 2014). Higher education practitioners and faculty must expand its understanding of affirmative action, racism, and oppression to better understand the need for affirmative action. The relationship between affirmative action and faculty must be studied further to understand the role of affirmative action in higher education. This literature review defines affirmative action, provides arguments that support and oppose affirmative action, explores the relationship between affirmative action and faculty, and provides implications for higher education.

Finding My Way To Me: Coming Out And Becoming Enough, Deryka C. Nairne

The Vermont Connection

For years, I have been on a journey of self-discovery. I have a history of self-deprecation, as well as a lack of believing in being worthy of being truly loved. I have suffered, and I have triumphed on this journey. Brown’s (2010) TEDTalk surrounding shame and vulnerability spoke directly to my heart. This essay will contain those who have words that help me heal. It will focus on how I have or have not made strides to create my own meaning. The content will come from my core. It will encompass the transition and rollercoaster that is my journey to …

Out Of The Shadows And Into The Light: Liberation Through Education, Jeff P. Godowski

The Vermont Connection

The “Allegory of the Cave,” Book VII of Plato’s Republic, has been a staple in Western philosophical and political thought for millennia. Following a brief summary of Plato’s story told by Socrates, this article makes a case for using the allegory as a framework for discussing the systems of oppression created by colonialism and hegemonic control. The second part of this article discusses the ways in which Plato’s vision has been used in educational philosophy and psychology to symbolize the gradual processes of education as a means of liberation. This discussion takes the form of an analysis of Platonic developmental …

Grounded In Experience: Entering Higher-Higher Education As A Pilipino American, Eric Gerona Carnaje

The Vermont Connection

The decision to go back to school in pursuit of higher-higher education is an extremely strenuous, anxiety-stricken, self-reflective, and courageous process, especially for those that have been “out of school” for two years or more. Although there is some existing literature on nontraditional students and their journey going to college, there is even less literature on the experiences of returning students that decide to pursue a graduate degree after being academically removed from their undergraduate institution for quite some time. Thus, this paper seeks to examine some of the more specific instances experienced by graduate students, particularly those that returned …

Small Town Kid In The Big City: Toward An Understanding Of Rurality In Student Identity Development, Roman Christiaens

The Vermont Connection

As intersectional identity frameworks urge student affairs practitioners to move toward a holistic view of the students we work with, it becomes evident that there are gaps in the literature regarding the ways in which dimensions of identity are culturally and contextually bound in place and time. These frameworks tend to minimize or ignore how students’ identity development on a college campus is informed by the environment and influences of their upbringing. College students of rural upbringings are an often overlooked demographic in higher education, and thus can serve as a case study to begin addressing this gap in the …

Finding Health And Happiness The Write Way: Blogging As Self-Care Within Student Affairs And Higher Education, Melissa Carlson

The Vermont Connection

Blogging has its roots in journal writing and has risen in popularity as a form of self-care practice. As the modern day diary, blogs are a medium through which authors can share their thoughts, feelings, and experiences with peers in the form of self-disclosure. Unlike the key-locked diaries of the past, blogs provide student affairs practitioners with the unique opportunity for reader feedback in the form of commentary. The give-and-take between blog authors and their readers has been associated with many physical and psychological benefits that go far beyond the keyboard. Many higher education professionals have already begun tapping into …

Feminist Self-Care For Higher Education Professionals, Cait Bjellquist, Barbara Perlman

The Vermont Connection

Physical fitness is historically rooted in the construction of masculinity, making gender inclusive fitness an important part of feminist identity development (Kane & Snyder, 1989). Developed in the 1970s and formalized in early 2000s, CrossFit is a growing fitness movement based on the idea that fitness is a multifaceted way of being and works best when lived in community. Feminist consciousness-raising groups and CrossFit groups have capitalized on the value of community to build engagement, encouragement, and solidarity. Noting that self-care is crucial in the work of student affairs professionals, this article will examine the CrossFit Movement using Downing and …

Entering The Gates Of The Academy: Transitions Into The Professoriate, Vijay Kanagala, Ph.D.

The Vermont Connection

No abstract provided.

Editor's Note, Nakiya C. Findley

The Vermont Connection

No abstract provided.

Tejanos In College: How Texas Born Mexican-American Students Navigate Ethnoracial Identity, Tomás Sanchez

Graduate College Dissertations and Theses

For Latina's in the United States, navigating the spectrum of racial and ethnic identities can be complicated. This same complication has the potential to affect one of the largest groups of Latina's in the nation: Mexican-Americans living in Texas or Tejanos. Through qualitative analyses of interviews and surveys and the use of an ecological framework on identity development theories for Latina's, Native Americans, Multiracial peoples and those in the Mexican diaspora, this study examines various factors that influences the ethnoracial identity choice of Tejano college students.

Findings revealed that there were several common themes across all the participants, even those …

Helping Students Find Meaning While Finding My Own: A Scholarly Personal Narrative Navigating Single-Motherhood And A Career In Admissions, Amber Rich

Graduate College Dissertations and Theses

ABSTRACT

In this dissertation, I explore my role as an administrator in higher education admissions at a major university and as a working mother who faces many real world challenges. The grueling travel demands, lofty enrollment goals, campus and inter-office politics, as well as the weekend and late night hours required, made it extremely difficult to achieve a healthy work life balance in admissions while also raising a small child. Additionally, "admissions" is increasingly becoming the "hot seat" within institutions of higher education. Gone are the days of an almost tenure like quality to enrollment professionals. If an enrollment director …

The Passion Within: Challenging The Feminine Mystique By Educating Midlife Women To Fulfill Their Career Dreams, Kelly Depaolo

Graduate College Dissertations and Theses

This study is a very personal reflection. The purpose of the study is to illuminate how following the calling of my heart led to a deeper passion in my own work whereupon I realized my natural and limitless creative potential. It is a blending of my narrative with research conducted over a ten year time period on midlife women, work, and the search for passion within. The capacity and fostering of creativity became a focus in my writing because that is exactly where my spirit has led me. It has been my personal joy to put something in this world …

Students' Understanding Of Quadratic Functions: Learning From Students' Voices, Jennifer Suzanne Stokes Parent

Graduate College Dissertations and Theses

The objective of this multiple case study was to examine how three pairs of high school students from a northern Vermont high school approached quadratic functions through traditional and multiple representation tasks. Four research questions were examined: 1) How do students think about the quadratic function as they work on a series of tasks? 2) What mathematical strategies do students employ when they work on a series of tasks related to the quadratic function? 3) How does the type of task, traditional versus multiple representation, impact students' understanding of the quadratic function? 4) What kinds of knowledge (procedural or conceptual) …

Damned If You Do--Damned If You Don't: A Queer Woman Of Color's Journey Of Trauma, Agency, And Leadership, Windy Paz-Amor

Graduate College Dissertations and Theses

ABSTRACT

Navigating systems of leadership in Predominantly White Institutions (PWIs) in higher education as a Queer Woman of Color can be a challenging and complex process--one that integrates identity, experience, expertise, knowledge, patience, and most importantly the ability to risk; while remaining authentic and professional. It is a balance, which in my own experience and expertise requires constant reflection, evaluation, and adaptation. A negotiation of owning that one has power and agency, while realizing that the many intersecting identities that one holds influences how dominant culture perceives that power and agency. To reach authentic reflection and evaluation in leadership it …