Curriculum and Social Inquiry Commons^™

In My Softest & Most Liberatory Dreams: Reflections On Holding Complexity & Decentering Whiteness, Richard C. Clark

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

As the world contends with a global pandemic, climate catastrophes, white supremacy, coloniality, and concurrent genocides my attention splinters. In an act of futurity, or future making, I ask myself: What is needed to move from this place toward softer, more liberatory futures? This body of work finds its answer in exploring two interrelated concepts: Decentering Whiteness and Holding Complexity. Decentering Whiteness is the process of working toward a future where all the personal, spiritual, educational, epistemological, social, structural, psychological, financial, and systemic ties to white supremacy are unraveled. Holding Complexity weaves together knowledges of care, accountability, intersectionality, and …

Improving Workers’ Effectiveness When Working With Unhoused Individuals, Danika J. Bralek

Capstone Projects and Master's Theses

When volunteering with individuals without housing, volunteers may not know what to expect or how to act when assisting this population. Without proper preparation, these volunteers may end up further marginalizing the population they are working with, putting themselves in danger, or failing to assist these human beings. When volunteers know more about how to assist these individuals in need, they can properly manage each client’s case and assist them in receiving proper aid. In order to address preparedness for volunteers working with these vulnerable populations, I have created an instructional video addressing proper rapport building, understanding needs and correct …

Meditation And The Inner Life Of Today’S Educator, Summer Nicklasson

Education | Master's Theses

This project stemmed from the researcher’s feeling stress as a new teacher and the need for self-care. The study is contextualized and the theoretical frameworks include meditation and mindfulness. (Venditti et al., 2020). Teaching is a stressful profession and many teachers experience daily stresses that can often lead to teacher burnout. When teachers are stressed, their ability to effectively teach and connect with students is diminished. This is further exacerbated by the fact that educators are teaching through the unprecedented times of COVID-19. Meditation and mindfulness are universal and free tools that educators can use to decrease stress and increase …

Educating For A Recovering World: Developing Trauma-Sensitive Teaching Models In Response To Covid-19, Kai Hollander

Art of Teaching Thesis - Written

In recent years, a number of schools and districts across America have begun implementing trauma-sensitive classroom models. However, the current reality of the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as the traumatic stress of the 2020 incidents of police violence and domestic terrorism necessitate further exploration of this work. My inquiry explores the implications of the COVID-19 pandemic on children’s learning and development. Taking a trauma-sensitive lens, I examine how trauma manifests in the elementary classroom, review the literature on COVID-19 collective trauma, and propose a model for trauma-sensitive teaching in pandemic and post-pandemic times. I make an argument for teachers to …

A Plan For Democratic Public Schooling, Diana Concepcion

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This project addresses concerns within inner-city public schools while restructuring how we facilitate learning in our school buildings. It provides an overview of continued research on challenges faced in public schools including reform policy (testing and curricular changes), privatization, day-to-day structures and how they impact the academic and social-emotional development of our students. By examining our current designs and policies, we are able to identify why and how these systems have not been beneficial to our students, and we are able to find basic solutions in supporting the holistic needs of our students. This project proposes a school plan which …

Creating Dynamic Spaces: Exploring Student-Empowered Self-Expression Through Art, Meghan E. Charest

Honors Theses

Research suggests that students living in rural areas may be more likely to face adversity and stress due to intersecting challenges present in their communities including poverty, substance abuse, addiction, poor health, reduced economic opportunity, and geographic isolation. I conducted an engaged scholarship project in partnership with students and staff at JES to explore ways that open-ended art activities that provide students with self-directed creative spaces can cultivate a student-centered environment built around strong relationships. This type of environment can mitigate the negative impacts of adverse childhood experiences potentially affecting rural Maine students and improve a culture of emotional wellness …

The Missouri Student Transfer Program, Howard E. Fields Iii

Dissertations

In 1993, the state of Missouri passed the Outstanding Schools Act. This law was created as a means to ensure that “all children will have quality educational opportunities, regardless of where in Missouri they live.” Section 167.131 of this law states that an unaccredited district must pay the tuition and transportation cost for students who attend an accredited school in the same or adjoining district. This portion of the law became known as the Student Transfer Program.

The Riverview Gardens School District (RGSD) was one of three unaccredited school districts in the state of Missouri in 2013. With close to …

Decolonial Multiculturalism And Local-Global Contexts: A Postcritical Feminist Bricolage For Developing New Praxes In Education, Katharine Matthaei Sprecher

Doctoral Dissertations

This dissertation presents a conceptual bricolage that explores complex, reflexive, and interrelated dimensions of educational praxes. My work is grounded in the assertion that the ever-changing, local-global nature of contemporary societies requires new approaches to curricula, pedagogies, policies, and practices in U.S. schools to meet the challenges and opportunities of a global era. Presenting my research and findings as four articles, I begin with a dialectical analysis of theoretical and pedagogical literatures to develop an adaptable framework for decolonial multicultural education. In Article 1, I demonstrate how this framework synergizes aspects of social reconstructionist and critical multicultural, global, and …

The Factors Associated With The Use Of Computers In The K-4 Classrooms Of The Maryville City School System., Jesse A. Robinette

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to examine the use of computers for instruction in the K-4 elementary schools of the Maryville City School System. A survey was distributed to every regular education classroom teacher in each of the four elementary schools of the system. Respondents were asked to provide: (a) demographic data in regard to age, gender, years of teaching experience, grade level taught, level of education, home computer ownership, and technology committee membership; (b) an implementation score based on teacher response to grade-level student performance indicators provided by the International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE); and (c) …

Relationship Of Physical Fitness To Success In Junior High Among Sunnyside Junior High Boys, Jerry St. George

All Master's Theses

It was the purpose of this study to show what relationship, if any, exists between the characteristics of physical fitness and success, as measured by grade achievement, attendance, and social prestige, among Sunnyside Junior high boys.

A Survey Of Practices And Attitudes Of Elementary Educators Regarding Playground Supervision In Douglas And Chelan Counties, Vern L. Huffman

All Master's Theses

The purposes for this study were: (1) to discover existing playground practices in selected elementary schools in Central Washington, (2) to discover existing attitudes of teachers in selected schools in Central Washington, and (3) to gather information that would aid teachers and administrators in the elementary school playground supervisory problem.