Social Justice 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 …

Borderland Voices: Exploring The Educational Journey Of Transfronterizx Students, Families, And Educators For Enhanced Engagement And Empowerment, Sobeida Velazquez

Dissertations

Transfronterizx students and their families cross the U.S.–Mexico border for academic, economic, social, cultural, and linguistic reasons. Socioeconomic disparities, deportation, and work have propelled some families to live in Mexico and enroll their U.S.-born children in U.S. schools to provide more socioeconomic opportunities in the United States. Educators of transfronterizx students are uniquely tasked to work with these nontraditional students. Moreover, transfronterizx students and their families have distinct needs in U.S. schools; as such, there is a need for further research on the transfronterizx experience in the U.S. K–12 system. This qualitative narrative inquiry study aimed to understand the experiences …

Their Country: Black Women, Three Chords, And The Truth, Dmetri J. Smith

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

ABSTRACT

Country music has long overlooked and at times outright erased the contributions of people of African descent. The past and present contributions of Black women are particularly ignored. Country music— a racially contested space centered in Nashville, Tennessee— is imbued with themes referencing the “good ole days” that were dangerous times for anyone who was not White, male, cisgender, and heterosexual. The genre has only become slightly more welcoming to those who are not part of the dominant class. And yet, there are Black women who feel called to use country music as their storytelling medium. My research shows …

“Nope. Don’T Like That.” In Search Of Justice And Commitment To Nonmaleficence In Dance/Movement Therapy, Johnee Border

Dance/Movement Therapy Theses

The American Dance Therapy Association (ADTA) and Dance/Movement Therapy Certification Board (DMTCB) have ensured those dance/movement therapists who have been educated, registered, and board-certified share a commitment to equity, justice, and nonmaleficence according to the ADTA and DMTCB’s Code of Ethics and Standards (The Code) (ADTA, 2015). “Nope. Don’t like that,” has been the actual, verbal, expression of the embodied experience of intersectional harm from a lack of assessed, decolonized dance/movement therapy practice and pedagogy. The ADTA, students, educators, and credentialed dance/movement therapists hold an established, ethical responsibility to justice and nonmaleficence, and as such, must demonstrate a commitment to …

An Intersectional Queer Case Study Of Two Youth Organizations In A Rural Kentucky High School, Eric Michael Moser

Theses and Dissertations--Community & Leadership Development

Secondary schools in the United States are hostile environments for students in the queer community. Schools in rural communities often pose greater challenges for queer students with less access to affirming and accepting educators. Rural schools often offer school-based agricultural education (SBAE) and the National FFA Organization as opportunities for students. Both programs have been found as unwelcoming environments for underrepresented groups, with little known about the experiences of queer students. To address hostility toward queer youth, schools have implemented Genders and Sexualities Alliances (GSAs) as an opportunity to discuss queer topics and create safe spaces. This qualitative case study …

Cracking The Shell Of White Fragility: Priming Employees For Anti-Oppressive/Anti-Racist Learning, Martha Jansenberger

The Dissertation in Practice at Western University

Despite the adoption of AO/AR practice frameworks by most human service organizations, consistently integrating the practical elements of AR work into professional interactions continues to challenge many organizations (deFinney, 2011; Saraceno, 2012). This OiP considers the barriers to AO/AR praxis for staff in a crisis shelter, drawing from relevant leadership theory, CRT, change management research, and education research to develop a comprehensive plan aimed at building capacity among employees. With a focus on diminishing the impulse to deny or refute the impacts of systems of oppression on racialized and equity seeking groups, this project uses Kolb and Frohman’s model for …

Teacher Professionalism, Embodiment, And Surveillance: An Autoethnographic Study, Melanie Cloutier-Bordeleau

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

This autoethnographic study entails using my own situated knowledge and experience as a white bisexual secondary school teacher from a low socioeconomic background as a basis for data generation and analysis. Attention is given to examining the current enforcement of specific norms governing behavioural and physical conduct, and the role these norms play in constructing and reinforcing hierarchical structures of identity related to race, gender, socioeconomic status and sexuality. The main question the study explores is: How does the performativity and performance of educator “professionalism” contribute to constructing/reinforcing hierarchies of identity with respect to gender, sexuality, social class and race? …

Counterstories Of Black High School Students And Graduates Of Nyc Independent Schools: A Narrative Case Study, Kahdeidra M. Martin

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Public youth resistance movements in 2019 and 2020 exposed the entrenchment of racism, sexism, heteronormativity, and classism across New York City independent schools (NYCIS). In order to support the imminent need for schools to provide effective diversity, inclusion, and equity supports that address broad issues of school climate, relationships, and pedagogy, there is a need to better understand the specific, hyperlocal experiences of Black/African Descendant (BAD) students, who occupy several unique, unexplored spaces in educational research. The following four research questions helped to conceptualize the experiences that support and hinder the academic success and long term well-being of BAD students …

Imposter Phenomenon: The Occupational Experiences Of First-Generation College Students, Jamie Zabat, Jacqueline Salas, Yashi Severson, Kevin Chavez, Krysta Gastelum, Javier Gomez

Occupational Therapy | Graduate Capstone Projects

Background: First-generation college students (FGCS) represent an underserved population navigating through higher education and therefore receive less support. There is a current gap in the literature that overlooks the interactions of occupational experiences, imposter phenomenon (IP), and first-generation college students. The purpose of this study is to use grounded theory to observe the impact of IP among FGCS enrolled in a four-year university in California.

Method: This research is a qualitative study using thematic analysis grounded theory. Data was collected through a screening survey and follow-up interview via video chats and in-person sessions, and a live transcription software …