Social Justice Commons^™

Understanding The Limits Of Transnational Ngo Power: Forms, Norms, And The Architecture, Hans Peter Schmitz

School of Leadership and Education Sciences: Faculty Scholarship

A growing chorus of critics have called upon transnational nongovernmental organizations (TNGOs) from the Global North to “decolonize” their practices, to “shift the power” to the Global South, and to put an end to “white saviorism” by initiating a variety of significant organizational changes. Despite these repeated calls, the TNGO sector still struggles to reform. Explanations for TNGOs’ ongoing struggles from within the field of international relations have generally centered on TNGOs themselves and the ironies and paradoxes of organizational growth and financial success. This article introduces a different argument that TNGOs’ struggles to adapt in response to their critics …

Unconscious Bias In United States Marine Corps Leadership Doctrine: Examining Microaggressions Through Document Analysis, Patrick Butler

Dissertations

This dissertation employed a document analysis format to examine Marine Corps leadership education doctrine for microaggressions. The United States Marine Corps (Marine Corps or USMC) is the military service with the least diverse officer cadre in terms of sex, gender identity, and race. The study results show a pattern of repeating unconscious bias-related content within the Marine Corps’ documents. Such patterns can negatively affect minority members in terms of their health, acceptance, and performance within the organization. The results also document an overriding bias-culture which puts Marine Corps leadership in a dilemma of trying to encourage conformity to traditional organizational …

Breaking Boundaries: Investigating The Experiences Of Racially Diverse Low Socioeconomic Status Students Through A Narrative Inquiry Approach, Ryan Jumamil

Dissertations

Across the US, there is growing inequality of class distribution in predominately white and elite colleges and universities. Although gaining access to these institutions is typically the first hurdle, it is not the only challenge racially diverse low socioeconomic status (SES) students face. By investigating the college experiences of racially diverse low SES students enrolled in a predominately white elite institution, this study creates the foundation for an imperative discussion on the relationship between students' identity and attendance at predominately white elite institutions.

Through a Narrative Inquiry research approach and using semi-structured interviews as a data collection tool, two themes …

Uncomfortable But Necessary: White Faculty Identity Development And Race Conversations, Monique B. Appel

M.A. in Higher Education Leadership: Action Research Projects

In recent years, diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives have been highlighted in college mission statements, but there is a gap between college-wide initiatives and classroom practices. Research shows that White Americans, in particular, remain silent, express colorblindness, and incorporate avoidance strategies when discussing race (Bryan et al., 2012). As classrooms become increasingly diverse, White faculty must be equipped to serve all students equitably. To address White faculty discomfort with discussing race in their courses, I provided educational resources and used restorative justice circle practice to create a safe, low stakes environment for faculty to explore this topic. Through circle practices, …

Blaqueer And Here: Black Queer And Trans Students’ Path To Thriving, Marvens Pierre

M.A. in Higher Education Leadership: Action Research Projects

In this study, I have investigated the ways in which Black queer and trans students have (or have not) fostered community, lived authentically, and benefitted from support of their identity development. I explored what support (or lack thereof) and identity development that exists within the realm of predominantly White higher educational institutions as well as San Diego community resources at large. This study approach consisted of conducting strategic outreach to universities in San Diego, California, and building community circles to facilitate processes of qualitative narrative analysis. This led to an intentional focus group dialogue space that allowed the participants to …

Public Safety Presence And Response In Campus Housing: Using Restorative Justice Interventions To Mitigate Harm And Restore Trust In The Residential Community, Sydney Pidgeon

M.A. in Higher Education Leadership: Action Research Projects

In the wake of social unrest and demands of police reform (Childress et al., 2020; Davidson, 2020; Rogers & Gravelle, 2020), institutions of higher education have a unique opportunity to model a system of campus safety that mitigates harm and restores trust. This research explores the complex relationship between campus safety officers and residential life staff and student leaders at a mid-sized private institution and implements restorative justice interventions to rebuild trust between the two populations. This research created an intervention framework that improved the ongoing partnership between the Office of Residential Life and Department of Public Safety and facilitated …

When "First, Do No Harm" Fails: A Restorative Justice Approach To Workgroup Harms In Healthcare, Pedro L. Flores

Dissertations

In healthcare, workgroup mistreatment is a pervasive problem that begins during medical education (medical and nursing school) and becomes embedded in the “hidden curriculum of professionalism,” which dissuades and even punishes learners for talking about abuse they witness. Furthermore, the mistreatment of healthcare providers (HCPs) pervades all disciplines in the healthcare delivery chain due to a combination of cultural factors, systemic pressures, dysfunctional hierarchies, and leadership’s tolerance of intimidating and disruptive behaviors. Not surprisingly, 18% of U.S. HCPs have left the medical field since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, and burnout, stress, anxiety, and increased workloads have been identified …

Understanding The Benefits Of Latino Giving Circles: An Emancipatory Research Study, Adriana Loson-Ceballos

Dissertations

This dissertation shows how Latino giving circle members understand their philanthropy and how participation affects their well-being, civic engagement, and philanthropic activities by focusing on giving circles’ composition, members’ goals, and perceived benefits. I used an emancipatory research paradigm with Latino-focused critical race theory, LatCrit, to study the Latino Giving Circle Network (LGCN). A survey was used for data collection, and research platicas were employed in the survey’s analysis; both were selected and designed centering Latinos to overcome challenges in researching Latinos.

Demographic findings reveal a range of Latino experiences. Sixty-six percent reported Mexican ancestry, compared to 83% of California …