Curriculum and Social Inquiry Commons^™

Empowering Honors Education: A Joint Initiative For Teaching Excellence And Curriculum Enhancement, Alexandra Bitton-Bailey, Ryan Z. Good, Gabriela Hamerlinck, Melissa L. Johnson

National Collegiate Honors Council Monographs: Chapters

Honors leaders should consider faculty development partnerships as outlets for not only communicating instructional opportunities to a wider audience but also broadening teaching opportunities for faculty in departments that are not always represented and for faculty in non-tenure-track as well as tenure-track lines. An ongoing partnership with a faculty development group can also help honors leaders stay aware of teaching with new technologies, manage emergent trends in the classroom such as the use of artificial intelligence, contribute to the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning, and provide an outlet for reflection about honors instruction. The CTE-Honors partnership at the University of …

Leadership And Change From Within: An Honors College And Ctl Partnership, Connie M. Schroeder, Hilary K. Snow

National Collegiate Honors Council Monographs: Chapters

Scaling sustainable change in teaching and learning is an institutional priority in higher education, yet often it is elusive, given the decentralized and siloed academic landscape. Most colleges and departments lack the necessary expertise to design and implement scaled change or the critical organizational structures to sustain change. Centers for Teaching and Learning (CTLs) seek to advance improvement in teaching and learning and highlight improving institutional culture as part of their mission. Reliance on traditional programming and consultations, however, primarily targets individual change versus scaled or sustainable change.

The successful process of change at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Honors College …

Reimagining An Honors Education: Building A Community Of 21st-Century Learners, Robyn M. Brighton, Rebecca J. Toole

National Collegiate Honors Council Monographs: Chapters

Throughout the spring 2021 academic term and in response to a multiyear redesign of the long-established Seneff Honors College, faculty and staff from both the honors college and the Center for Teaching and Learning Innovation at Valencia College set out to develop a professional development certification that would provide faculty with the information and tools needed to develop an honors curriculum aligning with the newly designed honors college.

The Brief Life Of A Students-As-Partners Model For Improving General Education, Rick Fisher, Janel Seeley

National Collegiate Honors Council Monographs: Chapters

A Students-as-Partners (SaP) model has significant potential for meaningful relationships between centers for teaching and learning (CTLs) and honors programs or colleges. Honors programs and colleges are excellent partners in that they often have flexibility in course offerings and students interested in non-traditional learning opportunities. Too often, education planning and assessment are done to students rather than with them. Having students conduct scholarship of teaching and learning (SoTL) on university-wide initiatives not only provides the institution with valuable information about its teaching and learning efforts but also offers applicable research experience for students that can meaningfully impact future programming.

A Comprhensive Honors College Faculty Certification Model, Magda J. Castineyra, Virginia Fuillerat, Marianne Maduro

National Collegiate Honors Council Monographs: Chapters

Provides an overview of the Honors College (HC) at Miami Dade College (MDC) which uses a faculty certification process to introduce the honors college model and present classroom expectations.

Honors Civic Foundations Faculty Fellows Program, Lauren E. Davis, Kevin D. Egan

National Collegiate Honors Council Monographs: Chapters

In 2022–2023, Drexel University’s Pennoni Honors College implemented the Honors Civic Foundations Faculty Fellows Program, a new initiative for faculty development and enrichment grounded in principles of civic education.

A Faculty Inquiry Group For The Scholarship Of Teaching And Learning In Honors, Kevin Sackreiter, Rebecca C. Bott-Knutson, Christine Larson, Evren Celik-Wiltse

National Collegiate Honors Council Monographs: Chapters

This chapter details a collaboration between the Van D. and Barbara B. Fishback Honors College and the Center for Professional Enrichment and Teaching Excellence (CPETE), formerly known as the Center for Excellence in Teaching and Learning (CETL), at South Dakota State University (SDSU). This collaboration launched an Honors Faculty Inquiry Group (FIG) on the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL). Greater philosophical themes, such as the desire to normalize scholarly emphasis on teaching and learning and how honors faculty can serve as teaching leaders on campus, will be explored in addition to the practical details and outcomes of the collaboration.

From Classrooms To Communities: Integrating The United Nations Sustainable Development Goals Into Honors Education, Megan Mcilreavy, Pamela L. Martin

National Collegiate Honors Council Monographs: Chapters

Embracing the United National Education for Sustainable Development (SDG) framework empowers students to reflect on their actions and understand current and future social, cultural, economic, and environmental issues from local and global perspectives. Inherent in the concept of lifelong learning, these values should resonate with our next generation of students (Gen Z) who, studies show, are making career choices that contribute to making real changes on our planet. Leveraging different institutional strengths, honors programs and colleges can tailor their education within the framework that SDG provides to accommodate various needs that will benefit the institution itself.

Get Back To Where You Once Belonged: A Homegrown Teacher Autoethnography, Jake Olimpi

West Chester University Doctoral Projects

This study centers on the experiences and identities of Homegrown Teachers (HGTs), defined for this research as teachers who graduated from the school/district in which they currently teach. Employing an autoethnographic methodology combined with ten interviews with volunteer HGT participants within a single suburban school district, this research aims to uncover and explore the lived experiences and identities of these educators. The purpose of this exploratory study is to gain a better understanding of the perspective of homegrown teachers and the ways that being a member of this group affects their professional practice as educators. Utilizing a theoretical framework informed …

Accessible Extracurriculars Without Teacher Exploitation, Makenzie Wrightstone

West Chester University Master’s Theses

The research explores how extracurricular activities support holistic development and address barriers, especially for students from lower socioeconomic backgrounds or with disabilities, using social reproduction theory and educational philosophies. It highlights how extracurriculars foster cognitive, social, and emotional growth but are often inaccessible due to financial, logistical, and instructional challenges. The study also examines teacher burnout and dehumanization, providing a historical view of extracurriculars in American schools, analyzing current policies, and considering how technology impacts student engagement. It proposes a transformative framework combining adventure, place-based, and transformative learning, advocating for integrating activities into school hours to enhance access, equity, and …

Bridging Diversity And Discipline: Stakeholder Perceptions Of Dei And Technical Rigor In Agriculture Education, David A. Yarbrough

Murray State Theses and Dissertations

School-based agricultural education (SBAE) serves as a foundational model for preparing students through classroom instruction, Supervised Agricultural Experiences (SAEs), and FFA involvement. This study examined the perceptions of Georgia high school agricultural educators regarding how diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives impact technical rigor and traditional agricultural knowledge within SBAE programs. Educators reported that DEI efforts did not compromise technical rigor, and traditional elements, such as SAE and FFA, remained central to program success. These findings suggest that inclusion and tradition can coexist, with DEI seen as a complement rather than a conflict with SBAE goals. The results provide valuable …

The Role Of Faith-Based Adult Education In Black And Marginalized Communities, Brian Jones

Murray State Theses and Dissertations

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to examine how faith-based and strengths-based adult education programs impact the cognitive well-being, life purpose, and socioeconomic outcomes of Black, and marginalized adult learners. The research seeks to understand the lived experiences of participants, motivations, and barriers to inform more inclusive and effective adult education practices. Additionally, the study aims to understand what impact these organizations are having on the self-efficacy, socioeconomic outcomes of Black and marginalized students, while looking to align areas for improvement. While the study uses quantitative methods to answer research question, the focus of questions bring insight that would …

Creating Worlds: Anarchist Education Within And Against The State, Paul B. Berlet

West Chester University Master’s Theses

This thesis shows how contemporary U.S. schooling reproduces domination and erodes freedom by examining education as a mechanism of social reproduction, disciplinary control, surveillance, and neoliberalization. I draw on Foucault, social reproduction theory, Freire, Vygotsky, and anarchist philosophy while using a critical action research lens to name the structural forces that condition obedience, normalize hierarchy, and individualize responsibility. In response, this thesis asks how anarchist pedagogy functions as an antithesis to these forces. This framework leads me to articulate how anarchist education could emerge through prefigurative community building. Educators are capable of helping to create new worlds both within and …

Standard Education For Standard Thought: Standardization And Accountability As An Antithesis To Critical Consciousness, Taya Black-Kobrynich

West Chester University Master’s Theses

This thesis explores the impact of neoliberal policies on educational standardization and examines how these policies have shaped contemporary educational practices. The central argument posits that the emphasis on standardization within education systems, driven by neoliberal ideologies, significantly undermines the development of critical consciousness in students and society. By prioritizing uniformity and measurable outcomes, educational standardization restricts creativity, inquisitiveness, and critical thinking skills— essential components of raising democratic citizens.

Drawing on a comprehensive review of history and literature, this research demonstrates how standardization policies promote a narrow, test-focused curriculum that neglects the natural inquiry of students. The analysis highlights the …

Walking On The Gray: An Existentialist Exploration Of The Possibility Of The Self In The System Of The School, Craig Pope

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

This dissertation explores the system of the modern public school, particularly at the middle school level, and its deleterious effect on the process of being and becoming a person for students and teachers. The discussion of the self being and becoming an individual is grounded in the religious existentialist philosophy of Soren Kierkegaard and Paul Tillich. For both thinkers, being and becoming an individual involves finding equilibrium between various poles – finitude versus infinitude, and necessity versus possiblity. Michel Foucault’s exploration of the prison system is put in conversation with the discipline practices of middle schools to delineate how power …

It’S A Slippery Slope: A Journey Of Questioning Religion And Building Homeplace, Emily Richardson-Dion

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

Homeplace (Whitlock, 2007) describes the place where we live most comfortably. It is not confined to a physical place, but is constructed by the culture, customs, beliefs, and messages, implicit and explicit, that we absorb over the course of our lives. In this study, I utilize the method of currere, a method of self-study established and then reimagined by Pinar (2023), and Critical Race Feminist Currere introduced by Baszile (2015) to examine my educational experiences and more fully understand what has contributed to my personal construction of homeplace. My experience, like that of Baszile (2015), reflects the need to examine …

Spirituality And Unexpected Leadership: The Untold Stories Of Black Women Assistant Principals, Iantha B. Kittles

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

This dissertation is a qualitative study that uses the theoretical framework of Womanism (Walker, 1983/1967) to examine how Black women assistant principals use spirituality as a guidepost for their work in K-12 educational spaces. To expand on the work of Womanism, I draw on Dr. Berlisha Morton’s Southern Womanism (2016) and Dr. Emilie Townes’ Womanist Spirituality (1995), grounding this study in the conceptual framework of Southern Womanist Spirituality, which emphasizes the intersection of Black women’s work, spirituality, and social justice as well as race, gender, and place. The study uses a hybrid research methodology, Hush Harbor Circles, to promote healing …

“We Are The Future Of This Community”: Exploring Belonging And Rural Healthcare Practice Intent In A High School Medical Sciences Club: A Case Study Of Rural Youth Identity, Purpose, And Place, Sydney Ann Lyons

Cal Poly Humboldt theses and projects

Rural communities across the United States are facing critical healthcare workforce shortages, threatening access to quality care for underserved populations. Health career pathway programs offer a promising solution: a “grow our own” strategy to inspire local youth to pursue healthcare careers. However, little research has explored the role of belonging, identity development, and place-connection in strengthening these programs' outcomes. This case study investigates how participation in the Medical Sciences Club at Del Norte High School— located in rural Northern California— shapes students’, personal growth, career purpose, and rural healthcare practice intent. Through interviews with students, educators, and parents, I found …

Place-Based Learning Practices: A Diptych Case Study Of Human And More-Than-Human Relationality At The Tribal And Western Academic Institutional Interface, Karley M. Rojas-Vienneau

Cal Poly Humboldt theses and projects

The ‘Place-Based Learning Practices Project’ is a graduate project under the Native American Studies Department Rou Dalagurr Food Sovereignty Lab and Traditional Ecological Knowledges Institute (FSL). Making contributions at the intersection of Western academia and Indigenous science, it imagines and realizes content, policies, and protocols surrounding two case studies and the larger cal poly humboldt (cph) institution which respect, honor, and uplift Indigenous sovereignty and resurgence in partnership with the Blue Lake Rancheria Tribe and the greater regional tribal community. Encompassing two projects internal and external to the institution, I aim to address the construction of controlled and protective environments …

Grade-Band Instructional Framework Using Art Integration As A Social Emotional Learning Tool To Increase Accessibility And Equity For All Learners, Greta Dodson Turney

Cal Poly Humboldt theses and projects

Based on my experiences in education, I endeavored to develop a sustainable grade-band instructional curriculum integrating art as a low-floor, high-ceiling, social-emotional learning tool to increase accessibility and equity for all learners while addressing the need for social interaction to abate the increase in violence, mental health issues, and the feelings many students have that they are unworthy of success. To achieve this framework and promote sustainability, I mapped the curriculum currently available at a rural California school district, identified techniques for teaching three or more grades in one classroom, and I designed a program to cover all standards through …