Social and Philosophical Foundations of Education Commons^™

Restorative Justice And Social Justice, John M. Winslade

Journal of Critical Issues in Educational Practice

This paper explains the connections between restorative justice and social justice. Specifically it argues that restorative practices in schools fit with a social justice agenda. It defines both terms and then outlines how restorative practices work to address the pipeline to prison and against retributive justice and zero tolerance policies. It also outlines the use of narrative questions designed to enhance restorative practices.

Violence And Aggression In School Settings, Barbara Katic

Journal of Critical Issues in Educational Practice

Violence and aggression continue to cause harm to American schools and communities, which has been visibly illustrated by the continual perpetration of school shootings. In order to prevent these situations for occurring again, the etiology of violent and aggressive behaviors must be studied. Utilizing an ecological perspective, both the risk factors and protective factors of violence and aggression, also known as a dual strategy approach, are examined within an educational context. Specific risk factors reviewed include weapons exposure and social rejection, while protective factors reviewed include school connectedness and pro-social relationships. Implications regarding the prevention of violent and aggressive acts …

The Narration Of Conflicting Accountabilities In The Era Of High-Stakes Teacher Evaluation, James Christopher Head

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

The U.S. Government’s Race to the Top program inspired a wave of education reforms across the nation aimed at holding teachers individually accountable for their students’ “growth” on test scores. These individualized programs implemented new forms of audit technologies aimed at orienting teachers’ priorities toward the calculations produced by students, rather than towards students’ holistic growth and well-being. In so doing, these programs signify an ideological rupture for teachers in that their long-shared sense of interpersonal accountability is institutionally re-directed – and reinforced with consequences – toward calculative accountability. In this dissertation, I investigated teachers’ experiential navigation of the introduction …

The Tuskegee Revolt: Student Activism, Black Power, And The Legacy Of Booker T. Washington, Brian P. Jones

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

“The Tuskegee Revolt: Student Activism, Black Power, and the Legacy of Booker T. Washington” is a historical study of a student movement that challenged prevailing educational and political ideas in the nation’s most ideologically important historically black university. The late 1960s student movement at Tuskegee Institute played a significant off-campus role in shaping local, regional, and national social movements and politics. In the process, these Tuskegee students turned their attention back on-campus, and attempted to radically revise their school’s educational framework. Founded by Booker T. Washington in 1881, Tuskegee Institute represents the origin of a particular (and recurring) political-educational-paradigm for …

The Importance And Challenges Of Self-Reflecting On Identity And Privilege For White Pre-Service Teachers, Carlie Dawson

Capstone Projects and Master's Theses

Whiteness continues to dominate the field of education; yet, there is sufficient evidence to indicate that White teachers are not critically self-aware of their racial identity and the privilege it grants them. White teachers are not challenged to think about the normalcy of whiteness and privilege in education because they have not been properly exposed to the subject of whiteness. To better understand if and how White teachers conceptualize and self-reflect on their racial identity and racialized privilege, a survey was distributed to pre-service White, female graduating Liberal Studies students who plan on pursuing a career in education. This senior …

Fostering The Concept Of Autonomy In School-Aged Children, Michelle Newcombe

Capstone Projects and Master's Theses

Studies show that autonomy in school-age children helps students in terms of academics and in becoming well-rounded members of the society (Bandura, 1993). This senior capstone explores how autonomy is taught successfully in Japanese schools, explains its structure, and how it can be facilitated. Through the use of literature review as well as surveys conducted with 12 Japanese exchange students and 15 Liberal Studies students, results were inconclusive and are premature to determine how the concept of autonomy is fostered in U.S school-aged children. However, the literature review found that in Japanese elementary schools, educators use the Self-Determination theory and …

Academic And Social Effects Of Waldorf Education On Elementary School Students, Christian Zepeda

Capstone Projects and Master's Theses

As society becomes more critical of public education, alternative education systems are becoming more popular. The Waldorf education system, based on the philosophy of Rudolf Steiner, has increased in popularity and commonality each decade. Currently, 23 Waldorf institutions exist in California. With this increase in popularity, it is important to analyze and examine the effectiveness of this education philosophy. An examination of Waldorf education, through research and interviews of Waldorf teachers and administration, will provide parents and teachers with an understanding of its strengths and weaknesses. Ultimately, Waldorf education provides a positive environment for students, yielding positive effects but this …

Moral Commitment And Ethical Action In The Classroom: Integrating Morality, Ethics, And Values Into Curriculum, Joseph Castillo

Capstone Projects and Master's Theses

In this capstone project, I argue for the importance of incorporating the teaching of morals and ethics within the classroom. I ground this argument in a critical analysis of William Ayers’ Teaching Toward Freedom and a curriculum that links Ayers’ thesis with Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s Birmingham Letter. The review of Teaching Toward Freedom is designed to elicit why this is a critical book for the field of teacher education. In particular, the analysis focuses on Ayers’ development of a philosophical argument about the need for public school educators to commit to “moral” and “ethical action” within the …

Drawing On The Past To Open Up Possible Futures. A Response To "The Cultural Contours Of Democracy: Indigenous Epistemologies Informing South African Citizenship", John Ambrosio

Democracy & Education

This article is a response to a qualitative study that examined how the indigenous African notion of ubuntu informs how some school teachers in a Black township in South Africa conceptualize Western-oriented narratives of democracy. While the study acknowledges important differences in how ubuntu is understood and defined, the author argues that it nonetheless tends to overlook them in order to harness ubuntu as a force for positive social change and national development. The author argues that ubuntu could potentially serve as a powerful cultural force for change, but this requires a context in which some of the moral qualities …

Open, Risky, And Antioppressive: Hope For An Agonistic Deliberative Model. A Response To "Empowering Young People Through Conflict And Conciliation: Attending To The Political And Agonism In Democratic Education", Matthew Thomas-Reid

Democracy & Education

First, I review the context for the need of new deliberative models, specifically agonistic deliberative models, for public discourse and for use in training students for public discourse. I then highlight five specific points that I trouble and enrich, principally through the work of Giroux, Arendt, Biesta, and Duarte. While I agree that there is great value in Lo’s description of the agonistic deliberative model, I advocate for what Biesta would call a weaker model of deliberation, one that sets the conditions for transformative education but one that does not act as an instrument for it.

Political Emotions In The Classroom: How Affective Citizenship Education Illuminates The Debate Between Agonists And Deliberators, Michalinos Zembylas

Democracy & Education

This is a response to Ásgeir Tryggvason’s argument that the deliberative critique of the agonistic approach to citizenship education is based on a misreading of the main concepts in agonistic theory—a misreading that has important implications for any attempt to bring closer agonism and deliberation in citizenship education. My aim in this response is to offer some clarifying comments and questions and suggest some further ideas for expanding Tryggvason’s analysis, highlighting in particular two perspectives that, in my view, deserve further attention in citizenship education: first, the consequences of cultivating agonistic emotions in the classroom; and, second, the possibilities and …

Contention And Conversation In The K–12 Classroom. A Review Essay Of Teaching Controversial Issues And The Case For Contention, Robert Kunzman

Democracy & Education

This review essay explores the complexities and challenges involved in addressing controversial issues in the K–12 public school classroom, drawing from two recent books: Noddings and Brooks’s Teaching Controversial Issues: The Case for Critical Thinking and Moral Commitment in the Classroom and Zimmerman and Robertson’s The Case for Contention: Teaching Controversial Issues in American Schools. This educational work requires thoughtful preparation by teachers, support from administrators and communities, and careful discernment about whether issues require pedagogical neutrality or directive instruction. Teaching young people how to understand unfamiliar perspectives and engage respectfully across ethical disagreement should be a fundamental priority for …

A Democratic Critique Of The Common Core English Language Arts (Ela) Standards, Nicholas Tampio

Democracy & Education

Parents, educators, and students have criticized the Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts & Literacy in History/Social Studies, Science, and Technical Subjects for expecting students to regurgitate evidence from assigned texts rather than think for themselves. This article argues that this popular critique is accurate and that the Common Core, regardless of its advocates’ intentions, has undemocratic consequences. Initially, the essay considers a democratic argument for the Common Core. Then, I show that the standards themselves, faithfully implemented, lead to assignments and assessments that give students few opportunities to articulate their own thoughts or responses. I argue that …

Democratic Education And Agonism: Exploring The Critique From Deliberative Theory, Ásgeir Tryggvason

Democracy & Education

Due to the current political challenges facing democratic societies, including an apparent presence of populist rhetoric, the question of how political discussions should take place in democratic education is as urgent as ever. In the last two decades, one of the most prominent approaches to this question has been the use of deliberative theory. However, the deliberative approach has been criticized from an agonistic perspective for neglecting the role of emotions in political discussions. Deliberative theorists have in turn responded to this critique and argued that the agonistic approach tends to put too much emphasis on students’ emotions and identities …

Segregation Of Student Financial Aid In Higher Education: The Effects On Low-Income Students When Ebt Is Not Accepted At University Campuses In San Diego, Ca., Tanisha-Jean Martin

M.A. in Leadership Studies: Capstone Project Papers

The student bodies of universities are made up of a diverse financial class of students which utilize various methods to cover financial obligations on campus, even with the use of welfare governmental assistance. Low-income students that are involved in government welfare programs are given an Electronic Benefit Transfer (EBT) card to support them while they are pursuing an education; however, every university in San Diego, CA (and nearly the entire United States), segregate EBT into an unacceptable category and refuse to accept the card at any venues on campus. The EBT card is a plastic card that can be used …

Recess Preparation And Reflection For Supporting Social Connectedness, Elizabeth Teasdale Wells

Scholarly and Creative Works Conference (2015 - 2021)

This project examines the effects of how recess preparation and reflection can be focused on providing students an opportunity to connect socially and strengthen overall happiness. By investigating the role social satisfaction plays in a child’s life during recess, educators may gain knowledge about how to foster social connectedness for every child. While most studies about recess focus on a child’s level of physical activity or negative behaviors, researchers have yet to investigate recess as a place to improve a child’s well-being and social satisfaction. This study was conducted at an elementary school through qualitative interviews and observations. Teachers, administrators, …

Balances Of Power Between Ip Creators: Ethical Issues In Scholarly Communication, Kristin Laughtin-Dunker

Library Presentations, Posters, and Audiovisual Materials

Scholarly communications often values free access above all else, but what happens when that drive for openness conflicts with ethical issues of consent and ownership? In this CARL IG Showcase panel, members of SCORE (Scholarly Communication and Open Resources for Education) will discuss some of the thorny issues of ethics and scholarly communication, including: consent (particularly among diverse communities outside of the institution) and digital collections, students as information creators / library as publisher, and decolonizing who we consider scholars and what we consider scholarship. This panel will feature speakers who will share current discussions and personal stories on issues …

Social Justice Matters: Making The Case And Development Of A Business Proposal For The Center For Social Justice & Equity At Morehead State University, Jami M. Hornbuckle

Morehead State Theses and Dissertations

A capstone submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Education in the College of Education at Morehead State University by Jami M. Hornbuckle on April 9, 2018.

Brewed Awakening: Re-Imagining Education In Three Nineteenth-Century New Orleans Coffee Houses, Robyn Rene Andermann

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

In dominant narratives of the history of education in America, the icon of the American educated citizen has traditionally been rooted in Jeffersonian Democracy, eventually taking shape in the Northern, Anglo-Protestant, Common School Movement in which the availability and acceptance of state-supported public education was a key measure of democratic progress. Within the institution of common schools, individuals were taught how to participate in a democratic society.

This dissertation reimagines the dominant narrative by suggesting that the multiethnic and multilingual nature of New Orleans, which some early American leaders had framed as discordant and disorderly, was vital to constructing an …

Civic Learning Outcomes: Measuring Students' Experiences In Higher Education, Stanley Ebede

Annual Graduate Student Symposium

Many colleges and universities have re-embraced the public purpose of higher education. As such, identifying and measuring civic learning outcomes for students as well as evaluating the efficacy of civic engagement programs and teaching strategies are important (Steinberg, Hatcher & Bringle, 2011). The primary purpose of this study is to assess the civic-mindedness in students by comparing students that participate in Nonprofit Leadership Alliance (NLA) student association to non –NLA students at a comprehensive Midwestern university. The development of civic-mindedness in students was assessed using a survey designed around the Civic Minded Graduate (CMG) Scale. The CMG scale accentuates the …