Digital Commons Network^™

Embracing Intersectionality To Create A Collective Living Theory Of Practice, Sara B. Woolf, Nathalis Wamba

Publications and Research

In this paper, we describe pivotal experiences that have shaped our respective professional journeys when teaching action research. We situate these experiences in relation to how they have contributed to our collective living theory of practice. This discussion unfolded as we explored ways to improve our own practices and the practices of our students. We conclude that this and similar questions can only be authentically answered when we as practitioners and faculty in higher education settings are willing to interrogate the contexts within which we interact and the complex intersections between our own intentional practices and selves and our students’ …

Peer-Leaders’ Perceptions Of Learning After A Semester Of Peer Facilitation, Yasmine A. Soofi, Nadia Kennedy

Publications and Research

The study examines the perceptions of a group of new peer-leaders of their learning during a semester of peer-leading training and experience working with a group of students. Data was collected through individual interviews in the beginning of the semester and through administering a survey at the end of the semester. The data was organized, analyzed and presented at the poster session.

The Sociality Of Post-Truth: Neoliberal Culture And Its Rationality, Debbie Sonu

Publications and Research

As said by Hannah Arendt (1951), “being right has nothing to do with the objective truthfulness of the Leader's statements which cannot be disproved by facts, but only by future success or failure” (p. 383). Thus, the only reassurance audiences need in a post-truth culture is the constant reassurance that he, the leader, is winning, winning, winning. If post-truth signifies an appeal to the emotional drive irrespective of factual or rational truth, how does post-truth emerge and what are the conditions that feed this possibility? What in this society has ignited the affirmation of white nationalism, authoritarian leadership, and the …

“College Material” Structural Care At A New York City Transfer School, C. Ray Borck

Publications and Research

Based on ethnographic research at Brooklyn Community High School (BCHS), a transfer high school in New York City I demonstrate that students narrate their educational histories in terms of their experience of care, or lack of care, from teachers. Contributing to research on student-teacher relationships, care, resilience and retention, I develop the concept structural care, arguing that teachers’ ability to demonstrate care for their students, and students’ ability to perceive that care, is enabled or constrained by larger, socio-structural forces such as the national educational policy landscape, widespread cultural beliefs about schools and students, and processes of racialization, criminalization, and …

American Education Through Films And Documentaries, Carol Huang

Open Educational Resources

A social foundation of education

Continuing The Gender Equity In Academia Conversation: Recommendations And Next Steps, Maria J. D'Agostino, Nicole Elias

Publications and Research

No abstract provided.

Development And Transfer Of Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge (Tpack) Of Special Education Teachers, Aleksandra A. Kaplon-Schilis

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This dissertation presents findings of three studies investigating the development and transfer of TPACK of pre-service and in-service elementary school special education teachers. The dissertation is presented in a non-traditional format including an introduction, three manuscripts submitted for journal publication, and a summary chapter. The purpose of the first study was to analyze development of TPACK of pre-service elementary special education teachers enrolled in a graduate level pedagogy course Integrating Technology in Mathematics and Science Instruction in Special Education and Inclusive Classrooms in a New York City public college. The study’s research question was to find out whether the TPACK- …

P.S. 25, South Bronx: Bilingual Education And Community Control, Laura J. Kaplan

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Through a methodology of oral history interviews with primary subjects and archival research, this dissertation explores the creation and evolution of P.S. 25, The Bilingual School, the first Spanish-English bilingual elementary school in New York City, as well as the entire Northeast. The Bilingual School, founded in 1968, was a product of the civil rights movement in the United States and one key manifestation of that movement in New York City, the struggle for community control of schools.

Latinos in general and Puerto Ricans in particular have been written out of the official narrative of the educational civil rights movement …

From Establishment To Final Independence: A Study Of The National Archives Of The United States Of America From 1934–1985, Daniel M. Frett

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This thesis is a study of the National Archives of the United States from the institution’s establishment in 1934 under the presidency of Franklin Roosevelt to becoming the National Archives and Record Administration in 1985. The Archives during the 1930’s and 1940’s functioned as an independent agency, until the Archives lost their independence under the Hoover Commission. In 1949 the Archives became part of the newly formed General Services Administration. During the 1950’s and 1960’s National Archives helped change the archival profession. Furthermore, we see how the two independence movements in the 1960’s and 1980’s that were ultimately successful in …

Examining The Impact Of Study Abroad For Community College Students: Five Case Studies, Kathryn B. Wilson

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

There is general agreement that positive student learning outcomes are associated with participation in study abroad. The aim of this paper is to explore how participation in study abroad by community college students impacts their global learning. While studies about the impact of study abroad are plentiful for senior colleges, research about community college students’ experiences is lacking. Furthermore, while studies about how study abroad impacts language acquisition or cultural awareness are common, there is a need for more research about the impact of study abroad programs on global self-awareness. Additionally, this paper explores how students who are ‘emerging adults’ …

Education Through Social And Cultural Transmission, George F. Trivino

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

In the United States, low-income Latino immigrant students of all ages struggle to find equal educational opportunities due to structural social, economic and cultural barriers. Educational inequality in American urban areas remains as a consequence of socioeconomic constructed structural barriers and strong social and cultural disconnections between the educational system and underrepresented low-income minority social groups. Social, cultural and educational disconnections and inequalities can be challenged by creating third spaces to encourage the development of marginalized students' voices for participation and discourse, as well as creating cooperation and collaboration between educators and learners. Educational institutions have not been able to …

Let’S Never Forget: Extinction Is Forever, Aldemaro Romero Jr.

Publications and Research

For many, the conservation of nature is seen as an essential component of human wellbeing. Its value is oftentimes referred to in relation to the four “Es”: economic, environmental, esthetic and ethical values.

From an economic viewpoint, we know that the entire pharmaceutical industry is built upon known natural substances we find in plants and animals, as are the varieties of many domesticated animals we use for food. On the environmental front, we know how essential it is for human health to have an abundant availability of clean water and air.

Esthetically speaking, natural areas represent one of the major …

Generating The Pipeline: Addressing Bias In Recruiting And Hiring, Aldemaro Romero Jr.

Publications and Research

In past articles of this column we have reported data that show that women in general find more barriers than their male counterparts in getting into academic careers. Further, female college professors earn on average 10 percent less in salaries than their male colleagues.

If you are a woman in academia and aspire to an administrative job in order to substantially improve your earnings and make them more in par with the males around you, you should think twice.

Losing Protection From Predatory Colleges, Aldemaro Romero Jr.

Publications and Research

Two weeks ago, Education Secretary Betsy DeVos made an announcement that can have serious implications for students registering for classes at for-profit institutions of higher education in particular, and colleges and universities in general.

In a written statement posted on the Department of Education’s website, DeVoss announced plans to eliminate the so-called gainful employment rule created during the Obama administration in 2011. That rule was aimed at holding for-profit and career college programs accountable for graduating students with poor job prospects and overwhelming debt. The rule penalized programs if their graduates had student loan payments that exceeded a specific percentage …

Adviser Nomination Spurs Questions, Aldemaro Romero Jr.

Publications and Research

After a 19-month delay, the Trump Administration has nominated someone to be the director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy, or as is more colloquially known, the science adviser to the president.

Congress established the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) in 1976. President Gerald Ford, a Republican, signed the act creating the agency into law. That took place after President Nixon disbanded the then-called “President Advisory Committee” in 1973.

The mandate for the agency is to provide the president and others within the Executive Office of the President with advice on the scientific, engineering, …

Rankings Can Be Bad For Colleges’ Health, Aldemaro Romero Jr.

Publications and Research

In previous columns I have reported how a number of external factors, such as funding, demographics, politics and the like have been hurting higher education. In many other cases – overblown athletic programs, misguided marketing, and plain bad leadership – the injuries have been self-inflicted. To these cases we can now add the race for the rankings.

I have argued in this column in the past that rankings like the ones by U.S. News & World Reportand its copycats make little sense. To begin with, many of the things they claim to measure, such as athletics, facilities, and “reputation,” …

The Black Legend Of Higher Education, Aldemaro Romero Jr.

Publications and Research

The concept of “fake news” is not new by any stretch of the imagination. Over centuries people have invented stories of all types and dimensions. From dragons to the “fake” moon landing, from the Masons behind every political conspiracy to the Jews trying to control the world, there have been complex stories that try to indict entire peoples or nations with all kinds of atrocities. One of the most famous is the “black legend” (or leyenda negra), according to which Spain has been the culprit for everything bad that happened in the western hemisphere for centuries.

As Alfredo Alvar …

Uncertain Futures For Private Colleges, Aldemaro Romero Jr.

Publications and Research

Although we hear a lot about problems at public colleges and universities – budget cuts, enrollment issues, political interference – private colleges also have their share of concerns.

Of the more than 4,600 institutions of higher education in this country, a little more than 3,000 (almost two-thirds of the total) are private. Although there are a few exceptions, they tend to be small, at around 2,000 students or fewer.Yet they represent a significant number of the overall number colleges and universities. Obviously not all are created equal. Some of them have large endowments and can a word to be very …

Trade Wars Are Bad For Higher Ed, Aldemaro Romero Jr.

Publications and Research

In the last few weeks we have heard a lot about trade wars (taking place or looming) between the U.S. and virtually every economically important nation in the world. This is surprising in today’s world where the tendency has been over the past few decades to eliminate trade barriers.

Mainstream economists have pointed out for years the benefits of free trade: international economic growth, improved financial performance of investments, lowered business risks, more competition that lowers prices while increasing choices for the consumers, and diversification of revenues. Although there are some risks associated with free trade, such as the environmental …

Big Questions Surrounding Gender Equity In Academia And The Field Of Public Administration, Maria J. D'Agostino, Nicole Elias

Publications and Research

No abstract provided.

Justice Kennedy’S Exit And Higher Ed, Aldemaro Romero Jr.

Publications and Research

The recent announcement of the July 1 retirement of Associate Justice to the U.S. Supreme Court Anthony M. Kennedy has already created a political storm about many issues ranging from reproductive rights to LGBTQ issues. What effects can we expect on higher education from his departure and the potential appointment of a new justice by President Trump? Plenty. Let’s begin by examining those decisions in which Kennedy participated that directly affected colleges and universities.

Higher Education And Immigration, Aldemaro Romero Jr.

Publications and Research

In the latest scandal-du-jour of the Trump administration, the policy of separating children from their parents at the border with Mexico has brought widespread condemnation not only across the political spectrum but also across society. Religious, business, and civic leaders have also raised their voices and the Trump Administration backed down from this policy, although it is not clear what it is going to happen to the children who have already been separated from their families and dispersed across the country. But how has higher education responded to this crisis? In many interesting ways.

In unusual responses, leaders of both …

The Problem Of Sexual Harassment, Aldemaro Romero Jr.

Publications and Research

In the last few months, the media have been inundated with news about sexual harassment of women. The cases with the most notoriety have been those of celebrities or associated with the entertaining industry, but they have not been the only ones. This attention to the issue has generated what is called the “Me Too Movement” (or “MeToo”). With sexual harassment and assault occurring in every segment of society, it is important to ask how this issue is seen on college campuses, which have been accused of too much “political correctness” in the past.

A new study published last week …

Not All College Faculty Are Equal, Aldemaro Romero Jr.

Publications and Research

Despite the fact that college faculty seem to lead very public lives because they show up in front of audiences on a regular basis, the fact of the matter is that most people – even faculty themselves –don’t know how much time they spend doing the different aspects of their jobs. A new study helps us better understand faculty by grouping them according to the way they spend their time.

A team of researchers from the Center for Postsecondary Research at Indiana University at Bloomington just published a report based on the analyses of responses to the center’s survey of …

The Hidden Curriculum In Financial Literacy: Economics, Standards, And The Teaching Of Young Children, Debbie Sonu, Anand R. Marri

Publications and Research

No abstract provided.

Authoritarians Don’T Like Higher Ed, Aldemaro Romero Jr.

Publications and Research

History is always a good source to help us understand today’s problems and tomorrow’s challenges. In the last few years we have been witnessing mounting attacks on higher education. Detractors contest its value, accuse it of brainwashing people, and call it a waste of taxpayers’ money. And all this is taking place in an environment in which facts are distorted, people seem less educated about reality, and ideological leanings are more important than critical thinking. In other words, a world that seems to be moving more and more towards mediocrity and authoritarian-ism. Are there historical precedents to what we are …

For-Profit Colleges Impact Democracy, Aldemaro Romero Jr.

Publications and Research

The for-profit sector of higher education in this country has accumulated a long list of denunciations in its relatively short history. Those admonitions range from low quality education, much higher cost (including when com- pared with private, non-profit schools), generating a long-time debt burden for their users, deceptive advertising, and stigma when trying to get a job while saying that you graduated from one of those schools.

In their defense, these institutions say that they provide opportunities for people who do not havethe minimum qualifications to enter most public institutions or because of their work schedule they can only go …

Iran Deal Will Impact Higher Ed, Aldemaro Romero Jr.

Publications and Research

On May 8, President Donald Trump announced that the United States was pulling out of the 2015 deal with Iran and other countries to limit the Iranian nuclear program. This deal was designed to slow anddelay Iran’s efforts to build anuclear weapon by lifting economic sanctions on that country in exchange for a number of actions aimed at shutting downits uranium enrichment e ortsand related programs.

The decision by the Trump Administration seems to have been prompted more by demagoguery and hatred towards anything President Barack Obama did, than by reason. In fact, America’s European allies tried everything in their …

A Catch-22 For Illinois Higher Ed, Aldemaro Romero Jr.

Publications and Research

The 1951 novel “Catch-22” byJoseph Heller describes its own title as a situation from which you cannot escape because of contradictory rules, such as “How am I supposed to gain experience to get a job if I’m constantly turned down for not having any experience?” The troubles for public higher edu- cation in Illinois, which have attracted much national atten- tion, seem to be a clear example of a Catch-22 situation. And it seems that the last few weeks have been nothing but full of bad news for Illinois higher ed.

First, we have the case report- ed by “The …

Using Authentic Inquiry To Unpack Emotions And Thorny Issues Within Teaching And Learning, Leah Denise Pride

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This manuscript-styled dissertation embodies the theoretical and methodological framework of authentic inquiry (Tobin, 2006). In the holistic context of this dissertation, authentic inquiry as a theoretical framework encompasses deep epistemological and ontological questions such as: What is knowledge and how is it informed by research? Who may engage in research? How does positivism compare to authentic inquiry? What are thorny issues and how do they relate to authentic inquiry? How do we research thorny issues in classrooms? What mindfulness practices may be used to research emotions when discussing thorny issues? How do we nuance “safety” in learning spaces where emotions …