Digital Commons Network^™

Editors’ Introduction, Kathleen R. Kesson Dr., Susan H. Edgerton, Jing Lin

Journal of Contemplative and Holistic Education

This is the introduction to the Special Issue

Introduction, Max T. Engel, Matt Hoven

Journal of Catholic Education

Sports are a big deal in Catholic schools. But their educational, communal, and even spiritual elements within participating school communities are often underestimated in the research. This introduction firstly offers a concise survey of the theoretical foundation for Catholic endorsement of sports. It then provides a framework for understanding the major authors in the field and the key issues that scholars confront in the area. It concludes by outlining the articles presented in this special issue and invites readers to consider engaging with this expanding community of scholars and practitioners. Overall, this introduction explains the purpose and rationale for this …

Class Struggle And The Socialist Economic Calculation Debate, Tiago Camarinha Lopes

Emancipations: A Journal of Critical Social Analysis

The socialist economic calculation debate is often portrayed as a sharp and straightforward conflict between two opposing sides. While this characterization is valid given the ideological clash between defenders of capitalism and proponents of socialism, this paper offers a more nuanced perspective on the interaction between the main schools of economic thought involved in the debate, the Marxist and the Austrian. Drawing on the humanist approach of critical pedagogy developed by Brazilian philosopher Paulo Freire (1921–1997), the paper argues that the debate over socialist economic calculation is not only a clear expression of class struggle within economics. It also involves …

Unbroken Sovereignty: Land, Water, Education, And Nakoda And Oc̣Eti Ṡaḳowiŋ Tribes Of The Fort Peck Indian Reservation, 1850–1935, Richard Joseph Maska

History ETDs

This dissertation explores the intersection of sovereignty and development among the Nakoda (Assiniboine) and Oc̣eti Ṡaḳowiŋ (Sioux) Tribes of the Fort Peck Indian Reservation during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Methodologically, it draws on a critical reading of archival sources in conjunction with community input. It traces the emergence of reservation policy, government sponsored education, the imposition of allotment policy and private landownership, and the impact of state-sponsored irrigation and other development projects. I argue that the Tribes forged webs of affiliation and kinship to both assert their nationhood and navigate their involvement in such projects. These expressions …

Polarized Truth Decay & The Role Of Education In A Democracy, Sonja Varbelow, William Yaworsky

Anthropology Faculty Publications

The purpose of this paper is to delineate the causes and dangers of truth decay for a democracy, the role education has played in the process, and how education can present a resistance to this dangerous trend. Truth decay has been characterized as an increase in quantity of opinion over fact, divergent views on what constitutes a fact, and decreased confidence of traditional sources of information. We agree that truth decay is a serious problem but would characterize it somewhat differently. Opinions, divergent views, and decreased confidence in traditional sources of information are not detrimental by themselves. Instead, we see …

The Secret(S) To Success: Genlis’S Guide To Raising A Foolproof Daughter, Jennifer Law-Sullivan

ABO: Interactive Journal for Women in the Arts, 1640–1830

Abstract: “The Secret(s) to Success: Genlis’s Guide to Raising a Foolproof Daughter”

Stéphanie-Félicité de Genlis’s Adèle et Théodore ou lettres sur l’éducation, first published in 1782, is an epistolary conduct novel that examines the question of how best to educate girls. Attempts to answer the question were exceedingly in vogue in the late 18^th century and can be traced back to Fénelon’s 1681 Traité de l’éducation des filles. Genlis’s novel offers a robust critique of previous education treatises, Rousseau, and a patriarchal society that did little to educate girls and mothers. She couches her critique in a …

Afakasi: An Ambiguous Space In A Monolithic Education System, Jacqueline F. Buckley

Journal of Multicultural Affairs

Throughout American history, examinations of ethnicity have mainly focused on a binary of Black and White (White, 2007, p. 339). Little study has been conducted on the nation's ethnic minorities, including Arabs, Jews, Asians, Micronesians, Melanesians, and Polynesians. The White race has effectively become the nation's default race (Khoshneviss, 2018, p. 19). Furthermore, research on the experiences of individuals of mixed ethnicity, particularly in education, remains limited. This study will uncover the mixed-ethnic Afakasi (half Samoan and half White) experience of myself as an educator who lived through and taught within the American K-12 system, experiencing the status quo curriculum …

The Courier, Summer 2026, Tennessee. Historical Commission.

Tennessee Historical Commission

No abstract provided.

Bridging The Gap Towards Sustainable Development: A Systematic Literature Review On Orang Asli Communities In Peninsular Malaysia, Nurfatiha Akmal Fawwazah Abdullah-Fauzi, Nursyuhada Othman, Hidayah Haris, Nur Hartini Sariyati, Farah Farhana Ramli, Kaviarasu Munian, Mohd Faudzir Najmuddin, Mohd Tajuddin Abdullah, Muhammad Abu Bakar Abdul-Latiff

Forest and Society

Orang Asli communities in Peninsular Malaysia have a complex history marked by challenges related to land rights, environmental degradation, and cultural preservation. Despite ongoing efforts to address these challenges, significant obstacles persist, particularly in healthcare access and outcomes, education, language preservation, dietary practices, religious beliefs, and policy frameworks. This systematic literature review aims to provide a comprehensive analysis of past and current research on various aspects of Orang Asli communities in Peninsular Malaysia. The primary goal is to uncover the trends of challenges and unique characteristics of the Orang Asli communities while offering valuable recommendations for improvement. The Preferred Reporting …

“The Blue Party? No, Wait, Is There Really A Blue Party?” A Study Of Young Norwegian Children’S Perceptions Of Politics, Stine Johansen Utler

Democracy & Education

The study investigates Norwegian primary school children's immediate responses to “What do you think of when you hear the word ‘politics’?” It examines children’s perceptions of the concept of politics, their emphasis, and how they communicate their perceptions, providing information about children’s political socialization, knowledge, and understanding as well as early conceptual learning. The data come from group interviews with 36 children (20 second-graders and 16 fourth-graders). The study was not longitudinal but emphasized differences in the content of children’s perceptions. The analysis identifies four different categories of children`s perceptions. These vary according to their emphasis, their apparent associative political …

A Causal-Comparative Study Of Student Enjoyment In Classical Private School, Non-Classical Private School, And Non-Classical Public School Social Studies Courses, Ginger B. Knapp

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this quantitative causal-comparative design study was to investigate differences in the enjoyment of history/social studies as an academic subject among high school juniors and seniors educated in classical Christian private school, non-classical Christian private school, and non-classical public-school settings. The study is important because its measure of enjoyment is associated with teaching pedagogy or instructional methodology. Prior quantitative studies have associated achievement with standardized test scores, recommending that future studies explore the link between instructional methodology and achievement. This research study fills the literature gap by employing a sound psychometric measure of enjoyment to examine its associations …

The Influence Of Theological Beliefs On Corporate Worship Practices In Southern Baptist Churches Of New Mexico, Stephen Jeffery Martone

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Despite Southern Baptist Churches of New Mexico cooperating in mission, education, purpose, and aligning with “The 2000 Baptist Faith and Message,” the way in which each local autonomous church incorporates theological truths in corporate worship and practice remains largely unstudied. This qualitative research project examines the diverse methods employed in theological education and their implications, considering variations in liturgical and worship styles, be they traditional, blended, or contemporary. In response, and guided by survey replies of pastors and worship leaders in the Southern Baptist Churches of New Mexico, the results reveal the challenges, process, application, and importance of choosing songs …

Negro Spirituals: The Long Journey West, Lavell Thompson, Jr.

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

This text seeks to explore the origins of Negro spirituals, and how they evolved, highlighting their arrival to Las Vegas, Nevada. It outlines the primacy of vocal music, particularly in reference to African American spirituals, and how they were shaped via the influence of African and European traditions. As it is impossible to address every type of spiritual created, the text focuses on a few types of spirituals—namely joyous accounts and spirituals that use codes for messages. Moreover, it seeks to create a comprehensive understanding of the origins of Las Vegas, because without acknowledging the contributions of the Mormon Church, …

Creating Space For The Public In Anthropology, Madison Joseph, Grace Tucker

2026 Symposium

This ongoing collaborative research project between Grace Tucker and Madison Joseph aims to evaluate an overlooked gap of knowledge and linguistic understanding concerning how anthropological findings are presented to both disciplinary experts and the general public. We will examine ways to improve public anthropology through improving our understanding of how to utilize everyday speech and specialist jargon simultaneously in the field. This project will include an extensive literature review of educational barriers and language use in anthropological research to identify solutions to remedy accessibility to, and dissemination of, these findings. We argue that museums and libraries are designed with the …

From Farewell To Fáilte: The Voices Of Iowa’S Irish Daughters, Katie Hermanson

History Theses, Dissertations, and Student Creative Activity

Irish women’s immigration to Iowa brought rich culture and lasting impacts, despite their contributions being silenced by history. Women left Ireland for economic opportunity and education abroad to support their impoverished families. Millions emigrated between 1830 and 1915, spreading across the world. The Irish women who came to the United States encountered discrimination and cultural stereotyping as they worked in domestic service, developed religious orders, taught school, owned businesses and raised families. Women bore the burden of supporting their families in Ireland by sending remittances home and communicating between countries. Their cultural identity as exiles dwelled in guilt for leaving …

The Impact Of Community On Professional Identity In Computer Science Education, Ian A. Kollipara

School of Computing: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

This thesis explores the application of Communities of Practice (CoPs) in Computer Science Education. The work consists of two qualitative studies examining related but distinct populations: (1) K–12 CS teachers and (2) undergraduate CS students. The first study presents a retrospective analysis of conneCTION, an online CoP for K–12 CS educators, identifying strengths, weaknesses, and design considerations that inform future platform development. The second study investigates how participation in a CoP can mitigate negative and exclusionary stereotypes in CS. This study was conducted in an under-explored context: a small, private, religious, Midwestern university, and examines an existing community, the Programming …

The Courier, Fall 2023, Tennessee. Historical Commission.

Tennessee Historical Commission

No abstract provided.

The Courier, Winter 2025, Tennessee. Historical Commission.

Tennessee Historical Commission

No abstract provided.

The Courier, Winter 2026, Tennessee. Historical Commission.

Tennessee Historical Commission

No abstract provided.

Embrace-Ing Cultural Diversity In Educational Service Delivery: A Framework For Building And Sustaining Equitable Learning Environments, Miguelina Zapata, Devon Dee-Mbappe, Brandan Persaud

The Journal of Special Education Apprenticeship

This paper explores the importance of collaboration in educational service delivery by exploring culturally responsive classroom management practices for education professionals. Educators must understand and critically reflect on their own biases that could impact their interactions with students, families, and colleagues. This is essential not for providing inclusive learning opportunities that address the unique needs of each student. This could lead to misunderstandings and misinterpretations of student behaviors, further complicating effective management and service delivery. Ultimately, the paper argues that through the use of the EMBRACE (Evaluate, Mentor, Build, Reflect, Adapt, Collaborate, and Empower) framework smooth collaboration between and amongst …

Culture And Its Discontents: Versions Of Matthew Arnold From The 1860s To The 1980s, Jarrett Moran

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Between the 1860s and the 1980s, the concept of culture articulated by Matthew Arnold provided a widespread and persistent language for making claims about who was ready for inclusion in British politics and identity and who was not yet ready or even incapable of being included. Scholarship on Arnoldian culture has often focused on presenting just one version of Arnold, whether as a cultural elitist, a progenitor of literary studies, or proponent of “doing away with classes.” This dissertation instead shows that Arnold’s concept of culture was so pervasive and persistent because he could be appropriated and redefined by people …

Conducting A Qualitative Umbrella Review For Novice Researchers: A Critical Reflection Of Primary Documents, Mónica Fontana, Celia Camilli Trujillo

The Qualitative Report

The need for scientific evidence in education has accelerated systematic reviews. However, the practice of conducting umbrella reviews is not yet common in education. Among the possible reasons for the scarce number of umbrella reviews in education is the lack of knowledge of the steps required to conduct them and the specific challenges of this method. Their usefulness in the educational context lies in their ability to offer new findings of great scope and transferability based on evidence from multiple systematic reviews in an efficient and in-depth manner. This study provides a critical reflection on the methodological implications of conducting …

Hear & Now: Culturally Responsive Music Education Through Digital Audio Workstations & Musique Concrète, Benjamin T. Connolly

Pitzer Senior Theses

Hear & Now: Culturally Responsive Music Education Through Digital Audio Workstations & Musique Concrète is a two-part ethnomusicological study of how the capacities and affordability of modern electronic instruments could be utilized within school curricula as an affordable alternative to traditional music classes. I explore the musique concrète movement from mid-20th century France, aiming my examination towards the movement’s emphasis on the materiality of sound production and utilization of modern technology during the composition process. From there, the paper transitions into a study on the affordances of contemporary music technologies through a series of interviews with electronic composers, tracing the …

Languages Of Marginalization: Educational Inequality And Identity Formation Among Rohingya Refugees In Bangladesh, Md Khalid Rahman

Sustainability and Social Justice

This research paper investigates how language-of-instruction policies shape educational inequality and identity formation among Rohingya refugee children living in protracted displacement in Cox’ Bazar, Bangladesh. Analyzed from a human right–based framework, the study examines whether existing educational policies align with international legal standards on the right to education, including the UDHR, ICESCR, Child Convention and SDG 4. While these frameworks guarantee non-discriminatory and inclusive access to education, the reality in Cox’s Bazar reveals a persistent gap between normative commitments and policy implementation. Moreover, the study explores how the exclusion of both the host language (Bangla) and the native Rohingya language …

A Content Analysis Of Black Women's Race And Gender Depiction In American History Textbooks, Le'marqunita De'sharay Lowe

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

Using a race and gender analytical lens, this research study examined how Black women were depicted in four secondary Advanced Placement Pearson’s history textbooks. Content analysis was the methodology to collect data from Pearson’s Advanced Placement history textbooks. Captions and images were analyzed to observe the patterns and themes that displayed the intersection between Black women's race and gender depiction. The interdisciplinary fields of history and education allowed an in-depth analysis of race and gender to be conducted throughout this research study. Two research questions were answered throughout this study. What do captions and images teach about the race and …

International Education And Spiritual Emptiness A Reflection From Europe, Nitya N. Timsina

Journal of Comparative & International Higher Education

This essay is a revolt against a biased understanding called “internationalization” in education which grounds all historical, geographical, philosophical, ecological, and cultural distinctions in the world into a Platonic absolute. The key to this problem, this essay argues, lies in the drive to ontological, conceptual, or theoretical understanding in our approach to knowledge with its primacy in the Western thought. This essay calls into question this absolute sphere of influence, power and mastery enjoyed by the Western sciences, and a sense of space and authority it enjoys to make others impossible in the world. It does so by bringing different …

What We Can Learn From Comenius About Why We Educate, David I. Smith

University Faculty Publications and Creative Works

As we wrangle repeatedly over the purposes of schooling and who gets to define them, what might we gain by taking a moment to listen to a thoughtful voice from a place and time not defined by our own mix of prejudices? I invite you to listen to such a voice, one speaking from a different era amid different anxieties and in a different idiom yet addressing questions that remain pressing. It is a voice shaped by a lifetime of educational engagement and reflection in the constant shadow of violence, yet, to the last, invested in the pursuit of delight. …

Historical Context In Mathematics Education: Improving Student Engagement And Achievement, Colette Chilton-Carr

Electronic Theses and Dissertations 2020 - Present

There are many informational gaps in contemporary mathematics education. Students see the mathematical topics they are being taught as facts and procedures unrelated to each other or to themselves as mathematicians. Many ancient developments in the realm of mathematics are still relevant today, showcasing the needs that motivated their longstanding evolution. By including the stories behind the formulas in mathematics classrooms, students from diverse backgrounds can feel seen and connected to their education. The inclusion of the holistic background of mathematics cannot be nurtured in the classroom without buy-in on the parts of both students and instructors, as well as …

Assessing The Impact Of Cultural Competence Training For Providers Serving Native Americans, Chinazo Obi

Doctor of Nursing Practice Projects

The United States is a culturally diverse nation, yet many healthcare providers report challenges in delivering care that respects cultural values and traditions. Within mental health settings, this gap is especially concerning for Native American populations, who experience disproportionately high rates of mental health conditions and face barriers to culturally responsive care. The purpose of this quality improvement project was to assess the impact of a cultural competence education and training intervention on mental health providers’ knowledge and self-efficacy in delivering culturally competent care to Native American patients. Guided by Leininger’s Culture Care Theory of Diversity and Universality and the …

Orientation Toward Consensus—The “Safest” Path For Teachers To Choose? A Response To “Agreement And Disagreement In Teachers Talk”, Stine Johansen Utler

Democracy & Education

In “Agreement and Disagreement in Teachers Talk” the author shows how Norwegian initial education teachers (Grades 1–4) are consensus-oriented in their facilitations of classroom deliberations. The author emphasizes what teachers say and do when they guide their pupils toward consensus, but reflections on why teachers are consensus-oriented are less prominent. In this response to “Agreement and Disagreement in Techers Talk,” I point to conditions and factors in the Norwegian society and the Norwegian educational context that might explain why a consensus orientation is prevalent among the teachers.