Education Commons^™

School Leaders And Exclusionary Practices: A Study Of Discretionary Daep Placements For Minority Special Education Students, Tiffany Laine Weiss

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study addressed the perceptions of assistant principals, counselors, and school district-level administrators about the overrepresentation of minority special education students in district alternative education placements. The purpose of this study was to examine the discipline practices at three middle school campuses in one 6A urban school district to understand minority special education students’ overrepresentation in discretionary district alternative education placements. The researcher conducted one-on-one interviews with assistant principals, counselors, one dean of students, one assistant superintendent, and one special education director. A document analysis and a data review were conducted to triangulate the results. The findings indicated that years …

K-12 Economically Disadvantaged Students, Poverty, And Education: Ecological Narratives Of Successful Raised-In-Poverty, Texas Educators, Rebecca N. Morris

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This research study aimed to understand how successful Texas educators who grew up in poverty understood and improved the educational experience of economically disadvantaged students. This study utilized a structural ecological theory and three theories of social relationships (Social Identity, Standpoint, and Cultural Capital). This phenomenological and qualitative study used a cross-sectional, descriptive, online case study design rooted in narrative nonfiction. Virtual interviews with six successful Texas educators that grew up in poverty were conducted. A narrative method of analysis was utilized to generate codes then organize them into themes, and to construct and compare the narrative findings. The results …

Black And White Student Achievement Gaps In Tennessee, Haley Dirmeyer

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Achievement gaps between Black students and White students have existed since public education was desegregated, and they still persist despite efforts to close the gap. This research describes the achievement gaps between Black and White 3^rd through 8^th grade students in the state of Tennessee from 2017-2019. This is a non-experimental, quantitative, comparative-analysis describing the ELA and math test scores of Black students and White students in each of the three geographic regions of Tennessee. Data were arranged in 2x2 contingency matrixes to compare the expected frequencies of students in each race scoring on-track and mastered versus below …

A. B.A.L.A.N.C.E.: A Well-Being Research Study, Reggie Gwinn

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study has been to investigate the impact of a well-being intervention, using a well-being curriculum, known as A. B.A.L.A.N.C.E.. The method of educational criticism and connoisseurship was used as the qualitative method. Educational criticism is rooted in the process of expressing the specific qualities of one’s observations, while educational connoisseurship is rooted in the process of appreciation. The intervention will be conducted by an interventionist, myself, who gave the 10-lesson intervention to six 6th grade (11 – 12 years old) participants over a two-week period. This was orchestrated over a technological platform known as Zoom. It …

Southern Ways: One Girl’S Experience With Physical Abuse, Sexual Abuse, And Neglect, Merry Trammell

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This autobiographical inquiry will explore my own experiences with physical abuse, sexual abuse, and neglect. Using the method of currere as a lead theory. The four-step process – regressive, progressive, analytical, synthetic – helped me work towards understanding the parts of myself affected by these traumas. Investigation of my own family’s generations of abuse as well as reflecting on these experiences helped me deconstruct my own story as I search for my own meaning and purpose. This study utilized aesthetics, depth psychology, and place as central themes in this work. I learned the valued of active imagination and the role …

Teaching With Passion And Compassion In Challenging Times: A Narrative Inquiry Into Elementary Teachers' Experiences In Georgia, Erin Scroggs

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study explores how teachers maintain their passion and compassion for teaching in spite of the impact of work-related challenges and subsequent obstacles upon their personal and professional lives. While much research has been conducted into teacher stress, very little has been done to connect the effects of stress on teachers’ health and passions for teaching. Abby, Nick, Passion, and Anna, four elementary school teachers from different areas, counties, schools, and school districts in the State of Georgia, participated in the study. Theoretically, I draw upon an array of works such as teaching towards freedom (Ayers, 2004, 2010, 2016), teachers …

Deschooling Schooled Minds: Speculative Essays, Kelly Graziano

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

ABSTRACT

This dissertation is a collection of speculative essays (Schubert, 1991) that explore the "why" of schooling and possible alternative educational arrangements (Illich, 1970/2002; Reimer, 1971; Goodman, 1962; Holt, 1972; Gatto, 1992/2017; Giroux, 2000). As one who has been schooled (in "educational" institutions and those like it, e.g. abusive relationships), I have developed a passion to bring awareness to the destructiveness of schooling and to learning from the world rather than what others want us to know and believe about it. Incorporated with autobiographical narrative, I trace both the historical and current reasons behind the establishment and maintenance of mass …

Mothering Through Our Pain: Single Black Mothers’ Narratives, Yolanda E. Surrency

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Black women’s voices and historical contributions have been dismissed, and even excluded, making it difficult for their cultural knowledge to be transmitted to future generations. Black women battle with an unsettled consciousness from subscribing to the normalization of what dominant culture defines as good mothering. This study uses Black feminism to examine single Black mothers who navigate the negative images of the welfare queen and the matriarch. This narrative study uses Black feminism to examine the stories of single, Black mothers and their daughters. The purpose is to investigate Black mothers’ lived experiences to understand their struggles and resistance. Purposeful …

How Do Special Education Teachers View The Phenomenon Of Black Male Overrepresentation In Special Education?, Lelon B. Jeffers

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

As the student population in many U.S. public schools grows increasingly more diverse, the need to assess the educational practices utilized in public schools grows as well. It is imperative for educators to make a concerted effort to ensure the rights and needs of minority students are being addressed in public schools. It is the duty of educators and policy makers to protect those students who are most marginalized by society. The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore the phenomenon of Black male overrepresentation in special education, and to ascertain the views and perspectives of special education teachers …

Exploring North Texas Elementary Principals’ Viewpoints Regarding The Influence Of Culturally Responsive Teaching On School Climate And School Culture, Monica Latrice Tatum

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Abstract

Public schools in the United States have become more diverse due to immigration and the mass exodus of the White population to the suburbs. Growing demographic changes and a consistently White educational labor force raise concern regarding how schools address the needs of their diverse student populations. Much research exists concerning teachers’ implementation of culturally responsive teaching (CRT) practices. However, a void remains in the literature regarding the role of school leadership in this process. An understanding of culturally competent principals’ perspectives on CRT needs more attention to address how school leaders create safe and equitable environments for diverse …

The Relationship Between Exclusionary Discipline, Race, Socioeconomic Status, And Graduation Rates At 4a, 5a, And 6a High Schools, Ryan M. Cavazos

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

High school graduation is a significant predictor of future success. In most cases, a high school graduate will earn more money and live a healthier lifestyle than those who do not graduate from high school. The graduation rate in the United States is lower than the graduation rate of many other industrialized countries. Three known predictors of graduation rate are the number of exclusionary discipline assignments a student incurs, the race of the student, and the socioeconomic status of the student. The purpose of this study was to determine the relationship between graduation rate, exclusionary discipline, race (nonwhite), and low …

Evaluating An Evidenced Based Program: Ruling Our Experiences (Rox) For 9/10-Year-Old Girls In The Yough School District, Lisa Mumau

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

During elementary school years, girls experience social, emotional, and physical changes that affect their abilities to manage relationships and establish positive images of themselves. Given the aforementioned issues, girls need effective elementary school programming to support positive self-esteem and the development of girls’ Social Emotional Learning (SEL) Competencies. The purpose of this mixed-method study focused on evaluating the Ruling Our Experiences (ROX) program for 9/10-year-old girls. The methods used were designed to address the three research questions: Based on the implementation of the ROX program in Yough elementary schools, to what extent do participants exhibit a greater level of positive …

Strategies Exemplary Social Studies Teachers’ Implement When Facilitating Discussions About Race, Candice Nicole Jasmer

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Teachers experience difficulty in introducing some sensitive and controversial issues in the classroom environment. The purpose of this qualitative instrumental case study was to identify strategies that exemplary secondary social studies teachers implement when facilitating classroom discussions about sensitive and controversial issues, specifically, racial issues framed within Singleton and Linton’s 4 agreements of courageous conversations: stay engaged, speak your truth, experience discomfort, and accept and expect nonclosure. This study utilized qualitative data collection. Semi-structured, online one-to-one internet-based interviews were used to document the lived experiences of exemplary secondary social studies teachers and the strategies they use when facilitating discussions about …

Navigating Uncharted Waters: An Exploration Of The Social And Emotional Competence Of First-Year Teachers, P. Daniel Riordan Jr.

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study is an exploration of the social and emotional competence of first-year teachers with particular attention directed to how these five core competencies influence the way new teachers navigate tension and exercise agency. Tension is embedded into the fabric of a teacher’s first year. New to the field and still learning the complex art of how to teach, novice teachers must navigate an unfamiliar context without a complete understanding of the potential threats to their well-being. The study explores tension experienced by first-year teachers and their social and emotional competence through classroom observations, interviews, and weekly voice memos with …

Rey-Ifying A New Heroine: Interrogating The Curriculum Of Femininity In Star Wars Films, Rebekah S. Morgan

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The Star Wars film trilogies are a cross-generational phenomenon. Due to its powerful and pervasive nature, the messages within Star War’s films must be problematized. As a cultural artifact, Star Wars was used to explore the representations of women across time and three generations. Using a conceptual framework based on cultural curriculum studies and feminist theory, this study explored the significance of Star Wars as gender text by interrogating the representations of women in the Star Wars film saga and what these representations teach about gender and femininity. By focusing on the themes of agency, empowerment, and identity, this work …

Professionalizing Emergency Medical Services (Ems): Still At The Crossroads, B. Jeanine Newton-Riner

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

In this work, I examine the failure of Emergency Medical Services (EMS) to professionalize over the course of its existence as an occupation. I consider how popular culture has contributed to a conflicted identity between what the public sees and how EMS providers view themselves. I believe that EMS has been restrained from professionalization due to oppression by physicians in a manner consistent with how two other allied health professions, pharmacy, and physical therapy, once were. I explore the professionalization of these two occupations to identify similarities and differences that may provide insight into next steps needed by EMS providers …

Student's Perceptions Of Smartphone Use At Home And At A High School Regarding A New Smartphone Policy: A Case Study, Ana Zurita

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The new generation raised in the digital era continues to present unresolved challenges for both parents and teachers. The purpose of this case study is to analyze students' usage of their smartphones in their lives, and understand the success of a new school policy on smartphone use at an arts school in the U.S. For this qualitative research, I interviewed ten participants from the high school. The literary review informs us that smartphones are potentially addictive, with negative effects for healthy mental, emotional and social child development, as well as a source of misleading information. As a consequence, smartphones in …

The Rose Who Grew From Concrete: A Black Female Administrator's Perspective Of The Public School Experience For Black Girls Who Attend A Predominantly White Middle School In Southeast Georgia, Latashia S. Thomas

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study explores the educational experiences of Black girls who attended a predominantly White school in Southeast Georgia from the perspective of a Black female administrator. Using Critical Race Theory (e.g. Bell, 1987, 1992, 1995; Delgado & Stefancic, 2001; Solorzano & Yosso, 2001) and Black Feminist Thought (e.g. Hill Collins, 2000; hooks, 1984/2000) as theoretical frameworks and memoir (Angelou, 1969/2009; Hurston, 1996) and fiction (Bell, 1992; Morrison, 1970/1993) as methodology, I explore ways in which Black girls are oppressed when they attend majority White public schools.

Six meanings emerged from this inquiry: (1) Writing my memoir has allowed me to …

The Change Process And The Implementation Of High School Jostens Renaissance Programs: A Multiple Case Study, Gregory G. English

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Motivated by the growing body of research relating to the impact school climate has on student achievement, attendance, behavior, and mental well-being, many educators have implemented initiatives and programs aimed at school climate improvement. Jostens Renaissance is one such program and was the program of focus for this study. Though Jostens has numerous publications and media sources to facilitate the sharing of ideas, there is very little information available regarding the implementation of Renaissance.

The primary purpose of this study was to identify factors that facilitated change in the process of implementing high school Jostens Renaissance programs in order to …

Remaking Identities, Reworking Graduate Study : Stories From First-Generation-To-College Rhetoric And Composition Phd Students On Navigating The Doctorate., Ashanka Kumari

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation responds to the decreasing number of first-generation-to-college doctorates in the humanities and the limited scholarship on graduate students in Rhetoric and Composition. Scholars in Rhetoric and Composition have long been invested in discussions of academic and/or disciplinary enculturation, yet these discussions primarily focus on undergraduate students, with few studies on graduate students and far fewer on the doctoral students training to become the next wave of a profession. In this dissertation, I argue that if we engage intersectional identities as assets in the design of doctoral programs, access to higher education and academic enculturation can become more manageable …

Future World(S): A Critique Of Disney's Epcot And Creating A Futuristic Curriculum, Alan Bowers

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

In my dissertation inquiry, I explore the need for utopian based curriculum which was inspired by Walt Disney’s EPCOT Center. Theoretically building upon such works as utopianism (Bregman, 2017, e.g., Claeys 2011;) and Disney studies (Garlen and Sandlin, 2016; Fjellman, I q work that combines historiography and speculative essays. The work explores how schools must do the hard work of working toward building a better future (Chomsky and Foucault, 1971).

Through tracing the evolution of EPCOT as an idea for a community that would “always be in the state of becoming” to EPCOT Center as an inspirational theme park, this …

Humanity In The Black: Applying Counter-Racist Logic With Comedy And Hip Hop, Marion Pugh

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Humanity in the Black explores the theoretical framework of Counter-Racist Logic created by Neely Fuller Jr. as a defense mechanism for humans politically classified as black. The purpose of this dissertation is to display how Counter-Racist Logic can eliminate the cancerous confusion caused by the social construct of race. Humans who have been assigned to the racial category of black will be able to courageously acknowledge the social construct of race, acknowledge the effects of identifying with a description of a race, and how to use logic to counter the religious white superiority belief system (Fuller, 2016). The method used …

A Fiction Of Fragmented Falsehoods: Curriculum Of Unwanted Roads Traveled, Katherine Wyatt

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This is an inquiry centered on lived ‘otherness’ in different social experiences. Fiction and illustrations are both creative outlets that provide opportunities of curriculum growth by offering the viewer realistic portrayals dealing with truth and factors that make us fundamentally human. “Fiction elicits an interpretation of the world by being itself a worldlike object for interpretation” (Dillard, 1988, p. 155). This study uses fiction and illustrations as vehicles of communication to provide an awareness regarding social issues in everyday lived experiences, exposing the reader to the social, cultural and historical realities persistently impeding the shared constructs of human experiences. Structuring …

Exploring The Narratives Of Black Male Nurses In Southeast Georgia: Implications For The Implementation Of Culturally Responsive Pedagogy In Nursing Curriculum, Celine M. Pfund

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

ABSTRACT

This dissertation inquiry explores the narratives of two Black male nurses in southeast Georgia. The framework for my research includes a variety of different theoretical components including works from both major nursing and curriculum studies scholars. The nursing workforce remains homogenized despite major recruiting. The intention of my research was to explore the experiences of Black male nurses to identify challenges, barriers, and systems of oppression that they may have encountered working in a profession dominated by White females in order to facilitate development of culturally responsive pedagogy in nursing. Methodologically, I mainly drew upon James Spradley’s work on …

Cybernetics, Cyborgs, And Bionics, Oh My!!: Counterstories Of The Intersection Of Disability + Technology And Its Impact On Identities Of Adults With Disabilities, Ellen M. Hotchkiss

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

In this dissertation inquiry, I explore the counternarratives of adults with disabilities relating to their identities and how their identities intersect and change with regards to technology and assistive technology. Theoretically building upon critical disability studies (Goodley, 2017; Davis, 2013, 2017; Erevelles, 2011) and posthumanism (Haraway, 1985/2016; Snaza & Weaver, 2015; Weaver, 2010) and methodologically drawing upon counternarrative or counterstories (Bamberg & Andrews, 2004; Carmona & Luschen, 2014; Delgado, 1989; Glenn, 2012; He & Phillion, 2008; He & Ross, 2012; Sandoval & Davis, 2008; Smith, 2006; Solazano & Yosso, 2002; Tuck, 2009), I explore the stories of seven participants with …

In-Between Epistemic Paradigms Of Disablement: A Reflective Journey, Daniel James Mcnair

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The author explores feelings of in-betweenness, hybridity, and dislocation (Aoki, 2005; Bhabha, 2007/1994; Saïd, 1994) as he contemplates the meaningfulness of a liminal placement between two epistemic worlds—that of his more recent experiences as a curriculum studies scholar and his previous training as a postpositivist practitioner of school psychology. This self-study engages pedagogical possibilities of in-between spaces (Aoki, 2005; He & Ross, 2012; Baszile, 2006) to construct a lived curriculum that challenges traditional stereotypes of autism and postsecondary disability services. To guide this critical self-reflective inquiry, the author applies the concepts of Joseph Schwab’s (1973) curriculum commonplaces along with William …

Identifying Inclusive Practices On U.S. University Campuses That Create Engagement For Diverse Populations, Brandon Tatum

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Interactions between diversity and inclusion have been incompletely studied on U.S. college campuses. Previous researchers have also demonstrated an incomplete understanding of these two constructs, resulting in uneven attempts to create inclusion on college campuses. Diversity and inclusion research on college life is needed because inclusion is relatively new and unexplored, student diversity in U.S. higher education is increasing, and practical models and programs for enhancing campus inclusion are lacking. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to identify best practices and student attitudes regarding inclusion and group memberships with Generation Z and Millennial college students in the United States, …

The ‘Just City’ Or Just A City? : Evaluating Social Justice And Equity In Planning Education., Wes Grooms

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Contemporary evaluations of accredited planning education performance have eschewed the principles and methodologies of formal program evaluation and performance management. This dissertation tests hypotheses that this contributes to the lack of social equity and justice commitment, content, and inquiry on the part of accredited graduate planning degree programs, their clients, and administrators. The organizations, resources, and processes involved in the purveyance of accredited graduate planning education were conceptualized as a singular, evaluable program and illustrated in a series of program logic models. These models revealed sources of the inattentiveness to normative issues that past evaluations have evidenced, and informed assertions …

School Climate: A Comparison Of Teachers, Students, And Parents, James A. Jacobs

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study was designed to examine the benefits of positive school climate and to measure the perceptions of school climate for intermediate grades in a Northeast Tennessee School district. An online school climate survey was used to collect responses from participants in intermediate grades and focused on the 3 major components of school climate: school engagement, school environment, and school safety. Data were collected for 2 consecutive years in 2016-2017 and 2017-2018. Response totals included 1,955 student responses, 116 teacher responses, and 210 parent responses that were analyzed and used for this study. Of the student totals, some students that …

A Theological Analysis Of Confessional-Centric Curriculum Of Christian Religious Education: Towards An Inclusive Religious Pluralistic Centered Curriculum For Nigeria Colleges Of Education, Ilesanmi Ajibola

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Desire to live in peace and unity despite the multi ethnic and multi religious composition of Nigeria, remain ideals that are constant in the nation’s Constitution. However, accruable benefits of a culturally and religiously pluralistic society have continued to elude Nigeria due to incessant religious violence arising from the mutual suspicion of Christians and Muslims in the country. Nevertheless, the nation’s National Policy on Education proposes the education sector as one of the platforms to inculcate a sense of unity and religious tolerance in the country. The policy considers the nation’s learning centers and religious courses offered in such institutions …