Education Commons^™

What Exactly Does Identity Have To Do With Teaching? Exploring The Connection Between A Teacher's Racialized Identity And Their Teacher Identity, Lizette Aguilar

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This study explores the relationship between race and teacher identity, specifically understanding how the two concepts intersect and (re)present themselves within the classroom environment. This study analyzes six teachers’ narratives of identity, race, and teaching to explore themes of race and identity as they traverse from their earliest experiences with race into their experiences as teachers. Findings conclude that, first, teachers’ narrative identities are a composite of key narratives—important moments of deep impact in the process of identity building—that accumulate over time to form what Dan McAdams (1993) calls personal myths. Since key narratives are continually shaping one’s personal myth, …

Load Reduction Leadership: A Cognitive Load Theory-Based Framework Differentiating Performance Patterns In Nyc Schools, Kristopher C. Bertoglio

Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation applies cognitive load theory to teacher working conditions in New York City. To connect small-scale cognitive processes with perennial organization-level effects, the theoretical components of this paper develop a novel framework. Load reduction leadership (LRL) illuminates how day-to-day school operations impact staff members’ cognition and school-level student performance. LRL extrapolates various cognitive load phenomena to schools’ complexities and time scales. Eight longitudinal case studies were found through New York State summative exam data. Schools were selected based on their abilities to over- and under-perform at improving their students’ proficiency, including schools that changed from under- to over-performance and …

Leveraging The Dual Role Of The Oer Practitioner/Administrator: 'Making It Count' At An Individual And Institutional Level, Cailean Cooney

Publications and Research

This case shares activities the author has engaged in through their dual role as faculty member and administrator of the college’s OER initiative. Topics will include how the author has leveraged their OER work to amplify the documents and activities required in their own tenure and promotion process and how they have approached this subject in faculty development programming. Practical models will be offered for faculty, librarians, and OER coordinators to adapt to their own contexts.

Equity Among Equity Workers: Public Service Motivation In An Educational Nonprofit Organization, Russell C. West Jr

Theses and Dissertations

What opportunities and challenges arise when an equity-focused educational organization aims to support employee’s individual equity practices while simultaneously developing the organization’s equity practice? In this study, employees of a non-profit educational organization were asked what rationales and expectations played a role in their decision to volunteer in an equity working group. Their responses were used to understand whether Perry’s (2000) process theory of Public Service Motivation helped describe their decision. In a second round of interviews, employees were asked what outcomes they perceived came from their participation. These responses were used to understand whether the outcomes aligned with those …

Ecpel 894: Supervisory Practicum, Nathalis Wamba

Open Educational Resources

Practicum: A school or college course, especially one in a specialized field of study that is designed to give candidates supervised practical application of previously studied theory.

The purpose of this course is to prepare candidates for the 21s t Century Schools so that they can meet the cognitive, affective and academic needs of the students. The course requires candidates to document through personal and work experiences the application of theory to practice using the professional standards for education leaders as reference. Additionally, this course is designed to give candidates who have not acquired the various skills mentioned above the …

Report Card: Nyc's Student-Powered Newsroom, Julian Roberts-Grmela

Capstones

During my time in the engagement journalism program at CUNY, I aimed to use journalism to serve the community of students in New York City’s public school system. At first, I tried to serve students through my reporting, by aiming to center student perspectives in education-related stories in order to uplift their feedback about the system. But I realized I could do more to report with students, instead of just about them. So, during my final semester, I launched Report Card: NYC’s Student-Powered Newsroom. Report Card is a Substack-based newsletter and a training program for middle-high school aged students …

Children And Technology: Why Technology Is Important For Our Children, Jill Mactiernan

Student Theses

Many people get scared when they hear about how much technology runs the world today. They tend to get frightened when they go to a store and have to use a selfcheckout instead of a cashier. Parents are scared of the dangers of the internet and how it will affect their children, so they tend to try to prevent/limit their children’s usage of the internet and other technologies. However, that may not always be the right move. Technology can not be avoided; it is a part of our everyday lives. With proper guidance and teachings, children can learn how to …

Students As Fellows And Mentors: Strategies For Success, Isory Santana

Publications and Research

This project focuses on the role of student fellows as mentors in the classroom. It uses a questionnaire as a data-gathering tool to find out more about the students that participate in mentoring programs. Mentors and fellows can offer advice, inspiration, emotional support, and role modeling in addition to information about their own career paths. According to Facilitating Long-Term Mentoring to Effectively Implement Active Learning Instruction (Moore & Naganathan, 2020) and based on my survey results, the benefits of mentorship include improved reasoning, risk-taking, self-esteem, professional development and enrichment, dedication, and growth. The most likely participants in that research are …

The Perceived Impact Of Project-Based Learning (Pbl) On Middle School Students’ Science, Technology, Engineering, And Mathematics (Stem) Identity And Engagement, Jonathan Olivera

Theses and Dissertations

Despite multiple calls to action, the United States educational system is not producing enough viable contributors in the areas of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). These fields continue to grow, and the STEM workforce continues to expand. However, the pool of citizens prepared to enter these professions is not keeping up with the demand. Part of this issue can be attributed to a diminishing interest in STEM by students, particularly during their identity forming adolescent years. Active learning strategies have proven successful in preventing this decline with project-based learning (PBL) being one of the most successful active learning strategies. …

Does Race Still Matter? An Exploration Of Race And Mentoring Relationships From The Perspective Of Early Career Teachers Of Color And Mentors, Franchesca R. Ho Sang

Theses and Dissertations

Mentoring has been attributed to lowering attrition rates of teachers. At present, the majority of teachers in the United States are White and female. The national teacher workforce does not represent the student body. Although there have been recent initiatives to improve the diversity within the teacher workforce, by explicitly recruiting teachers of color (TOC), the attrition rates of these teachers are negating the effects of recruitment efforts. Previous research has pointed to the need to consider race in novice TOC mentee and mentor matches, as cultural capital theory suggests common knowledge and experience may lead to stronger mentor relationships …

Let ‘Em Talk: An Exploration Of And Challenge To The White Supremacy And Colonization Of Black And Brown Girls In United States Public Schools, Keara Small

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

The United States Department of Education’s mission statement is described as evolving to “Promote student achievement and preparation for global competitiveness by fostering educational excellence and ensuring equal access.” A key piece of this statement is educational excellence and equality. The pathway to educational excellence and preparation is founded on public school students growing aware of their culture, identity, and history. My objective in this research is to discuss educators’ perceptions and misconceptions about Black and Brown children — especially Brown and Black girls—who attend public schools across the United States. Present-day research regarding school discipline policies and the “policing” …

Professional Stem Identity, Achievement Goal Orientation, And Selfauthorship In Underrepresented Minority Undergraduate Stem Students, Christopher King

Theses and Dissertations

Post-secondary education is meant to build the cognitive and professional growth of the students studying all subjects. Yet, little is known about the development of how students think of themselves as members of the field, nor how they develop from a young novice to a person eligible for employment. A lens of self-authorship was used to compliment and interpret data collected regarding how students think of themselves as member of the STEM community (STEM Identity) and how they perceive their achievement STEM Identity. There was a significant link between student-mentor experiences and a higher professional identity and more progress along …

Race, Dis/Ability, And The Potential Of The Co-Taught Classroom: Exploring Co-Teachers' Interruptions Of Inequity, Mallory A. Locke

Theses and Dissertations

Although the co-taught classroom is the fastest-growing inclusion model in U.S. public schools, an increasingly-diverse student population coupled with the continued overrepresentation of students of color in special education threatens to undermine its potential as an inclusive space that ensures success for all students. This multiphase, critical qualitative study explored how three pairs of co-teachers navigated race and dis/ability within co-taught classroom spaces serving students with multiple, intersecting identities. Informed by Disability Critical Race Theory (DisCrit), Critical Race Spatial Analysis, and the DisCrit Classroom Ecology framework, this study sought to examine how co-teachers’ own educational histories and beliefs about race …

Bridging The Educational Technology Gap: Issues Of Equity And Access In New York City Teacher Preparation, Christina Basias

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This dissertation employs the use of primary research, oral history, and narrative and auto-ethnography of my own experiences as a hybrid educator across both systems, and the extant gaps in educational technology, or ed tech, implementation across two of the largest urban public education institutions in the country: the New York City Department of Education (NYCDOE) and the City University of New York (CUNY).

This research unveils the complex web of barriers that hindered the ability for teachers to learn and adopt technologies and the gaps within and between the NYCDOE and CUNY’s teacher preparation priorities regarding ed tech prior …

Implementing Excellence In Diversity, Equity, And Inclusion In The Library Workforce: Tips To Overcome Challenges, Kanu A. Nagra, Bernadette M. López-Fitzsimmons

Publications and Research

Diversifying the library workforce is challenging, with the graduation data of library and information science degrees not representing equity in demographics for diverse populations. Is this the reason for the lack of diversity among library staff or are recruitment practices not based on measurable performance standards? Both questions call upon the library and information science (LIS) profession to address diverse staffing issues to remedy these challenges.

Covid-19 And Racial Justice In Urban Education: Nyc Parents Speak Out, Kelly Brady, Mieasia Edwards, Whitney Hollins, José Luis Jiménez, Wendy Luttrell, William Orellana, David Rosas, Nga Than

Publications and Research

The COVID-19 pandemic and global calls for racial justice surfaced tremendous inequities and revitalized the debate about schooling and its purpose. NYC Parents Speak Out is a public engagement project, based on an interactive survey and interviews that records and reflects NYC family educational experiences during the unprecedented school year of 2020-2021. Our research collective, comprised of researchers, parents, advocates, teachers, and school leaders from the Urban Education Ph.D. Program at The Graduate Center (CUNY) identified three key recommendations based on research findings: to improve communication through family and community engagement; give greater attention to social-emotional and mental health; and …

Spilling The Tea In Bilingual Latinx New York City Department Of Education School Social Workers: Towards Entre Nos, Cindy M. Bautista-Thomas

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Social workers play an important role in schools. There are about one million children enrolled in the New York City Department of Education(NYCDOE) school system, across 1,843 schools (New York City Department of Education, 2020). Of those students, the largest demographic group is the Latinx population, which has been increasing steadily since 2011. Therefore, there is an urgent need not only to increase the numbers of culturally responsive bilingual Latinx social workers, but also to understand their professional experiences. In order to address this gap in knowledge, the roles of bilingual Latinx school social workers as culturally responsive practitioners in …

Bc Bound: A Pathway Designed To Support Non-Traditional Students, Fiona J. Chan

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This paper reviews the creation and practices of the Brooklyn College BC Bound Program, focusing on its mission and structure. The BC Bound Program is a one-semester service at Brooklyn College that admits and supports individuals with their high school equivalency diploma. Through an interview with a coordinator of the program and students who completed the BC Bound Program in their first semester, we can understand its positive impact on college students in their first semester and beyond. Program structure is key in analyzing the process by which the BC Bound program is and can be implemented effectively. Under the …

Belonging And Becoming In Academia: A Conceptual Framework, Maria Savva, Lynn P. Nygaard

Publications and Research

Establishing the conceptual framework for this book as a whole, this chapter looks at the process of developing an academic identity through the lens of ‘becoming’ a scholar, with particular emphasis on the challenges facing international, part-time EdD students. This process involves not only an intellectual breakthrough, but also an emerging sense of belonging. The inner journey – which intersects with and shapes academic progress – comprises a complex set of interactions between the social groups to which we belong, our beliefs about ourselves that come about through experience, the various contexts in which we operate, the position we hold …

The ‘Peripheral’ Student In Academia: An Analysis, Maria Savva, Lynn P. Nygaard

Publications and Research

Pulling together the various themes that emerged within and across the narratives, this chapter explores four broad categories of challenges and opportunities:

1. Demands associated with being a ‘peripheral’ student and the function of social networks in developing a sense of belonging.
2. Issues related to supervisory and other faculty relationships.
3. Struggles related to identity, language and/or culture.
4. The role of expert, novice and ‘impostor’ labels in internalizing a scholarly identity.

Each category is unpacked, while also examining the personal characteristics and institutional features that helped the authors along the journey to becoming scholars. After each section, implications for institutional policy and …

Navigating The Pass: Distance, Dislocation And The Viva, David Channon, Maria Savva, Lynn P. Nygaard

Publications and Research

Channon examines the challenges of completing a doctoral degree across different geographical locations and changing job roles. His experience illustrates how logistical challenges involved in carrying out research far removed from the research site, political turmoil and changes in employment status can all necessitate changes in the planned research trajectory. He reflects on an emotional journey, including a particularly challenging viva experience, where he struggled to maintain ownership of his work as a result of distance, dislocation and attempting to heed Introduction 7 conflicting sources of advice. Importantly, Channon’s story brings to light a less-studied phenomenon: the role of faculty …

Understanding The Personal Significance Of Our Academic Choices, Maria Savva

Publications and Research

Savva maps the intrapersonal journey that paralleled her academic journey as an international doctoral student based in Cyprus. She describes changes in her research question and how she used the solitude often associated with the doctoral journey to create a space whereby she looked inwards to better understand her academic choices and her relationship to those choices. Through critical examination, she was able to gain a deeper understanding of the extrinsic and intrinsic factors behind her decision to pursue a doctorate and her selection of research topic. This, in turn, allowed her to harness the qualities of agency and resilience …

All We Need Is One Mic: A Call For Anti-Racist Solidarity To Deconstruct Anti-Black Racism In Educational Leadership, Soribel Genao, Yaribel Mercedes

Publications and Research

In this article, we outline some of the vital measurements of racism and anti-blackness as a macro system in education. We contend that principal preparation programs have not explicitly prioritized anti-racist school leadership, while often resisting the possibilities of solidarity or one mic of knowledge to increase anti-racist dispositions. Considering the lexicon of whiteness as an assemblage, a racial discourse should be “supported by material practices and institutions,” that prepare educational leaders to examine anti-blackness curriculum that have been embedded as a standard method. We also posit that theoretical understanding of racism as global whiteness from a post-oppositional lens and …

Reopening America's Schools During The Covid-19 Pandemic: Protecting Asian Students From Stigma And Discrimination, Daisuke Akiba

Publications and Research

The COVID-19 outbreak has prompted a rise in stigma and discrimination against people of Asian descent in many areas in the world, including the United States1. Anti-Asian hate incidents, which have ranged from verbal attacks, refusal of service to physical assault, continue to transpire in the U.S., and they put psychological and physical well-being of Asian children at increased risk. Discussions toward reopening of U.S. schools thus far, however, seem to have exclusively included the infection-related concerns and pedagogical consequences of continued disruptions in face-to-face instructions. Hence, educators, policymakers, and other stakeholders need to have plans in place …

Black Parental Involvement In A Suburban School District, Walter L. Fields

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Since the historic decision of the United States Supreme Court in Brown v. Board of Education in 1954, Black parents in the United States have been in a continual search for public school districts in which their children would receive an education that would allow them to be productive citizens and economically self-sufficient. From the period of the Great Migration to present day, the movement of Blacks in America has been driven by a quest for opportunity. Black parents have made tremendous sacrifices in the hope of securing a good education for their children, including movement away from families, longtime …

A Plan For Democratic Public Schooling, Diana Concepcion

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This project addresses concerns within inner-city public schools while restructuring how we facilitate learning in our school buildings. It provides an overview of continued research on challenges faced in public schools including reform policy (testing and curricular changes), privatization, day-to-day structures and how they impact the academic and social-emotional development of our students. By examining our current designs and policies, we are able to identify why and how these systems have not been beneficial to our students, and we are able to find basic solutions in supporting the holistic needs of our students. This project proposes a school plan which …

Black Males Matter, The Educational Marathon Continues: The Relative Impact Of Student-, Family-, And School-Level Domains On The Educational Outcomes Of Black Males, Shawn F. Brown

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

The educational outcomes of Black males within the United States are problematic. In far too many areas of life (health, education, employment, income, and mortality), this population is overrepresented in the lowest quartile. This dissertation seeks to understand that phenomenon by systematically considering conduits and barriers to these outcomes. More specifically, by employing the High School Longitudinal Study (HSLS) data set, ecological systems theory, and critical race theory, and hierarchical regression modeling, this dissertation explores the relative impact of student-level, family-level, and school-level domains on the educational outcomes of a national sample of Black males. Given the findings, recommendations are …

The Objectives Of Public Higher Education In New York City Through The Lens Of Language, John-Nicholas Parker

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This paper displays the objectives of public higher education in New York City and their relation to changes in the city. Public higher education in New York City relies on the support of the public. This paper details adjustments to the lexicon of the school in response to changing demographics and historical events by examining statements provided by the school during different periods. Changes to the lexicon relating to class, gender, race, ethnicity, and military service are examined in relation to their historical context. Sources examined in this paper include commission reports, student newspapers, and mission statements. The paper finds …

Goals, Power, And Culture: The Effects Of School Organizational Features On Parental Involvement, Vandeen A. Campbell

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Drawing on organizational theory and the school effectiveness literature, this project incorporates new methodological approaches to the analysis of a national longitudinal data set (ECLS-K: 2011) in order to investigate ways in which school goals around parental involvement, distribution of power, and culture affect parental involvement in children’s education, especially in schools serving large proportions of lower socioeconomic status families.

Parental involvement is widely accepted among researchers and policymakers to be essential for students’ academic success; however, parents with lower socioeconomic status exhibit less participation in both home-based and school-based activities compared to those of higher socioeconomic backgrounds.

Many recent …

Democracy For Homework: A Review Of Civic Engagement In Urban Public Schools, Amanda B. Rosenblum

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Civic engagement education prepares students to actively engage in social and political processes and influence community change. Many educators believe that civic engagement ought to be a central mission of schools because: 1. Adolescent civic engagement predicts adult civic engagement; 2. Schools may be able to reduce the inequity in political participation between individuals of different ethnic and socioeconomic backgrounds, and 3: Civic engagement orientation and competencies can be developed through any and all content courses and extracurricular opportunities. This literature review on civic engagement education in urban public middle and high schools over the past 15 years explores: 1. …