Education Commons^™

Reclaiming Our Time: We Do It For The Culture, Angela E. Fillingim, Nini Hayes

The Vermont Connection

Using narrative methodology with a lens of critical race feminism, in self-reflexive ways we draw on our experiences as a Latina and Black-Pinay tenure-track faculty who have dealt with spirit murdering and labored in community to resist. We used feminist theories to understand the roots of our friendship and commitment to resistance. Our persistent encounters with spirit murdering were tied to, what we call, “time-theft.” Time-theft describes an embodied consequence of spirit murdering which deeply affects our emotional, mental, and physical well-being. We offer insights into how we resisted “time-theft conquistadors” and other means the institution tried to steal from …

Going To A Psychiatric Hospital Saved My Life And My Student Affairs Career, Jo Wilson

The Vermont Connection

The ongoing mental health crisis for college students has been a notable topic in recent years and while a necessary conversation, this often overlooks an underlying mental health crisis for higher education staff and the connection between both crises. As a former mentally ill graduate student and now (still) mentally ill student affairs practitioner, the connection is clear and a conversation now is critical. Using my personal narrative as a current practitioner, self authorship, and disability theory intersections, I am using this piece as a counternarrative and interruption to traditional student and staff development. Lastly, I seek to encourage a …

Understanding Differences In School District’S Identification Rates For Children Receiving Special Education With An Emotional Disturbance: A Case Study In Vermont, Maria-Elena Graffeo Horton

Graduate College Dissertations and Theses

Nationally, there is a mounting interest in better understanding students identified as having an emotional disturbance. Since 2005, clinical diagnosis and treatment of mental health issues in children has trended upward. Nationally, over that same timeframe, the number of students who qualify for special education due to an emotional disturbance (ED) has stayed relatively level while the percentage has been increasing in Vermont. Despite a greater awareness about how various circumstances and events, such as adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) affect children’s mental health, emotional disturbance is still not well understood.

The purpose of this study is to examine factors affecting …

Concentrando En Las Voces Afro-Latinx: The Validation And Uplifting Of Afro-Latinx Students In Higher Education, Denis Garcia Reyes

The Vermont Connection

In an effort to center the voices of Afro-Latinx college students and their Blackness, I am centering their excellence and persistence in higher education spaces. Through using the theoretical frameworks of self-authorship and “Blackimiento”, and within a critical and cultural lens, I implore that the validation and uplifting of these students is a priority for all student affairs professionals who are looking to create inclusive environments where students are encouraged to have their identities manifest holistically during their college process.

Black Resilience And Empowerment Through Self-Affirming Self-Care At Predominately White Institutions Of Higher Education, Vicki L. Garrison

Graduate College Dissertations and Theses

The institution of higher education, especially predominately white institutions of higher education (PWIHE), perpetuates the subjugation of Black people through the existence of traditional societal ideologies, values, and practices that function with and reinforce racism as the norm. Limited research exists about self-care strategies that assist Black students with navigating PWIHE. The purpose of this study is to explore strategies of self-care that can assist Black students to more healthily and successfully navigate a PWIHE. This qualitative narrative study illuminates Black experiences, empowers Black voices, and validates Black truth while extracting and capitalizing on Black agency to generate knowledge for …

The Influence Of Adverse Childhood Experiences, Families, Neighborhoods, And School Environments On Cognitive Outcomes Among Schoolchildren, Mark William Olofson

Graduate College Dissertations and Theses

Schools, families, and neighborhoods can support the development of happy, healthy children and adolescents. However, a majority of children in the United States also experience adversity in their early lives that can have deleterious effects on their cognitive and socioemotional development. Measuring and modeling early adversity is fundamental to understanding development as it occurs through interactions with schools, families and neighborhoods. As outlined by Bronfenbrenner's bioecological model of human development, proximal and distal forces shape development, and cannot be isolated when relating measures of the developmental context to outcomes for individuals. For schools and other social programs to support students …

Examining The Socialization Of Physical Education Teachers: A Case Study, Thomas Matthew Geisler

Graduate College Dissertations and Theses

In the last thirty years childhood obesity and inactivity rates in the United States have increased at alarming rates (Ogden, Carroll, Kit, & Flegal, 2014). In response to this, physical education curriculum is shifting to focus more on health promotion rather than competitive team sports and game play. This focus is reflected in the recently revised K-12 physical education national content standards and learning outcomes and is impacting how colleges are preparing future teachers (SHAPE America (Organization), Couturier, Chepko, & Holt/Hale, 2014). Changing how physical education is taught can be challenging for teacher educators, in part due to the fact …