Elementary School Teacher’S Experiences Of Open Studio Process In Examining Diversity, Equity, And Inclusion Topics, Tiffany Thompson

Expressive Therapies Dissertations

ABSTRACT

This qualitative research study examined the experiences of two Black female teachers and six White female teachers who participated in five Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) workshops that incorporated Open Studio Process (OSP) using Expressive Therapy Continuum (ETC). It is informed by research on defensiveness and resistance that often accompanies and presents barriers to effective DEI training.

All eight study participants were elementary school teachers, ages 22-56. Participants engaged in five workshops that used artistic mediums to explore DEI topics. Participants visually and metaphorically represented their experiences. Results were analyzed using qualitative techniques.

Findings are that OSP using ETC …

Learning To Lead With An Equity Lens: A Case Study Of A Principal Residency Program, Maurice L. Davis

Dissertations of Practice

School districts throughout the United States are challenged with the plague of educator turnover. In particular, building principals are exiting school buildings causing gaps in system consistencies leading to negative perceptions of school culture and decreases in student achievement. Universities are working to assess and redevelop principal preparation programs (PPPs) to support principals and the skill sets needed to be successful within schools today. By increasing the skill of a building principal to lead using an equity lens and developing theories of action to address the frustration initiated by urban school working conditions, principals may develop a greater sense of …

Becoming Transfer Friendly: Evaluating Four-Year Higher Education Institution Strategies To Support Community College Transfer Student Success, Aarti V. Dhupelia

Dissertations

Four-year higher education institutions (HEIs) nationwide must become more transfer friendly so that more community college transfer (CCT) students persist and complete their bachelor’s degrees, as a path to more students’ economic mobility and to equity across communities. This study aims to provide learnings to support achievement of this imperative. The research question studied here is: What is the relationship between community college transfer (CCT) student support strategies at a four-year higher education institution (HEI) and the first-to-second-year retention of CCT students at their four-year HEI? Through quantitative analysis of a broad set of variables’ ability to predict student retention …

Book Review It Takes An Ecosystem: Understanding The People, Places, And Possibilities Of Learning And Development Across Settings, Denise Montgomery

Journal of Youth Development

It Takes an Ecosystem: Understanding the People, Places, and Possibilities of Learning and Development Across Settings, edited by Thomas Akiva and Kimberly H. Robinson, is a call to take a holistic and dynamic ecosystem approach to thinking about, designing, developing, and investing in the allied youth fields to more equitably and effectively support young people’s learning and development. Published in 2022, the volume outlines a vision for out-of-school time programs and systems, schools, community-based organizations, and the public sector to move beyond focusing separately on individual systems to a learning and development ecosystem approach that more accurately and inclusively reflects …

Science, Technology, Engineering, And Mathematics (Stem) Project-Based Learning (Pbl) Education: A New Mexico Case Study For Equity And Inclusion, Kimberly A. Scheerer

Teacher Education, Educational Leadership & Policy ETDs

This research addresses how student participation in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) project-based learning (PBL) education activities encourages underrepresented minority student achievement in STEM career field trajectories. Seven New Mexico high school counselors and 12 STEM organization personnel were interviewed during this study. Their responses represent the nuanced professional voices where New Mexico public education intersects with STEM student interest and cultural influence.

For students, STEM PBL can foster deep integration across educational disciplines and enhance STEM career trajectory interest and readiness. STEM education converged with PBL methodologies has the ability to leverage community support while broadening student networks. …

How Can School Leaders Support Teachers In Becoming Culturally Proficient? Lessons From Teachers And School Leaders That Support Culturally Relevant Teaching Practices, Sherri Simek Rodriguez

Dissertations

This study was a program evaluation of educator cultural proficiency in a suburban school district in Illinois from 2019-2020. The primary research question explored was how school leaders can support teachers to become culturally proficient in order to support underserved students. Employing a qualitative research methodology, with data gathered from school leader and teacher interviews, and document analysis, this study identified key components to improve culturally proficient practices. Policy implications and recommendations highlight the following: ensure that all staff members examine and eliminate institutional beliefs, policies, practices, and teaching that perpetuate racial inequalities; implement culturally relevant practices; and prepare all …

Exploring Appreciative Advising As An Equity Approach For African American Students: A Grounded Theory Study Of Academic Advisors At Predominantly White Institutions (Pwis), Valerie Harper

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

ABSTRACT

EXPLORING APPRECIATIVE ADVISING AS AN EQUITY APPROACH FOR AFRICAN AMERICAN STUDENTS: A GROUNDED THEORY STUDY OF ACADEMIC ADVISORS AT PREDOMINANTLY WHITE INSTITUTIONS (PWIs)

By

Valerie J. Harper

October 28, 2019

Dissertation supervised by Professor Gretchen Givens Generett

African American matriculation into postsecondary education continues to rise, but degree conferral remains low (Hoston, Graves, & Fleming-Randle, 2010). Arguably, Harper and Hurtado’s (2007) research, as far back as 1992, stated black students and other students of color have dealt with alienation, isolation, and stereotyping at PWIs; this continues to persist today (Lee, 2018), which may interrupt the academic success of African …

Just "Level The Playing Field" And Watch Me Excel!, Baruti K. Kafele, Baruti K. Kafele

National Youth Advocacy and Resilience Conference

This engaging, interactive, self-reflective session focuses on equity at the classroom level. It challenges teachers to look within themselves relative to how they relate to and engage with their at-risk students of color and other underserved students. It challenges teachers to confront whatever biases they may bring to these students that may be either blatant, subtle, undetected or unacknowledged. It argues that high-performance is an impossibility in classroom environments where equity fails to exist.

Scholastic Liberation: Schools' Impact On African American Academic Achievement, Aaron M. Johnson

Language Arts Journal of Michigan

This article addresses some of the factors that contribute to low achievement observed in African American students. It is common that either schools or school districts are unable to fix the problem or they are unaware about how the beliefs and attitudes about African American students can contribute to their low performance in school. Furthermore, this article encourages school institutions to examine themselves and change school environments to align to the identities of African American students. African American students must be liberated from negative assumptions about them and to do that, individuals and the institution of school as a whole, …

D-Stem Equity Model: Diversifying The Stem Education To Career Pathway!!!, Adrienne Coleman

Publications & Research

According to the National Science Foundation, “the U.S. STEM workforce must be considered in the context of an expanding and vibrant global scientific and technological enterprise” (2014). “The National Academy of Sciences further suggests that, without the participation of individuals of all races and genders, the increasing demand for workers in STEM fields will not be met, potentially compromising the position of the United States as a global leader”. The stark reality is that there are a disproportionate number of Blacks and Latinos who lack the access and exposure to become STEM-literate. In order for the U.S. to remain a …

Organizational Change Plan For Closing The Black And White Achievement Gap, Markisha Mitchell

Dissertations

Abstract

Across the United States in almost every city, every suburb and every rural area there is a gap between the achievements of Black and White students. The term “achievement gap” has become an accepted label in situations where Black students severely underperform relative to their White counterparts. Many school Districts have discretely avoided discussing and or addressing this gap for decades. School District Z, located in an urban suburb just outside of a large midwestern city, is the focus of this research as they attempt to address the gap. Approximately two-thirds of District Z is composed of students of …

Educational Policy Development For Closing The Black And White Achievement Gap, Markisha Mitchell

Dissertations

Abstract

Across the United States in almost every city, every suburb, and every rural area, there is a gap between the achievements of Black and White students. The term “achievement gap” has become an accepted label in situations where Black students severely underperform relative to their White counterparts. Many school districts have discretely avoided discussing and/or addressing this gap for decades. School District Z, located in an urban suburb of a large Midwestern city, is the focus of this research as they attempt to address the gap. Approximately two-thirds of District Z is composed of students of color, yet the …

Introduction, Marcy Murninghan

New England Journal of Public Policy

America faces a reckoning, a crucible of what Reinhold Niebuhr observed more than eighty years ago. Our democratic principles and traditions are imperiled by the power of financial oligarchs and unfettered money flows, which have contributed to massive inequality that, in turn, has given rise to political unrest and a sense of cultural unmooring.

The articles presented here are both descriptive and normative, setting forth a complex social problem with seemingly bottomless proportions and then offering a design or set of remedial actions to alleviate them. Drawing on my professional experience going back to the mid-1970s, I wrote these pieces …

Equity And A Quality Education: Perceptions Of Suburban And Urban High School Graduates, Leanne Kampfe

School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Theses and Dissertations

This phenomenological study utilized grounded theory analysis through a critical lens and within a qualitative paradigm to research how students define the quality of their education and its connections to equity. The study focused on a small sample of students, all of whom graduated from one suburban and one urban high school in a Midwestern, metropolitan area. Focus groups, elite interviews, and document analysis were all used to collect data. The theoretical concepts that emerged from the data illustrated the negative impact of white supremacy with regard to the achievement of an equitable, quality education by all students. The data …

Diversifying The Stem Education To Career Pipeline, Adrienne Coleman

Publications & Research

This webinar will provide participants with the results of the Diversifying STEM Think Tank and provide strategies to enhance diversity in the STEM Education to Career Pipeline. It will further focus on the motivation of Black and Latino students to engage in STEM. With an understanding of strategies to diversify, matriculation to higher education may improve, STEM engagement may be enhanced, and visibility in STEM careers may increase. Diversifying the STEM fields may indirectly impact the socioeconomic status of these communities with opportunities to increase their earning potential, have more consistent employment, and obtain leadership positions; while enhancing the industry …

A Collective Case Study: Student Voice And The Implications For Partnership, Activism And Leadership, Brian Eric Duwe

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this qualitative, collective case study was to explore urban high school student and teacher perceptions of student voice, specifically in the areas of partnership, activism and leadership. This study addresses the Civic Opportunity Gap, which impacts urban youth and the disjuncture between the civic ideals of the United States and their day-to-day experiences within the civic institutions that shape their lives. This study was designed to examine the following three questions: What opportunities exist within the urban high school setting for partnership, activism and leadership? What are the perceived barriers that influence opportunities for partnership, activism …