Education Commons^™

Outside The Realm: The Counter-Narratives Of African American Parent Involvement, Deborah Watson-Hill

College of Education Theses and Dissertations

The present study explores the experiences of African American parents and how they support their children’s education inside and outside the school realm. More specifically, the study examines African American parents’ level of involvement or engagement in their children’s education and the impact this has upon their children. In this study, parent involvement refers to school-sanctioned, school-authored activities in which parents participate. Parent engagement refers to those activities that parents arrange for themselves and their self-directed, relational interactions with school person­nel. Moreover, parent involvement and parent engagement are not used interchangeably but as distinct terms. The participants in this study …

Diagnosed But Not Defeated: The Experiences Of African-American Males With Past Histories Of Enrollment In Special Education Who Successfully Attend Community College, Kennedi Strickland-Dixon

College of Education Theses and Dissertations

African-American males are disappearing at alarming rates before our eyes through racially driven practices that secure their position in the penal system and special education. Though many scholars in the field of education have highlighted alarming rates of incarceration and overrepresentation in special education for African-American males, society has accepted these practices as a normal standard ofliving for Black males in this country.

African-American males who have not become part of the penal system and have successfully matriculated into college are considered to be an exception to the rule rather than a standard to live up to. Though a plethora …

Asian American College Students: Making Racial Meaning In An Era Of Color-Blind Racism, Vijay Pendakur

College of Education Theses and Dissertations

Since the end of the Civil Rights era, a new paradigm has emerged for understanding race and racism in American society. This neoliberal hegemonic discourse argues that systemic racism ended with the abolishment of formal, juridical racism and that any continued investment in race is both unnecessary and deeply problematic. Critical race theorists have named this framework color- blind racism. In recent years, color-blind racist discourse has been repackaged under a "post-race" label and the election of America's first non-White president has only served to bolster notions that America might have somehow transcended race.

For college students, the undergraduate years …

The Dangerous Reality: Sexual Risk Taking Among College Women, Shannon Greybar Milliken

College of Education Theses and Dissertations

Research has shown a link between sexual risk taking among college women and a decrease in self-esteem. The primary purpose of this study is to explore the sexual risk-taking practices occurring within the academic achieving, more affluent, Caucasian and female college student population. The secondary purpose of this study is to explore what sexual risk-taking patterns exist within behavioral and sociocultural constructed variables and demographic information among college women. The variables examined are religion, self-esteem and reported depressive symptoms. Additional variables used during analysis are body weight and race and/or ethnicity of college women.

There are three primary research questions …

The Relationships Among Heritage Language Proficiency, Ethnic Identity, And Self-Esteem, Shu-Chun Yu

College of Education Theses and Dissertations

Language plays an important role in linking with the past, with national origins; it is an indispensable tool for communication. With the trend toward globalization and the continual change of the ethnic composition of the U.S. population, there is increasing awareness in the U.S. that not every child is raised in an English-only family. The purpose of this research was to explore the relationships among heritage language proficiency, ethnic identity, and self-esteem in the American-born Chinese (ABC) children who went to the Chinese language schools for Chinese language learning on weekends. There were three research questions to be answered in …

Colonialism, Neoliberalism, Education And Culture In Cameroon, Mary C. Diang

College of Education Theses and Dissertations

Neocolonialism and neoliberalism are all offshoots or veiled forms of colonialism. The history of independence for colonized peoples in the late 1950s to mid1960s was a farce. In this work, I argue that colonialism only changed phase, switching into its more insidious form. This has had a very negative effect on education and culture in Cameroon, which has largely remained dependent on the West, singularly France, Britain, Portugal, Spain, Belgium, and Italy. Neoliberalism has brought destitution and deprived the people of their right to dignity as human beings. While I request that the West and America take their hands off …

Life On Hold: The Effect Of Recession And Neoliberalism On Millennials’ Beliefs About Education, Economic Participation, And Adulthood, Stephanie E. Kirmer

College of Education Theses and Dissertations

Americans born between 1982 and 1995 (the “millennial” generation) are coming of age and entering adulthood during a time of historically significant economic recession. This study uses qualitative data derived from online sources to explore the effect of this experience on the values, feelings, and beliefs of these young adults regarding economic participation, education, and adulthood. Results indicate that millennials feel isolated, ashamed, fearful, and angry about their circumstances. Some feel so hopeless that mental health problems result. The neoliberal ideology widely prevalent in American culture is identified as a strong contributing factor to this situation. Educators are encouraged to …

The Shape Of Things To Come: Reconceptualizing World History Curriculum For A Global Era, Ryan S. Bates

College of Education Theses and Dissertations

This critical and philosophical study explores the relationship between globalization, the evolution of structural education reform policy (i.e., the standards and accountability movement), and the purpose of secondary history/social studies education in American society. From A Nation at Risk to Obama’s A Blueprint for Reform, federal education policy has narrowed the vision of public education in the United States for the past 30 years.

The purpose of this study is three-fold: 1. question the purpose of history/social studies education in light of the effects of globalization on American public education reform; 2. propose a new rationale for world history curriculum …

The Moderating Effect Of Hope On The Relationship Between Emotional Approach Coping And Flourishing In College Students, Katherine Kandaris

College of Education Theses and Dissertations

The study examined flourishing, emotional approach coping (EAC) and hoping in college students. The purpose of the study was to examine the predictive utility of the EAC scales and the moderating effect hope has on the emotional approach coping-flourishing relationship. There were 120 participants in the study. The results showed that EAC could predict flourishing, and that hope did moderate the EAC-flourishing relationship. However, hope did not moderate the relationship as expected. Those who used the least of amount of EAC flourished the most. Also, those who used the most EAC and had high levels of hope flourished the least. …

Someone’S In The Kitchen, Where’S Dinah? Gendered Dimensions Of The Professional Culinary World, Stephanie Konkol

College of Education Theses and Dissertations

Traditionally cooking is considered to be women’s work, yet the vast majority of professional chefs, particularly in the upper echelons of restaurant work, are men. These curious gendered patterns stimulated interest in delving more deeply into the gendered nature of restaurant work. Existing research on this topic has concentrated on the front of the house (dining room) but has not addressed the gendered nature of the male-dominated back of the house (kitchen). This study looks at the gendered nature of the professional culinary kitchen (back of the house), how gender relations are constructed through culinary education and in the professional …

Hegemony Within Student Affairs: The Interpretive Nature Of College Student Development Theory, Marissa L. Lucchesi

College of Education Theses and Dissertations

This study examined college student development theories taught in a higher education master’s program at a major Midwestern university. The purpose of this study was to examine if college student development theories possess underlying assumptions that are hegemonic. It was apparent through this research that college student development theory does contain hegemonic assumptions, which ultimately impacts the work between student affairs practitioners and students. This study particularly focused on the impact of practitioners’ use of hegemonic theory when facilitating identity development for student growth and empowerment.