Education Commons^™

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 …

Working Toward “Achievement”: Key Considerations For Providing Access To Equitable Opportunities To Students With Disability Labels, Kyle William Resch

Theses and Dissertations

School personnel are accountable for the academic “achievement” of students with and without disability labels (Every Student Succeeds Act [ESSA], 2015). In Wisconsin, “achievement” is measured via performance on standardized academic assessments (Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction [DPI], 2019). The use of these assessments privileges White middle-class students without disability labels (Ladson-Billings, 2006). Outcomes have been used to shame schools’ so-called poor performance while ignoring other indicators of success such as instilling real-world problem-solving skills, building positive learning communities, using a critical lens, and engaging in social activism (Connor et al., 2019).Many students with disability labels now receive instruction in …

Misunderstood: A Phenomenological Study On Intersectionality And The Lived Experiences Of Black Millennial Student Affairs Professionals At Pwis, Emily P. Dixon

Theses and Dissertations

This applied dissertation was designed to further understand the lived experiences of Black millennial student affairs professionals navigating and advancing through a predominately white institution in the southern United States. This phenomenological study, framed by critical race theory and intersectionality, sought to ultimately use these lived experiences to advocate for change. A review of the literature highlighted the needs, values, and experiences of Black Millennials based on both identities, the experiences of working in student affairs/higher education with these experiences, and the need for intentional diversity efforts by higher educational institutions.

The researcher interviewed nine participants to learn more about …

"Whiteness Is In The Way Of Seeing:" Narrativizing Middle School Students' Intersectional Perceptions Of Whiteness In Literacy Instruction, Scott L. Moore

Theses and Dissertations

Structured by the theoretical framework of intersectionality, this comparative case study traced perceptions of Whiteness in literacy instruction by three queer, transgender or gender expansive (TGE), or cisgender female, Black and/or Latinx middle school students. The study addresses significant gaps in research, which has rarely explored the valence of all aspects of the intersectional identities of this population of middle school literacy learners and tends to perpetuate erasure by adopting single- or multiple-axis lenses to students’ identities. The study was structured by a transferable curriculum crafted around questions, arts-based expressions, and narrative inquiry to support participants’ narrativizing about their intersectional …

Are The Tickets For Everyone? Heterogeneity Of Economic Rewards For Associate’S Degree Completion, Kathleen E. Lee

Theses and Dissertations

Associate’s degree completion has been billed as the quickest way to upskill the workforce and a ticket to the middle class (Carnevale et al., 2018; Gittell et al., 2017). Yet, over 35 million Americans have left college without a degree (Wheatle et al., 2017). Black and Hispanic students are more likely than White and Asian students to leave college before completing a degree (Shapiro et al., 2017). This study examined if economic benefits differ between those whose highest level of educational attainment is “some college, no degree (SCND)” and an associate’s degree, specifically by analyzing heterogeneity and interaction effects between …

Leading In Crooked Rooms: Race, Gender, Culture And Black Women's Leadership Skills And Practices, Portia Newman

Theses and Dissertations

The literature on Black women leaders, where it exists, focuses on the barriers to Black women becoming leaders or being fully empowered when in leadership positions. However, to understand the leadership identity of Black women, and perhaps help to explain the absence of Black women in formal leadership spaces, means to examine the influence of race, gender, and culture on leadership behavior, as well as the setting in which leadership exists. This qualitative grounded theory study explored the leadership skills and practices of 15 senior-level cross sector Black women leaders. The data was collected in two phases: 1) a leadership …