Education Commons^™

Three Sides To Success: Exploring How Inclusive Partnerships Can Nurture Robust Family And Community Engagement In The Classroom For African-American Students, Orianna Vaughn

Education | Master's Theses

The purpose of this study was to explore the ways in which conscious family and community partnerships with middle schools can play an integral part of academic achievement for Black children. Family and community engagement play a critical role in a student’s success as support, and knowledge of their scholar’s strengths and interests can be an asset not only in the classroom, but to the scholar’s overall academic success, which can “lead to higher educational aspirations and increased student motivations'' (Bartz, et al. 2017). However, presiding narratives of disengagement and disinterest from Black parents in their scholar’s academic life have …

The Relationship Between Instructed Non-Immersion Additional Language (Lx) Learning And Student Outcomes Of Diversity-Equity-Inclusion (Dei)-Focused Education For U.S. High School Students, Congmin Zhao

Educational Studies Dissertations

Research has found that teaching about diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) can raise U.S. high school students’ awareness about DEI-related topics and develop their critical thinking skills to analyze DEI-related issues. But the achievements of DEI-focused education are limited. Thus, DEI-focused education needs complementary efforts to enhance student outcomes. Research has also found that learning an additional language (LX) may heighten students’ interest in learning about other cultural communities, nurture students’ cross-cultural empathy, and elicit culturally responsive behaviors. The juxtaposition of these findings signifies the potential for LX learning to complement DEI-focused education to improve learning outcomes. However, the value …

Interest Convergence And Neoliberalism: Effects On Entry-Level Staff Of Color Who Perform Diversity, Equity, And Inclusion In Higher Education, Jesse N. Avila

Master's Theses

Higher education was not originally built to benefit people of color. Diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) are many ways in which universities seek to change higher education. However, higher education has a staff retention problem and is at risk of losing more than half of its current workforce. Retention problems also impact entry-level staff of color who perform DEI in universities. Through a lens of interest convergence and neoliberalism, this qualitative study gathered the experiences of entry-level staff of color who perform DEI in student affairs, looked at how their experiences are shaped by the structures of the university, and …

Experiences And Support Needs Of Typically Developing Siblings Of Children With Autism Spectrum Disorders, Keely Hamilton

Education | Master's Theses

Children living with an autistic sibling face unique challenges and are in need of support (Angell et al., 2012; Marquis et al., 2019; Molinaro et al., 2020). The purpose of this qualitative study was to understand what the experience of having a sibling with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) is like for a typically developing child during middle childhood or preadolescence, the impacts this experience has, and what types of support they feel they need. Five participants were interviewed for this study; all were in middle childhood or preadolescence, live in Marin County, California, and are in a family with a …

Creating Inclusive Interface And Online Learning Environments, Grace Mosher

Education | Master's Theses

This study seeks to examine educational learning environments with a focus on new platforms of learning, course design, equity, inclusion, and user interface (ex: seeing impaired, cultural differences, gender) that includes the perspectives of students with disabilities. The evolution of learning from singular multi-age classrooms through institutional schools and into dynamic online platforms has radically reshaped the educational ecosystem (Sarkar, 2020), and there have been calls for a deeper understanding of inclusive learning practices to meet the needs of diverse students (Philips & Salem, 2021). Adams (2017) also outlines how the aesthetic interface of each learning environment impacts the quality …

Community And Safe Spaces For English Language Learners In Bilingual/Dual Immersion Settings, Miriam Pazos

Education | Master's Theses

This qualitative study explores teachers' understanding of English Language Learners and newcomer students' need for a sense of belonging and safe spaces in a bilingual/dual immersion classroom. The goal was to identify some best practices for teachers to create an inclusive classroom for multilingual students. This research uses the lens of two frameworks, Acompañamiento (Sepúlveda III, 2011) and Culturally Responsive Pedagogy. According to Sepúlveda III (2018), Acompañamiento is a response to globalization where there is a need to understand a student's humanity and the need to be part of a community. Acompañamiento is about engagement with one another without goals …

Afterschool Programs: Participation And Belonging In Latinx Students, John Corbolotti

Education | Master's Theses

It is important for students to feel like they belong and that the offering of afterschool programs welcomes them. Afterschool programs develop confidence, engagement, and belonging for students (Fuller et al., 2013). Unfortunately, afterschool sports and extracurricular participation is diminishing and by even greater numbers for students from minority groups (Borden et al., 2006). The purpose of this qualitative study is to examine how educators and school communities might increase and promote participation in extracurricular activities, specifically for Latinx students, by hearing from underrepresented Latinx students about their experiences in afterschool programs. There is limited research regarding how mentors and …

Diversity, Equity, & Exclusion: Examining Jewish Identity & Antisemitism As Missing Pieces Of Dei And Ethnic Studies Education, Katie Meitchik

Pitzer Senior Theses

Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) is a theory and practice that focuses on systemic structures, inequities, and social change by examining concepts such as race, gender, class, sexuality, ethnicity, ability, and religion. Incorporating DEI initiatives into learning spaces can lead to a deeper sense of self, stronger coalition building, increased civic engagement, and a sense of healing, resistance, and belonging. Although a nationwide criteria for using DEI practices in education has not yet been implemented as a key component to public school teaching, there are programs emerging with the intent to utilize the theory. This has led to a movement …

Is This Antiracist?: An Autoethnographic Evaluation Of Professional Development, Allison Nava-Holstein

LMU/LLS Theses and Dissertations

Communities of color have been fighting for equal rights in society throughout history, resulting in the development of different social movements. In 2013, the Black Lives Matter movement was founded and protests erupted across America as Black lives were lost at the hands of law enforcement. In the summer of 2020, the protests continued, serving as a catalyst for schools to begin interrogating their practices and curricula, moving towards efforts to be pro-Black and antiracist.

Grounded in Critical Social Theory and Critical Race Theory, this autoethnographic study explores the experiences of me, a Latinx teacher in diversity, equity and inclusion …