Education Commons^™

Kendell, David J., Collection, 1933-1974, Special Collections, Leonard H. Axe Library

Finding Aids

The David J. Kendell Collection consists of photographs, letters, diplomas, contracts certifications, pamphlets, new clippings, and other items all pertaining to Kendall’s time as a student at the Kansas State Teacher’s College, and his subsequent teaching career.

David Kendall was born to David E. “Al” and Lottie Kendall in 1929 in Pittsburg, Kansas. In 1933, his father opened a small grocery store (Al’s Grocery) on 112 E Williams St, where Hughes Hall on the PSU campus is now located. Kendall attended the Horace Mann School and the College High School, both run by the college. He then attended the …

Laine And Buset Family Collection, 1916-1937, Special Collections, Leonard H. Axe Library

Finding Aids

The Laine-Buset Family Collection consists of 13 photographs, two news articles, a leather bound Little Blue Book, and an Abraham Lincoln pamphlet. Several hundred Little Blue Books, published in Girard, Kansas by Emanuel Haldeman-Julius, were also donated and added to the library’s Little Blue Book Collection.

Frank E. Laine (1909 - 1999) and Della Buset (1910 - 1992) grew up in the mining communities in Crawford County, Kansas, attending schools in Arma, Kansas. In 1938 they married. Della worked as a teacher in Crawford County schools, after attending what is now Pittsburg State University.

Mindfulness In Early Childhood Education, Madalyn L. Coss

Honors Projects

The following work identifies the need for mindfulness in early childhood education. It explains what mindfulness is, what the benefits of it are, and how it can be used in early childhood classrooms. A podcast episode is included with the intent of it being used to inform educators on the subject.

Melvin Gets A Passing Grade, Peter London

Artizein: Arts and Teaching Journal

150 word abstract

The author assigns a failing grade to a student in a high school required art course as a consequence of the student not doing any art at all. His chairman, stunned that any one can actually fail art, offers a view of art and teaching and history that upends the author’s own views on the purposes of art, the purposes of teaching and his possible role in history. Confounded by the realization that there might be a domain different, more and better than the one he had been navigating, the author changes the student’s grade, he was, …

Harmon, Stephen, Collection, 1960-2020, Special Collections, Leonard H. Axe Library

Finding Aids

The Stephen Harmon Collection consists of the career and professorial works of Stephen Harmon consisting of his papers, classes, bibliographies, journals, magazines, leading up to his career at Pittsburg State University.

Stephen A. Harmon was born on June 15, 1945 in St. Louis, MO to Jim and Alice Harmon. In 1968, after marrying Fritzi Drosten, Harmon and Drosten moved to San Francisco. Dr. Stephen Harmon received his B.A. from San Francisco State University in the Spring of 1979 and he received his Master’s degree in June 1981. At SFSU, he spent a year in Madrid, Spain, studying at the Complutense …

Through Critique And Beyond: Speculative Fiction As A Tool Of Critical Pedagogy, Syd Thorne

Master's Projects and Capstones

This field projects centers around the issue of hopelessness among teachers and students and examines the genre of speculative fiction as a potential tool for cultivating critical hope in the classroom and as an asset to critical pedagogy. Utopian pedagogy and critical pedagogy make up the theoretical framework of this research and project development. The research explores the use of speculative fiction in three areas: activism and identity, student engagement, and utopian performance. The review of the literature demonstrates that the use of speculative fiction in the classroom has the potential to engage students in conversations about social justice and …

The Pedagogical Value Of Andrew Lloyd Webber's Music In A New Jersey Elementary Music Setting, Eric James Mclaughlin

Masters Theses

Elementary music educators’ analyze and select song repertoire based upon a variety of factors and influences. These can include an educator’s level of training, the preexisting standard song literature collection, resources obtained in undergraduate study, the context of the song material, and a song’s pedagogical application. Educators must be selective when choosing literature for pedagogical purposes, such as teaching specific melodic and rhythmic elements. The vast body of musical literature by renowned theatrical composer Andrew Lloyd Webber is not often used for that purpose in the elementary general music classroom. In addition, a recent national effort calling for the reexamination …

In The Shadows Of Covid-19: Challenges That Plagued Teachers Amidst A Pandemic, Alexis M. Segura

Journal of Multicultural Affairs

In the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, some teachers have been struggling to maintain their morale, passion, and love for their profession. They are juggling a myriad of tasks and expectations whilst simultaneously attempting to heal from an ongoing shared trauma. Additionally, the pressure to maintain the same level of rigor, eagerness, and success that existed before COVID-19 is immense, resulting in teachers feeling powerless, voiceless, and invisible. Not only has this pandemic forced teachers to place their own lives and health at risk, but in the rush to return to traditional schooling, it has pushed teachers to their limit—often …

Overview: From The Desk Of The Guest Editor, Tonya Huber

Journal of Multicultural Affairs

Overview from the Guest Editor on this special issue on the impacts of Covid-19 in educational settings. One theme explored in the contents of this issue is the powerlessness many educators felt as the editors set out to hear, comprehend, represent, and amplify their experiences. Other themes include: appreciation and empathy, focusing on what matters, and new ways of teaching with technology.

Anna Julia Cooper: Standing At The Intersection Of History And Hope, Shannon L. Eickhoff

Educational Considerations

Anna Julia Cooper transcended her historical place in time to become one of the most important examples of early resistance to intersectional oppression. Her seminal work, A Voice from the South (1892), articulates her feminine viewpoint on philosophy, social policies, religion, and the status of Black women’s education. Often using the language of the oppressor, Cooper’s acute wit and brilliant use of rhetorical devices allowed her to express herself in spheres of influence where she might otherwise have been silenced. Cooper’s steadfast dedication to racial uplift is illustrated through her life-long commitment to the education of Black women …

Gibson Family Collection, 1913-1915, Special Collections, Leonard H. Axe Library

Finding Aids

A collection of photographs from the Gibson sisters' time at the Kansas State Manual Training Normal School, including Helen and Evva and their friends.

Helen C. Gibson Dubois (1894-1978) and Evva Louise Gibson (1896-1980) were sisters who both attended the Kansas State Manual Training Normal School (now Pittsburg State University). Evva received her first bachelor’s degree in 1918. She received a second in 1922, and a master’s degree in 1925, both from Columbia University in New York. She returned to Pittsburg in 1923 as an assistant professor at the college. In 1947, she became head of the Home Economics Department, …

American Association Of University Professors Collection, 1956-1975, Special Collections, Leonard H. Axe Library

Finding Aids

This collection includes personal correspondence, membership lists, accounting forms & records, receipts and other miscellaneous materials related to the Pittsburg State University chapter of the AAUP.

The AAUP was founded at an organizational meeting held at the Chemists’ Club in New York City in January 1915. The mission of the American Association of University Professors (AAUP) is to advance academic freedom and shared governance; to define fundamental professional values and standards for higher education; to promote the economic security of faculty, academic professionals, graduate students, post‐doctoral fellows, and all those engaged in teaching and research in higher education; to help …

"Read It Again!": Storytelling To Imitate The Great Teacher, Kate Whatley

Senior Honors Theses

The student’s mind is bent on stories, asking mothers around the world to ‘read it again’. These stories preserve information and emotions for centuries. In the classroom, stories enliven motivation and empathy in ways that result in higher academic achievement and social awareness. Learning to use stories as a key instructional strategy will allow for more equitable opportunities in classrooms, encourage mental health and truth telling for the teacher and the student collectively, and allow the academic community to imitate Christ by contributing to the bigger story taking place across time. In application of using stories as teachers, this thesis …

On The Struggles And Experiences Of Southeast Asian American Academics, Long T. Bui

Journal of Southeast Asian American Education and Advancement

This article examines Southeast Asian Americans (SEAA) academics in the U.S. academy, relating their complex positionalities within higher education to their communities and societies. While many educational studies have been done on SEAA students, almost none focus on professional scholars and college faculty. Combining cultural-structural critique with close analysis of public writings and personal interviews, the article finds that that SEAA are ignored, and/or tokenized in the Ivory Tower due to structural as well as epistemological issues. It indicates that the public discourse and policies about Southeast Asians in academia not only neglects racial and class hierarchies, but obscures issues …

Something American, Carolina S. Souto

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

SOMETHING AMERICAN is a poetry collection written from the perspective of a first-generation American navigating a growing family, a political crisis, and a global pandemic. Influences on this collection include Robert Hass’s THE ESSENTIAL HAIKU and FIELD GUIDE, which attend to nature and the poet-speaker’s immediate surroundings with diligence and precision. Ariel Francisco’s place poems and creative titles in ALL MY HEROES ARE BROKE provide important touchstones for Souto’s commitment to here-and-now writing. And Sylvia Plath’s frank and complex writing about motherhood in ARIEL grants the poet permission to probe these subjects as well.

In SOMETHING AMERICAN, experimental poems sprawl …

Leveraging Standardized Testing To Transform Curriculum Through Arts Integration: Effects Of Shadow Puppet Theater On Reading Fluency Among Elementary School Students, Nancy B. Parent

Pedagogy and Theatre of the Oppressed Journal

This paper presents findings from a reading fluency study conducted by Flock Theatre (Connecticut Higher Order Thinking Schools Teaching Artists) on the effects of a shadow puppet theater program in an elementary school setting. Data collected in this study show an increase in fluency scores among students who perform as narrators in the program. This paper highlights the role of teaching artists in leveraging standardized assessments to transform curricula and student learning through arts integration. Positionality of teaching artists, classroom teachers, and my role as a social scientist in this context is considered, as well as a discussion of the …

Treble Clef Club Collection. 1922-2015, Special Collections, Leonard H. Axe Library

Finding Aids

A collection of the club’s meeting minutes, secretary and treasurer’s notes, programs, yearbooks, scrapbooks and music sheets.

The Treble Clef Club was chartered in Pittsburg, Kansas in 1904 by women interested in the study of music. The club originally agreed to have no more than 20 members who would meet twice a month to study composers and perform their works. In 1908 the club expanded membership due to increased interest. The first junior club, for high school girls, was started in 1922 but did not succeed. The club tried again in 1944, creating a club with 28 girls. By 1964, …

Krulish, Mabel A. (Edwards), Collection, 1935-1939, Special Collections, Leonard H. Axe Library

Finding Aids

A scrapbook containing newspaper clippings, photographs, programs, cards, and more related to Girard High School.

Mabel A. (Edwards) Krulish (1918-2010) was born and raised in Girard, Kansas. She graduated from Girard High School in 1936, and began working in the Crawford County schools. Krulish kept a scrapbook of her senior year and of her sibling’s high school experience. In 1946, she married Frank E. Krulish (1910-2003) of New York. Frank Krulish had served as a US Marine during World War II, fighting in Iwo Jima and was among the first occupying forces in Japan. Afterwards, they lived in New York …

Fiddler's Fund Collection, 1970-1981, Special Collections, Leonard H. Axe Library

Finding Aids

The collection of the Fiddler’s Fund consists of letters, newspaper clippings; article, meeting minutes, IRS tax information, deposit checks, non-profit filings, scholarship applications, and bank account balance reports for a musical-support organization.

Created in 1970, the Fiddler's Fund of Pittsburg Inc. was a non-profit organization (501c3) dedicated to raising money and providing scholarships for K-12 students in need of musical instruments and lessons. In 1980, after its dissolution, the Fiddler’s Fund donated its remaining funds to the Pittsburg State University Music Department for scholarships.

Purcell, Arleen, Collection, 1919-1991, Special Collections, Leonard H. Axe Library

Finding Aids

A collection of documents and items related to Fort Scott and southeast Kansas, and Arleen Purcell’s travels and studies.

Arleen Purcell (1912-2001) was an elementary school teacher in Fort Scott, Kansas who collaborated in writing the musical Footprints on the Frontier. She was married to Ralph Emerson Purcell, with whom she had two sons. Purcell took great interest in local history and community organizations. In the 1970s, she took study abroad trips through Western Illinois University and the Kansas State College of Pittsburg (now Pittsburg State University) to South America.

Humanity: Lost And Restored In Comenius's Consultation, Jan Habl

Pro Rege

No abstract provided.

Marshall, Marguerite Mitchell, Collection, 1942-2001, Special Collections, Leonard H. Axe Library

Finding Aids

This collection includes information about the life and civil rights research by Marguerite Mitchell Marshall (1911-2002). It includes newspaper articles, family photos slides, programs, personal cards, correspondence, financial records, and scrapbooks relating to local and national African American contributors to the Civil Rights movement, Black History and politicians.

Marguerite Mitchell Marshall was born October 5, 1911 to Henry Levi and Emily J. Fonchoser Mitchell in Pittsburg, Kansas. Marguerite Marshall the attended Frederick Douglass School, a Pittsburg school for African-Americans, from 1917 to 1925; Pittsburg High School from 1925 to 1927; and College High on the campus of the Kansas Teachers …

Bi-Musicality In Kenyan Education: An Irrevocable Impact Of Colonization On A Culture?, Tania Mae Molendyk

Masters Theses

In Kenya today, music at all levels includes both Kenyan music and Western music. The inclusion of Western music in the Kenyan curriculum began when Britain made Kenya a colony. Due to certain circumstances after Kenya became independent, Western music continued to be taught in the schools. This research addresses the question “is the inclusion of Western music in the curriculum today a conscious choice or a remaining impact of British colonization?” To gain insight into this question, a variety of Kenyans from different backgrounds were interviewed. Their answers helped reveal the desires of the people today and whether the …

Apologetics And Science Instruction For Educators In Secondary Christian Schools, Brett Austin Craddock

Masters Theses

Without the incorporation of apologetic instruction into the science classroom students will be ill-equipped to defend the Christian faith. The academic world has seen a decrease of importance that is placed on the Christian mind and therefore the academic world and the majority of scholarly debates have been left to secular thinkers. Secondary Christian schools are in the optimal position to answer the need to raise up a generation of students that may apologetically and academically defend the Christian faith. Through including topics such as Intelligent Design, irreducible complexity, anatomy, and fine-tuning to various fields of science, secondary educators will …

Gastel, Dorothy, Collection, 1931-1983, Special Collections, Leonard H. Axe Library

Finding Aids

A collection of school notes and research, education materials, and other documents and books related to Dorothy Gastel and her teaching career.

Dorothy Andrews Gastel, born in 1913, grew up in Barton County, Missouri, attending rural schools. She and her sister, Alta, helped to raise their brother after both of their parents passed when he was seven. Dorothy graduated from Lamar High School (Missouri) in 1931, beginning her teaching career shortly after. She taught at many different schools in Missouri and California before marrying Gene Gastel in 1940. She took a break from teaching to raise six children, but returned …

Transcendentalism, Art, And Social Change: An Overview For A New Generation, Nidra Kilmer

Theses - ALL

The purpose of this study is to investigate the philosophy, art, methods, and outcomes of the Transcendentalist movement in 19th century America, with the aim of identifying strategies for creative practice that may inspire artists and educators in the 21st century. In the introductory section, the need for such an inquiry is established. Correlations are drawn between transcendental art from China, India, and America, in order to enrich the conversation by examining how ideas of transcendentalism, art, and social change are approached from different cultural perspectives. The historical context and philosophical roots of the American Transcendentalists is summarized, followed by …

The Holodomor National Awareness Tour: A Reflection On Teaching, Alexandra Marchel

The Councilor: A National Journal of the Social Studies

Dr. Alexandra Marchel’s article documents the work of the Holodomor National Awareness Tour (Canada-Ukraine Foundation), which runs an award-winning mobile classroom that travels across Canada, raising public awareness on the history of the state-orchestrated famine in Soviet Ukraine from 1932-1933. Marchel explores her experience working as Program Manager and Educator for this public history project, a project that goes beyond the traditional walls of a classroom to show history as an act of creating civic engagement. She speaks about her pedagogical practice, which is to invite students to think critically about the patterns and dynamics of past and present genocides, …

College Of Education & Human Development _Re-Opening Schools In The Midst Of The Covid-19 Pandemic: Lessons For Leaders From The 2020-2021 School Year, Catharine Biddle, Maria Frankland

Teaching, Learning & Research Documents

Report highlighting the findings of the “Beyond Crisis Schooling” research project which has worked to understand how school leaders understood and responded to the evolving landscape of the COVID crisis between March 2020 and June 2021, including what factors were most important in addressing both the unique and common challenges that their districts experienced through the analysis of
over 7,000 district documents and interviews with 52 district leaders.

Included as supplemental content are screenshots of the project's webpages.

Don't Kill Mockingbird: An Educator's Guide To Teaching To Kill A Mockingbird In The 21st Century, Rachel Mayes Allen

Masters Theses

While To Kill a Mockingbird is easy to misinterpret and difficult to read at times, today’s students are capable of appreciating the novel just as much as previous generations; we as teachers simply have to give them that chance. By grounding our students in the novel’s historical context, navigating controversies gracefully and rationally, and creating meaningful learning experiences around the novel, we can help our students see To Kill a Mockingbird for what it is.

Repensando La Discapacidad En España Y Latinoamérica: La Producción Cultural Hispánica De Autores/As Con Diversidad Funcional En Los Siglos Xx Y Xxi, Montserrat Fuente-Camacho

Department of Modern Languages and Literatures: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Esta tesis se centra en el análisis de la producción cultural hispánica contemporánea de autores/as con diversidad funcional para investigar cómo se representan a sí mismos en sus obras y qué medios utilizan cuando cuestionan el discurso capacitista que los margina. Además, se comparan las semejanzas y diferencias que existen entre dichas representaciones y se señala cuál es su valor temático y estético. Mediante el análisis de la interconexión de la diversidad funcional con múltiples categorías como género, sexualidad, raza, edad y clase social, exploro varios tipos de obras –documental, poesía, diario, novela gráfica y ficción juvenil– creadas por un …