Curriculum and Social Inquiry Commons^™

Women Of Color In K-12 Educational Leadership Pursuing Higher-Level District Advancement In Public Education, Telicia R. Leonard

Theses and Dissertations

This paper focuses on the inequities in leadership along with gender and racial intersections that may contribute to barriers for Women of Color who have already acquired mid-level leadership positions and are seeking opportunities to acquire positions deemed as senior district-level positions. This qualitative case study was explored through the lens of feminist poststructuralist and equity theories. The objective was to research the participants and ascertain participant perspectives on the role that race, and gender constructs have played in their ability to attain their current positions and how any barriers encountered impact their attempts at new levels of career advancement …

The Position Of The United States Of America Vis-A-Vis The Question Of Western Sahara: Assessing The Role Of Think Tanks In The Conflict, Hamid Baadeche

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

ABSTRACT

The Position of the United States of America Vis-à-vis the Question of Western Sahara: Assessing the Role of Think Tanks in the Conflict

Hamid Baadeche

Think tank organizations, particularly in the United States, have become a prominent feature of the political landscape. They act as advocates for specific policies that they consider beneficial for the country or a particular societal group. They function as a primary source of information, which they then aim to transform into well-informed policies and sound decisions. They are referred to as "the revolving doors," "idea brokers," and "idea factory." As such, their foremost objective …

Exploring The Perceptions Of School Leaders And Teachers Towards The Role And Value Of School Librarians, Amanda Galliton

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study explored the perceptions of school leaders and teachers toward the role and value of school librarians in a North Central Texas Education Service Center area. The study investigated how superintendents, principals, and teachers view the contributions of certified school librarians to student achievement and school culture, particularly in light of budget cuts and the elimination of librarian positions. Using a mixed-methods approach, this research gathered information from superintendents, principals, and teachers, using quantitative and qualitative data and then quantitizing that data. The results reveal a significant variance in perceptions among superintendents, principals, and teachers, as well as a …

Motivated By Love: Can Deep Listening Support The Health And Wellbeing Of Anthroposophical Inspired Organizations, Barbarah Jean Nicoll

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

Goethe expressed his devotion to his scientific and artistic pursuits as “love” (Lambert, 2011, p. 35). Motivated by love for anthroposophical initiatives in the world, the research question for this dissertation is: can deep listening be a support for the organizational health and wellbeing of anthroposophical inspired initiatives? Exploring and examining research on listening attuned to anthroposophical initiatives, this research seeks to understand existing wisdom on listening and its impact on organizational wellbeing. The theoretical foundations for this research are based on anthroposophical insights and a Goethean worldview. These foundational concepts relate to indigenous ways of knowing through their acknowledgement …

Race Into The Future: Counselor Educators' Experiences Training With An Antiracist Pedagogy, Darita Rose Grays

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

This dissertation explores the role of counselor educators in incorporating an antiracist pedagogy to prepare counselors-in-training to work as culturally competent counselors with all clients, with emphasis on marginalized groups. The research examines the lived experiences of counselor educators, focusing on how their personal and professional journeys influence their approach to integrating antiracist teaching strategies in counselor education programs. It highlights the critical need to address and acknowledge racism within counselor training while emphasizing the importance of developing an antiracist identity among both educators and trainees. The study further explores the potential of antiracist pedagogy in fostering a more inclusive, …

Why Occupational Therapy?: A Qualitative Analysis Of Incoming Students’ Reasons For Entering The Profession, Laura H. Vanpuymbrouck, Carli Friedman

Journal of Occupational Therapy Education

Insight into students’ views and understandings of what occupational therapy (OT) practitioners do and what a career will be like can shed light into how the profession is socially perceived. Additionally, this knowledge can be useful for recruitment, retention, and curriculum design, especially for addressing misunderstandings and inaccurate perceptions. Therefore, the objective of this study was to examine the narratives of incoming OT students when asked why they chose to enter the profession of OT. Descriptive statistics were used to analyze sociodemographic data, and then thematic analysis was used to analyze qualitative data about why participants wanted to become occupational …

Bringing A Missing Minority Into Focus: Foster Parents’ Voices And Their Impact On Foster Children’S Academic Experiences, Clair Rutherford

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

Foster children face persistent educational inequities shaped by trauma, frequent placement changes, and systemic barrierswithin schools. This dissertation investigates how foster parents perceive and influence the educational experiences of the children in their care, emphasizing the intersection of advocacy, trauma-informed teaching, and institutional response. Grounded in trauma-informed pedagogy, critical ecology and curriculum studies, the study interrogates how schools both support and constrain foster children’s educational opportunities. An arts-based methodology was employed, combining fictionalized portraiture and digital ethnography. Data sources included foster parent social media posts, reflexive journalling, and researcher positionality as both teacher and foster parent. Composite narratives were constructed …

The School Of Becoming: Speculative Essays On Existential Possibility And Humanity In Education, Timothy A. Holman

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

This dissertation reimagines public education through an existential lens, advocating for a humanitarian approach that resists the prevailing dominance of standardized, data-driven systems. Drawing primarily from the philosophy of Jean-Paul Sartre (1936, 1940, 1943, 1947, 1965, 1992), it contends that education should honor freedom, nurture authenticity, embrace encounters with others, and cultivate imagination as essential to human development. Influenced by the works of William Ayers (1998, 2004, 2008, 2016, 2024), Maxine Greene (1967, 1973, 1978, 1988, 2000, 2001), Paulo Freire (1970, 2001, 2004), Christopher Emdin (2010, 2016, 2021), and Byung-Chul Han (2018, 2024), speculative essays—each focused on an existential theme—are …

Heritage And Archaeological Knowledge Dissemination Strategies: A Kurd Qaburstan Case Study, Myli R. Sangria

Honors Undergraduate Theses

This thesis addresses the long-standing absence of community archaeology initiatives in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq by designing and implementing a pilot public archaeology program at the site of Kurd Qaburstan, a large Middle Bronze Age city (ca. 1800 BCE) located on the Erbil Plain. In summer 2024, the author implemented a community archaeology activity designed as a first step toward sustained engagement with the village that partially overlaps the site. The program—a hands-on lesson in archaeological stratigraphy for K–5 students, followed by a guided site visit—was intentionally simple, affordable, and easy to carry out alongside ongoing fieldwork. The activity …

First-Gen Latinx/Afro-Latinx And Complex: Keeping Resilient Responses On Shuffle, Tibisay I. Hernandez

Electronic Theses & Dissertations (2024 - present)

This qualitative study examined the racialized experiences of first-generation Latinx and Afro-Latinx students in higher education. Fourteen participants engaged in pláticas, semi-structured interviews, and focus groups to reflect on how their identities, race, and institutional dynamics shaped their collegiate journeys. The study examined how these students navigated both personal and institutional settings, revealing the emergence of tensions around belonging, authenticity, and cultural responsibility in everyday interactions. Using Latino Critical Race Theory (LatCrit) alongside Multidimensional Identity Negotiation Theory (MINT) and Co-Cultural Communication Theory (CCCT), this study developed an emergent framework—the Resilient Response Model—to better understand how students respond to complex identity …

Ai In Education: Teaching, Learning, And Thinking With Machines, Mary Strawderman, Jesse Senechal, Eric Ekholm, Jason Vest, Moe Greene, Dawn Johnson, Daniel Case, Oscar Keyes, Yaoying Xu, Robert Godwin-Jones, Kait Donahue, Kim Elmore, Haley Hendershot, Amy Corning, Paulina Guerrero, Samaher Aljudaibi, Justin Thurston

AI in Education: Teaching, Learning, and Thinking with Machines

This collection from the Humanities Research Center (HRC) Digital Technology in Education (DTE) working group arose from questions around how rapidly emerging generative AI tools are reshaping teaching and learning in K-12 and higher education. The contributions, loosely organized around ethics, policy, and practice, adopt a humanities lens to probe how generative AI and other emerging digital technologies impact human values, experiences, and social structures, surfacing their philosophical, ethical, cultural, and societal implications for schooling. From the perspectives of practitioners and interdisciplinary scholars, the pieces showcase various dimensions of AI's creative potential in education, while also questioning its limitations and …

Wondrous Uncertainty: Transforming Student Educational Experiences Using Restorative Practices, Zachary C. Schafer

Dissertations and Doctoral Documents, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, 2023–

One of the primary purposes of education is to help students make sense of their lived experiences. In the process of becoming, students navigate multiple relationships (school, peers, adults, and with self). These relationships often cause conditions of uncertainty which can be managed and transformed using restorative practices in tandem with the academic disciplines taught in school. Over the last decade this has been my inquiry puzzle, “As educators, how can we embrace uncertainty with students as a way of helping to empower them through their dignity, with the academic disciplines as a lens through which relational learning occurs in …

Teacher Training For Diversity: Analyzing Inclusive And Intercultural Education In Early Childhood Degrees Of Three Universities Located In Spain, France And Columbia, Odet Moliner, Aida Sanahuja, Daniel Niclot, Mariaangelica Yazzo

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

This study examines the integration of inclusive and intercultural education principles in the Bachelor’s Degree in Early Childhood Education at three Universities located in Spain, France and Colombia. An analysis of 116 course syllabi is conducted to identify the specific references to Universal Design for Learning, accessibility, inclusion, diversity and interculturality. A second content analysis was conducted to categorize the units of meaning into four categories and determine the predominant underlying approach to the use of the term 'inclusion' in each degree program. The results indicate that the concepts of accessibility and UDL are the least represented, followed by …

Amplifying Student Voices: A Case Study On The Writing Workshop In A 10th Grade English Classroom, Erin S. Drulis

Theses and Dissertations

This qualitative case study explores how a white, second-year 10th-grade English teacher implemented a culturally affirming version of The Writing Workshop in a private high school serving primarily Black and Latine students from working class families. Through a yearlong collaborative coaching partnership between the researcher and teacher, this study examined how writing instruction might elevate student voice in writing instruction. Grounded in a pragmatic interpretivist epistemology and supported by five intersecting theoretical lenses—democratic education (Dewey), sociocultural constructivism (Vygotsky), culturally affirming pedagogy (Ladson-Billings), critical pedagogy (Freire), and radical love (hooks)—this case study investigated how students used writing as a means of …

Restorative Leadership: A Generative Exploration With Women School Leaders, Camille Rénée Pauline Tyson Jacobs

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

As schools increasingly adopt restorative practices, a parallel shift in leadership is occurring, challenging traditional leadership models like servant and transformational leadership. While research has largely focused on student outcomes, there is a critical gap in understanding how restorative practices influence school principals’ leadership. Given their central role in sustaining and expanding restorative initiatives, this study aimed to address that gap by developing a definitional framework for restorative leadership, grounded in the experiences of women school leaders in grades 5 to 12. Using sensemaking theory, the research examined how leaders conceptualize and apply restorative values in practice. Key questions included …

Developing Waldorf Teachers: An Analysis Of The Practical Effects Of Teacher Training And Professional Development On Teachers' Sense Of Self-Efficacy And Personal Transformation, Emily Macdonald Merchant

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

This mixed-methods study explores the concept of Pedagogical Instinct (PI) in Waldorf education by examining its relationship to the teacher’s sense of self-efficacy and professional development. Connected to Rudolf Steiner’s educational philosophy, PI refers to the intuitive and adaptive capacity of teachers to respond to students’ individual needs, integrating technical skills, relational awareness, and ego development. Quantitative data from 168 survey respondents were analyzed to assess relationships between self-efficacy, PI, teacher training, and demographic variables. Qualitative data from 65 respondents to 9 open-ended questions provided insights into the lived experiences of Waldorf teachers in relation to PI. Findings revealed a …

Pick Up A Frog, Or Pet A Dog; Animals Are Our First Teachers, Allison Ratner

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

This dissertation’s goal was an attempt to answer the question: What are the emotional, cognitive, and/or spiritual effects of children’s relationships/interactions with animals that potentially impact their development? By utilizing autoethnography, I analyzed instances from my own life where interacting with animals changed me permanently; my thinking, my knowing, my feeling, my judgement, my empathy, my attitude, and my ethics. With a standpoint rooted in the research of experts from the fields of psychology and education, I combined my personal knowledge gained over a lifetime, to grant merit to the profundity of children’s relationships with animals. With the analyzed data, …

Culturally Responsive Social Emotional Learning Intervention On Parents And Its Impact On Family Well-Being, May Duong

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

This study examines how Social-Emotional Learning (SEL)-based parent education can bridge cultural divides and strengthen family-school partnerships in increasingly diverse educational settings. Conducted at an independent California elementary school where student demographics shifted to become more diverse in the last ten years, the research addresses a critical gap: while parent education is essential to child development, it remains overlooked in SEL implementation. The research investigates whether Western-based SEL frameworks, which emphasize individualism, can effectively support families from collectivist cultures. Through the EQ Gym program—a culturally responsive parent education initiative—the study explores three key questions: how school-based SEL research can address …

Integrating Sustainable Practices Into Lean Engineering: Applying The Engineering For One Planet Framework In Manufacturing Engineering Technology Education, Dalya Ismael, Vukica M. Jovanovic, Murat Kuzlu, Charles Lowe, Lisa Bosman

Engineering Technology Faculty Publications

A growing number of manufacturers are recognizing significant financial and environmental benefits from adopting sustainable business practices. Sustainable manufacturing refers to the production of goods through processes that are economically sound, minimize environmental impact, and conserve energy and natural resources. Lean engineering, a comprehensive approach to decision-making and leadership within manufacturing organizations, has proven effective in driving sustainable practices. Key strategies include waste elimination, value identification, value stream mapping, flow creation, pull system establishment, and continuous improvement. Both lean manufacturing and sustainability share a common focus on minimizing waste. Lean principles address seven types of waste: transport, inventory, motion, waiting, …

Examining Student And Faculty Perspectives On Hidden Curriculum In Computing Education, Joseph R. Teahen

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

Hidden curriculum (HC) consists of the assumed behaviors, cultural norms, and collective knowledge that students are expected to know, but never taught. Knowledge such as version control tools, interview and resume skills, and self-regulation can fall into the HC. HC exists in a specific institutional and individual context and can change over time, making it hard to address and examine.

My thesis work is situated around uncovering and addressing HC in computing education. In this thesis I will present relevant background about HC and computing related HC, present my previous work on the College of Computing Resource Hub and the …

Harmony Or Discord? A Study On The Alignment Between National Objectives And Reformed Social Studies Textbooks In Egypt, Lina Yehia

Theses and Dissertations

Education systems, in many parts of the world, have served as a channel for communicating national goals to students, and Egypt has not been an exception. This study examines how public textbooks effectively align with equipping future generations of Egyptians to fulfill the nation’s development policy goals set for 2030. Utilizing a qualitative research design, this study employed textbook and document analyses of the published national policy goals of the current administration, along with the most recently reformed social studies textbooks of Grades 4, 5, and 6, a product of EDU 2.0. Based on an analysis of national documents, the …

Pancasila As The Philosophical Foundation Of The Indonesian Curriculum, Nurbaya Pulhehe, Babang Robandi

Paradigma: Jurnal Kajian Budaya

The philosophical foundation of Pancasila, comprised of five principles, plays a significant role in shaping Indonesia's education system. These principles guide curriculum design, implementation, and evaluation, reflecting the nation's educational goals and desired student outcomes. This paper examines the philosophical underpinnings of Pancasila, with a focus on content and graduate competence standards, examining their relationship with educational objectives and their implications for the national curriculum. Utilizing a literature review methodology, the research highlights the critical influence of Pancasila on curriculum development and educational planning in Indonesia. The findings indicate that Pancasila serves as a central philosophical framework guiding Indonesia's national …

Book Review: Pluricentric Languages And Language Education: Pedagogical Implications And Innovative Approaches To Language Teaching, Rachel Stauffer

Russian Language Journal

Pluricentric Languages and Language Education is an edited volume concerning language teaching in “major pluricentric languages that have a colonial and post-colonial history and are taught as second/foreign languages in second and higher education in Europe (and beyond)” (p. 2). The term pluricentric describes a language in variation outside of codified forms determined by a centralized language authority. Pluricentric Languages and Language Education invites Russian instructors to consider if the language in our textbooks and spoken in our classrooms is unflinchingly representative of Contemporary Standard Russian. If the answer is no, which forms of Russian do we teach and in …

Volume 11, Issue 3, Critical Currents And Pedagogical Shifts In Popular Culture And Pedagogy, Journal Dialogue

Dialogue: The Interdisciplinary Journal of Popular Culture and Pedagogy

Volume 11, Issue 3 of Dialogue: The Interdisciplinary Journal of Popular Culture and Pedagogy: On Confronting Identity and Global Challenges through Popular Culture and Pedagogy.

Escaping The Pedagogical Cabin In The Woods, Tony Kemerly, Davis Ritenour

Dialogue: The Interdisciplinary Journal of Popular Culture and Pedagogy

The American educational system, because of its seemingly innocuous yet ubiquitous nature, has become, to borrow a term from Roland Barthes, naturalized. By being naturalized, it has become a system that has somehow slipped beneath the radar of the American populace and operates on an autopilot of sorts that allows it to employ practices that don’t necessarily have the best interests of its constituents at heart. Murray Rothbard (1979) argued that compulsory schooling is not guided by altruism, but rather a desire to coerce the population into a mold that is desired by those possessing power in society. This need …

Building Transferable Skills In An Interdisciplinary Science And Science Fiction Capstone Course, John D. Carrell, Robert G. Weiner, Alexandria Prather

Dialogue: The Interdisciplinary Journal of Popular Culture and Pedagogy

College graduates are entering an ever-competitive workforce. Interdisciplinary course experiences are critical for developing analytical abilities and learning and these courses can provide valuable skills that will aid students beyond the classroom. These transferable skills include communication, teamwork, analytical and critical thinking, and creativity. To provide a unique learning experience and, through it, the development of transferable skills, the Honors College at Texas Tech University created an upper-level Capstone course titled “Superheroes, Super Villains, AI, Time Travel, and Film in Science and Popular Culture.” The class is an interdisciplinary look at science and science fiction taught by an engineering faculty …

Leaps And Bounds In Popular Culture And Pedagogy Dialogue: A Note From The Editor In Chief And Associate Editor, Anna Cohenmiller, Karina Vado

Dialogue: The Interdisciplinary Journal of Popular Culture and Pedagogy

No abstract provided.

The Kids Know What’S Up: Analyzing Student Poetry For Evidence Of Institutionalized Oppression, Sarah Straub

Journal of Multicultural Affairs

This article explores institutionalized oppression faced by students today. It incorporates student-created poetry as evidence of marginalization, sexism, racism, and discrimination based on legal status. The kids know what’s up. They are acutely aware of the effects of these systems on their own lives. It is the responsibility of the educator to acknowledge this truth and act on it.

Factors Affecting Involvement Of Parents Of Students With Learning Disabilities In Saudi Elementary Schools, Mohammed Alyahya

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The research explores the factors that influence parental involvement in school children with learning disabilities in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Understanding these factors is crucial, as parental involvement is widely recognized as essential for the academic success of children, particularly those with learning disabilities. This study used a quantitative approach to collect data from parents of students with learning disabilities, including parents' age, gender, income, employment status, and parental beliefs (responsibilities and capabilities). The findings reveal that parental beliefs regarding their responsibilities towards their child's education are the only significant predictor of parental involvement. In contrast, other variables, including age, gender, …

Educative Leadership Of Curriculum Development Reconceptualized As Leadership Of Personal, Group, Institutional And System Learning, Reynold Js Macpherson

Journal of Curriculum, Teaching, Learning and Leadership in Education

This paper reconceptualizes educative leadership as leadership of learning, integrating advancements in curriculum development, epistemological diversity, and ethical imperatives within a holistic pragmatic framework.

Leadership of learning positions leaders as facilitators of dynamic educational ecosystems that align curriculum goals with pluralistic epistemologies, practical solutions, and contextual relevance. Recent curriculum trends—such as personalized learning, competency-based education, cultural responsiveness, and socio-emotional learning—reflect an embrace of constructivist and critical approaches, emphasizing inclusivity and adaptability.

Holistic pragmatism strengthens these developments, advocating for curriculum designs that are theoretically sound and practically relevant, fostering co-construction of knowledge through active engagement.

Organizational development (OD) theory enriches this …