Disability and Equity in Education Commons^™

In Jen’S Shoes – Looking Back To Look Forward: An Autoethnographic Account, Jennifer L. Sze, Jane Southcott

The Qualitative Report

This paper discusses the monumental events in my life that have shaped my two professional identities, teacher and researcher. I used autoethnography as a research methodology to traverse my personal life narratives across two different countries: Vietnam and Australia to seek and to examine my dual cultural identities, and how they shaped me. I am a passionate teacher who believes that teaching can change the world through the causes that I care about such as anti-racism and equity in education for students from all backgrounds. In this case study, data were collected by semi-structured interview and reflection on journals. Data …

The Coexistence Plan At A Secondary School: Analysis Based On The Voices Of Students And Teachers, Gustavo González-Calvo, David Hortigüela-Alcalá, Alejandra Hernando-Garijo, Ángel Pérez-Pueyo

The Qualitative Report

The main objective of this research is to analyse the Plan for Coexistence at a Spanish Secondary School and its implementation from the perspective of an inclusive model of school management. Beginning with a theoretical review of different national and international contributions centred on inclusive education and the improvement of school coexistence, we have chosen a qualitative methodology that will enable us to listen and to give a voice to the main members of the school community: students and teachers. We show how the Citizenship Plan follows an inclusive focus, enhancing the participation of the whole community in the different …

The Importance Of Advocating For Lgbtq+ Youth In Schools And The Community., Stefanie N. Hassing

National Youth Advocacy & Resilience Conference

This presentation is aimed to provide professionals who work with children, including educators, administrators, counselors, and adult volunteers, information regarding the increased risks and needs for the LGBT+ population between the ages of 10-19 and how to advocate for them within community and school settings.

Eighteen Blind Library Users’ Experiences With Library Websites And Search Tools In U.S. Academic Libraries: A Qualitative Study, Adina Mulliken

Publications and Research

Telephone interviews were conducted with 18 blind academic library users around the U.S. about their experiences using their library and its website. The study uses the perspective that blind users’ insights are fundamental. A common theme was that navigating a webpage is time consuming on the first visit. Issues identified include the need for “databases” to be defined on the homepage, accessibly coded search boxes, logical heading structure, and several problems to be resolved on result pages. Variations in needs depending on users’ screen reader expertise were also raised. Suggestions for libraries to address these issues are offered.

Parents Of Children With Significant Disabilities Describe Their Children’S Eating Habits: A Phenomenological Study, Brianna M. Grumstrup, Maryann Demchak

The Qualitative Report

This qualitative phenomenological study, through interviews, aimed to understand the experiences of parents of children with significant multiple disabilities about their children’s eating habits. Review of literature indicated disparities in health between people with significant disabilities (SD) that include intellectual disabilities (ID), intellectual/developmental disabilities (IDD), or multiple impairments (MI) and people who are typically developing. People with significant disabilities are at a higher risk for obesity, future weight gain, underweight and/or malnutrition, adherence to a less-healthy diet, and problem behaviors during meal time. Semi-structured initial and follow-up interviews used general questions to gather data, which were subsequently coded and examined …

Preparing Equitable And Culturally Responsive School Leaders, Kimberly Hartung, Tracy Lynn Reimer

Graduate School Faculty Publications

Equitable school leadership is intentional; it requires learning, listening, action, and reflection. This study explored how two school administrator preparation programs, focused on culturally responsive instructional leadership and critical self-awareness, promote and foster equitable leadership. With the aim of preparing leaders for a complex and pluralistic society, this study probed which aspects of the programs contributed to leadership successes and program adjustments that would better address the challenges novice leaders face. Interviews were conducted with recent graduates new to their leadership roles. Opportunities for authentic application of knowledge promoting leadership for educational equity and cultural responsiveness was identified as most …

Islamophobia In U.S. Education, Shabana Mir, Loukia K. Sarroub

Department of Teaching, Learning, and Teacher Education: Faculty Publications

Anti-Muslim sentiment has grown in scale and visibility far beyond its association with the horrific attacks of 2001. The US government’s “War on Terror,” which began after the attacks, often pervades the domestic landscape as a war on Islamic religious “extremism.” The definitions and content of such religious extremism are so extensive that they encompass large numbers of Muslims, and they highlight Muslims as being inherently problematic. For example, the success of the 2016 presidential campaign can be said to have relied significantly on a right-wing Islamophobic fear-mongering that shariah was set to take over the US. As we grappled …

The Justice System Is Criminal, Raven Delfina Otero-Symphony

2020 Award Winners

No abstract provided.

The Impact Of Socioeconomic Status On College Students’ Experiences, Shaafi A. Farooqi

Pitzer Senior Theses

This qualitative research project examines the role of socioeconomic status in shaping the experiences of students attending Pearson College, an elite liberal arts college in Southern California. One hour-long, semi-structured interviews were conducted with ten Asian Pacific Islander Desi American (APIDA) students in order to better understand APIDA student experiences and their views on the college’s efforts to support class-based diversity and inclusion. Findings include insights into challenges faced by college students, how they understand privilege and identity, and where college students find support. These results have implications for Pearson College, and similar liberal arts colleges, to implement changes to …

Adolescent Girls' Voices On Enhancing Their Own Productivity In Pakistan: Highlights 2019, Iram Kamran, Tahira Parveen, Rehan M. Niazi

Poverty, Gender, and Youth

Of the 11 million girls aged 15 to 19 years in Pakistan, nearly half (47 percent) are “not in education, employment, or marriage” (NEEM). This brief presents highlights from a qualitative study conducted in Punjab province of Pakistan to probe the lives, perspectives, and aspirations of NEEM girls regarding education and involvement in economic activity and identify locally acceptable ways in which their lives may be positively transformed through access to education and safe and fair work opportunities.

Numeracy And Social Justice: A Wide, Deep, And Longstanding Intersection, Kira Hamman, Victor Piercey, Samuel L. Tunstall

Numeracy

We discuss the connection between the numeracy and social justice movements both in historical context and in its modern incarnation. The intersection between numeracy and social justice encompasses a wide variety of disciplines and quantitative topics, but within that variety there are important commonalities. We examine the importance of sound quantitative measures for understanding social issues and the necessity of interdisciplinary collaboration in this work. Particular reference is made to the papers in the first part of the Numeracy special collection on social justice, which appear in this issue.

Does Education Improve Health In Low- And Middle Income Countries? Results From A Systematic Review, Stephanie Psaki, Barbara Mensch, Erica Chuang, Andrea J. Melnikas

Poverty, Gender, and Youth

Despite enormous progress in expanding school enrollment globally, improvements in health have not always followed, raising important questions: Does education, in fact, enable women, men and their families to be healthier? And if so, how? To fill this gap in knowledge, the GIRL Center conducted a systematic review of the evidence for the effects of education on health in low- and middle-income countries.

Possibilities For Trans-Affirming Policy Potential: A Case Study Of A Canadian Catholic School, Lindsay Herriot, Tonya D. Callaghan

Journal of Catholic Education

Background: Mainstream media is increasingly reporting on the relationships between Catholic and trans identities in parochial schools, particularly with regard to gendered washroom use. With greater numbers of trans youth coming out at younger ages, significant educational policy changes are being considered around how Catholic schools can or should include trans youth. Method: This study applies trans and queer theologies to Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) in investigating the Wilson case, which was the first known instance of a Catholic school including some affirming policy provisions for trans youth. The authors additionally collected and coded 12 news articles from a variety …

Burning Community Integration And Disability, Christopher Shane Brace

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Individuals with anxiety and depression have always been marginalized and stigmatized. Individuals with “hidden” disabilities are encouraged by society to keep them hidden, or face ridicule and persecution. Society decreases their sense of self-worth, and self-efficacy by destroying any perception of normalcy. Social support resources are vital for individuals with anxiety and depression’s continued mental health. As time goes on the individuals experience a decrease in the amount of available resources, at the same time the need for them increases. These individuals need a way to quickly replenish their social resources and the Burning Man regional network creates a unique …

Race, Disability And The Possibilities Of Radical Agency: Toward A Political Philosophy Of Decolonial Critical Hermeneutics In Latinx Discrit, Alexis C. Padilla

Language, Literacy, and Sociocultural Studies ETDs

The present dissertation is a non-empirical methodology project grounded in political philosophy. As a practical exercise, it bridges knowledge workers (e.g., educators, action researchers and other engaged scholars) with activists to explore the situated emancipation possibilities of radical agency at the intersection of blindness and Latinidad. It does so in line with DisCrit and other bodies of literature within critical disability studies, works centered on trans-Latinidades and border-crossing, intersectional decoloniality theorizing, critical hermeneutics, critical race theory and blackness/ whiteness studies. It interrogates performative and movement building spaces for teaching and learning that foster radical exteriority trajectories of decolonial solidarity and …

The Critical Need For Mental Health Education To Be Mandated In New Mexico's Public Schools, Bonnie L. Murphy

Shared Knowledge Conference

Based on a review of research and best practices in mental health awareness and skills, this inquiry project argues for state legislative policies that would require mental health awareness and skills in the K-12 curriculum. Mental health affects individual accomplishments in every stage of people’s lives beginning in early childhood and throughout the life cycle. Prevention and treatment of mental illness plays a key role in the ability of an individual to cope with loss and develop resiliency and perseverance in challenging times and to make better decisions that improve the individual’s life and the lives of those around them. …

Schooling Silence: Sexual Harassment And Its Presence And Perception At Uganda’S Universities And Secondary Schools, Elena Mieszczanski

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Although reports indicate that a majority of students in Uganda are sexually abused while in school, sexual harassment and its impact on educational attainment is a rampant yet understudied problem (The Uganda National Strategic Plan on Violence Against Children in Schools, 2015). While harassment in schools by teachers and students is not the only factor leading to high dropout rates among students, the behavior of teachers and students in school, and the lack of discipline towards their actions is an internal contribution to this effect. This study aims to better understand the perceptions on what constitutes “sexual harassment” in Uganda …

Inclusion For A Student With Vision Impairment: “They Accept Me, Like, As In I Am There, But They Just Won’T Talk To Me.”, Jill L. Opie, Jane Southcott

The Qualitative Report

We explore the experiences of Nick, a secondary school student with vision impairment in an Australian mainstream school in this study, and we particularly focus on whether he perceived his education as inclusive. We have used Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis in this single individual case as this approach explores our participant’s understandings which may be revealed by close examination of mindful experiences. The “gem” spoken by Nick (pseudonym), our 16-year old participant, was “They accept me, like as in I am there, but they just won’t talk to me.” This statement summarises his sense of not belonging, of being other, and …

Bullies And Allies Near The Playground: Mothers' Experiences Of Aggression In Their Children's Schools, Mara Vicente Robinson

Dissertations

Despite an increasing understanding of the importance of both parent-involvement and aggression among women, there appears to be little understanding of how these two areas influence each other; specifically, the lack of literature examining the extent to which female guardians experienced aggression from other female guardians and the effect it had on their involvement in their children’s schools. In an effort to investigate the extent to which aggression was prevalent among female guardians, the factors that influenced the aggression, and the effects of that aggression on women’s involvement in their children’s education, a convergent parallel mixed methods design was used …

Sexual Violence Prevention Education At Clark University: A Study Of First Year Programming, Elyana Kadish

Sustainability and Social Justice

This is a study of the sexual violence prevention education programs offered at Clark University. The data analyzed were anonymous feedback forms, evaluation forms, and Pre and Post-Tests. The researcher examined this data, along with literature on the subject of campus assault and violence prevention programs, to understand if Clark's programming (1) creates a set of community expectations, (2) provides students with language and conceptualization tools and (3) influences social norms and intent to intervene in violent situations. The findings indicate that Clark's programs are providing a set of community standards and influencing social norms and intent to intervene in …

Childhood Development: How The Fine And Performing Arts Enhance Neurological, Social, And Academic Traits, Katherine Rowe

Undergraduate Honors Theses

Abstract

Childhood development has always been a major topic when studying psychology and biology. This makes sense because the brain develops from the time a child is conceived to the time that child has reached around the age of twenty-seven. Doctors, psychologists, and sociologists look at numerous things when studying childhood development. However, how common is it for researchers to study how the fine and performing arts affect childhood development? Sociologists tend to be extremely open and mindful of all aspects of things such as culture, sexuality, religion, and even age. By taking a sociological standpoint when studying the arts …

Restorative Justice And Social Justice, John M. Winslade

Journal of Critical Issues in Educational Practice

This paper explains the connections between restorative justice and social justice. Specifically it argues that restorative practices in schools fit with a social justice agenda. It defines both terms and then outlines how restorative practices work to address the pipeline to prison and against retributive justice and zero tolerance policies. It also outlines the use of narrative questions designed to enhance restorative practices.

The Predictors Of Juvenile Recidivism: Testimonies Of Adult Students 18 Years And Older Exiting From Alternative Education, La Toshia Palmer

Dissertations

Purpose: The purpose of this descriptive, qualitative study was to identify and describe the importance of the predictors of juvenile recidivism and the effectiveness of efforts to prevent/avoid juvenile recidivism as perceived by previously detained, arrested, convicted, and/or incarcerated adult students 18 years of age and older exiting from alternative education in Northern California. A second purpose was to explore the types of support provided by alternative schools and the perceived importance of the support to avoid recidivism according to adult students 18 years of age and older exiting from alternative education.

Methodology: This qualitative, descriptive research design identified …

Leading From The In-Between: Disability, Leadership, And Identity, Xochitl Mendez

Lesley University Community of Scholars Day

The daily lives of individuals challenged with physical disabilities shed light on the intersections, as well as the friction, between the identities we forge as individuals, and the social identities of the public space. In this interdisciplinary presentation, I will explore the fault lines between the social concepts of disability and the personal realities and specifics of biology and adaptation.

Exploring my own experiences with disability, pedagogy, and art, I will further delve on how the social realm (Arendt, 1958) evaluates and judges identity from expected modes of interaction that are often not available to the disabled person. Further, using …

Are You Supporting White Supremacy?, Reshmi Dutt-Ballerstadt

Faculty Publications

Dr. Reshmi Dutt-Ballerstadt, professor of English at Linfield College, provides an opinion piece in the form of a checklist of 15 “troubles” she has identified to help others in academe recognize (un)conscious contributions to white supremacy.

This essay originally appeared as part of Conditionally Accepted, a career advice blog for Inside Higher Ed providing news, information, personal stories, and resources for scholars who are, at best, conditionally accepted in academe. Conditionally Accepted is an anti-racist, pro-feminist, pro-queer, anti-transphobic, anti-fatphobic, anti-ableist, anti-ageist, anti-classist, and anti-xenophobic online community.

Guía De Participación Política Adolescente Para La Movilización E Incidencia Política A Nivel Municipal, Population Council

Poverty, Gender, and Youth

El programa Abriendo Oportunidades motiva a las jóvenes a tener iniciativas y desarrollar sus capacidades personales, así como a explorar las posibilidades de liderazgo a nivel comunitario y municipal. Para que sean lideresas capaces de incidir a nivel municipal, es necesario trabajar temas y habilidades enfocados en política, administración estatal, legislación nacional y derechos humanos. Esta guía se ofrece para apoyar el trabajo con jóvenes mujeres que buscan tener incidencia, especialmente en temas relativos a la prevención de la violencia y garantía de derechos a mujeres, niñez y juventud, y pueblos indígenas. Cada sesión está diseñada usando metodología participativa y …

Public School Teacher Support Of Transgender Students, Phoebe Singletary

Honors Undergraduate Theses

Using qualitative interviews, this study explored public school support of transgender students using questions concerning their knowledge, ideas of what inclusion looks like, level of preparation for teaching transgender students, and openness to learning new information concerning best practices. This study aims to fill gaps in the existing research concerning experiences of transgender public school students, examining teacher support for the sake of helping determine policy steps and education that would best help transgender students looking for inclusive education. Emerging themes included generalized acceptance, fear of teaching outside curriculum, emphasis placed on student needs, and teachers' desires to learn more. …

I, Too, Am A Woman: An Emancipatory Text On The Intersections Of Race, Gender, And Sexuality, Michelle M. Allen

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

This inquiry builds upon Black Feminism and Critical Race Feminist frameworks by exploring the juxtaposition between Black Women and Queer Black Women. It is also an exploration of the similarities between Queer Black Women and Black Women and how they interact with femininity and masculinity, patriarchy, and heteronormativity. Claiming digital space through podcasting, it honors the power of counter narratives by employing autoethnographical story telling. It examines the multivalent ways in which critical geographies, safe spaces, and homeplaces nurture or alienate Black Women on the basis of sexual orientation, gender performance, race, and social class. Employing tenets of Black Feminist …

Girlsread! Zambia: Dreams Innovation Challenge, Population Council

Poverty, Gender, and Youth

GirlsRead! is an education and empowerment program in Zambia. It includes three interventions: 1) safe space groups for girls, 2) e-readers designed for rural Africa, and 3) community engagement to bolster learning outcomes and reduce the likelihood that girls will leave school early. This brief describes the program, evaluation results, and implications.

Abriendo Oportunidades: Material Didáctico Para Sesiones De Trabajo, Population Council

Poverty, Gender, and Youth

Este documento es parte de los materiales de enseñanza para mentores en el programa Abriendo Oportunidades. La hoja informativa presenta los derechos de las niñas, adolescentes y mujeres indígenas. Incluye un mapa de los 22 departamentos administrativos de Guatemala.

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This document is part of the teaching materials for mentors in the Abriendo Oportunidades program. The fact sheet outlines the rights of indigenous girls, adolescents, and women. It includes a map of Guatemala's 22 administrative departments.