Social Justice Commons^™

Incorporating Environmental Justice Into Youth Education, Morgan F. Prittie

Community Engagement Student Work

Social Justice is a concept which is often glossed over or excluded from student education, particularly the issues associated with Environmental Justice. Discrimination, oppression, and poor environmental practices all coalesce into dangerously impactful issues, which can be combated by further education and exposure. This project seeks to spread awareness of Environmental Justice issues, provide educators with the tools to implement social justice education, and express the importance of such exposure to students. This interdisciplinary project utilizes the facilitation of a workshop with lessons, activities, and opportunities for participants to engage in discussions. The goal of the workshop was to describe …

Complicating Homelessness: A Workshop For Students And Volunteers, Madeline Wadley

Community Engagement Student Work

Homelessness effects 17 out of every 10,000 people in the United States, and approximately 22 out of every 10,000 people in the city of Asheville, NC. Homeward Bound of Western North Carolina (HBWNC) is a nonprofit organization working to prevent and end homelessness in Asheville through low-barrier services and Housing First practices. HBWNC relies on volunteers from the community and higher education institutions for support in running its programs. While most volunteer training focuses on the day-to-day tasks, boundaries, and procedures related to volunteering with HBWNC, this project focuses on the importance of giving volunteers a solid understanding of homelessness …

What Works For You: Engaging With Antiracism Resources Within A College Setting, Grace Chitam

Community Engagement Student Work

Higher education is often fondly described as the great equalizer. Society has ingrained the idea that if one is able to get to college and earn their degree, they can pave better outcomes for themselves post-graduation. While that may be true for some, this notion oversimplifies how challenging the college experience is, particularly for students of color and other marginalized backgrounds. This project examined how the burden students of color bear of battling racism in its every-day forms on top of their student responsibilities undermines their success. A two-hour workshop was held which endeavored to familiarize participants with antiracism education, …

Adult Education For Japanese Immigrant Community: Social Bonding To Social Bridging, Naomi Nakamura

Community Engagement Student Work

Many Japanese who have been living in the U.S. for more than decades identify themselves as Japanese, not U.S. citizens. This so called transnational identity has an impact on how they assimilate or integrate to American social life. The purpose of this project is to explore the better learning environment and the effects of education for Japanese adult immigrants who may not actively participate in local communities. A workshop was held with Japanese residents in the Boston area to explore microaggressions and how people can think about their engagement with their communities. Workshop evaluation findings suggested that there is a …

Environmental Social Justice Issues And Health Risks In Younger Kids From Vulnerable Communities In The United States: Educating Youth Of Immigrant Communities To Address Social Justice Issues, Shilpa J. Kulkarni

Community Engagement Student Work

This project was conducted to examine the environmental social justice issues in the United States and how they are linked to health issues in younger children in low-income communities and people of color through the lenses of multiple theoretical frameworks. The workshop was focused on educating youth from other communities of people of color, providing them resources so that while bridging the cultural gaps they will become allies. The targeted audience was Asian-Indian youth of Maharashtrian communities across the country. The youth of mixed age group and first and second generations of immigrants from those communities participated in the workshop. …

Youth Character Building Programs: Why They’Re Important, Celeste Arroyo

Criminology Student Work

No abstract provided.

Environmental Psychology: Open Syllabus, Valkiria Duran-Narucki

Open Educational Resources

This is a syllabus designed to work as a "frame" that you can use and populate together with students. The goal is to provide a perspective from environmental psychology.

First African American Female Law Graduate Carved Path To Success, St Mary's University

Black History at St. Mary's University - 2025 Collection

Hattie Elam Briscoe is among one of the most notable alumni in St. Mary’s University history, and St. Mary’s School of Law history as well.  Briscoe was the first black woman to graduate from St. Mary’s Law, and one of the first 50 women to graduate from law school. After university, Briscoe went on to have a successful career as well as garnering awards for her notoriety, skill, and service. Briscoe was also a member of many organizations and boards, some of them being the San Antonio Bar Association, Texas Bar Association, National Association of Black Women Attorneys and more. …

Barriers To Post-Secondary Success, Douglas Swanson, Najeana Henderson, Maritza Sloan

Dissertations

This study reviews factors that prior studies have identified or failed to consider as barriers to post-secondary success. The three main areas include academic success for Latinx students after high school, organizational systems and their impact on African-American students’ postsecondary readiness, and what workers think of their high school education with regards to career preparedness.

Five factors are identified as major barriers for Latinx students to continue in a higher education system. A survey of former students from Saint Louis, Missouri, and Dallas, Texas, metroplex area identified 56 Latinx students that participated in an initial survey. This led to a …

Virtual Advocacy: Lived Experience Takes Center Stage During And After Pandemic, Gyasi Burks-Abbott, Amanda V. Gannaway, Amy Szarkowski, Jason M. Fogler, David T. Helm

Developmental Disabilities Network Journal

COVID-19 forced a significant change for participants of the Disability Policy Seminar (DPS) typically held annually in Washington, D.C. The DPS is a policy event that both informs its participants about current policy and supports attendees visiting Capitol Hill to meet with legislators. In 2020, the DPS event, which took place during the early phase of the pandemic, was shifted from “on the Hill” to “across the screen”. Through the various lenses of an autistic self-advocate, a mother of a child with a developmental disability, and faculty of a LEND (Leadership Education in Neurodevelopmental and related Disabilities) program, this paper …

Using Quality Improvement (Qi)-Focused Evaluation To Redesign Direct Home- And Community-Based Services During The Covid-19 Public Health Emergency:, Marcia Moriarta, Anthony Cahill, Heidi Fredine

Developmental Disabilities Network Journal

Like many UCEDDs in the Developmental Disabilities (DD) network, the Center for Development and Disability at the University of New Mexico offers direct service programs in home and community settings. Before the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, services were delivered in-person to about 1,000 families across the state including clients with intellectual or developmental disabilities and/or from at-risk communities. In March 2020, due to the spread of COVID-19, a public health emergency was declared in New Mexico and home and community services were stopped throughout the state. This meant direct service programs at the Center had to turn to telehealth …

The Writing For Healing And Transformation Project, Heather Elizabeth Osborn

Education Doctorate Dissertations

As a qualitative action research study, the purpose of The Writing for Healing and Transformation Project was to facilitate more inclusive writing strategies and to promote individual and collective healing on issues of social suffering and oppression (Kleinman, Das, & Lock, 1997; Pennebaker & Smyth, 2016) for diverse students at a community college located in the northeastern United States. The 18 participants in the study included students in my English II literature and composition course. The theoretical framework encompassed Pennebaker’s (2016) “writing for healing” paradigm, advocating the use of expressivist writing and “social suffering theory,” examining how power structures affect …

Ethical And Equitable Psychological Assessment Of Black Youth In Chicago Public Schools: A Coaching Model For Cps School Psychologists, Haley Biddanda

School of Education Capstone Projects

This capstone seeks to examine multiple factors that affect Black youth in Chicago Public Schools (CPS) during the psychological evaluation process, and subsequently develops a coaching model for CPS school psychologists to provide more ethical and equitable psychological evaluations for Black youth. An analysis of the system of CPS finds that Black students are more likely to receive special education services and be placed within restrictive settings in special education than their white peers. Despite this, CPS school psychologists receive no training specific to evaluating or working with Black youth. A review of the literature reveals that there are multiple …

Mask Off: Students’ Of Color Traumatic Experiences In K-12 Education And Why Historically Black Colleges And Universities Make A Difference, Diane Courington

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Capstones

This qualitative study explored the lived experiences of 11 participants who had four or more adverse childhood experiences (ACEs). The theoretical frameworks guiding this study are Culturally Responsive Teaching (Crt) (Hammond 2014; Gay 2000), Critical Race Theory (CRT) (Crenshaw, 1988; Ansley, 1988), and Abolitionist teaching (Love, 2019). This study's data collection is based on semi-structured and conversational interviews via Microsoft Teams with Students of Color (SOC) who graduated from Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU) and had an ACEs score over 4. Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) include one or more events such as growing up in a household with an …

Enhancing Deaf People’S Access To Justice In Northern Ireland: Implementing Article 13 Of The Un Convention On The Rights Of Persons With Disabilities, Bronagh Byrne, Brent Elder, Michael Schwartz

College of Education Departmental Research

Article 13 of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD) specifies that disabled people have the right to ‘effective access to justice’ on an equal basis with others. This includes Deaf people. There is a distinct lack of research which explores the extent to which Article 13 UNCRPD is implemented in practice and which actively involves Deaf people in its implementation and monitoring. This paper shares findings from a rights-based research study co-produced with a Deaf Advisory Group and a Deaf-led organisation. It explores the implementation of Article 13 UNCRPD in Northern Ireland through the …

School Leaders Supporting Students Of Color In Predominately-White Schools, Jonathan Swan

Educational Studies Dissertations

Legal challenges to racial segregation and changes in the racial composition of many suburbs have altered the racial makeup of public schools in the United States. This phenomenological study looked at how principals in Predominately-White schools (PWS) and educator facilitators for a state desegregation program (DP) learn about the perceptions of students of color (SOC) in their schools, address negative perceptions of SOC, and attempt to support SOC; it also inquired about hindrances to their efforts to serve SOC more effectively. Thematic analysis of transcripts of interviews with five principals and four desegregation facilitators led to 10 findings. Critical Race …

Teaching Race And Racial Justice: Developing Students’ Cognitive And Affective Understanding, Amie Thurber, Joe Bandy, M. Brielle Harbin

School of Social Work Faculty Publications and Presentations

Effectively addressing both cognitive and affective dimensions of learning is one of the greatest obstacles to teaching race and racial justice in higher education. In this article, we first explore the need to integrate attention to cognitive and affective development, along with evidence-based strategies for doing so. We then provide a case study of an undergraduate sociology course on environmental justice in which the instructor intentionally adopted holistic pedagogical principles of teaching race. Analyzing student responses from a pre- and post- course survey, course assignments, and instructor observations of student participation, we find that both white students and students of …

Victimization In Homeless African American Women And Their High-Risk Behaviors: Implication For Counselors, Kewana M. Davis, Jessica D. Davis, Joyce K. Jones

The Journal of the Research Association of Minority Professors

Victimization is an increasing concern among homeless African American women. This study’s aim was to investigate victimization factors (e.g., sexual assault, physical assault, and domestic violence) and its prevalence and effects on African American women high risk behaviors while homeless. Participants were 200 homeless African American women (ages, 18 years to 65 years and above) receiving services from clinics, shelters, and community agencies. The authors examined the predictive power of victimization factors (e.g., sexual assault, physical assault, and domestic violence) of homeless African American women on the number of substance use per week in a large metropolitan area in the …

Everyone Matters: Eliminating Dehumanizing Practices In Physical Education, Brian Culp

Faculty Articles

Recently, discussions regarding how to create a positive school climate where all can be successful has come to the forefront. Healthy schools support student learning, well-being, time, space to be active, and opportunities for social and emotional growth. However, a host of numerous trends suggest that the school climate is becoming increasingly hostile towards students who are from immigrant, LBGTQ, and ethnic minority groups. What is often seen as disrespectful behavior toward these students is in fact actions that can be more accurately defined as dehumanization. This article overviews the practice of dehumanization, the implications for learning, and introduces proactive …

Spilling The Tea In Bilingual Latinx New York City Department Of Education School Social Workers: Towards Entre Nos, Cindy M. Bautista-Thomas

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Social workers play an important role in schools. There are about one million children enrolled in the New York City Department of Education(NYCDOE) school system, across 1,843 schools (New York City Department of Education, 2020). Of those students, the largest demographic group is the Latinx population, which has been increasing steadily since 2011. Therefore, there is an urgent need not only to increase the numbers of culturally responsive bilingual Latinx social workers, but also to understand their professional experiences. In order to address this gap in knowledge, the roles of bilingual Latinx school social workers as culturally responsive practitioners in …

Teaching Choral Music Of The African Diaspora In The United States: Toward A “Living Black History”, H. Roz Woll

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

In higher education choral curricula, the opportunity to study the breathtakingly rich scope of music rooted in Africa and the African diaspora with rigor and depth is often marginalized, neglected, or missing. If studied, it may be framed in the context of “other music” in contrast to music of the Western European canon, creating an oppositional framework rather than an interdependent one. Moreover, opportunities to study the political economy of this music in relationship to race, class, gender, and religion are lacking. This has multiple ramifications for music students’ preparedness to engage in global habits of citizenship in support of …

Art As An Act Of Social Justice: Introduction To Art, Music, Poetry, In The Time Of Social Distance, Christine J. Yeh

Journal of Interdisciplinary Perspectives and Scholarship

In this special issue in the Journal of Interdisciplinary Perspectives and Scholarship Art, Music, Poetry, in the Time of Social Distance, five contributors write about the impact of injustice and COVID-19 on their creative works and emergent challenges facing artists, composers, and writers. Providing a cultural and socio-political lens, the essays include images of video, poetry, and art to explore and expose our day to day lived experiences of the pandemic—from notions of isolation, normalcy, community, and distance to the larger impacts this has had on historically targeted groups.

The Sanctuary City Project, Sergio De La Torre

Journal of Interdisciplinary Perspectives and Scholarship

Artist, curator, and professor Sergio De La Torre discusses his work with The Sanctuary City Project, which is an ongoing community-based participatory project that develops deeper conversations and awareness about immigration issues often times transforming oral history into visual representations.

Equity Design Framework, Lindsay J. Russell

UNLV Best Teaching Practices Expo

The Equity Design Framework allows instructors to address student equity in their online classes by taking a critical look at their current teaching practices and find ways to enhance equitable opportunities for all students. The framework is set up so the instructor can look at their online course and determine specific aspects that they would like to assess in regards to equity. Instructors then measure their current practices and look for ways they can incorporate equity either through their own self-reflection or by building self-reflective practices into their own teaching.

University Of New Mexico Anti-Racism Action Plan 2021, University Of New Mexico Division Of Equity And Inclusion

Black History at UNM

UNM antiracism action plan 2021: List of initiatives at UNM to intentionally, methodically and systemically address inclusion and equity through an anti-racist lens. This document delineates some recent and planned actions that address concerns raised in calls for action, stimulated by the death of George Floyd. DEI’s work that responds to the many demands for action is ongoing; it is not reactive.

In The Aftermath Of A Racialized Incident: Exploring International Students Of Color’S Perceptions Of Campus Racial Climate, Christina W. Yao, Kaleb L. Briscoe, Jennifer N. Rutt

UNL Office of Research and Innovation, Social/Behavioral Sciences Research Consortium

The purpose of this study is to illuminate international students of Color’s experiences with a campus racial incident at a predominantly White institution (PWI). This study emerged after the release of a YouTube video from a self-proclaimed White supremacist at the participants’ institution, who made comments such as “I am the most active white nationalist in [the state].” In this study, we seek to answer the question: How does a campus racialized incident affect international students of Color’s experience and perceptions of the campus climate at a PWI? The experiences of this population must be considered, especially because of the …

An Exploration Of Ethically Challenging Situations Experienced By School Psychologists And Related Outcomes Associated With Those Experiences-A Mixed Methods Study, Janice Pietrowicz

West Chester University Doctoral Projects

This mixed-methods study followed an exploratory sequential methodology to study pressures placed upon school psychologists to engage in unethical practices and the outcomes associated with those experiences. The participants, 27 school psychologists from Pennsylvania, completed a questionnaire focused on the pressure to engage in unethical practices and related outcomes. Ten of those participants were selected for an interview that focused on administrative pressure related to the Social Justice Theory. Findings show that pressure to engage in unethical practice continues to be a problem in the field of school psychology and that school psychologists experience repercussions as a result of advocating …

Soar: A Holistic Approach To Supporting Survivors, Sabrina Glass

West Chester University Master’s Theses

In this thesis, I address the systemic issue of sexual violence and rape culture that affect students on college campuses at an alarming rate. By utilizing critical action research, I propose the creation of the Department of Survivor Outreach and Response (SOAR), a holistic and collaborative department that focuses on supporting and advocating for survivors of sexual violence while also conducting prevention and education initiatives. I emphasize the importance of Kimberlé Crenshaw’s concept of intersectionality (1993), encourage the use of the Social Change Model of Leadership (Astin & Astin, 1996), and empathy within leadership. SOAR is designed to ensure sexual …

Southern Ways: One Girl’S Experience With Physical Abuse, Sexual Abuse, And Neglect, Merry Trammell

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

This autobiographical inquiry will explore my own experiences with physical abuse, sexual abuse, and neglect. Using the method of currere as a lead theory. The four-step process – regressive, progressive, analytical, synthetic – helped me work towards understanding the parts of myself affected by these traumas. Investigation of my own family’s generations of abuse as well as reflecting on these experiences helped me deconstruct my own story as I search for my own meaning and purpose. This study utilized aesthetics, depth psychology, and place as central themes in this work. I learned the valued of active imagination and the role …

How Trio Sparked The Fire That Fuels The First-Generation Movement: An Interview With Arnold Mitchem And Maureen Hoyler, Rashné Jehangir, Lindsay Romasanta, Arnold Mitchem, Maureen Hoyler

Global Diversity and Inclusion Publications and Presentations

The Co-Editors of Journal of First-generation Student Success, Rashné R. Jehangir, Ph.D., and Lindsay Romasanta, Ed.D., both former TRIO staff members, begin this inaugural issue with an interview with Council for Opportunity in Education founder and president emeritus Arnold Mitchem, Ph.D., and current president Maureen Hoyler, J.D. This conversation is an effort to situate the history of the first-gen movement with those who were there at the beginning and continue to engage in the work today. To quote James Baldwin, ‘‘Know from whence you came. If you know whence you came, there are absolutely no limitations to where you can …