Department: Educational Leadership ![[clear]](close-x.png "Remove this limiter")
54 matches in the database.
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1.
Beckham, Julius E.
Zero Tolerance Discipline Policies: Urban Administrators' Perspectives.
Degree: Doctor of Philosophy, Educational Leadership, 2009, Miami University
► ZERO TOLERANCE: URBAN ADMINISTRATORS' PERSPECTIVES The goal of the study was to…
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▼ ZERO TOLERANCE: URBAN ADMINISTRATORS' PERSPECTIVES The goal of the study was to investigate the question: What are school principals' perceptions of the effectiveness of zero tolerance policies as a preventive tool against school violence? School districts across the country are adopting zero tolerance policies to give communities a sense of safety and order. According to advocates of the policies, zero tolerance is beneficial for everyone. Some critics, however, suggest that this policy negatively affects marginalized groups. This study revealed that urban school administrators perceive that their schools are safer since the implementation of zero tolerance policies. However, administrators in the study did not view expulsion as a best practice. The study results revealed contradictions in principals' perceptions. Urban administrators are almost evenly split in their views of whether zero tolerance is effective for their students and if students welcome zero tolerance discipline policies. This discrepancy in views is noted throughout the study as a catalyst for discussion of zero tolerance policies in Ohio's large urban school districts and what makes each unique regarding zero tolerance policies.
Advisors/Committee Members: Cambron-McCabe, Nelda.
Subjects: Education
Keywords: zero tolerance; expulsion; discipline; suspension; urban administrators
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2.
Bird, Jennifer Lynne.
Writing A Teaching Life.
Degree: Doctor of Philosophy, Educational Leadership, 2005, Miami University
► This qualitative interpretive dissertation consists of five acts. Each act uses the…
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▼ This qualitative interpretive dissertation consists of five acts. Each act uses the theory of narrative inquiry and the practice of multigenre writing to investigate the stories teachers at the Ohio Writing Project tell as they complete their own writing, as well as the classroom implications when teachers view themselves as writers. Prologue: Provides an overview of the dissertation. Act I: A fictional story based on the author’s life and factual research experiences at the Ohio Writing Project. Act II: End notes which illuminate issues introduced in the fiction and elaborate on what is fact and what is fiction in the research. Act III: Writing from the author’s past presented in multiple genres to highlight the theoretical foundation of narrative inquiry. Act IV: End notes which examine existing literature and the author’s rationale for writing a dissertation from a different methodological approach. Act V: The author’s Ohio Writing Project Portfolio that provides additional critique of teaching, writing, and curriculum. While an abstract may provide an initial outline of this dissertation, it cannot effectively capture the creativity and risk of the author’s writing style. To learn more, keep reading.
Advisors/Committee Members: Poetter, Tom.
Keywords: multigenre writing; narrative inquiry; fiction writing; English education; curriculum innovation; teacher research
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3.
Bowers, Neil Thomas.
A HISTORICAL DISCOURSE ANALYSIS OF THE CANCEROUS AND NON-CANCEROUS BODY IN SECONDARY BIOLOGY TEXTBOOKS.
Degree: Doctor of Philosophy, Educational Leadership, 2006, Miami University
► This dissertation applies the archeological concepts developed by Michel Foucault to a…
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▼ This dissertation applies the archeological concepts developed by Michel Foucault to a study of thirteen biology textbooks (1993-2004) in order to develop an understanding of ‘purchased truths’ concerning cancer. This study focuses on the construction of the health/illness dialogue concerning cancer within the textbooks and not the meaning that the individual makes from reading the text; as such this study concerns itself with social truths rather than the search for an individual awareness of names, dates, or places. This study investigates the practices that allow the creation of dialogues that are inserted into a biology textbook and looks at how discursive formations create the ‘truth regime’ from which the biology textbook is said to speak. Using the Foucaultian themes of ‘event’, ‘emergence’, ‘enunciation’, and ‘exteriority’ a new reading of topics concerning cancer emerge from biology textbooks. Cancer is a disease that will impact the lives of countless individuals but coverage devoted to the pathology of cancer in secondary biology textbooks is very limited and no study textbook devoted a whole chapter to the discussion of cancer. There is an identified reduction in the number of pages and depth of coverage devoted to cancer in the newer biology texts compared to the older texts. Humans are pictured more than plants or animals in presentations concerning cancer with emphasis being placed on the digitalization of human cells via the scanning electron microscope. When the whole body is presented it is seldom located within the technology of disease diagnosis and treatment but rather is posed for specific social control. Just as each digitized picture of the cancerous cell in the texts is used to create a story so too are the pictures of the whole body in action. Possible story lines offered by the publishing houses concerning the reaction of the body to cancer are shown to intermingle with risk factor analysis to project a sense of Foucaultian ‘governmentality’ based on assumed control and self regulation by the informed reader. In conclusion a procedure is suggested to further analyze additional textbooks concerning biological/educational issues that have been recast as social problems.
Advisors/Committee Members: Hofmann, Richard.
Keywords: foucault; archeology; textbooks; cancer; governmentality
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4.
Butt, Joanne.
Exploring Multidimensional Anxiety throughout Competition.
Degree: Doctor of Philosophy, Educational Leadership, 2005, Miami University
► The present study explored the following four areas of competitive state anxiety…
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▼ The present study explored the following four areas of competitive state anxiety prior to and during field hockey competition: (a) the fluctuations and sources of competitive state anxiety across competition, (b) how athletes’ anxiety symptoms were interpreted as facilitative or debilitative and relationships with performance, (c) the strategies used to cope with and /or recover from anxiety fluctuations during competition, and (d) possible interactions between cognitive and somatic anxiety intensity and direction and performance. A structured in-depth interview guide was developed based on existing literature, consisting of open-ended questions. Interview data from the athletes (N=16) was gathered in the following four areas: levels and type of anxiety experienced, sources of anxiety, interpretation of anxiety, and coping strategies used. Findings indicated that anxiety levels and directional interpretation differed from pre-game and during competition, as well as changing throughout competition. Personal performance worries while directly involved in play appeared to be an important factor associated with debilitating perceptions of anxiety. In contrast, maintaining an inner belief to perform was associated with facilitating perception of anxiety affecting performance. Athletes frequently engaged in self and team talk to cope with and recover from anxiety experienced. Finally, cognitive direction emerged as the variable most likely to influence performance while exploring anxiety combinations and influences upon performance. These findings emphasize the importance of measuring anxiety intensity and direction dimensions during competition. In addition, findings offer some important implications for practitioners in relation to coping with anxiety specific to sources and symptoms that occur.
Advisors/Committee Members: Weinberg, Robert S.
Keywords: Competitive anxiety; directional interpretation of anxiety; during competition
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5.
Cardenas, Elizabeth J.
Within and Beyond the School Walls: Domestic Violence and the Implications for Schooling.
Degree: Doctor of Philosophy, Educational Leadership, 2003, Miami University
► Domestic violence complemented by gendered inequalities impact both women and children. Research…
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▼ Domestic violence complemented by gendered inequalities impact both women and children. Research shows that although domestic violence is a global, prevalent social phenomenon which transcends class, race, and educational levels, this social monster and its impact have been relatively ignored in the realm of schooling. In this study, I problematize the issue of domestic violence by interrogating: How do the family and folk culture educate/miseducate children and adults about their gendered roles and responsibilities? How do schools reinforce the education/miseducation of these gendered roles and responsibilities? What can we learn about the effects of this education/ miseducation? What can schools do differently to bridge the gap between children and families who are exposed to domestic violence? This study introduces CAREPraxis as a possible framework for schools to implement an emancipatory reform. CAREPraxis calls for a re/definition of school leadership, home-school relationship, community involvement, and curriculum in order to improve the deficiency of relationality and criticality skills identified from the data sources on the issue of domestic violence. This study is etiological as well as political and is grounded in critical theory, particularly postcolonial theory and black women’s discourses, to explore the themes of representation, power, resistance, agency and identity. I interviewed six women, between ages 20 and 50, who were living or have lived in abusive relationships for two or more years. The two major questions asked were: What was it like when you were growing up? What have been your experiences with your intimate male partner with whom you live/lived. The data from the personal and reconstructed narratives of Belizean women were employed to (1) understand the lived experiences of women who have been battered, (2) unearth historical and cultural continuities, and (3) illuminate the complexity surrounding this social issue of domestic violence.
Advisors/Committee Members: Lloyd, Sally.
Keywords: colonial violence; domestic violence; critical theory; black women's discourses; liberatory pedagogy; power over; power to
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6.
Carmichael, Michelle Liulama.
The Road Less Traveled: Samoans and Higher Education.
Degree: Doctor of Philosophy, Educational Leadership, 2007, Miami University
► This qualitative study probes into the lives of Samoan college graduates and…
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▼ This qualitative study probes into the lives of Samoan college graduates and military members to learn how they ended up making the decision to go into higher education or military service. The subject groups were selected because they are the most popular career paths taken by a Samoan upon completing high school. Twenty-one participants completed narrative interviews wherein they described their career journeys and the many factors that collectively influenced their choice of career. Five themes emerged from the constant comparative analysis of the transcribed interviews: home life, culture, K-12 education experience, role models, and economy. The first theme, home life, was cast as the foundation from where children learn the values they will make their own. The second theme, culture, described how the values instilled in the home life were nurtured. The third theme, K-12 education experience, was the way the Samoan culture was reinforced. Problematic tensions emerged as Samoans attempted to balance the Western views that were taught in the K-12 curriculum and the faa-Samoa or Samoan way that is nurtured in the home life. The fourth theme, role models, emerged as the external force(s) that shaped an individual’s thinking. The fifth theme, economy, unveiled the looming issues such as poverty, unemployment, and government corruption, that plagued the hearts of the men and women of Samoa and fragment this paradise. Overall, the results of this study revealed a lack of vocational options for Samoans that drove many of them to military service, the best option for an immediate economic recovery, but one that did little to improve the overall health and welfare of the Samoan community.
Advisors/Committee Members: Lloyd, Sally A.
Subjects: Education, Higher
Keywords: Samoan; higher education; vocation; career; qualitative; case studies; minority education; colonialism
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7.
Childs, David J.
The Black Church and African American Education: The African Methodist Episcopal Church Educating for Liberation, 1816-1893.
Degree: Doctor of Philosophy, Educational Leadership, 2009, Miami University
► Many Americans in the nineteenth century argued for limited education for blacks…
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▼ Many Americans in the nineteenth century argued for limited education for blacks –or no education at all for African Americans in the south. As a result, black churches took up the role and pushed for education as a means to liberate African Americans. The African Methodist Episcopal (AME) Church stands as a good exemplar for a black denomination that explicitly expressed in their policies that they understood the connection of education to African American liberation. This study is a historical analysis of the AME Church’s advocacy of African American empowerment through education from 1816 to 1893. In the AME Church’s nineteenth century doctrinal statements and publications the leaders explicitly stated that education was a necessary component for black liberation. In this dissertation I argue that, although there were other organizations that pushed for African American education in the nineteenth century, the African Methodist Episcopal Church stood at the fore in advocating for education and connecting it to African American liberation. My primary question is: How did the AME Church connect their advocacy for black education to liberation for African Americans in the nineteenth century? The dissertation will explore two aspects of liberation in the nineteenth century. During the first half of the nineteenth century–from the AME Church’s founding in 1816 through the end of the Civil war in 1865 –the Church worked toward a liberation that was focused on the abolition of slavery and overcoming racial oppression. In the latter half of the nineteenth century from 1865 to 1893 –with the death of Bishop Payne– the AME Church focused on a liberation that was geared toward the notions of uplift and self-agency within the black community, namely black social, economic, and political advancement. The last chapter will examine how this historical analysis has implications for transforming African American education in present times. The text will examine the black church and its ability to empower the African American community through education, focusing on research that has been done on the role of the contemporary black church in African American education.
Advisors/Committee Members: Rousmaniere, Kate.
Subjects: African Americans; African history; American history; American literature; American studies; Bible; Black history; Education; Education history; Educational sociology; Educational theory; History; Literacy; Minority and ethnic groups; Multicultural education; Philosophy
Keywords: Black Church; African American history; Black history; Black education; African American education; Church history; theology; black spirituality; slavery; slave history; slave religion; Albert Raboteau; Cornel West; Michael Dantley; urban education; liber
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8.
Collins, Paul Kamara Sekou.
Rituals of Empowerment, Disempowerment, And Critical Transformative Leadership At A School In Transistion.
Degree: Doctor of Philosophy, Educational Leadership, 2002, Miami University
► Despite over forty years of integrated public education in the United States…
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▼ Despite over forty years of integrated public education in the United States of America there has continued to be an unsatisfactory outlook on education for increasingly large numbers of children of African descent. This issue has led many educators, parents, and concerned citizens such as those at The Marva Collins Preparatory School of Cincinnati (MCPSC) to implement alternative strategies in order to provide quality educational spaces within their communities. Independent schools have been one of the avenues used by African-Americans in pursuit of better educational opportunities in a complex and ethnically pluralistic society. Specifically, this study explores the ways that parents, students, administrators, teachers, and school support staff at an independent day school ritualize aspects of critical transformative leadership in their transition to an independent boarding school. This study focuses on an elaboration and exploration of distinguishing characteristics of critical transformative leadership as well as how these characteristics manifest in this educational setting at such a critical juncture in its development. This study is organized into three parts for a more coherent and accessible document. Part one (I) provides an introduction, a review of related literature, and the theoretical and methodological frameworks guiding this study. Part two (II) encompasses the historicizing of blacks and education in the city of Cincinnati, as well as “inside stories” on daily life at MCPSC during the 2000-2001 school year. Finally, part three (III) entails a critical analysis of the research data with implications and recommendations for the significance of this study.With the above stated in mind, theories of leadership in the United States of America have been articulated, discussed, and debated in the field of education for as long as schools have existed in this country. Much of the discourse usually stemming from technocratic, business models of administration have been thoroughly scrutinized leading to very different ways of conceptualizing what educators such as Thomas Sergiovanni refer to as “leadership for the schoolhouse” (Sergiovanni, 1996). Recent educational leadership discourse on transformative leadership have offered new hopes and possibilities to educational leaders and theorists who are interested in practicing a critically oriented, ethic of risk for the betterment of America’s schools. Studies of this critical ethnographic nature are vital in an epoch in which Carlson and Apple (1998) have identified as “these unsettling times” in American education.
Advisors/Committee Members: Quantz, Richard.
Subjects: Education, Elementary
Keywords: Transformative Leadership; Leadership Theory; Independent Black Schools; African American Education; Ritual; Power
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9.
Crutcher, Betty Neal.
Cross-Cultural Mentoring: An Examination of the Perspectives of Mentors.
Degree: Doctor of Philosophy, Educational Leadership, 2006, Miami University
► Researchers and practitioners involved in adult-youth mentoring programs have long believed that…
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▼ Researchers and practitioners involved in adult-youth mentoring programs have long believed that matching mentors with mentees who share similar cultural backgrounds is beneficial because the mentor can understand the social and psychological conflicts that the mentee might face and thus can teach the youth how to cope effectively. This dissertation examines the perspectives of mentors who have worked for at least one year with protégés who come from different genders, races, ethnicities, socioeconomic statuses, religions and sexual orientations from their own. Chapter one offers a brief history of mentoring in the United States and reviews the professional literature on mentoring in general and cross-cultural mentoring in particular. The second chapter explores some of the relevant educational theories and suggests cross-cultural mentoring as a possible solution to the lack of a democratic access to education in the United States today. Chapter three outlines the qualitative, interview-based methodology used to examine the perspectives of mentors. The second half of the dissertation reviews and analyzes the interview findings and compares those findings with the professional literature on mentoring. Chapter four focuses on the mentors’ general understandings of mentoring by analyzing their use of mentoring metaphors and their description of mentoring in comparison to other major relationships such as parenting, counseling or coaching. Chapter five reviews the key traits that mentors should possess as well as the major challenges that they face when working with mentees from different cultural backgrounds. Chapter six offers some of the promising practices mentors have used in overcoming the challenges articulated in chapter five, and it reveals some of the major benefits of cross-cultural mentoring. The final chapter provides suggestions for how mentoring programs can better select and train cross-cultural mentorships. In order to serve minority youth better, it seems imperative that we augment the numbers of mentors who come from both minority and majority cultural backgrounds and who can effectively build mentoring relationships with minority youth. This dissertation represents one of the only attempts to examine the experiences of mentors who have successfully mentored individuals across cultural divides, such as race, ethnicity, gender or socioeconomic status.
Advisors/Committee Members: Terrell, Raymond.
Keywords: Mentoring; Cross-cultural mentoring
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10.
Dorger, Yolanda Ochoa.
Reinventing Oppression: an Archaeology of Paulo Freire's Pedagogy of the Oppressed.
Degree: Doctor of Philosophy, Educational Leadership, 2008, Miami University
► This dissertation is a archaeological analysis that traces the reinventions of Paulo…
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▼ This dissertation is a archaeological analysis that traces the reinventions of Paulo Freire's idea of oppression in Pedagogy of the Oppressed, by using Foucault's archeological method; it describes “radical transformations and discontinuities” in the reinvention of oppression in different cultural and political contexts by examining the work of Latin American and United States scholars. I focus on the use of Freire's work to redefine the interconnections between literacy, cultures and education that potentially create new theoretical formulations in the United States and Latin America. I emphasize the importance of recognizing the contexts that gave birth to Freire's ideas as well as the proliferation of various meanings and other concerns that grow out of the cultural and political contexts of those peoples and places that continue to speak to the power of Freire's ideas. I focus on the insights and analytical tools that are especially significant to understanding the forces that underwrite Freire's theory and practice.
Advisors/Committee Members: Taliaferro-Bazsile, Denise M.
Subjects: Education
Keywords: Foucault's Archaeology and Genealogy; Paulo Freire's Pedagogy of the Oppressed; Latin America.
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11.
Eagle, Jean F.
Realizing Shared Potential Through School/University Partnerships: Enhanced Opportunities in the Learning Community.
Degree: Doctor of Education, Educational Leadership, 2005, Miami University
► This dissertation investigates and interprets the implications that PK-12/University partnerships have on…
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▼ This dissertation investigates and interprets the implications that PK-12/University partnerships have on various members of a learning community. The College View/Rolling Hills Partnership (a pseudonym) provides the backdrop for this story. Inclusive voice and increased democratic construct provide the lens through which this case is framed. Three research questions comprise the foci of this study: 1. What are the substantive connections and programs established through the partnership? 2. How do students from both the public schools and the university gain from these efforts/programs? 3. How do participants in the wider learning community benefit (or not) from a formalized partnership? This historical case study chronicles the work of the College View/Rolling Hills Partnership using observational data, archival collections of materials, and semi-structured interviews. These interviews reflect the work of the partnership through the eyes of ten key participants and comprise a thorough record of events resulting in a vicarious experience for the reader. The informants’ stories are presented in three broad categories: The Visionaries, those who conceptualized the partnership; The Politicians, those who contextualized the partnership; and The Technicians, those who persist through presentation of programming. Six major themes surfaced as common among these three groups of informants: 1. The need to move forward despite past history. 2. The importance of a partnership structure which encompasses interinsitutional work. 3. The critical nature of persistence and resiliency in partnership work. 4. Quality trumps quantity, meaning not all growth is inherently good. 5. Internal and external community building play an important role in partnership work. 6. Relationships are the key to constructing and maintaining quality partnerships.
Advisors/Committee Members: Poetter, Thomas S.
Subjects: Education, Teacher Training
Keywords: School/University Partnerships; School/University Collaboratives
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12.
Faircloth, Glenn L. Jr.
A Qualitative Study/Counter-StoryTelling: A Counter-Narrative of Literacy Education For African American Males.
Degree: Doctor of Education, Educational Leadership, 2009, Miami University
► Black males are portrayed….in a limited number of roles, most of them…
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▼ Black males are portrayed….in a limited number of roles, most of them deviant, dangerous, and dysfunctional… This constant barrage of predominantly disturbing images inevitably contributes to the public’s negative stereotypes of black men, particularly of those who are perceived as young, hostile, and impulsive. Clearly, the message says: If they entertain you, enjoy them (at a safe distance); if they serve you, avoid them. Thus, young black males are stereotyped by the five “d’s”: dumb, deprived, dangerous, deviant, and disturbed. There is no room in this picture for comprehension, caring, or compassion of the plight of these black men (Gibbs, 1988). The purpose of this study is to tell the story of what some African American males experience with literacy as they matriculate through high school; using the reading portion of the Ohio Graduation Test as a precursor. I am interested in this area of research for two reasons. First, reading is the fundamental basis for all academic learning. Secondly, I want to tell the story of the struggles, successes, alienation, and acceptance that these young men may have experienced while trying to read. The four chapters of this study include the development, the process,the results of the research, and the implications of this study.
Advisors/Committee Members: Dantley, Michael.
Subjects: African Americans
Keywords: African American males
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13.
Floyd, Robyn A.
A Phenomenological Study of the Student Achievement Gap in a Midwestern Suburb.
Degree: Doctor of Education, Educational Leadership, 2007, Miami University
► In an effort to address a broad educational issue - the student…
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▼ In an effort to address a broad educational issue - the student achievement gap between European Americans and African Americans in public suburban schools - this qualitative case study examined the phenomenology of the social world, as conferred in interpretative discourse, that employs a Verstehen framework attempting to understand the culture in higher socio-economic suburban schools as well as how educators and other school personnel construct the meaning of the achievement gap in their social world. Using phenomenology, the crux of the discussion focuses on how teachers, administrators, and other school personnel understand the problem within their school setting(s). This interpretative study centered on ways that educators understand student achievement gaps in suburban school settings. Data analysis was initiated with data generated by the Ohio Department of Education’s state-mandated tests and report cards and continued with the collection of open-ended surveys and interviews. In data analysis, theme response categories were formed. For each, further analysis was conducted by sub-groups (e.g. race, gender, professional position, etc.) in accordance with the most frequently mentioned themes. The outcome of the analysis was a discussion of the research questions. The methods employed were used to gain greater insight into how the Egan Local School District (a pseudonym) employees understand the achievement gap in relation to their “life-world” experiences. This study found that the respondents were very uncomfortable when they addressed the achievement gap. They believed that it had multiple causes, including broad social forces, social class, and a lack of cultural competence. African Americans were more likely to attribute the achievement gap to school or district factors than were European American respondents. The most striking differences, however, were between administrators, teachers, and support staff. Further research is needed to examine student tracking and its purpose for providing intervention and support versus minimizing student expectations and academic course exposure. Additional gaps which might be studied include an income gap, a conversation gap, and a role model gap.
Advisors/Committee Members: Fowler, Frances C.
Keywords: Student Achievement Gap; Achievement Gaps in Suburban Schools; Phenomenological Study of Student Achievement Gaps; Minority Achievement Gap; Interpretative Study of the Student Achievement Gap; Case Study of Student Achivement Gaps; Student Achievement Ga
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14.
Foley, Sean P.
Teaching, Scholarship, and Institutional Service: A Progressive Interpretation of Faculty Work in Higher Education.
Degree: Doctor of Philosophy, Educational Leadership, 2006, Miami University
► Utilizing data collected in the fall of 1998 from the National Survey…
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▼ Utilizing data collected in the fall of 1998 from the National Survey of Postsecondary Faculty (NSOPF: 99), which was obtained from the National Center for Education Statistics, 13 variables representing the work activities of faculty were analyzed to define the constructs of teaching, scholarship, and institutional service. Tenured and tenure-track teaching faculty from public institutions identified by Carnegie Classifications of Research-Extensive (n=1,354), Research-Intensive (n=527), Master’s I (n=1,261) and Master’s II (n=94), were selected and analyzed and found to have two distinctly different conceptual models for faculty work. The Research conceptual model was found to be a three factor model similar to the standard triad of teaching, scholarship, and institutional service. The Master’s conceptual model was somewhat similar though the scholarship factor split into two factors which were named “journal publications” and “non-journal scholarship.” Factors for both models were stable and demonstrated excellent fits to the data. Relationships between these factors and seven demographic variables (sex, minority status, age, years of teaching experience, tenure status, academic rank, and base salary) were examined. Statistically significant (p<.05) findings were mixed in relation to contemporary literature. Minority status findings refute the literature and show minorities have more scholarly works (during the previous two-year period) than Caucasians in Research-Extensive and Master’s II institutions while white faculty in Research-Extensive institutions tend to teach more students and chair more committees. Females tend to engage in more service activities at Research institutions and males tend to have more scholarly works. Academic Rank and tenure tended to be very similar for both Research-Extensive and Master’s I institutions with full professors and tenured professors more active in institutional service and scholarship than non-tenured faculty and faculty without full professor rank. Salary was shown to be positive for refereed scholarly works, some service activities (primarily chairing committees) and some teaching activities (more students equal higher salaries); however the only negative relationship between teaching and salary was the number of courses taught in Research-Extensive institutions. Salary discrepancies continue between male and females faculty members ranging from a high at Research-Extensive institutions at $12,400 to a low at Master’s II institutions at $4,100.
Advisors/Committee Members: Hofmann, Richard J.
Subjects: Education, Higher
Keywords: faculty work; higher education; teaching, scholarship, service; tenure; sex; minority status
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15.
Gilliam-Smith, Rhonda.
FREEDOM ACTS: A HISTORICAL ANALYSIS OF THE STUDENT NON-VIOLENT COORDINATION COMMITTEE AND ITS RELATIONSHIP TO THEATRE OF THE OPPRESSED.
Degree: Doctor of Philosophy, Educational Leadership, 2008, Miami University
► There are two tensions in critical pedagogy. One is between the universalistic…
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▼ There are two tensions in critical pedagogy. One is between the universalistic and the particularistic critical pedagogy models. The other tension exists between the community and the schools. Critical pedagogy as universalistic is good, but we need to know how critical pedagogy can be used more specifically on American soil by African Americans. Secondly, we also need to reclaim education as a community project. Understanding SNCC's social dramas through the lens of Theatre of the Oppressed as reflected in Critical Pedagogical practice helps educators understand how they can best engage the community in reclaiming the task of educating its youth. This dissertation is a social history of the Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) and its relationship to Augusto Boal's, Theatre of the Oppressed. Theatre of the Oppressed (Boal, 1979) was developed out a community based educational program that uses theatre as a tool for social and cultural transformation. I focused on SNCC's several freedom acts of the early 1960's: The Sit-Ins, Freedom Summer, Freedom Schools, and the Free Southern Theatre. SNCC, a student lead social movement, was established February 1, 1960 with the first sit-in and is considered by many historians as the catalyst for social change during the civil rights movement that increased voting registration, civic engagement, collective and individual transformation. This dissertation thus represents a recovery of memory, and an attempt to make use of this historical memory to re-think critical pedagogy as dramaturgical and community-based. In re-covering and re-working the memory of SNCC's militant pedagogy from the early 1960s, I am informed by Augusto Boal's Theatre of the Oppressed, which in turn is related to Paulo Freire's pedagogy of the Oppressed, and through Freire to the work of Henry Giroux and others in critical pedagogy. An historical analysis was conducted on these freedom acts by examining archival data, interviews and secondary sources to understand the specific ways in which SNCC's freedom acts reflects Augusto Boal's (1985) Theatre of the Oppressed Forum Theatre's main techniques: Protagonist/Antagonist, Spectator/Actor, and the Joker. I also explored the particular features of SNCC's social dramas that don't necessarily fit neatly into Boal's model. In general, SNCC's freedom acts exhibited critical pedagogical practices (Freire, 1996) by helping the oppressed and the oppressor reach conscientization, valuing dialogue, and providing opportunities for the oppressor and the oppressed to gain a greater understanding of oppression through carefully questioning every aspect of society. In the final analysis, I provide a conceptual framework (Giroux, 1992) from the techniques learned from studying SNCC's community engagement work and its radical pedagogy and practices. SNCC's Freedom Acts were, individually and collectively transformative, reflective of Forum Theatre, and can be used today as a radical pedagogical framework for black communities to reclaim education promote critical pedagogy in the community and in local schools.
Advisors/Committee Members: Carlson, Dennis.
Subjects: African Americans; Curricula; Education history; Educational theory
Keywords: African American Cultural Studies, Civil Rights Movement, Critical Pedagogy, Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee, and Theatre of the Oppressed.
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16.
Gohn, A. Janelle.
Signs of Change: The Role of Team Leadership and Culture in Science Education Reform.
Degree: Doctor of Philosophy, Educational Leadership, 2004, Miami University
► Sustained, widespread changes in educational practices have been elusive due to focus…
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▼ Sustained, widespread changes in educational practices have been elusive due to focus on positional and individual leaders and the conservative nature of school culture. Sustained, high quality professional development has been found to increase standards based science teaching in isolated classrooms, but leadership that distributes power and emphasizes relationships could create change throughout entire schools or districts. In Discovery’s Schoolwide Reform Initiative, school based teams of teachers and administrators created professional development plans to spread standards based science instruction throughout their school or district. Two leadership teams, one from an urban middle school and the other, a small suburban district, were selected for this study based on high student achievement and history of successful innovation. Symbolic interactionism was used to study relationships among team members. The interactions at team meetings and professional development activities were recorded over a two year period and coded for emergent themes related to the development of team culture and the spread of reform. The urban middle school team was derailed by overwhelming change. The school lost its critical mass of experienced teacher leaders as the project began. This loss, combined with budget cuts, changes in superintendents, and a district wide reorganization that forced the school to change from middle school to a junior/senior high school, virtually eliminated opportunities for team culture to develop or reform to spread. The small suburban district team developed trusting relationships and successfully implemented a professional development plan that increased standards-based science teaching, contributed to the development of a learning community and increased teacher leadership. The team culture included rituals and symbols that increased solidarity, differentiation of roles based on voluntarism, and a sense of shared responsibility. The team exemplified distributed leadership (Spillane, Halverson and Diamond, 2001) and the practice of the team leader and principal was consistent with transformative leadership (Burns, 1978; Foster, 1986) as power was distributed and new leaders emerged. Stability, voluntarism, trust, content expertise, district support and reduction of power differentials appear to facilitate the development of team leadership, which leads to the spread of reform. Urban schools need stability in order for team leadership to develop and reform to spread.
Advisors/Committee Members: Jane Butler Kahle, Nelda Cambron-McCabe.
Keywords: team leadership; distributed leadership; transformative leadership; science education reform; change; relationship; intersubjective; symbolic interactionism; culture; symbols; ritual; trust; voluntarism; stability; professional development; teacher leader
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17.
Golubieski, Mary R.
Teaching for Visual Literacy: Critically Deconstructing the Visual Within a Democratic Education.
Degree: Doctor of Philosophy, Educational Leadership, 2003, Miami University
► Literacy is an ability to access, analyze, evaluate, and communicate information in…
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▼ Literacy is an ability to access, analyze, evaluate, and communicate information in any form. Educators have worked to systematically address the understanding of words for students. What are we doing collectively in schools to address understanding of the image? A goal of visual literacy and effective viewing are included in the Ohio Competency Based Curriculum Model for Language Arts, leaving teachers to determine techniques and purposes independently. This qualitative, interpretative study illuminates the meanings, purposes, and methods for a visual literacy curriculum for language arts teachers within a small suburban school district in southwestern Ohio. Through ethnographic techniques a visual arts teacher searches for ways to help language arts teachers curricularize and teach for visual literacy. With philosophical underpinnings of phenomenology and Deweyan pragmatism, professional development work sessions allow teachers to determine their own working definition for visual literacy and to determine elements and art forms to be considered. Individual planning sessions, followed by classroom observations, help to draw a picture of district possibilities and directions through narrative and metaphor. Theories of cultural studies, multiliteracies, and visual culture lead students to critically deconstruct visual imagery and move them beyond individual interpretation in order to benefit the wider community. Close connections to a visual arts curriculum for visual literacy are highlighted through an autoethnographic portrait of a secondary art education approach to instruction for visual literacy. Determinations relate to levels of literacy development leading from recognition literacy, reflective literacy, to reproductive literacy, and ultimately to transformative literacy according to theories by Unsworth and the New London Group. An integrated curriculum model for teaching for visual literacy may hold the most promise for future development.
Advisors/Committee Members: Poetter, Thomas.
Keywords: Visual Literacy; Visual Culture; Cultural Studies; Multiliteracies
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18.
Goodney, Thomas L.
ASSESSING KNOWLEDGE, UNDERSTANDINGS, SKILLS, AND TRAITS: A DISCREPENCY ANALYSIS OF THOSE WHO PREPARE AND HIRE SECONDARY PRINCIPALS IN OHIO.
Degree: Doctor of Education, Educational Leadership, 2007, Miami University
► A purported discrepancy exists in Ohio between what knowledge, understandings, skills, and…
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▼ A purported discrepancy exists in Ohio between what knowledge, understandings, skills, and traits are most important for preparing secondary principals compared to those valued in selecting and hiring secondary administrators. The purpose of this study was to determine the areas and the degree of discrepancy, if any, in perceptions among educational leadership faculty and superintendents in the value and utility of Interstate School Leaders Licensure Consortium Standards (ISLLC) and Ohio Standards for Principals (OSP) as well as the specific knowledge, understandings, skills, and traits contained in them. The design of this primarily quantitative study used simple descriptive statistics and basic tests to identify significant statistical variances between educational leadership faculty and superintendents and assistant superintendents. Additionally, this study uses limited qualitative data gathered from a one-time facilitated discussion that further illustrate and support the findings. As expected, some statistical analyses of knowledge, understandings, traits, and/or skills revealed distinct differences in the perceptions of superintendents and educational leadership professors. However, comparison of means of the two groups generally showed more agreement than variation, a finding that surprised participants in a facilitated discussion among a small group of superintendents, assistant superintendents, and educational leadership faculty. Other findings yielded statistically significant correlations between rankings of certain ISLLC and OSP standards and specific demographics of educational faculty. In effect, adjunct professors and full professors seem to differ on the importance of preparing secondary principals in relationship to developing, articulating, and implementing a shared vision, in addition to engaging parents and community members in the educational process. Clearly this new line of inquiry exposes the inherent discrepancies among the realities of standards, accountability, and structures that define the parameters of the secondary principalship as seen by superintendents and assistant superintendents and by theories of leadership, teaching, and learning that frame the scope of principal preparation programs. Further, this study raises new and important questions for future investigation that could serve to bridge the gap and better prepare secondary principals for what is expected of them in the field.
Advisors/Committee Members: Bueschel, Ellen V.
Subjects: Education, Administration
Keywords: Leadership; Standards; Superintendents; Principal preparation; Professors; Knowledge; Understandings; Traits; Skills; Discrepancy
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19.
Gregg, Mary Jane.
The Female Assistant Principal: Stepping Stone or Stumbling Block to the Secondary School Principalship.
Degree: Doctor of Philosophy, Educational Leadership, 2007, Miami University
► This research attempted to develop a theory that describes how the position…
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▼ This research attempted to develop a theory that describes how the position of the secondary female assistant principal is a "stepping stone or stumbling block" to the secondary school principalship. The qualitative research was conducted by interviewing five secondary female present or past principals who had also served as assistant principals. Each participant was interviewed twice and completed a survey listing her duties as both an assistant principal and principal. Using grounded theory, the reseacher began with an area of study and allowed the theory to emerge from the data. By reading field notes and listening to the interviews, she identified and categorized, what was significant and classified and labeled it into patterns. The overall strategy was one of interpretive research with five basic questions that all interviewees were asked. From the analysis the grounded theory that emerged is that female assistant principals must know how to navigate through the organizational socialization of secondary administration in order to successfully become secondary school principals. Touted as a valuable training ground for the role of the principal, the assistant principal's major duty is discipline and supervision with varied time or control to exercise genuine leadership. Briefly stated, this study suggests that female assistant principals at the secondary level are limited in opportunities to be an educational or trnsformative leader; are held to a different standard of performance than male administrators; are hindered by family obligations; are provided minimal training for the major duties of being a principal; view discipline as a time to build relationships with students and parents, including an element of care; need mentors or support persons to open doors in secondary administration; and they have difficulty being true to themselves in a male dominated profession. Taking great pride in obtaining the position of AP, none of the participants expressed a desire to remain in the AP position but believed it was important to have been a classroom teacher for at least ten years before becoming an AP.
Advisors/Committee Members: Fowler, Frances C.
Keywords: female leadership; organizational socialization; inclusionary; hierarchical; functional
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20.
Harewood, Terrence O'Neal.
Struggling to Find Black Counternarratives:Multiculturalism,Black Entertainment Television, and the Promise of 'Star Power'.
Degree: Doctor of Philosophy, Educational Leadership, 2002, Miami University
► Skeptical about the radical potential of multicultural education given its cooptation by…
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▼ Skeptical about the radical potential of multicultural education given its cooptation by mainstream educational discourses, this dissertation explores the possible existence of counternarratives of Blackness within commercialized popular culture. In light of the fact that Blacks watch television at astronomical rates unparalleled to other U.S demographic groups, I interrogate Black Entertainment Television (BET), the nation’s first African American owned and operated multimedia conglomerate, in order to illuminate possible counter-hegemonic narratives of Blackness. I argue that in order for multicultural education to engender any substantial educational and social transformation, the discourse must be rearticulated, from a postcolonial and cultural studies perspective, as the study of youth identity formation which centers pedagogy around discursive practices that influence the construction of youth subjectivities. From a postcolonial and cultural studies perspective, multicultural education is about understanding, reaffirming, and “troubling” identities. It is also about understanding how identities are discursively produced, represented, and performed in society. As such, the mass media and sites such as BET must be subjected to intense critique as an integral dynamic of multiculturalism. My project makes the case for a syncretic pedagogy which employs critical media literacy as the curriculum framework and problematizes the essentialist and binary logics that have come to characterize multicultural education in the United States.
Advisors/Committee Members: Carlson, Dennis.
Keywords: Black Entertainment Television; BET; Education; Black Counternarratives
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21.
Hawkins, Lillian Artene Hall.
Race, Representation, and Role: Why African American Females Run for School Board.
Degree: Doctor of Philosophy, Educational Leadership, 2008, Miami University
► This dissertation answers the overarching research question: “How do African American female…
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▼ This dissertation answers the overarching research question: “How do African American female school board members understand their role as board members?” The subsidiary questions are: Why do African American female school board members choose to run? Who do African American female school board members believe they represent? To what extent does race affect their understanding of their role as a school board member? To what extent does gender affect their understanding of their role as a school board member? An interpretive qualitative case study methodology was utilized. The research design used was an embedded, multiple-case design. Fifty-two African American school board members in the state of Ohio were sent surveys. Twenty-one African American females completed the survey. Recorded interviews were conducted with eleven volunteer participants. The findings indicated that women run because they have a passion to help children and their school district. Some women were asked to run because others saw talent in them and because there was a desire to have African American representation on the school board. The school board members in this study believed that they represented all students, regardless of race or ethnicity, and saw their constituencies as the community at large, the tax payers, and the people who voted them into office. The women in this study seemed not to see race as a major factor in how they perceived their role, yet they were well aware that race was an issue as to how they were perceived. They were ever mindful of the ethnicity of their students, and felt compelled to represent the poor, the minority, and the socially disenfranchised. The African American female board members in this study acknowledged that women were different than men in how they interacted on the school board, but did not think they were handicapped by their gender. In fact, they thought that being female enabled them to be more nurturing to students, more organized, and to follow through on board actions, more so than their male counterparts.
Advisors/Committee Members: Fowler, Dr. Frances.
Subjects: African Americans; Education; Gender; Minority and ethnic groups; School administration; Social structure; Teacher education; Womens studies
Keywords: school boards; educational leadership; African American women; race; representation; feminism; gender
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22.
Howard, Shewanee D.
STANDING ON THE AUCTION BLOCK: TEACHING THROUGH THE BLACK FEMALE BODY.
Degree: Doctor of Philosophy, Educational Leadership, 2007, Miami University
► While previous research has examined the experiences of Black women in academe,…
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▼ While previous research has examined the experiences of Black women in academe, the current project seeks to determine how Black female faculty members experience teaching in the Black female body, specifically within the confines of the classroom. This project is launched first from examining the life of Saartjie Baartman. As a teenager, Saartjie Baartman was taken from her home in South Africa to London and Paris where she was physically, emotionally, and socially exploited by “researchers” who were finding ways to prove racial inferiority. She was named the “Hottentot Venus” by Europeans where she “danced” and performed exhibiting what “researchers” have termed her protruding genitalia, specifically her buttocks. Investigating her life and stereotypical images of the Black female body in the American Imagination provides a vehicle to examine the preconceived notions that students bring with them to the classroom. Saartjie Baartman, Mammy, Sapphire, and “Jezebel” are juxtaposed with the experiences of three Black female faculty members to illustrate the continued struggle to adopt more positive images of Black women in history and in popular culture. Through interviews and observations, three Black female faculty members from a Mid-western university were studied using Black Feminist Thought (Collins, 1998, 2000) and Performativity (Butler, 1990) as frameworks. Though these women experienced feelings of isolation and invisibility within academe, the classroom becomes a sanctuary where in they are reminded why they teach. They face resistance from students in the classroom, yet this space provides an opportunity to renew their ideas and their passion to produce critical thinkers and socially just learners.
Advisors/Committee Members: Taliaferro Baszile, Denise.
Subjects: Education, General
Keywords: Saartjie Baartman; Black Feminist Thought; Performativity; Stereotypical Images of Black Women; Black Female Faculty; Teaching experiences
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23.
Hulshult, Nancy Kay.
MORAL LEADERSHIP IN ALTERNATIVE EDUCATION: THEORY AND PRACTICE IN SCHOOL ADMINISTRATION.
Degree: Doctor of Education, Educational Leadership, 2005, Miami University
► This research is a case study of six alternative education administrators and…
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▼ This research is a case study of six alternative education administrators and the extent to which they intentionally practice moral leadership. This study examines their capacity for personal transformation, social transformation, and improving interpersonal relationships, as described by Dr. Eloy Anello of Nur University. This case study concludes that moral leadership varies among the six administrators, but their leadership practice is consistent in the following four ways: (1) they are primarily student-centered; (2) they persevere to overcome obstacles to learning; (3) they communicate a vision for their alternative programs; and (4) they value positive interpersonal relationships. Consistently they practice some form of daily personal reflection, but without systematic reflection on action within a consistent, evolving conceptual framework. This study indicates that the administrators do not distinguish between the practice of dialogue and reflection. This study also indicates the need for further research in the area of moral leadership and the related components of dialogue, reflection, and building community.
Advisors/Committee Members: Dantley, Michael.
Subjects: Education, Administration
Keywords: moral leadership; alternative education; Anaello; administration; leadership; dialogue; reflection
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24.
Karaba, Robert G.
Making Sense of Freedom in Education: Three Elements of Neoliberal and Pragmatic Philosophical Frameworks.
Degree: Doctor of Philosophy, Educational Leadership, 2007, Miami University
► This dissertation interprets our current cultural educational practices of marginalizing civic education…
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▼ This dissertation interprets our current cultural educational practices of marginalizing civic education and the humanities and enacting charter school laws under “free-market” rationale as representing the erosion of the “public” in public schools in the name of a particular (i.e., neoliberal) conception of freedom, which neglects democratic goals and democratic control of the schools in favor of “market ideology.” Market ideology holds a neoliberal conception of freedom as a supreme value. By examining the neoliberal philosophy of freedom as presented by Friedrich A. Hayek in his work, The Constitution of Liberty, it is shown that within Hayek’s philosophical framework an ethical dilemma arises between democratic public goods and freedom (i.e., concern for the public good is seen as the greatest threat to liberty). And freedom most often wins. What results is economic oppression, and public spaces— such as schools, the media, and the environment—being eroded in the name of freedom. Therefore, making sense of “freedom” from a neoliberal standpoint contributes to the erosion of the “public” in public schools. Using the American pragmatism of primarily John Dewey, yet also G.H. Mead, Richard Rorty, and other more current pragmatic thinkers, this project seeks to re-construct the meaning of freedom so that it is consistent with democratic public goods, not antithetical to them. Using pragmatism as methodology means that this is not an inquiry into what “freedom” really is, but rather this dissertation is about the meaning-making experience of the significant symbol “freedom,” and the reconstruction of that experience for particular ethico-politico purposes. The reconstruction of “freedom” that I seek will not be easy because the neoliberal conception of freedom is part of our dominant, cultural discourse of freedom. This neoliberal notion of freedom logically fits within certain other central elements or philosophical tenets within what Charles Taylor calls the “modern Western identity.” These include core beliefs about 1) the ontological status of the individual, 2) the aim of an onto-epistemological project, and 3) the source of moral authority. Thus, I claim the dominance of the neoliberal discourse of freedom is partially due to the internal consistency of its specific meaning of freedom with these three central elements of the current, modern Western philosophical framework.
Advisors/Committee Members: Knight Abowitz, Kathleen.
Keywords: freedom; education; neoliberalism; pragmatism
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25.
Kilgore, Jenny.
RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN TEACHER PEDAGOGY AND PRACTICE:SERVING THE INDIVIDUAL LEARNER IN A DIVERSE SCHOOL COMMUNITY.
Degree: Doctor of Philosophy, Educational Leadership, 2006, Miami University
► A report sponsored by the U.S. Department of Education (2000) regarding the…
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▼ A report sponsored by the U.S. Department of Education (2000) regarding the effectiveness of different aspects of ‘school’ on student learning found that although much research has been conducted to identify a relationship between resources and student achievement, very little has been done to identify a link between teacher pedagogy and student learning. This study, using one hundred twenty four middle school teachers, developed a twenty item, four-point Likert survey. The survey assesses respondent disposition and preferences for utilizing traditional and inclusive teaching pedagogy. Each respondent receives a traditional and an inclusive score. The higher of the two scores is assumed to be the respondents strongest pedagogical preference. Observations of twenty respondents’ teaching practices and informal interviews provide information concerning the teachers’ understanding of a relationship between their perceived and enacted pedagogical practice and provide observational validity for the instrument. The findings of this study will benefit the education community by providing a better understanding of the relationship linking teacher pedagogy and its classroom enactment, a means for pedagological teacher self-evaluation, and a better understanding of a teaching-learning classroom environment.
Advisors/Committee Members: Hofmann, Richard.
Keywords: inclusive; traditional; homogeneous; heterogeneous; inclusive education
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26.
LaFever, Kathryn S.
Interdisciplinary Teacher Education: Reform In the Global Age.
Degree: Doctor of Education, Educational Leadership, 2008, Miami University
► The Global Age can be understood as an Age of Interdisciplinarity, as…
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▼ The Global Age can be understood as an Age of Interdisciplinarity, as complex global problems increasingly require interdisciplinary approaches. Interdisciplinarity is a relatively nascent curricular approach yet one increasingly needed in the field of education. This study advocates postsecondary interdisciplinary teacher education reforms that effectively integrate discipline-based coursework with interdisciplinary courses to prepare future teachers to utilize interdisciplinary curricular approaches in P- 12 education. This is a study of interdisciplinarity but also an interdisciplinary study. It conceptualizes interdisciplinary teacher education based on a constructivist theoretical approach indebted primarily to Maxine Greene, and focuses especially on literature in the field of interdisciplinary studies, published in the United States since 1997. The confluence of interdisciplinary and constructivist approaches, as well as interdisciplinarity and disciplinarity are examined. Existing interdisciplinary teacher education programs, interdisciplinary teaching strategies, and curricular designs are explored. This study provides a conceptual model that addresses teacher professionalization, interdisciplinary vision, global consciousness and wide-awakeness, and the democratic dimensions of interdisciplinary teacher education. It conceptualizes critical and socioculturally relevant education, learning communities, student-centered education, novice and non-specialist interdisciplinary inquiry, Deweyan cognitive disequilibrium, interdisciplinary research questions and questioning skills, interdisciplinary integration, and alternative academic structures and resources in interdisciplinary teacher education.
Advisors/Committee Members: Carlson, Dennis.
Subjects: Teacher education
Keywords: interdisciplinary; teacher education; international education; educational reform; constructivism; Maxine Greene
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27.
Lang, Susan Kay.
An Evaluation Study of Short Cycle Assessments: an Instructional Process.
Degree: Doctor of Education, Educational Leadership, 2006, Miami University
► This study evaluated the Literacy Curriculum Alignment Process (LCAP) to determine if…
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▼ This study evaluated the Literacy Curriculum Alignment Process (LCAP) to determine if the school districts that have adopted the process show improvement on measures for the Ohio Academic Content Standards after two years. The LCAP is defined as an intensive literacy-based professional development program. The process was developed to introduce principals and their leadership teams to an array of instructional tools including the backwards-building curriculum from standards, curriculum alignment, mapping, assessment practices, and data analysis protocols. The primary focus of the LCAP process is to work with professional learning communities to design a formative assessment program that monitors student progress towards the mastery of literacy and numeracy standards. This study examined the LCAP process utilizing an objectives based evaluation model. A series of questions were proposed and the achievement was gathered through both qualitative (proximate) and quantitative (distal) methods. The quantitative findings indicate an improvement on the Ohio standardized tests in fourth and sixth grades in 53 buildings of 20 Ohio public school districts. The qualitative data were generated through a series of questions posed to respondents in a survey through focus groups. Emergent themes were prevalent in the analysis of surveys, feedback forms, and focus groups. Themes included how teachers learn of standards and state tests; teacher perception for the rationale for the short cycle assessments and critical thinking; teachers’ and students’ preparation and anxiety level for the tests; instruction/curriculum changes due to test performance; teachers’ accounts of needing reflection and collaboration time; teacher perception of new educational initiatives with a short-term fix; and teacher utilization of data analysis. Several positive changes in perception regarding the teachers’ views of standard-based assessment were found.
Advisors/Committee Members: Cambron-McCabe, Nelda.
Keywords: Short Cycle Assessments; Common Assessments; evaluation; curriculum and instruction; professional development; qualitative; quantitative; literacy
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28.
Lofton, Gabriel E.
EGALITARIAN CRIES FROM THE SCHOOLHOUSES: NCLB RAISING STANDARDS OR BARRIERS FOR AMERICA'S POOR AND MINORITY STUDENTS?.
Degree: Doctor of Philosophy, Educational Leadership, 2007, Miami University
► The purpose of this study is to present information that will contribute…
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▼ The purpose of this study is to present information that will contribute to the growing debate around the No Child Left Behind Act. It will illuminate the law’s strengths and weaknesses and offer ways it can be modified to truly benefit poor and minority children across the country. The research was influenced by what current research on school reform suggests but will inform individuals further about this subject. The study examined the extent of the actual and likely effectiveness of the NCLB at improving the academic achievement of the disadvantaged and changing the culture of America’s schools. The following research questions were used to analyze and synthesize the relevant information needed to complete the study: What is the theory of action implicit in the sections of NCLB relating to accountability and narrowing the achievement gap? Based on relevant research, to what extent is NCLB likely to raise barriers for America’s poor and minority children? Based on relevant research, how likely is it that poor and minority students will achieve 100% proficiency in literacy and mathematics by 2014? Based on relevant research, how likely is it that NCLB will equalize educational outcomes for all poor and minority children? According to the theory of action suggested by the best current research, what changes in or supplements to NCLB would increase its likelihood of improving the quality of education for America’s poor and minority children? This study is a conceptual dissertation which applied Arygyis and Schon (1974) theory of action to NCLB. The study concluded by identifying positive and negative aspects of NCLB and by identifying supplements/amendments to the law that would truly benefit poor and minority children. The findings mean a number of things for secondary schools and institutions of higher learning as well. Closing the achievement gap between specific groups of students means our policy framework must deal with the whole child – inside and outside of the schoolhouse.
Advisors/Committee Members: Fowler, Frances.
Subjects: Education, Administration
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29.
Mayes-Elma, Ruthann Elizabeth.
A Feminist Literary Criticism Approach to Representations of Women's Agency in Harry Potter.
Degree: Doctor of Philosophy, Educational Leadership, 2003, Miami University
► The purpose of this study was to deconstruct the representations of women’s…
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▼ The purpose of this study was to deconstruct the representations of women’s agency in the text Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone. This study used critical theory, feminist literary criticism, and critical literacy, as theoretical foundations. A matrix for analyzing agency was created as an analytical tool; this consisted of a 2 X 2 matrix, with dimensions of agency (identity and attitude) and strategies used to achieve agency (attitude and voice). Using this matrix I first described each scene wherein a female character displayed agency. Using critical discourse analysis, I then interpreted and explained these constructions of agency, placing them in a broader social and historical context. My interpretation/explanation emphasized five themes: rule following/breaking, intelligence, validating/enabling, mothering, and “bounded” resistance. Embedded within these themes were binary oppositions, gender boundaries, and woman as the “other”. Traditional gender constructions of both men and women were found throughout the text. Ultimately, the adventure in the book is highlighted through active male characters, while passive/invisible female characters exist only as bodies in the background or enablers of male action. When the female characters do resist, their resistance is “bounded” by traditional gender conventions. Ironically, while the female characters resist evil, they never resist gender stereotypes. The study ends with implications for the development of school curricula that enable children to critically deconstruct texts.
Advisors/Committee Members: Lloyd, Sally.
Keywords: critical theory; feminist literary criticism; critical literacy; Harry Potter; Agency
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30.
McLoughlin, Shirley J.
A Pedagogy of the Blues.
Degree: Doctor of Philosophy, Educational Leadership, 2006, Miami University
► This dissertation presents the conceptualization of a pedagogy of the blues as…
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▼ This dissertation presents the conceptualization of a pedagogy of the blues as an alternative to the techno-rational approach to education. The conceptualization is derived from the blues metaphor in which distinct themes are identified and utilized in formulating and enacting a pedagogy of the blues. This pedagogy is presented as an embodied art of teaching whereby there is recovery of the self by the teacher and student, as opposed to the loss of self so prevalent in present day approaches to schooling. The author grounds this work in the powerful early blues of African Americans, identifying specific themes representative of the blues metaphor that reverberate in the work of early blues artists. Starting with the historical roots of the blues, examining the texts of the blues and the lifestyles of early blues singers that embodied the blues, the author traces common themes from these sources. Next, the author presents the evolvement of the blues metaphor through various other forms of popular music in America, including examples from country music, jazz, rhythm and blues, rock, and Hip Hop. The conceptualization of the pedagogy of the blues is framed within the identified themes of the blues metaphor. Grounding the pedagogy in the work of reconceptualist curricular theory and some elements of critical theory, the author also uses personal narratives and lyrics from popular music to help explain the theory and suggest application of this pedagogical approach in classrooms both in public schools and in higher education.
Advisors/Committee Members: Taliaferro Baszile, Denise M.
Keywords: Pedagogy of the blues; Blues; Reconceptualist; Blues metaphor; Curricular theory
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