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JacquelinePowersMerkle_Dissertation.pdf (1.61 MB)

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Rocking the Boat, While Staying in: Navigating Domination and Resistance in Suburban Schooling Spaces

Merkle, Jacqueline Powers
http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1542224886343478

Abstract Details

2018, Doctor of Philosophy, Ohio State University, EDU Teaching and Learning.
The purpose of this study is to examine the mechanisms by which domination and resistance operate within suburban schooling spaces. Situated within a body of research focused on power, resistance, and social justice leadership in education, the author explores the following question: How can district administrators utilize autoethnographic research to name expressions of power and illuminate avenues for resistance within schooling spaces? Two theoretical frameworks guide the analysis within this dissertation: Amy Allen’s Rethinking Power (1998) and Meyerson and Scully’s Tempered Radicalism (1995). Written from the unique perspective of a district administrator supporting work around diversity, equity, inclusion, and curriculum, this dissertation utilizes autoethnography coupled with grounded theory methods to capture interactions, observations, and reflections that reveal practices of domination. The primary source of data for this dissertation was the author’s journal, which was written over the course of sixteen months. After engaging in an extensive incident-by-incident coding process, the analysis revealed two major findings. First, the data demonstrates that acts of domination and acts of resistance operate simultaneously and oppositionally within suburban districts. Vignettes are utilized to demonstrate the routine and unconsidered ways in which power is enacted within school systems, while also revealing how resistance is employed as a response to acts of domination, marginalization, and oppression. When faced with dominating behaviors, policies, and practices, the author captures three primary responses: disengagement (e.g., self-silencing), fear, and active resistance. Concurrently, when presented with acts of resistance, teachers and district leadership members showcased two common reactions: re-centering the majority voice and placing blame outside themselves. Second, the data suggests that there are multiple avenues of resistance that provide possibilities for creating systemic change. This study demonstrates how both tempered and radical approaches to resistance are viable methods of enacting change in suburban school districts. For individuals committed to resisting oppression, the data demonstrates the important role that spaces of temporary safety can play in sustaining activists in their work. This study advocates for a shift towards a Critical Administrative Resistance approach to research, which calls upon district administrators to leverage their insider-status to name the ways in which power operates and to illuminate avenues for resistance in schooling spaces. This dissertation contributes to social justice leadership research by demonstrating what Critical Administrative Resistance looks like in one suburban school district. Furthermore, it demonstrates the potential of utilizing authoethnographic research to reveal the ways in which oppression is reinforced, enacted, or disrupted by district leaders.
Cynthia Tyson (Advisor)
Antoinette Errante (Committee Member)
Timothy San Pedro (Committee Member)
227 p.
Education; Educational Leadership; Multicultural Education
autoethnography; educational leadership; power; resistance; K-12 schooling; suburban education; administration; diversity; curriculum

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • Merkle, J. P. (2018). Rocking the Boat, While Staying in: Navigating Domination and Resistance in Suburban Schooling Spaces [Doctoral dissertation, Ohio State University]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1542224886343478

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • Merkle, Jacqueline. Rocking the Boat, While Staying in: Navigating Domination and Resistance in Suburban Schooling Spaces. 2018. Ohio State University, Doctoral dissertation. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1542224886343478.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • Merkle, Jacqueline. "Rocking the Boat, While Staying in: Navigating Domination and Resistance in Suburban Schooling Spaces." Doctoral dissertation, Ohio State University, 2018. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1542224886343478

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)

osu1542224886343478
59
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This open access ETD is published by The Ohio State University and OhioLINK.