Ph.D., Antioch University, 2024, Leadership and Change

This dissertation project used an interpretivist qualitative research design to study how the right-to-read claim made by seven teenagers attending Detroit public schools in 2016 reflects, addresses, or describes contemporary discussions about educational access. Using situational analysis (SA) as a theory/method, the entirety of the claim comprises the situation of the social phenomenon being studied, not the people. This research combines critical race theory (CRT) with Bronfenbrenner's ecological systems and uses situation analysis to map historical discourses to conduct a study that examines the history of a present situation of inquiry as presented by this question: How does the 2016 right-to-read claim made by high school students in Detroit, Michigan reflect, address, or describe contemporary discussions about educational access? The study collected data to allow me to construct a prosopography that articulates an answer to the question that claims access to literacy is a public school policy right. Because situational analysis (SA) is designed to open research data to aspects of a circumstance that may have been overlooked, marginalized, or silenced, I was not certain the research results would answer this exact question. Additionally, critical theory and SA were used to conduct this qualitative research, examining historical data that addresses the right-to-read claim as a Foucaultian programmatic social problem. As such, it seeks to understand the complexities of recurring and historically situated education practices that limit actualizing U.S. education policies that embrace access to basic literacy skills as a human right. This dissertation is available in open access at AURA (https://aura.antioch.edu) and OhioLINK ETD Center (https://etd.ohiolink.edu).

Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 2010, Art Education

There is a disconnection between the visual and visuality when it comes to the issues of representation and identity for a particular group of people. According to Sturken and Cartwright (2001) visuality can concern how we see everyday objects and people, not just those things we think of as visual texts (p. 370). The relationship between images and their visuality renders serious consequences when the group (i.e. Black women) in question is misrepresented. Images of misrepresentation are even more consequential when it occurs within the realms of mass media and popular visual culture because the viewing audience is pervasive. So then, the question that must be asked is how can marginalized groups that are misrepresented in a highly visual world take control of their images? How can they acquire the agency to construct self and group identity? These questions addressed in this research study where their answers can be cultivated and examined within the realm of contemporary art, mass media and popular visual culture. I use a mixed methods approach to collect data through the development of both a focus group and use of content analysis, rhetorical analysis and a quantitative survey (i.e., The Rosenberg Self Esteem Scale). A focus group is useful in gaining knowledge from disenfranchised or marginalized groups. Specifically, the goals of this study call for the use of Participatory Action Research (PAR) with a small population of Black women at The Ohio State University and the use of a survey and questionnaires that measure self-esteem and perception. The main goal for conducting a theoretical and participatory study of the images of Black women in visual art and popular visual culture is to develop pedagogical recommendations of how visual culture scholars can use narrative inquiry and counter-narrative to explore race and gender representation.

Doctor of Philosophy, Miami University, 2008, Educational Leadership

This research project analyzed student success, as measured by achievement tests, within communities of high poverty. The purpose was to develop a grounded theory that offered insights as to how schools located within communities of high poverty could experience success on achievement tests. A second, and equally critical focus of this research was to better understand how teachers and principals interpreted success on achievement tests. What did success on achievement tests mean for students and their chances to live the American Dream? Specific questions this study intended to answer included: Do some schools experience success on achievement tests even when social class predictors of academic success forecast differently? What is occurring in these schools that contributes to their success on achievement tests? How do teachers and school administrators interpret student success on achievement tests in connection to student life chances?

Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.), Bowling Green State University, 2008, Communication Studies

This study examines the ways in which the binaries of a constitutive subjectivity and social reality constrain the identities of large African American women. This constitutive subjectivity is called the Big, Black and Beautiful Body (B4) narrative. The B4 narrative positions large African American women as having high body esteem regardless of current social messages that promote thin body image standards. To explain the operation and power of the B4 narrative, the fattening house, an old Nigerian custom, is used as a metaphor to demonstrate the house's roots to past racist stereotypes. This dissertation employs narrative analysis to critically access twenty in-depth interviews of large African American women and situate their lived experiences within the metaphorical fattening house. Findings reveal these women simultaneously resist and accept the B4 subjectivity and struggle between the binary of the B4 and their social reality. As such, the constitutive B4 subjectivity constrains their lives through four prominent narratives presented here as rooms within the fattening house. This study suggests large African American females constantly negotiate their identity to fit within the B4 subjectivity, although their social reality is not the same. It offers insight into how the large African American female subjectivity is overlooked and the B4 narrative functions to uphold past racist conceptions of black womanhood.

Psy. D., Antioch University, 2024, Antioch Seattle: Clinical Psychology

Recent political movements such as the Black Lives Matter and #MeToo movements have brought renewed attention to the social roles of White women and their unique position of intersectional privilege and oppression. White women experience the benefits of whiteness while simultaneously experiencing the gendered oppression of womanhood. However, there is a lack of research exploring how White women conceptualize and respond to their own positionality as both White individuals and as women. This study utilizes constructivist grounded theory to examine how White women navigate their social location within the context of working in the nonprofit sector, a space wherein White women are overrepresented and often in close contact with various elements of systemic oppression. The analysis revealed that White women view nonprofit organizations as protected spaces that allow them to foster careers without encountering overt sexism. However, White women also believe that nonprofits are fragile and easily threatened by external pressures. They seek to protect these spaces by maintaining a homogenous culture that aligns with White womanhood. They view increasing diversity as simultaneously aligned with their personal and organizational values and threatening to the organization's culture and internal stability. As a result, White women engage in a variety of maneuvers that serve to symbolically pursue diversity without altering the fundamental culture of the organization. These maneuvers allow White women to see themselves as benevolent and values driven, while also maintaining their systemic power over People of Color. The findings offer insight into the role White women play in maintaining systems of racial oppression in response to their own fears of gender-based oppression, and guide recommendations for further intersectional deconstruction of oppressive systems. This dissertation is available in open access at AURA (https://aura.antioch.edu) and OhioLINK ETD Center (https://e (open full item for complete abstract)

Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 2023, Arts Administration, Education and Policy

This dissertation and research study is dedicated to the exploration of critical posthuman educational technology. Research in this study determines, evaluates, and considers educational technology in U.S. art museums through a wide-reaching survey and case study evaluations of the implementation of digital content creation in museums during the COVID-19 era. Critical posthumanism provides a way to understand and restructure expectations of the educational goals of museums that are aligned with the experiences and expectations of digital learning as well as incorporate a multitude of ontological considerations through Critical Race Theory, Queer Theory, and Critical Disability Studies. Beyond simply assessing what has happened in museums, this study seeks to find opportunities for greater change within the system of museum practice and education.

Doctor of Philosophy, Miami University, 2023, Educational Leadership

This study examines the professional experiences of three teachers in a national network of urban, low-income serving, Catholic high schools. These teacher-participants were chosen to participate in this study because they engaged in experiential, community-based pedagogy within this national network and exemplified a commitment to social justice through their teaching practice. As detailed in Chapter One, such teaching practice resembles critical pedagogy and aligns with best practice in quality civic education. Therefore, by examining the experiences of critical educators, this study aimed to illuminate ways we can enhance civic learning for K-12 students by enhancing support for and removing the barriers to critical educators' distinct pedagogical practice. This is particularly important for Students of Color, who have faced historical exclusion from formal and informal modes of civic learning (Campbell, 2012; Lo, 2019). Critical theory (Freire, 1970/1993; Giroux, 2003; Horkheimer, 1972[1992]) and social reproduction theory (Bourdieu, 2016; Bowles & Gintis, 2016) were used to frame this study, which employed qualitative portraiture methodology (Lawrence-Lightfoot & Davis, 1997) to answer two key research questions. The first question— Why do teachers in this Network engage in experiential, community-based pedagogy? —drew attention to the internal and external factors impacting my participants' practice. This set up inquiry into the second key research question: How do these educators exhibit civic and/or critical consciousness about and through their work? Findings from this study revealed that both internal and external factors contributed to the choice teacher-participants made to engage in experiential, community-based pedagogy. Professional ecology, consisting of local school and corporate cultures, were particularly influential on these teachers. That ecology functioned in distinct ways at each study site to both aid and obstruct the critical teaching (open full item for complete abstract)

Ph.D., Antioch University, 2023, Leadership and Change

Of the roughly 3.5 million public school teachers in the United States, approximately 80% are White. In contrast, about 51.7% of the nation's students are African American, Hispanic, Asian, and American Indian. This mismatch is expected to grow as the number of BIPOC students in our nation's public schools continues to increase. Studies have shown that strong positive relationships are essential for learning, but often, the relationships between White teachers and BIPOC students are strained at best, leading to poorer learning outcomes. The purpose of this Constructivist Grounded Theory study was to explore an understudied question: How do White teachers who have been deemed exemplary by educators and parents of Color perceive their relationships and experiences with BIPOC students in an educational system and a society that often marginalizes them? Open-ended interviews were conducted with 19 middle and high school teachers in Massachusetts. Dimensional analysis revealed Being-and-Becoming Across Difference as the core dimension. Five primary dimensions were identified: Reflecting, Relating, Embodying Humility, Affirming Culture, and Holding Hope. Results of this study suggest that significant changes are needed in the recruitment and hiring of White teachers and that pre-service and in-service professional development must support White teachers in far more robust and sustaining ways than currently exist. This dissertation is available in open access at AURA, https://aura.antioch.edu/, and OhioLINK ETD Center, https://etd.ohiolink.edu.

Doctor of Education , University of Dayton, 2022, Educational Leadership

Millions of individuals in the United States experience problematic substance use that progresses to Substance Use Disorder (SUD). Many people who eventually achieve remission of their SUD symptoms seek vocational and personal fulfillment through pursuing a career in behavioral health counseling with a specific focus in counseling for addictions. The demanding nature of the behavioral health profession can present numerous unique challenges and risks to a person who is in recovery from SUD, and educational institutions that train professionals for this field play a vital role in preparing their students for the realities of their future work. In this study, the author conducted qualitative critical participatory action research using a descriptive case study design to explore the specific strategies that educators at a community college in the Midwestern United States utilized to support and empower their counseling students who are in recovery from SUD. The author used critical theory and critical feminist theory to develop the investigative framework and explore the power structures of the organization. In this study, seven students and two educators participated in semi-structured interviews and classroom observations. Utilizing a grounded theory approach, the author coded the qualitative data to identify themes that guided the development of a corresponding action plan. While participants identified that some supportive strategies were utilized by the college, students and educators identified ongoing student challenges around self-driven perfectionist ideals, external and internal stigma against SUD, and polarized opinions on self-disclosure of SUD recovery status. Additional related subthemes were also identified and explored in this study. In the final chapter of this work, the author included an action plan for the site of study that was developed to address the specific challenges identified by the study participants. Built around the existing research o (open full item for complete abstract)

Doctor of Education , University of Dayton, 2022, Educational Leadership

Organizations including institutions of higher education recognize the importance of increasing gender diversity, equity, and inclusion in leadership ranks among women, especially if they want to be top competitors in their industries. Gender diversity increases collaboration, innovation, varied perspectives, increased staff retention and buy-in for new employees determining if they want to work for an organization in question, and a more comprehensive talent pool (People Management, 2021). Previous strategies used to increase gender diversity in leadership have included providing professional development or mentorship opportunities for all women; however, these strategies fail to take into account an intersectional lens and the various ways in which non-white women are affected by discrimination and inequity. “White women have it both ways, they may be may victimized by sexism, but racism enables them to act as exploiters to Black people” (bell hooks,1984 as cited in Kilpatrick, 2020, para. 2). Race and gender in particular create additional barriers to Black, Indigenous, and Women of Color (BIWOC) and their advancement. “White female racism undermines the feminist struggle (bell hooks, 1984 as cited in Kilpatrick, 2020, para. 2)”, further alienating or distancing BIWOC in organizations. Given the additional barriers BIWOC confront, what can organizations and institutions of higher education do to further support opportunities for advancement, that may thereby increase their sense of trust, belonging, and organizational commitment? This Critical Hermeneutic Phenomenological Action Research study explored the lived experiences of current and former Black, Indigenous, and Women of Color (BIWOC) higher education leaders, defined as director and above, and their perceptions of and access to opportunities that support positional advancement, including formal or informal mentorship and sponsorship. The frameworks used to inform the study include Critical/Critical Ra (open full item for complete abstract)

Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 2021, Educational Studies

Related to college students and student-athletes a wealth of knowledge exists surrounding the relationship of identity salience and context. However, this literature remains limited when discussing the enactment of identity. One avenue to examine the enactment of identity is through self-presentation. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to explore the self-presentation process within Black male student-athletes through an examination of identity and the relation to multiple contextual factors. To achieve this purpose, I utilized a constructivist grounded theory methodological approach, which was guided by a combination of constructivism and critical theory epistemological foundations. The study centered the perspectives of Black male student-athletes at historically white Division I institutions. Within this qualitative study, I collected data through individual interviews, a group interview, audio diaries, and tweets to capture data with 16 Division I Black male student-athletes. The study's design and analysis were informed by critical race theory and Black critical theory, which served as sensitizing concepts that are integral within constructivist grounded theory. Data were analyzed using the constant comparative method. The outcome of this study was an emerging grounded theory on self-presentation and Black male student-athletes. The theory highlights the process of self-presentation as comprised of multiple components, which include a dynamic relationship between internal (intrapersonal) and external (inter/extrapersonal) factors and the ability of Black male student-athletes to make meaning of their identities in relation to self-presentation outcomes. Internal factors related to the ways Black male student-athletes understood themselves as it pertains to their identities. External factors represented how varying contexts influence how this population presents their identities, such as surrounding individuals or a business-like environment. Making me (open full item for complete abstract)

Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 2020, Educational Studies

The Guns Free School Act of 1994 led to the overuse of zero tolerance discipline policies and practices in public schools. Policy evaluations, empirical studies, and the Department of Education's Office of Civil Rights found pervasive racial and gender disparities in school discipline in the decades following. When disaggregating discipline data for female students by race, Black girls consistently faced the highest rates of exclusionary punishments compared to any other racial group (regardless of other identifiers such as socioeconomic, disability, etc.). Despite this alarming trend, there is comparatively less scholarship and education policy focus on Black girls' educational experiences with school discipline. This sequential explanatory mixed-methods study used school and district-level data to investigate school discipline for female students in elementary, middle, and high-school in a Midwestern state. This study incorporated Black girls' voices to consider solutions by gathering their perspectives concerning current high school experiences related to discipline and effective alternatives and supportive resources for their schools.

Doctor of Philosophy, Miami University, 2014, Educational Leadership

It is visible in academic dialogue, specifically educational research, that there has not been any substantial research published that constructs or examines The Boondocks animated series in a capacity that extends the discourse past stereotypical issues and paradigms that are associated with the inferiority of African American males and the marginalized experiences they encounter. One primary purpose of this study is to offer a counter argument to the negative conversations that surround The Boondocks comic and animated series. Because most arguments about the text stem from the images and language, the conversations surrounding anything positive or hopeful as it pertains to being a Black male, are left out. Furthermore, this media text is currently not perceived as a reference that can be used as a pedagogical tool. In this qualitative critical media analysis, I sought to answer the question: How does the curriculum of The Boondocks represent issues of race, spirituality, and masculinity? Although The Boondocks is typically understood and critiqued as a Black Nationalist text, I intend to look at the animated series through the lens of race, spirituality and Black Masculinity. I specifically examine the text through the theoretical underpinnings of Critical Media Literacy and Critical Race Theory. Methodologically, Critical Media Literacy, Critical Race Theory and Qualitative Media Analysis help to contextualize The Boondocks animated series. I ultimately argue that the animated series can be understood and used as a curriculum text.

EdD, University of Cincinnati, 2007, Education : Urban Educational Leadership

This study seeks to systematically uncover one part of the complex organism of systemic racism by analyzing the way in which the popular media defines the success of the public school in order to theorize possible explanations for the pervasiveness of educational inequality. Using Newsweek's report on America's “Top” High Schools, this research raises awareness to the reality of educational inequality in contrast to the myths created and sustained by the general media and current trends in classifying educational success. The study has three concomitant purposes: to analyze the way in which academic excellence and the educational success of schools are currently defined in American discourse; to investigate the attention of the media related to educational inequality; and to call for a deeper and broader response to educational inequality by grounding the debate in theoretical notions from Critical Theory, Critical Pedagogy, and Critical Race Theory. After a review of the literature related to educational inequality, the author launches the investigation into Newsweek magazine, its annual high school report, and the schools on its 2006 list. By presenting additional educational information on the Top 10 schools on Newsweek's 2006 list, significant gaps in student achievement and student composition reveal that educational inequality is not a factor in determining overall quality according to Newsweek's criteria. Information related to the debate surrounding Newsweek's report provides evidence that issues related to educational equality remain largely unaddressed by the dominant discourse. The broad implications are discussed in the context of key components from Critical Theory, Critical Pedagogy, and Critical Race Theory such as hegemony, ideology, discourse, the purpose of education, race as factor of inequity, and the role of counter-storytelling. Through an analysis of Newsweek, its annual report, and the debate surrounding it, the author concludes that Newsweek (open full item for complete abstract)

Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 2012, Art Education

This doctoral study concerns itself with how primarily White, suburban, middle-class Art Education pre-service students are prepared in academia to teach in urban/inner-city schools. As a researcher, student-teaching supervisor, Cooperating teacher, and public school Art Educator, the author examines the shifting demographics of public education in an attempt to investigate alternative practices to mitigate problematic issues in the current teacher education model. Drawing heavily on the works of the Critical Geographer Doreen Massey, the author suggests that if “space is seen as being and time as becoming” (2005, p. 29), then a focus on becoming art teacher advances a temporal epistemology. He questions how a shift to a spatial paradigm with an ontological emphasis could allow PSS to focus on being an art teacher instead of becoming one. This particular study investigates the site observations of four undergraduate students at the Ohio State University that requested and/or agreed to be placed in an urban/inner-city school during their Winter Quarter in 2012. During the 12-week study, the participants collected visual and narrative data of their travels to, entrance into, and occupancy of the school and the surrounding area. Employing the use of hand-held media and ethnographic methods, participants were encouraged to document their experiences and engage in reflexive practices throughout the process. The participants used Google Maps to map out their trajectory to the site as a means of critically examining their positionality in relation to the school. Participants created a visual representation of their learning to disseminate with their peers in a formal presentation at the conclusion of the study.

Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 2009, ED Policy and Leadership

A valid concern facing school districts within the state of Ohio, as well as across the country, is situated around methods to increase student performance on standardized high stakes tests and achieve the requirements of the mandated No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Law. Simultaneously, school districts are confronting a multitude of challenges to decrease the impact of student suspension and expulsion within school cultures and comply with local policies such as Zero Tolerance Discipline Policies. The contextualization of both the local Zero Tolerance Discipline Policy and the national NCLB mandate in relationship to standardized high stakes testing and the impact of the two upon one another define the purpose of this qualitative study. This study investigated the systematic methods in which K-12 faculty in an urban school district responded to the sometimes conflicting testing mandates of complying with NCLB and the Zero Tolerance Discipline Policy. The rationale was to use critical theory to examine an education faculty's opinions, perceptions, and strategies involving the implementation of: (1) Locally mandated Zero Tolerance Discipline Policies; (2) nationally mandated standardized high stakes testing laws; and (3) how both policy and law can be counterproductive to one another. The information discussed and the findings of this study have implications for legislatures, superintendents, administrators, teachers, students, parents, intervention specialists, state agencies and researchers.

Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 2006, Teaching and Learning

The purpose of this investigation was to explore Latino students' perceptions of the US History curriculum at one high school in the Eastern United States. The ultimate objective was to understand if the US History classes are serving the perceived needs of Latino students. Data were collected for six months. Data sources included observation notes, interview transcripts from students, teachers, administrators, and a State Board of Education member, the researcher's journal, and document analysis of the State Social Studies Standards and a practice version of the State Graduation Test. This study was influenced by Latino Critical Theory. LatCrit builds on the five themes of Critical Race Theory while adding perspectives unique to Latino experiences in the United States such as language acquisition, cultural background, gender, ethnicity, immigration status, and colonial experience. A major finding of this study was that the US History curriculum is or is not meeting student participants' needs in different ways. The students in Group One stressed the basic need to learn English. Group Two student-participants wanted their culture to be present so that White students would learn about them. Group Three students wanted to learn in more interactive ways, with groups and flashy videos. Students at Crawford did not have an adequate framework around which to make sense of race, racism, and racial tensions. The presence of how race was talked about, and the absence of how race was not talked about, led to negative stereotypes against Latinos based upon ethnicity, immigration status, and native language. The student-participants in all Groups wanted to talk about race. They wanted to talk about their “positive invisibility” at Crawford—that is, the absence of affirmative constructions around their ethnicity, country of origin, and language. The findings suggest that there is a need for more studies with Latino students that focus on the aspects of Latino Critical Theory.

Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.), Bowling Green State University, 2006, American Culture Studies/Ethnic Studies

Baseball, in one form or another, has existed in the United States for well over one hundred years, and during that time it has become an important part of the nation's history and culture. Because of its long–standing presence, baseball has helped to create and maintain national sensibilities on a variety of topics, including race, class, gender, and sexuality through the use of symbolism and imagery. This study will utilize elements from Black Feminist Thought, Critical Race Theory (CRT), and Latina/o Critical Theory (LatCrit) to explore white privilege as well as the ways in which power relationships are structured by the axes of race, ethnicity, class, gender, nationality, and sexuality within Major League Baseball (MLB). Relying on textual analysis as well as Susan Birrell and Mary McDonald's notion of reading sport critically, this dissertation analyzes the cultural meanings of four salient moments from the 1995 through the 2005 season to determine their cultural meanings which in turn will illustrate the persistence of racism, sexism, heterosexism, etc., in MLB and American culture overall. The four moments include the 1998 home–run chase between Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa, the focus on Mike Piazza's and Kazuhiro Tadano's sexual orientation, Alex Rodriguez's contract worth approximately $25 million annually for ten years, and Barry Bonds' record–breaking seasons from 2001 through 2005. This study asks the questions: how does each incident illuminate the different ways in which power operates in MLB; how do the ways in which power operates amidst these events help to create and maintain national sensibilities regarding race, class, gender construction, sexual orientation, nationality, and age; and how is the operation of power in MLB made visible or rendered invisible by the media in their handling of each incident?

Doctor of Education , University of Dayton, 2024, Educational Administration

This research identified a problem in practice at the University of Akron (UA) of declining international student enrollment, sense of satisfaction, and feelings of institutional support. To address the problem of practice we created an equity-based framework (L.O.V.E Change model) to bring international students as relevant stakeholders into organizational change processes. Fifty students were surveyed about their academic, cultural, and legal needs. Six students were interviewed to gain insight into the needs addressed by the survey. Survey results indicated a high need among international students for academic tutoring, cultural events, career planning, and assistance with immigration. The interviews illuminated themes of uncertainty and anxiety, lack of knowledge, career guidance, and educational guidance among international students.

Ed.D., Antioch University, 2024, Education

This study addresses university leadership and the need to affirm diversity, equity, and inclusion in order to institute organizational change for social justice. My key research question is “What are effective ways for leaders to advance diversity, equity, and inclusion with the goal of achieving social justice?” There is much research in the areas of racial equity, Critical Race Theory, and Culturally Sustaining Pedagogies, but the connection to leadership development models is new terrain. This study will add a Connective Leadership Theory framework to the lens of Critical Race Theory to analyze the potential of university leaders to enhance organizational change for diversity, equity, and inclusion metrics. The study will be explanatory mixed methods research including both Likert Scale surveys and follow-up interviews. The implication of this research is to create a template for university administrators and employees on how to use diversity, equity, and inclusion measures to work toward organizational change and social justice. This dissertation is available in open access at AURA (https://aura.antioch.edu) and OhioLINK ETD Center (https://etd.ohiolink.edu).