Ed.D., Antioch University, 2024, Education

Loneliness was declared a national epidemic in May 2023 and an international global threat in November 2023. Sense of belonging, or lack thereof, can greatly contribute to loneliness. Students who feel a sense of belonging at their institution tend to be more engaged and experience higher success rates, which can lead to increased persistence and retention. The objective of this professional innovation dissertation was to investigate how inclusive and equitable teaching practices might increase sense of belonging for students in the learning environment. This study advocates for marginalized students, placing the responsibility for a change in learning environment back on the institution with a specific focus on teaching practices. Maslow's hierarchy of needs provides the foundation for sense of belonging. That hierarchy combined with the intersectionality framework emphasizes how students often have multiple identities, and the combination of identities can impact the way they engage in the learning environment. The transformative paradigm provides institutions with the lens to consider how changes in the learning environment are necessary to provide the types of support students need to be able to develop a sense of belonging. The professional development materials created in this dissertation suggest that critical self-reflection and transformative learning are necessary for faculty to gain an understanding of their students and provide the inclusive and equitable experience they need to develop a sense of belonging, overcoming barriers created by the institution and the complexity of having multiple identities. This dissertation is available in open access at AURA (https://aura.antioch.edu) and OhioLINK ETD Center (https://etd.ohiolink.edu).

Committee: Lesley Jackson Ph.D. (Committee Chair); Gary Delanoeye Ed.D. (Committee Member); Michelle Ramzan Ed.D. (Committee Member) Subjects: Educational Leadership; Higher Education

Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 2003, Educational Policy and Leadership

This qualitative case study explored the narratives of Black South African teachers as they seek to (re)define/construct and (re)negotiate their pedagogy as critical agents in South Africas journey through educational, political, social and cultural transformation. In doing so, the study explored how they negotiated their practice within the complex intertwining and tensions of identity, lived experience, liberatory struggles, and their notions of emancipatory teaching and learning. The theoretical frameworks of post/anti-apartheid, critical theory, and feminist theory inform this study. The work of multiple South African scholars who have explored, theorized and recommended a post-apartheid pedagogy/educational dispensation is reviewed and discussed. The work of specific westernŽ scholars - Freire, Giroux, and hooks is also reviewed in relation to how it informs and is informed by South Africas notions of a post-apartheid pedagogy. The border crossing of these sets of literature and theoretical frames is an attempt to disrupt the binaries of us and them, western and third-world. It attempts to blur such rigidity and authority through critical tensions and therefore place the anti-apartheid educational ideology with/in the dominant (western) discourse on educational transformation. This study theorizes research as a reflective decolonizing process that guided the methods used and analysis of the teacher narratives. It also engages in the ethics and politics of transnational research(ers) and theorizes the personal within the research process. The teacher narratives offer possibilities for a closer engagement of how educational policy is interpreted/enacted in the classroom. Their narratives show how their teaching practice/philosophy is shaped and negotiated, constrained and set free by their personal histories, identity politics, racial encounters, apartheid, political (non)consciousness/activism/discourse, and project participation. It points out the complex (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Robert Lawson (Advisor) Subjects: Education, Curriculum and Instruction

Ed.D., Antioch University, 2025, Education

This dissertation examines the evolving self-perceptions of racial consciousness among White faculty in higher education and its impact on pedagogical practices for fostering diversity, equity, and inclusion. This study is guided by Mezirow's transformative learning theory and Rowe et al.'s White racial consciousness model and uses interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA) to explore participants' narratives of White racial identity, disorientating dilemmas, critical self-reflection, and pedagogical transformation. The research highlights key moments of self-reflection and transformation that influence inclusive teaching strategies, such as prioritizing marginalized voices in course content and rethinking classroom dynamics to respond to systemic inequities. The findings reveal how White faculty navigate the complexities of racial consciousness, challenge their entrenched biases, and revise their pedagogical approaches. Additionally, the study highlights the importance of reflective professional development in advancing racial equity within higher education. By placing these insights within the broader discourse on antiracism in education this research offers practical recommendations for institutional initiatives and highlights the ongoing journey of White racial consciousness as essential to fostering inclusive academic communities. This dissertation is available in open access at AURA (https://aura.antioch.edu) and OhioLINK ETD Center (https://etd.ohiolink.edu).

Committee: Lesley Jackson Ph.D. (Committee Chair); Stephen Brookfield Ph.D. (Committee Member); Tony Kashani Ph.D. (Committee Member) Subjects: Behavioral Sciences; Education; Higher Education; Pedagogy; Social Psychology

Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 2017, Educational Studies

It has become commonplace within the educational research community to invoke the transformative power of education. Calls to adopt a “transformative” approach to teaching, learning, pedagogy, assessment and professional education can be heard across the disciplines of educational research today—in fields as different as adult education and school leadership, and as estranged as social justice education and educational psychology. Parallel to this discussion is the increasing usage of the language of transformation by administrators, informational brochures, official websites, and student affairs personnel in higher education. Beyond the English-speaking world, the German fields of educational theory and qualitative educational research have recently seen a flurry of activity on the topic of "transformatorische Bildungsprozesse" (transformative ed-ucational processes). The first aim of this dissertation is to examine some of the common philosophical assumptions that lie behind these various invocations of transformation. What does it mean to undergo a transformative experience? What pedagogical methods are required to bring them about? Where has the idea of a transformative education come from, and what anthropological premises does it assume? These questions are addressed in the first two chapters, which conclude that the various usages of the idea of transformation in education today fall into four different “paradigms” of transformative experience: conversion, overcoming, discovery and initiation. In the third chapter, I explore some of the ethical problems that accompany each of the paradigmatic approaches to transformative education. The central result of this analysis is that only the “initiation paradigm” possesses the necessary resources for addressing the characteristic ethical problems of transformative education, and I therefore defend a revised version of transformative initiation in the fourth chapter. Within the initiation paradigm, educational transfo (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Bryan Warnick Ph. D. (Advisor); Bruce Kimball Ph. D. (Committee Member); Jackie Blount Ph. D. (Committee Member); Mark Conroy Ph. D. (Committee Member) Subjects: Education; Philosophy

MA, Kent State University, 2014, College of the Arts / School of Art

Teaching socially transformative art lessons can instill positive social change in individual students, classroom environment, and the school setting. However, many art teachers do not attempt socially transformative art lessons at the risk of disciplinary action, termination, personal safety, and reputation. This single subject case-study examines a successful socially transformative art lesson executed in the classroom and reveals strategies that will assist other art educators.

Committee: Linda Hoeptner Poling PhD. (Advisor) Subjects: Art Education

PhD, University of Cincinnati, 2007, Education : Educational Studies

This research examines the educational perceptions of fifteen African American college students who completed a course that used critical race pedagogy as a means to raise consciousness. African American traditional faith in post-secondary education has maintained its resiliency for decades, as demonstrated in the increasing numbers of African American students' matriculation into historically white post secondary institutions throughout the country. Overshadowing the increased matriculation patterns is the reality that many more African American students simply vanish from the post-secondary pipeline. The racialized experiences of African Americans have led to a unique perception of education which reflects the pervasiveness of duality as a residual concept of false consciousness. The dialectical paradox of duality is exacerbated and institutionalized by mechanistic skill development which limits the potentiality of higher levels of awareness. As a result, African American students may begin their post-secondary studies objectified by the overvaluation of education as a direct pathway toward liberation. To resist the recidivism of duality African American college students must experience a type of psyche liberation through transformative skill development. The engagement of African American students in such a transformative process requires the re-conceptualization of education as an articulation of resistance. Education conceptualized as an articulation of resistance utilizes critical race pedagogical techniques and strategies to destabilize taken-for-granted educational perceptions and reconstruction of critical educational perceptions which increases the likelihood of college graduation.

Committee: Dr. Annette Hemmings (Advisor) Subjects: Education, Sociology of

Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 2007, Social Work

The objectives of this dissertation are to explore whether or not transformative educators are important to students, to determine which factors influence students' thinking about transformative educators and to determine whether or not an educator's level of cultural competence is important to students. Using data collected from a cross-section of 194 undergraduate and graduate students in social work and other majors, the findings indicate that transformative educators are important to college students. The data revealed that students want educators to be aware of what background and cultural characteristics they bring to the classroom and they want to be taught by educators who value and respect diversity. Additionally, the bivariate analyses demonstrated that age did not influence students' perceptions regarding transformative pedagogy, but it did reveal that race influences students' perceptions about a particular aspect of a transformative educator: reflection. The findings also illustrated that rank influenced students' perceptions of certain aspects of transformative educators: socialization and cultural competence. These findings strongly suggest that students find educators who use transformative pedagogical methods important.

Committee: Jacquelyn Monroe (Advisor) Subjects:

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), Ohio University, 2008, Communication Studies (Communication)

This interpretive study examines the Muntada organization and its participants from both a broad feminist perspective and a participatory research stance. My results are based upon 7 ½ weeks of field research conducted in Israel, divided between among Haifa, a seaside port city which also served as the site of Muntada's organizational office and training center, as well as other northern cities and small Palestinian-Israeli Arab communities. The research design includes a basket of ethnographic tools such as indepth interviews, participant observation, and participatory sketching workshops involving a total of 50 respondents and over 100 hours of observation. My findings are 4 based upon the interactions and narratives I co-constructed with current members of the Muntada, professionals and community members participating in Muntada activities, and outside individuals addressing issues of sexuality and sexual health within the Palestinian-Israeli Arab community. My findings illuminate how the Muntada's approach to sexuality and sexual health education provides an opportunity to examine the role of dialogue and identity (re)construction in social change processes. In addition, my findings suggest that such an approach to sexual health promotes individual growth and change for participants as well as the overall well-being of the larger Palestinian-Israeli Arab community. This research also addresses the important role that words and language, more specifically the Arabic language, play within the (re)identification process of individuals within the larger community, and how these linguistic elements are intertwined with themes of power, politics, and social change. This dissertation provides an introduction to understanding some of the complex and potentially painful processes that undergird a participatory approach to sexual health education.

Committee: Arvind Singhal PhD (Committee Chair) Subjects: Communication; Education; Health