L.E.A.D.ing with Purpose: Exploring a Compensatory School\u27s Student Success Solutions

In this intrinsic case study, the researcher investigates the University of Windsor\u27s Bachelor of Education enrichment course called Leadership Experience in Academic Direction (L.E.A.D.) as it is utilized in a compensatory school in Southwestern Ontario. The researcher explores the perceptions of Pre-Service L.E.A.D. Teachers, the Student Success Teacher (SST), the Principal, The Vice-Principal, the Course Instructor, and a Teacher Facilitator concerning the increase in L.E.A.D. Pre-Service Teacher human capital within the compensatory secondary school. The author argues that such an increase contributes to the overall implementation of the school\u27s student success strategies, adapted from Adlai Stevenson High School\u27s intervention model depicted in Raising the Bar and Closing the Gap (DuFour, DuFour, Eaker, & Karhanek, 2010). Participants were interviewed and a focus group was conducted on the perception of this phenomenon to narrow the gap of critical awareness around the benefits resulting from the collaboration of enrichment courses at the Faculty of Education and local schools, especially with respect to addressing the needs of at-risk students, interpersonal professional growth, and raising awareness of student success strategies. The result of this study indicated five main themes that were presented amongst the research. The themes were: i) the collective is a benefit; ii) visibility and accountability; iii) shift in teaching approaches; iv) increased individual support; and, v) holistic education. Research findings indicate that the L.E.A.D. program shapes teachers into mindful educators equipped with foundational knowledge that bolsters student success in diverse classroom environments

The Lived Experiences of In-Service Teachers\u27 Perceptions of Culturally Responsive Education: A Hermenuetical Phenomenology

The purpose of this hermeneutical phenomenological study was to identify, describe, and interpret the lived experiences of in-service teachers with culturally responsive education. The theory guiding this study was the social cognitive theory, emphasizing reciprocal determinism, or the bi-directional relationship between the personal, environmental, and behavioral determinants. This study\u27s central question asked, What are the lived experiences of in-service teachers concerning the concept of culturally responsive education? The study took place in a large, suburban school district in Florida. The researcher selected 10 participants who have at least three years of classroom experience and have received an equity-micro-credential, which includes training in culturally responsive practices. The researcher collected data using interviews, focus groups, and a writing protocol for triangulation. Data was analyzed using the hermeneutical framework. Thematic findings were introductions to CRE, building relationships, understanding CRE, implementing CRE in the classroom, quality education for students of color, the political climate, the school climate and its impact on CRE, and a platform for social justice

A Narrative Inquiry on Chinese International Doctoral Students’ Perspectives on Developing Critical Thinking in the U.S.

Guided by transformative learning theory and Perry\u27s scheme of intellectual and ethical development, this dissertation study examines Chinese international doctoral students\u27 critical thinking development process in the US. The two research questions that guided this study are: (1) How do Chinese international doctoral students understand and conceptualize critical thinking? and (2) How have Chinese international doctoral students developed critical thinking during their doctoral studies in the U.S.? Narrative method design is applied to the study, which interviews eight participants. Using narrative thematic analysis of data, four key themes emerged from the study: a) awareness of critical thinking in Western versus Chinese context, b) sufficient understanding of critical thinking, c) transformation versus amplification, and d) developing critical thinking relying on self and others. Through participants\u27 narratives, this study enriches our understanding of Chinese international doctoral students\u27 journey towards elevated critical thinking. The study sheds light on how critical thinking develops in Western and Chinese contexts, influenced by cultural factors, education, and personal agency. The study has provided valuable insights into different ways of comprehending and advancing critical thinking. As a result, the study enhances our understanding of the journey of Chinese international doctoral students toward elevated critical thinking, by providing valuable insights into educational theory and international adult learning experiences. These findings have implications for educational practices, highlighting the need for personalized support systems and culturally sensitive approaches. It emphasizes the importance of creating an environment that fosters independent inquiry and sophisticated epistemological beliefs. The research makes a significant contribution to the literature on critical thinking, cross-cultural education, and transformative learning

Subject to change : the composition course syllabus and intersections of authority, genre, and community.

This dissertation is an investigation of composition\u27s disciplinary conceptions of the course syllabus, from its often-relegated position as textual object to a more interactive and complex subject of our discipline. The course syllabus is an example of an occluded genre, operating behind the scenes while serving commitments and obligations of a dominant ideology. This position as an occluded genre offers opportunities for composition instructors to thoroughly examine what our syllabi are really doing. By further exploring how we think about course syllabi, we can contribute to the development of our own teaching, as well as the teaching styles and practices of new teachers of composition. This dissertation draws on theories of power, authority, genre, and discourse community construction in composition scholarship, as well as a study component, in which I have collected course syllabi from graduate student teachers. These individuals, graduate student teachers, hold multiple stakeholder positions in the university, and operate as teacher and student simultaneously. This dissertation argues that syllabi allow us to further understand the praxis of composition, providing foundations by which new individuals entering the field frame their pedagogical goals and initial representations of themselves as teachers. This dissertation is divided into five chapters. Chapter One reviews published scholarship that often frames the course syllabus as an inert object, a transparently instrumental genre. This chapter also furthers the understanding of the syllabus as a material and ideological subject of composition, an inherently narrative subject in interpretations of its construction and dissemination, and a subject bound up in the embeddedness of multiple audiences. Chapter Two examines developments of theories of power, authority, and genre, and explores the extent to which the course syllabus serves professional academic discourse. Chapter Three analyzes implications of the data collection processes, specifically the reluctance of individuals to participate in this study, reflecting similar departmental and institutional tensions between what is considered publicly available and what is considered more privately guarded. Chapter Four studies sample composition course syllabi collected from graduate students in Rhetoric and Composition programs, using these documents to study how, when, and under what circumstances graduate student instructors make authority, genre, and discourse community formations implicit or explicit in their syllabi. Chapter Five argues that these reexaminations of the course syllabus\u27s place in the discipline of composition can help refashion the graduate student teaching practicum

Hear My Voice and the Voices of Those I Teach: A Phenomenological Perspective of Experiences From Migrant Education Program Teachers

In the United States, there is an increasing need for educators to acknowledge and utilize culturally-relevant pedagogy within their classrooms. Many MEP educators in public schools, particularly those working in secondary education, find it challenging to ensure this disadvantaged and, often invisible, population is served in a consistent and productive manner. In fact, one indication highlighted in the literature is the lack of research on the perspective of educators in the secondary MEP classroom setting. Consequently, a study was conducted with this group of teachers to gain insight regarding their view of teaching Hispanic migrant students in a large rural high school. The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore the role of perceptions and personal experiences of Migrant Education Program teachers in a large rural high school located in the southeastern United States. The study was guided by two central research questions. After obtaining approval from the Institutional Review Board (IRB), data was collected from seven MEP educators who had at least three years of experience in a participative leadership position. Data was collected through semistructured teacher interviews. All participants were interviewed individually one time within the same semester for 60 minutes. The researcher recorded the interviews with each participant’s permission. After the interviews were completed, the researcher allowed participant teachers to review the transcript of the interview for accuracy. During this process, the researcher analyzed the perspectives of culturally-relevant pedagogy according to the MEP educators. The findings of the study revealed most migrant teachers working in the MEP believe the MEP is efficient in meeting the needs of migrant youth in the classroom. However, the study uncovered despite the MEP teachers’ efforts of supporting students academically and often producing successful outcomes towards graduation, MEP teachers felt limited in their ability to resolve many of the population’s socioeconomic and social mobility issues. This study also presented the challenges and benefits MEP teachers experience in a rural secondary school setting. Due to the lack of knowledge, awareness, and value on the role of the MEP, teachers in the MEP are often misunderstood, undervalued, and underappreciated for their efforts and placement in the academic setting. Nevertheless, the study indicated the immense responsibility and undeniable impact MEP teachers successfully cultivate in their school’s culture, through MEP students and families and the surrounding community. As a result, the role and experiences of the MEP teachers are challenging, multifaceted, and holistic in nature. The recommendations provided in this study called for (a) more equity and inclusion of the MEP teacher in the secondary school setting, (b) a stronger presence, acknowledgement, and acceptance of cultural pedagogy in the MEP, as well as (c) an enhanced role and presence of MEP teachers in leadership roles to further advance and reinforce the vision, mission, and purpose of the MEP

The Practical Science of Society

https://commons.und.edu/und-books/1107/thumbnail.jp

I Can Overcome That : Counterstories of Black Secondary Science Teachers\u27 Positional Identities

This study presents the positional identities of six Black secondary science teachers – three who identify as women and three who identify as men – with 74 years of collective science teaching experience. The purpose of this study was to explore the lived experiences that inform Black secondary science teachers’ positional identities and how they position themselves in their school contexts. Critical race methodology grounded this research to highlight the ways in which lived experiences inform the construction of positional identities – or one’s relative positioning as informed by social markers and by relative power and agency in given cultural contexts – and how these positional identities are reflected in their current school contexts. Data sources include three semi-structured conversations with each teacher. Throughout each conversation, the teachers and researcher engaged in interactional narrative analysis, a process where narrative knowledge was co-created and then harnessed to create for each teacher a counterstory of their positional identities. The Black secondary science teachers primarily shared stories relating to becoming scientists and observing racial discrimination within the schools in which they work. Theorization across the counterstories also revealed that the Black secondary science teachers mainly positioned themselves as teachers of students of color and as caregivers for students for color. Research implication of this study include the need for science education research to purposefully include the perspectives and expertise of Black secondary science teachers if the field is truly serious about creating science education spaces and opportunities that are equitable and inclusive. Additionally, practical implications include the need for schools to evaluate their science learning spaces to ensure that they are creating spaces that are facilitative science learning contexts that support and encourage their students of color to fully engage in and learn science at high levels, so that they will be able to access postsecondary science learning opportunities