My dissertation, "Education of Deaf African Americans in Washington DC and Raleigh, NC, during the 19th and Early 20th Centuries, Through the Eyes of Two Heroes and a Shero," investigates the education of deaf African Americans during Reconstruction and into the twentieth century in two cities. The document includes three narratives. The first is of Douglas Craig, a loss African American deaf child who was brought to Gallaudet University in Washington, DC in the mid 1800s by a New Hampshire Senator named Aaron Cragin. The child later became an employee who was often referred to as a “jack of all trades.” Craig was admired and loved by many until his death in 1936 which is reflected in the street named in his honor on the campus. The other two narratives tell the stories of Effie Whitaker and Manuel Crockett of Raleigh North Carolina, both hearing, both graduates of Hampton Institute, and educators who taught at the first known school for deaf and blind African American students in the United States. Their commitment to teaching greatly enhanced the quality of life for many students. The three stories demonstrate how political, social, race and economic conditions were very much intertwined with the segregated education system before the 1954 Brown v Board of Education case. In addition to the narratives, I briefly note the 1952 Miller v District of Columbia Board of Education case: A victory that integrated the Kendall School in Washington, DC, which was, and still is, the most influential institution for deaf individuals in the United States. The stories about these unsung heroes and many others are rarely mentioned. However, their narratives are now a small part of a body of scholarly work that contributes to the history of one of the most understudied areas of African American education and there is much more to be done.

In the 1860s in the aftermath of the Civil War and in the 1960s during the Civil Rights Movement, northern White teachers, mostly women, went South to teach in Black communities. This study examines the experiences of White teachers living and teaching in southern Black communities during these two historic periods. Their stories reveal their motivations to teach in the South as well as their reasons for becoming teachers. The teachers in the 1960s cohort also identify the impact of their experience on their teaching practice when they returned to the North. For the 1860s, five lengthy, first-person accounts provided the lens through which to view the experiences of White teachers in the South. Secondary sources supplemented first person accounts. For the 1960s, twelve teachers who taught in Mississippi Freedom Schools during the tumultuous summer of 1964, volunteered to be interviewed. A single template provided the framework to interrogate historical and living witnesses, though there are obvious limitations to interrogating historical texts. Library and archival resources provided the context for sponsoring organizations. In the 1860s, White educators were leaders in the missionary societies which sponsored the teachers. In the 1960s, Black leadership in the Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee extended the invitation for northern Whites to go to Mississippi. The findings reveal that experiences of cultural immersion in the South challenged White teachers' stereotypes of Black people, exposed the nature of racial and economic oppression in the United States, and complicated the teachers' understanding of themselves as White people. Their experiences illustrate the importance of teachers' extending themselves beyond the classroom to meet students and families in their own communities. The Freedom School teachers returned to the North with new pedagogical strategies, an expanded knowledge base of Black history, and a deepened commitment to social justice in schools and in the nation. Their stories provide inspiration and insight into cross-cultural, interracial teaching that can inform today's White teachers striving to develop an anti-racist teaching practice.

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The Ward method of music education was created in the early part of the twentieth century to promote the use of liturgical chant by teaching children vocal music reading skills. Its author, Justine Bayard Ward, was a newcomer to the Catholic Church and to the field of education, yet her approach proved successful and spread throughout the United States, Europe and other parts of the world. The goal of this dissertation is twofold: to document the influences that led the author to write and promote her method, and to trace its origins from pedagogical and notational antecedents. The ancient tradition of choral training in the Church, Wards upbringing, her musical training and aesthetic inclinations, and her zeal in furthering the liturgical and musical reforms of Pius X fostered the ideal environment for the creation of the Ward method. Evidence shows, however, that the materials and procedures were largely appropriations of pre-existing ideas. For example, the work in sight-singing was taken from the Galin-Paris-Chevé school, which flourished in nineteenth-century France, and the educational philosophy originated from her publisher, Rev. Thomas Shields. Ward's mentor, Rev. John Young, S.J., had combined bel canto vocal technique with Chevé exercises and, under Shields's guidance, Ward reshaped it. Separation of musical elements, principally rhythm and pitch, and graduated exercises were key ingredients Ward inherited from Chevé. Students learned accurate pitch discrimination through daily sight-singing drills where numbers corresponded to the sung solfège syllables in moveable “do.” Justine Ward's contributions lie in skillfully incorporating the Chevé sight-singing drills, Young's vocal training, and Shields' theories of aesthetics and childhood development to attain her goal of teaching children music of quality. The repertoire consisted of classical melodies, European folk tunes, and Gregorian chant. The Ward method spread through several avenues. Catholic Education Press began systematic publication of textbooks in the 1910s. Leaders in Catholic education were won over by demonstrations led by Justine Ward. More importantly, the Ward method spread through teacher training courses. It evolved in subsequent publications largely due to her recasting the material to reflect trends in music education and newer rhythmic theories in Gregorian chant.

The purpose of the study was to write a history of the professional career of D. O. Wiley as a music educator from 1921 to 1963. To give focus to the career of Wiley, answers were sought to three questions, stated as sub-problems: (1) What were the important events and influences in the professional career of D. O. Wiley as a college/University band director? (2) What impact did Wiley have on the development of Texas public school bands that earned him the title "Father of Texas Bands?" and (3) What role did Wiley play in the development of the Texas Music Educators Association and other professional music organizations.

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This study has addressed the need for greater understanding of the part education for social change plays in the process of creating a more just, equitable, and humane society. The purpose of this study has been to develop a better understanding of education for social change through examining the case of Highlander Center, a leader and pioneer in American education in the Appalachian region, and its efforts to create greater economic democracy and a more just and democratic society. Initially the author presents the case of Highlander Center and a review of the literature of education for social change to establish a conceptual foundation for this phenomenon and to provide examples of this alternative educational approach. The study then focuses on the qualitative case study methodology that was used in collecting data through open-ended, in-depth interviews with Highlander Center staff and program participants, participant observation at Highlander Center education for social change workshops and trainings, site observations of program participants' efforts in four communities in three Appalachian states, and document analysis. Five themes are used to present the findings of the study: (1) The Economic Problem in Appalachia, (2) Forces That Aid Social Change Toward Greater Economic Democracy, (3) Forces That Constrain Change Toward Greater Economic Democracy, (4) Highlander Center Education for Social Change, and (5) The Part Education for Social Change Plays in the Process of Creating a Society That Is More Democratic and Just. Finally, a summary and interpretation of the research findings are presented, implications for education for social change including a Social and Human Reality Framework of Education for Social Change are discussed, and suggestions are made for further research.

This study begins by reviewing the literature on community education, identifying two major strands, the progressive, exemplified by Elsie Ripley Clapp, and the conservative. The literature on citizen participation in planning, especially land-use planning, is reviewed and again two major forms are identified, the strong and the weak. A third review chapter examines relationships between education, planning, and democracy. A survey of environmental and planning professionals is used to create a starting list of categories for further qualitative research. Two towns are chosen for their small size, their rural character, their recent history, and their open Town Meeting-Board of Selectmen form of government. This form of local government, peculiar to New England, includes a local legislative body responsible for local law and taxation open to all registered voters, together with an executive branch. Citizens of these towns are therefore empowered by definition on at least one level to act regarding local political and economic conditions. Recent records of planning board meetings are examined and compared with the survey of professionals, resulting in the addition of several categories. The results of two series of community meetings is recorded, and there is a discussion of barriers to participation. The results of a survey of citizens in the two towns, the most successful aspect of the study, and one which again resulted in several more categories being derived, is then reported. The results of this triangulated study are summarized and discussed in the final chapter, which includes a discussion of the stimulation of motivation for participation. This discussion is based on the proposition that a reasonable expectation of positive action resulting from participation is a precondition for the stimulation of motivation. This realization of this expectation may be hampered by the powerful effects of outside political and economic forces but may be facilitated through increased self-reliance for basic needs satisfaction, enabling further empowerment. A final note concerns the implications for local government of the Americans with Disabilities Act, which could allow citizens formerly unable to participate increased access to participation in decision making.

During the 1960's and 1970's, because of wide-spread dissatisfaction with traditional public schooling, there was a dramatic increase in the number of alternative schools in the United States. One such school, the Cluster School (1974-1980), a democratically-run, high school program in Cambridge, Massachusetts, was the site for the first systematic application of Lawrence Kohlberg's theories of "just community" and "moral reasoning development." This thesis is a case study of ten teachers (including the author) who worked in the Cluster School. Using information collected through in-depth interviews with the teachers, it examines such matters as the formative moral influences in their lives, and the reasons why they joined the School. It then explores the ways in which being members of Cluster's "adult community," which included Kohlberg, influenced their own development. The thesis contends that, among other reasons, the teachers were attracted to the School because they had come from backgrounds where moral questions were accorded importance, and that once there, they created a supportive environment which promoted adult growth. The Introduction defines the thesis and its methodology, and includes a discussion of the author's role as a participant observer in the study. Chapter 2 discusses the theoretical underpinnings of the School, defines the School's governance structure and gives an overview of the School's history. Chapter 3 presents the biographies of the teachers, each of which is followed by a summary of the salient points found in the biography. Chapter 4 addresses six recurring themes which emerge from the teacher interviews and suggests their interrelatedness to one another. Chapter 5 compares the moral atmosphere of Cluster's host school with that of Cluster, and concludes that the teachers, although somewhat inadvertently, created for themselves a supportive community which encouraged their own growth and development. The chapter closes with recommendations for staff development.