<p> Two opposing views in recent philosophical history disagree on how our reality and experiences in this world are based and shaped. French theorist Jean Baudrillard refers to the complex communication structure of our high-tech information age as the hyperreal. Authors Suzi Gablik and Ellen Dissanayake, however, vehemently challenge this view, contending that language only came after human culture was deeply embedded with meaning-making due to our desire to bond as humans. </p><p> This action research project seeks to discover whether or not students in a graphic design class can feel a sense of connectedness and relevance to their community and natural environment while participating in a community-based design project, directly related to the natural landscape and, hence, counteracting the effects of the so-called hyperreal.</p>

<p> According to critical disability studies scholars, disablism may be the fundamental system of unearned advantaging and disadvantaging upon which all other notions of difference-as-deviance are constructed. If so, a deeply critical and intersectional investigation of enabled privilege/disablism prepares a grounding from which seeds of novel and effective approaches to social and educational justice may be cultivated. Whether or not disablism holds this pivotal position, the costs to us all in terms of personal, ethical, professional, and financial losses are too steep, have always been too steep. In this disquisition I begin by arguing for the prioritizing and centering of a radical emancipatory discourse&mdash;across and within all education venues&mdash;regarding disability. In Chapter 2, I explore models of disability and notice where awareness of enabled privilege has been absent in my own experience as an educator and call for all educators to consider what might it mean if awareness of enabled privilege and the harms of disablism were at the center of our daily personal, social, and institutional lives. Chapter 3 investigates the perceptions of post-compulsory education professionals regarding what constitutes disability allyship and identifies three unique viewpoints. Chapter 4 blends conceptualizations of allyship developed within various social justice literatures with those identified viewpoints of disability allyship to yield a model professional development approach focused on an intersectional analysis for social justice through disability justice. The dissertation concludes in Chapter 5 with a discussion of core assertions and findings and points to future research priorities.</p>

<p> Storytelling is often experienced as profound and transformative. Scholars view storytelling as both human essence and essential to human survival. This exploratory, qualitative study explored contemporary storytellers' reports of the good work of storytelling using the GoodWork Project (GWP) (Gardner, Csikszentmihalyi, and Damon, 2001) as the conceptual framework. Guided by the GWP this study examined cultural controls, social controls, individual standards, and outcome controls that impacted storytellers, their practice and good work. </p><p> This study applied the methodology of Gardner, Gregory, Csikszentmihalyi, Damon, and Michaelson (1997) and Gardner et al. (2001) to answer the primary research question, What do storytellers report regarding the good work of storytelling as conceptualized by the GWP (Gardner et al, 2001)? The unit of analysis was professional storytellers representing a population that that has not been studied any detailed and disciplined way. The cohort of a 12 storytellers, 3 men and nine women represented African American, Appalachian, Jewish, and Native American storytelling traditions. The protocol instrument consisted of inquiries in nine areas about their experiences, professional work, personal values, beliefs, opportunities and responsibilities relevant to storytelling. </p><p> The author conducted an in-depth one-on-one interview with 12 exemplary storytellers, all creative leaders. The complete interview was digitally recorded and transcribed verbatim. Storyteller responses comprised the data. The researcher hand-coded the content by hand, identifying eleven themes and GWP subtopics. For further data analysis, NVivo 10 text-analysis software was used. These steps categorized interviewees' statements according to richly interlinked motifs and ideas, which permitted the author to verify nodes showing the data's correspondence to the GWP conceptual framework. </p><p> Seven conclusions emanated from the findings describing storytellers' good work. The oral tradition, dedication to serving others, personal values, trust in storytelling community, culture and cultural heritage, and the paradox of technology impacted storytellers' good work. All of the storytellers interviewed and the overwhelming majority of contemporary scholarly literature agree with the argument that this dissertation develops, which is threefold: the human connection is at the heart of the power of story; second, the social environment for creative expression underlies the capacity of storytellers to do their professional work; and third, the opportunity to benefit other people, communities and support their own culture, also form critical features of storytellers' good work. </p><p> This study contributes to the view of storytelling as an art form and a leadership skill. It addresses the ethical questions of the use of stories and storytelling in business or corporate settings. This study described professional storytellers' experiences navigating complexities of the storytelling profession in today's highly technological and rapidly changing environment.</p>

<p> The current case study was conducted to examine the perceptions of English learners (ELs) who have not been reclassified after attending a public school for at least 6 years, as well as the perceptions of their teachers. The research questions this study investigated were: (1) What do nonreclassified ELs in the sixth grade perceive as the challenges faced during the process of acquiring academic English? and (2) What do teachers of ELs perceive are the factors that impede ELs' development of academic English proficiency, preventing them from being reclassified by the end of six years in a public school? The conceptual framework consisted of five concepts: (a) historical, political and social influences on ELs, (b) programs for ELs, (c) a description of ELs, (d) the problems of reclassification and the characteristics of long-term English learners (LTELs), and (e) teacher expectations. The theoretical foundation informing this study was critical care to counter deficit-based thinking. The goal of the study was not to critique individual teachers but to examine what was happening in the profession of teaching that was impacting some students' ability to become proficient in English. This study included focus groups and one-on-one interviews, as well as an examination of report card comments. The study utilized purposeful sampling. Five teachers and six students were interviewed. There were five themes derived from both teachers' and students' perceptions in reference to the research questions: (a) the EL profile, (b) teacher perceptions of parents (c) connecting to the learning and to motivation, (d) engagement in learning and teaching, and (e) instruction. Overall, the findings support that teachers' perceptions are grounded in deficit thinking, and the student responses indicated they had internalized these beliefs themselves. However, this study explained teacher and student perceptions using a strengths-based approach to demonstrate how to support ELs. Educators may find it useful to interview their own students as a form of self-review process in order to become more aware of their teaching methods and how students internalize the instruction.</p>

<p> Most states require that schools engage in school improvement programs to meet accountability mandates which necessitates that teachers develop the skills necessary to accomplish school improvement efforts. The problem is that classroom practitioners lack the skills necessary to achieve effective school improvement. Limited research exists with respect to professional development activities and teacher perceptions toward professional learning experiences. Teacher perceptions of their professional development experiences affect classroom instruction and student learning. The SMART Goal Framework (SGF) has been developed as a school improvement model designed to provide teachers with the skills necessary to build leadership capacity through focus, reflection, and collaboration. This qualitative, single site case study examined teacher perceptions with the SGF to understand how the skills learned affected teacher behavior and student learning, built collegiality with peers and school leaders, and built leadership capacity within the school. Individual interviews, written responses, and a focus group interview were conducted with 10 teachers who were trained and implemented the SGF over a 5-year period in a rural East Texas school district. Using case study analysis, data were triangulated and three themes emerged relative to the skills learned from the SGF training: intentional instruction, collegiality and collaboration, and leadership and leadership capacity. Results of the study indicated that: 1) teachers were empowered to make instructional decisions which increased teacher efficacy and student learning; 2) collegial relationships allowed teachers and administrators to work collaboratively to solve instructional problems; and 3) teachers could articulate the traits of leadership capacity, but they were unable to articulate a conceptual understanding of leadership capacity. Teachers identified campus leadership as the key to successful SGF implementation. Teachers perceived three barriers that hindered campus implementation: failure to train non-core content teachers, new employee training, and campus leadership. Recommendations included: 1) developing an induction program for new employees; 2) developing a training plan for non-core content teachers; and 3) discussing the findings with district administration regarding leadership capacity. Recommendations for future research included: 1) conducting a study on the effect of the resistance of school leaders to engage in professional development activities to further school improvement efforts; 2) conducting additional studies on practitioners' perceptions and attitudes of professional learning experiences to add to the existing limited research in this area; and 3) conducting additional studies on practitioners' perceptions of professional learning experiences with other initiatives in the current district.</p>

<p>A Response-to-Intervention (RTI) model of educational service delivery is a multi-tiered, preventative approach designed to meet the educational and behavioral needs of all learners. While the New York State (NYS) Department of Education has mandated the use of this model in grades K&ndash;4, the extent to which RTI competencies are taught within teacher training programs is unclear. Therefore, examination of pre-service teachers' perceptions of RTI knowledge and skills, as well as their perceptions about the amount of focus on RTI skills within training programs was conducted. Participants were recruited from NYS-approved undergraduate teacher training programs leading to certification birth to grade six. Results indicated that pre-service teachers hold a positive view of the RTI model. More specifically, respondents reported high levels of self-confidence in consultation and collaboration skills, combined with moderate levels of self-confidence in teaching and intervention skills. Assessment and data-based decision making skills, including interpretation of universal screening and progress monitoring data, identification of reading skill deficits, and selection of interventions were rated the lowest. Respondents rated higher levels of self-confidence related to the use of general teaching principles compared to knowledge of reading development or the selection and implementation of interventions for at-risk learners. Additionally, participants from TEAC-accredited programs reported significantly higher perceptions about the RTI model than those from NCATE-accredited programs. Lastly, participants seeking a dual certification (i.e., general and special education) reported receiving significantly greater focus on RTI concepts within the training program than respondents enrolled in programs leading to only general or special education certification. Implications for research and practice are provided. </p>

<p> The purpose of this research study is to describe and analyze the self-reported experiences of exemplary high school mathematics teachers who underwent personal and professional transformations in order to develop and use a standards-based, constructivist (SBC) teaching paradigm in their classrooms. These teachers were all past recipients of the Presidential Award for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching (PAEMST), an award that required them to demonstrate that their mathematics instruction was rigorous in the manner described by the NCTM standards. </p><p> The following research questions are addressed: (a) What are the paths SBC secondary mathematics teachers who received the PAEMST pursued to become highly effective?, (b) What obstacles and challenges did they encounter and how were these obstacles overcome?, and (c) What sustained them on their journeys? The research methodology used to be a narrative inquiry. Following a wide survey of PAEMST recipients, five volunteer participants were chosen for the study. Data were collected from each participant using a one-to-one interview and the written section of each participant's PAEMST application. A narrative was written for each participant describing the path they had followed to become a highly effective high school mathematics teacher. The narrative was sent to each participant, and a follow-up interview was conducted via telephone amending the narrative to reflect the participant's additions and deletions. From the five amended narratives, eight themes were identified: (a) influences; (b) education; (c) professional development; (d) NCTM standards; (e) teaching style: beginning, current, or end of a career; (f) obstacles; (g) personality traits and personal beliefs; and (h) student influence. </p><p> Several of the themes were supported by previous research. However, this research study discovered two new findings. First, the five participants had common characteristics and beliefs: (a) belief in their students, (b) persistence, (c) belief that professional development is vital for teacher growth, and (d) passion about mathematics and about conveying that passion to their students. The second research finding pertained to the influence that their own students had on all of the five participants. All the participants purposely sought out their students' thoughts about the classroom curriculum and about the instruction they received. The teachers considered their students part of the classroom learning community, and they honored and acted on their input. </p><p> Finally, in addition to describing the trajectory of five PAEMST winning teachers, this study offers recommendations for students studying to become high school mathematics teachers, teacher educators, and educational researchers. For these students, their teaching preparation courses need to be taught adhering to the four principles of learning: activity, reflection, collaboration and community. According to this research, the model of teacher preparation courses that emphasize the teaching of the above four principles using a traditional teacher-directed method does not prepare future mathematics teachers for the use of SBC teaching in their classrooms. Suggestions about further research are addressed.</p>

<p> In this qualitative study, comprised of interviews and observations, I explore how discourses of disability circulating within the epistemologies and practices of four general education teachers at two different public elementary schools. Utilizing a Foucauldian lens, I am particularly interested in how these teachers responded to the power/knowledge claims asserted through the dominant medicalized discourse of disability institutionally employed and deployed through special education and the public school system writ large. Moreover, I have looked for acts of resistance, or in the parlance of Foucault (1983), "modes of action," recognizing that the formation of resistance is both a precondition and consequence of the exercising of power, and that power is the medium through which social change occurs. </p><p> In one of the schools, Taft, I encountered a school culture in which the institutional and discursive authority of special education and a medicalized discourse appeared deeply entrenched in the school culture encasing teachers, administrators and children within a network of power relations. This network discursively produced children identified with disabilities as unable to learn in general education classrooms, and general education teachers as unable to teach all children. Within this environment, opportunities for interrogation and resistance were nullified. In the other school, Bedford, I encountered a school culture in which the institutional and discursive authority of special education and a medicalized discourse appeared diminished, absent the institutional authority of special education. In its stead, appeared an internal bureaucratic discourse of assessment and accountability, concerned primarily with issues of compliance. With instruction and classroom management discursively organized, teachers were produced as officers of compliance, mobilized as agents in the discursive production of docile and compliant children. </p><p> Yet, with a weak administration and in the absence of an institutionalized special education apparatus within the school, I posit that at Bedford a localized alternative discourse circulated within the school, and that opportunities for interrogation and resistance arose in particular classrooms, with particular teachers, and in particular moments of time. However, despite an apparent disassociation from a medicalized discourse at Bedford, escaping the underlying assumptions of the medicalized discourse proved unreachable, if not impossible, and it continued to shape classroom teachers, and their notions of disability and inclusion as well as their perceptions and interactions with special education.</p>

<p> This ethnography reconceptualizes the paradigm of cultural competence used within the literature on teacher education to describe the multicultural learning of White teacher candidates. Within the cultural competence framework, White learning is problematic, dichotomously defined, and fixed. The binary of competence/incompetence established by this paradigm has recently been questioned within the literature as deficit-based and in conflict with postmodern, critical theories of learning and teaching espoused by multicultural education espouses. </p><p> This study of the researcher's multicultural education class at a private, religious, four-year undergraduate college on the East Coast of the United States used co-constructed pedagogical practices&mdash;including a co-constructed community engagement experience, dialogic critical reflection, student-led inquiry-based seminars, and student-teacher email dialogues&mdash;to reconceptualize White multicultural learning as a dynamic process involving both teacher candidates and the teacher educator. As such, this work is co-ethnographic because it analyzed the learning of both the researcher and her students. </p><p> The study found that antiracist White learning within multiple, co-constructed approaches on a public/private spectrum is related to learners' placeling identities; multicultural learning was a migration and re-negotiation of the histories of White learners' homes and geographies. This re-negotiation&mdash;called de-/reterritorialization&mdash;occurred within a dialectic of Whiteness as space and Whiteness as places; both universal characteristics and local expressions of Whiteness were important in the learning of this classroom. White placeling de-/reterritorialization was also found to be unique to each learner, thereby reconceptualizing White learners as diverse. In addition, White placeling de-/reterritorialization was incremental and agentic, extending previous studies' findings that White learners are disinterested and resistant within multicultural teacher education classrooms. </p><p> Within this study, patterns of de-/reterritorialization emerged as particular learning dynamics between the researcher and the teacher candidates; these dynamics included guarding and stagnating, pushing/pulling, and inviting. These patterns, their uniqueness within the encountering of placeling identities' borders, and the attempts at antiracist learning that were made by the White teacher candidates in this classroom offer a reconceptualization of cultural competence that is geographic and complex. Placeling de-/reterritorialization resists the flattening of White identities too often found in the multicultural literature, situates place as the site of antiracist inquiry when working with White learners, and offers a new paradigm for teaching and researching with White teacher candidates.</p>

<p>The purpose of this quantitative study was to examine the educator&rsquo;s perception of the optimal professional development experience. Research studies have concluded that the biggest indicator to predict student achievement is teacher effectiveness (Aaronson, Barrow, &amp; Sander, 2007; Marzano, 2003; Sanders &amp; Horn, 1998; Wong 2001). Guskey (2000) stated, &ldquo;Never before in the history of education has greater importance been attached to the professional development of educators&rdquo; (p. 3). School districts continue to face reduced budgets and continue to expend resources on professional development. In addition, states such as Indiana have recently changed their evaluation system to encourage more professional development at the school and district level. A survey was created to analyze educator perceptions of professional development in five Midwest states: Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, Ohio, and Kentucky. The survey collected basic teacher demographic data: gender (male/female), licensure (elementary K&ndash;5, secondary 6&ndash;12), years of experience (0&ndash;5, 6&ndash;10, 11&ndash;15, 16&ndash;20, and 20 or more), and position type (teacher/principal). The survey consisted of 35 questions that focused on educator perceptions of professional development. In all, 396 educators from 18 school districts across five Midwest states responded to the survey instrument. A statistical analysis of the responses provided composite mean scores and standard deviations. A factorial ANOVA was used to test the first hypothesis. An independent samples t-test was used to test the second, fourth, and fifth hypotheses. A one-way ANOVA was used to test the third hypothesis. There was a significant difference between position type (teacher/principal) and licensure (elementary K&ndash;5, secondary 6&ndash;12) on their perceptions of professional development. Principals responded with a higher perception of professional development than teachers. Elementary licensure, K&ndash;5th grade teachers, also responded with a higher perception of professional development. There was no significant difference between gender (male/female) and years of experience (0&ndash;5, 6&ndash;10, 11&ndash;15, 16&ndash;20, and 20 or more). Educators responded that their perception of the most effective forms of professional development were having more time to work with colleagues (86.6%), using a professional learning community model (85.7%), and attending conferences and workshops (84.9%). In addition, educators had a higher perception of the effectiveness of professional development at the school level versus the district level. </p>