This dissertation is about curriculum and leadership in Arizona-Mexico border community schools. Specifically, I examine intended and received language arts curricula (i.e., what content is taught, to whom, and with what pedagogy) (Porter, 2004), the misalignments between these curriculum types, and the misalignments in leadership approaches in border community schools. My dissertation draws on both classic and critical curriculum leadership studies (e.g., Hallinger, 2008; Johnson, 2006) with an emphasis on Funds of Knowledge (e.g., Moll, Amanti, Neff, & Gonzalez, 1992), cultural capital (e.g., Yosso, 2005), and habitus (e.g., Bourdieu & Passeron, 1990). I utilize ethnographic and phenomenological approaches to my study of four elementary and three middle schools located in two Arizona-Mexico border communities 120 miles apart from each other. Findings suggest that children living in border communities exhibit cultural capital (Yosso, 2005) and Funds of Knowledge (Moll et al., 1992), but these strengths are not considered in the intended curricula. Participants see the culture of the border and the culture of the school as two very separate constructs, particularly in relation to curriculum. The children in the study consider this reality commonsensical. Culturally responsive curriculum leaders, though positioned to change the status quo, are compliant and helpless against the dominant standardized regime. External forces silence everything these leaders know about research and practice. My dissertation concludes with implications for research, practice, and policy to blend culturally responsive structures, pedagogy, and behaviors to the standardization movement.

Grounded in Freire's (1970) notion that the purpose of education in an unjust society is to bring about equality and justice, Critical Mathematics (CM) scholars consider mathematics to be a tool to understand, critique, and change the world by deconstructing power structures that marginalize certain groups. In particular, Gutstein's (2006) framework for integrating students' Community, Critical, and Classical mathematics knowledge bases (3 Cs) advocates for mathematics instruction that incorporates students' informal and everyday experiences. This involves investigations into social phenomena that draw on students' perspectives and experiences to inform critical analysis, while developing mathematical power. This dissertation presents the findings from a critical ethnographic study of a veteran teacher of color's approach to integrating the 3 Cs in his Precalculus class. In addition to discussing the creation and implementation of CM activities, this study examined the perspectives and participation of students of color during these curricular units. Data from 12 students of color, including interviews, focus groups, classroom observations, and student work, were collected over the course of a school year. Detailed descriptions are presented of three CM activities (i.e., Local Poverty Unit, AIDS Lab, Gini Coefficient Unit).Analysis of student participation found that students engaged most fully when units integrated transparent mathematical concepts into non-traditional social investigations. CM activities that lacked mathematical activity and/or reproduced traditional instructional norms resulted in high levels of open and passive resistance. Analysis of student perspectives found that repeated opportunities to integrate the 3 Cs promoted shifts in students' orientation toward mathematics. Some students came to see new ways of learning and using mathematics that included various means of participation and connections to one's personal life. In the end, students recognized that mathematics could be relevant and powerful for making sense of the world (reading the world), and acknowledged its potential for bringing about change (writing the world). Findings point to the essential role personalization plays in helping students develop a sense of social agency. That is, by prioritizing Community knowledge and inviting students to incorporate personal and family stories, teachers promote students' integration of their personal perspectives and experiences into their critical analyses.

Mariela Agrawal Administration and Higher Education Southern Illinois University Carbondale, IL 62901 Abstract The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore the self-identity and funds of knowledge (fok) of eight Latina faculty in relation to their understanding and conceptualization of academic scholarship. Two broad questions guided this research. First, how do Latina faculty understand and conceptualize academic scholarship, and second, how do perceptions of identity and life experiences influence this conceptualization? The underrepresentation of Latinas in faculty positions and the devaluation of the social capital of Latino communities prompted me to explore the relationship between the participants' ethnic identity, life experiences/funds of knowledge, and scholarship. I collected the data for this study through two interviews with each participant, a focus group, and written narratives. These methods allowed the women in this study to reflect upon their experiences growing up, their obstacles and opportunities in their journeys in higher education, the people who supported and guided them through their academic career, and their experiences with racism and discrimination as people of color. The major findings in this study include the conceptualization of scholarship as an act of intellectual engagement with a purpose and the influence of ethnic identity in faculty's academic scholarship based on discipline. The major implications of this study include the need to distinguish immigrant from non-immigrant Latina faculty in educational research, the importance of support systems outside the family, the importance of role models, and the influence of fok in the success of Latina faculty. As this research is not exhaustive, I recommend extending it to include academic socialization of Latino doctoral students, ethnic identity in relation to classroom pedagogies, and epistemologies of faculty of color that influence academic scholarship.

abstract: Prior research has provided evidence to suggest that veterans exhibit unique assets that benefit them in engineering education and engineering industry. However, there is little evidence to determine whether their assets are due to military service or other demographic factors such as age, maturity, or gender. The aim of this study is to discover, better understand, and disseminate the unique assets that veterans gained through military service and continue to employ as engineering students or professional engineers. This strength-based thematic analysis investigated the semi-structured narrative interviews of 18 military veterans who are now engineering students or professionals in engineering industry. Using the Funds of Knowledge framework, veterans’ Funds of Knowledge were identified and analyzed for emergent themes. Participants exhibited 10 unique veterans’ Funds of Knowledge. Utilizing analytical memos, repeated reflection, and iterative analysis, two overarching themes emerged, Effective Teaming in Engineering and Adapting to Overcome Challenges. Additionally, a niche concept of Identity Crafting was explored using the unique narratives of two participants. This study provides empirical evidence of military veterans experientially learning valuable assets in engineering from their military service. A better understanding of the veterans’ Funds of Knowledge presented in this study provides valuable opportunities for their utilization in engineering education and engineering industry. / Dissertation/Thesis / Doctoral Dissertation Engineering 2020

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Colleges and universities typically provide remedial reading coursework for English language learners (ELL) to develop academic reading proficiency. However, a disproportionate number of ELLs fail to exit remedial classes. Prior research has indicated cultural relevance can motivate and stimulate learning; however, the extent to which a culturally relevant classroom curriculum makes a difference in the ELL classroom experience has not been fully explored. This study describes the experience of cultural relevance in an academic reading ELL college class. Moll's funds of knowledge was used as the conceptual framework in a qualitative case study to examine how cultural strengths and knowledge can be embedded into instruction for enhanced learning. Data were collected from one teacher and 10 ELL student interviews, lesson observations, and the course syllabus with instructional materials. The results from an inductive analysis revealed four major themes: cultural relevance, student characteristics, reading English, and social learning, which aligned with the funds of knowledge framework. Further, it was found that a teacher's role can serve as the cultural bridge to enhance ELL's cognition. Recommendations for future research include a larger and more culturally diverse group of participants to (a) explore if a consistency occurred that was informed by cultural experience, and (b) investigate the experience of culturally relevant pedagogy for ELL students. Social change implications include culturally relevant pedagogical practices, a cost effective instructional model, and successful academic English acquisition for ELLs.

Latino/a students currently have lower graduation and higher dropout rates than their white peers. This population of students also performs lower on state exams. This qualitative study explored teacher-student relationships and their impact on Latino/a student populations. Using Funds of Knowledge and a social justice perspective, the study characterized positive teacherstudent relationships and ways that schools can support their formation. This dissertation study consisted of two rounds of interviews; participants were interviewed individually and then as part of two focus groups. The first phase consisted of one-on-one interviews, where the participants were asked questions on effectiveness, teacher-student relationships, and administrative support. The results from these interviews were analyzed for themes. The themes were then brought to the participants in forms of two focus groups for further exploration and clarity. Findings indicate that teachers characterize six themes in positive teacher-student relationships; student voice, humanization, trust, openness, respect, and personal connections. Three areas of school support were also uncovered; this included community circle, time to connect, and opportunities outside the classroom. The findings support the need for educators to be aware of the elements of positive relationships and to include these areas of school support in teacher and leader preparation programs.

Across the United States, schools are largely segregated by race and ethnicity, resulting in schools that are densely Latino and teaching staff who are overwhelming monolingual English speakers, as most teachers are white women. This has created difficulty in home communication in these schools. Given the positive impacts of personal and frequent home communication, a greater capacity of teachers to communicate with parents may be an important asset in school improvement efforts. This study looks at ongoing design-based research efforts to engage bilingual students in helping their teachers become more capable of communicating in Spanish. Through online-delivered challenges, teachers and students work together to complete a series of tasks that help teachers learn about communicating across cultures and preparing several communication aids to help them reach out to Latino immigrant parents more frequently. Through a narrative profile analysis, we uncover the influences the five-week intervention had on teachers' home communication efforts, beliefs in their own ability to develop stronger language skills, and relationships with students. The findings inform a set of preliminary procedures for a new method of research into understandings skills they use outside of school. We call this new method Integrating Funds of Knowledge. The findings also inform a set of core conjectures on how this method can help educators partner with their students to work toward solving a problem in their school.

This report addresses the importance of multicultural education in early childhood classrooms as well as three essential practices for early childhood educators who value multicultural perspectives. The early childhood classroom is the first place in which children develop their identities and recognize cultural differences. Multicultural education can offer opportunities for children to value and understand cultural diversity as they have more experiences outside of their homes and neighborhoods. While there are many kinds of practices that support a multicultural perspective, this paper focuses on three multicultural practices that early childhood educators can incorporate in their classrooms in order to create authentic multicultural classrooms and to promote multiculturalism. The three practices are 1) integrating culturally relevant pedagogy/culturally responsive teaching, 2) understanding multicultural families, and 3) pursuing social justice. These practices can help early childhood educators better understand multicultural students and families and have more meaningful interactions and partnership opportunities with them. / text

Parents are often criticized for the types of roles they play in their children’s education. Rather than assuming parents do not contribute to their children’s learning, this study identified the various ways Hispanic parents support mathematics learning in the home. Using a funds of knowledge lens, the history, practices, and experiences of families that contributed to their children’s mathematics understanding was explored. The purpose of this study was to identify the unique funds of knowledge among three Hispanic families living in the same city, specifically, how parents supported their children’s mathematics learning through funds of knowledge. Five Hispanic parents from three households participated in a series of three home interviews. The semi--‐structured interviews addressed family, school, and educational history of the parents, routines of the household, and perceived roles parents played in their children’s mathematics learning. Participants contributed to their children’s mathematics learning through various funds of knowledge including time management, music, sports, construction, shopping, and cooking. Participating parents shared knowledge with their children through questioning and discussion, providing experiences, and promoting practice. In this study, participants valued education and supported their children’s mathematics learning at home and school activities. This study contributes to the existing funds of knowledge research by expanding the work on how Hispanic parents support mathematics learning.