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In "Who are You," I narrate seven vignettes of my lived experiences from childhood through the beginning of my Ph. D. I examine how they directly relate to the relationships I build with my students as a teacher in an urban public high school. I deconstruct how my experiences push me to break standard professional teacher boundaries in order to support and advocate for my students. I discuss the realities of my lived experiences and the impact they have had on me personally, educationally, and professionally. I explain my choice for using narrative vignettes tied to the Lewis Carroll novels Alice in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass and their connection with my adolescent and professional experiences. I explain my choice of autoethnography as my method and how I have come to terms with the vulnerability necessary to successfully use this genre of qualitative research while learning about the difficulties and benefits of the method. In "Where Soul Meets Body," I reflect on occurred during those experiences, and how they shaped the person and the teacher I am today. I reflect on the collapse of family, the effects of divorce on my actions, the seeking of solace and emotional repair, the effects of abusive relationships, the changes in my identity, the rebuilding of my identity, and the impact of my lived experiences on my teaching pedagogy. I reflect on the need for transparency and vulnerability in teaching. I explore how the acceptance and realization of my lived experiences has a deep impact on personal pedagogy, practices, and meaningful relationships with students, specifically in an urban school setting. I explore how my personal experiences intertwine with my students' personal experiences and how all teachers need to acknowledge the importance of transparency and vulnerability in their pedagogy. / Doctor of Philosophy / In "Who are You," I narrate seven stories from my life. I begin with my childhood and continue through the beginning of my Ph. D. I look at how they directly relate to the relationships I build with my students as a teacher in a public high school. I take apart how my experiences help me to support and advocate for my students. I discuss how my experiences influenced me personally, educationally, and professionally. I write about why I chose to use stories and why I used the Lewis Carroll novels Alice in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass to connect them with my adolescent and professional experiences. I explain why I chose to use a research method that is completely a reflection of myself. I also discuss how I have come to terms with being vulnerable necessary to successfully when writing about oneself. In "Where Soul Meets Body," I look at what ac during those experiences, and how they shaped the person and the teacher I am today. I reflect on how my family changed and how my parent's divorce caused a change in my personality and actions. I also look at how I began to look for relationships I thought I had lost due to my parent's divorce. I explore abusive relationships and how I was able to heal from those relationships. I talk about the need for teachers to be open with who they are as teachers. I write about how my life often is similar to what my students experience and how it is helpful if all teachers include self-reflection as part of their teaching practice. urban school setting.

Women student veterans have been an understudied student population for decades. Although researchers have explored women student veterans' transition to higher education from the military, challenges relating to their peers, and mental health and service-related disabilities, there is virtually no literature on their lived experiences in the college classroom (Atkinson et al., 2018). The field lacks research on the narratives and counternarratives of the women student veterans' lived experiences in the classroom and on campus, and how their gender and veteran identities add to or hinder those experiences. Addressing this gap in the literature, this qualitative study explored the following research questions: 1) What experiences do undergraduate cisgender women student veterans have in the college classroom? and 2) How do gender and student veteran identity influence cisgender women student veterans' experiences in the classroom? Veteran Critical Theory (VCT; Phillips and Lincoln, 2017) was used as a guiding framework for this qualitative study. The tenets of the theory provided guiding principles that assisted in understanding and evaluating how policies, procedures, and practices in the military and higher education marginalize and oppress women student veterans. Narrative inquiry was used as the methodological approach for data collection and analysis, which allowed the women student veterans to express themselves and their lived experiences through dialogue and stories (Creswell, 2014). Participants included seven undergraduate women student veterans (five from large, public research universities, and two from community colleges), between the ages of 23 to early forties, and were veterans from various branches of the military (Air Force, Army, and Marine Corps). Data was collected through a participant questionnaire and semi-structured interviews and analyzed using initial and second-cycle coding procedures. In response to the study's first research question (What experiences do undergraduate cisgender women student veterans have in the college classroom?), the theme of classmates emerged with the sub-themes of organic reveals, microaggressions, indifference, inability to relate, and ignorance. The participants shared they refrained from informing their classmates of their veteran identity unless it came up organically in conversation. They also shared that on occasion, when they did share their veteran identity, they experienced various forms of microaggressions or indifference. The participants described their inability to relate to their civilian peers due to differences in age, marital/parental status, and general life experiences. The participants also shared their frustrations regarding their classmates' ignorance of veterans and the military. Another theme that emerged was faculty and included sub-themes of indifference and positive interactions. The participants discussed how they only revealed their veteran status to their faculty if it came up organically in class conversation, and their faculty responded either positively or were indifferent to the news. None of the participants had negative experiences with their faculty regarding their veteran identity or military affiliation. Several participants spoke of specific positive interactions they had experienced with faculty members and how those interactions had a lasting and influential impact on their classroom and academic experiences. The final theme that emerged was experiences with the campus environment beyond coursework, which included sub-themes of "veteran-friendly" campus, disability support services, "you don't look like a veteran," and liberal environment. Regarding having a "veteran-friendly" campus, participants described having both positive and negative experiences. Many mentioned they did not participate in veteran-related activities on campus due to their busy schedules, and they also did not know of other women veterans on campus. Some described the ease of using their GI Bill benefits, while one participant talked about the gender inequity of having to rush against the clock to finish classes before her GI Bill benefits expire due to multiple stop-outs from having her children. A couple of participants also described their experiences working with disability support services on campus. One participant had a positive, easy, and simplistic experience obtaining an accommodation letter for her military-related disabilities, while another participant described multiple challenges in trying unsuccessfully to get accommodations for her military-related disabilities. The women in the study also described multiple instances where their peers on campus and other veterans in the community would comment "you don't look like a veteran" when they would reveal their veteran identity. Additionally, participants described their campuses' geographical areas as being liberal environments. Several of the women shared that they felt anti-military and anti-veteran sentiments from their classmates while on campus, resulting in their desire to "blend in" and not advertise their veteran identity. When referring to campuses being liberal environments, the findings in the study also found that the participants were not referring to a geopolitical ideology, but rather an undercurrent of privilege and a negative peer culture that exists on campus. In response to the second research question (How do gender and student veteran identity influence cisgender women student veterans' experiences in the classroom?), several themes emerged: gender identity, sexism, and veteran identity. The first theme, gender identity, was a consistent theme throughout each of the participant's interviews. They described how being a woman had a significant impact in their military experience as they experienced various forms of gender inequities, sexual harassment and assault, as well as having to work twice as hard to earn respect and acknowledgements. The women also discussed how those experiences impacted their desire to want to "blend in" on their campuses and be "regular" students. Although they shared that being a woman in class made no real difference in their in-class experiences, the findings showed that gender played a key role in the way they approached their veteran identity, which influenced how they engaged with their classmates and faculty in the classroom and on campus. The participants did clarify, however, that they felt age, marital status/parental status, and a difference in general life experiences from their civilian peers were more influential to their classroom experiences than their gender. The next theme that emerged was sexism. The participants discussed how they experienced various forms of sexism and gender inequities in the military. They shared numerous anecdotes of their experiences in the military due to their gender. Another theme that emerged was veteran identity. Three sub-themes also emerged: blending in, fear, and reactions to "thank you for your service." With regard to blending in, the participants described their desire to blend in on their campuses and not advertise their veteran status. The second sub-theme of fear was in reference to the participants' feelings when anticipating the responses of their civilian classmates and faculty after revealing their veteran identity. The third sub-theme that emerged was reactions to "thank you for your service". Several participants discussed how the well-intentioned statement of gratitude makes them uncomfortable because they do not know how to respond. Overall, the participants described how they typically felt the need to keep their veteran identities to themselves unless it came up organically in conversation, but their veteran identity was not as salient as some of their other identities (i.e., student, mother, friend, etc.). In conclusion, this study offers implications and recommendations for policy and practice. These include training faculty and staff on veterans and military culture; providing additional resources and staff for on-campus resources like veteran resource centers and disability support services, improving classroom environments, peer culture and the liberal environment, and improving campus policies and procedures to better support student veterans. Further research should explore how to better serve women student veterans on college campuses, undergraduate women student veterans from other parts of the country and other types of higher education institutions; and the harmful effects of "thank you for your service" and similar comments. / Doctor of Philosophy / Women student veterans have been an understudied student population for decades. Although researchers have explored women student veterans' transition to higher education from the military, challenges relating to their peers, and mental health and service-related disabilities, there is virtually no literature on their lived experiences in the college classroom (Atkinson et al., 2018). The field lacks research on the narratives and counternarratives of the women student veterans' lived experiences in the classroom and on campus, and how their gender and veteran identities add to or hinder those experiences. Addressing this gap in the literature, this qualitative study explored the following research questions: 1) What experiences do undergraduate women student veterans have in the college classroom? and 2) How do gender and student veteran identity influence women student veterans' experiences in the classroom? Seven participants participated in an interview where they shared details about their experiences serving in the military, interacting with civilians as veterans, and their experiences in college classrooms and on campus. In response to the study's first research question (What experiences do undergraduate women student veterans have in the college classroom?), the findings included the theme of classmates with the sub-themes of organic reveals, microaggressions, indifference, inability to relate, and ignorance. Regarding the second research question (How do gender and student veteran identity influence women student veterans' experiences in the classroom?), several themes emerged: gender identity, sexism, and veteran identity. The theme of veteran identity also included sub-themes of fear and participants' negative reactions to the phrase, "thank you for your service." This study offers implications and recommendations for policy and practice and recommendations for further research. Such efforts may not only assist in the support of women student veterans, but all student veterans and other marginalized and underrepresented students.

This research set out to explore the relationship between autistic individuals and music. Current research on autism and music education focuses primarily on the accounts of teachers, parents, and other stakeholders, and does not center autistic voices. The following research questions guided this study: (1) What can we learn from autistic adults, specifically those still involved in music, about their lifelong experiences in music and music education? (2) What insight can we gain from these experiences to create more inclusive environments for autistic individuals? To answer these questions, autistic adults who self-identified as still involved in music completed a short questionnaire. Of interested respondents, participants were recruited who represented a wide range of current music involvement and demographics. Interviews were conducted, and main themes emerged in the K-12 setting and beyond. These themes identified include ableism within academia, autistic traits manifesting in and often becoming barriers to music participation, counteracting stereotypes of autism, hyperfocus and hyperfixation, and having a special connection with music. Participants also provided advice to music educators on how to better support autistic students in the classroom. Recommendations based on their experiences and advice are provided.

Intergenerational relationships can be defined as interactions between members of different generations. There are two different groups of intergenerational relationships, historical and familial. The familial relationship consists of members who are familially related, while historical generations can be viewed as a cohort, or a group of people who have experienced similar historical events, because they are the same age or have lived through the same historical period. Most research in South Africa has focused on intergenerational relationships among African families. Research into these families highlights the role of grandparents as people with wisdom, life experience and the educative relationship they have with their grandchildren. Grandchildren, on the other hand, have to take care of their grandparents and respect them as older people. Members of the different generations provide social support, despite the fact that they are not familially-related. The norms that guided the interactions between these two generations provide individuals with a sense of continuity and stability. Social theories regarding intergenerational relationships are: the solidarity model, the solidarity and conflict model, and ambivalence. Current theories from the psychological perspective are: intergenerational intelligence and self-interactional group theory (SIGT). Little research has been conducted into intergenerational relationships among white familial generations in South Africa even though the phenomenon has been widely researched internationally. In order to establish the nature of the intergenerational relationship, young adults’ lived experiences of their relationships with older people was the focus of this research. This focus has been motivated by the fact that young adults and older people can benefit from effective intergenerational relationships; young adults provide a source of physical and emotional care for older people, where the older person in turn provide a source of affirmation and shared experience for young adults. This research is further motivated by the fact that it cannot be assumed that white generations in South Africa are necessarily following international trends. The study was conducted at the North-West University, at Potchefstroom in South Africa. Psychology Honours students were purposively selected to participate because of their age group as young adults, and their knowledge of human behaviour. It was thought that their description of their relational experiences would be of particular interest. Nineteen young adults (eighteen women and one man) aged 21 to 30 formed part of the study. Ethical approval for the research was obtained from North-West University. The participants gave informed consent that their participation was voluntary, and that they had been made aware that they could withdraw from the study at any time for whatever reason without any negative consequences. They were provided with the materials of the Mmogo-method®, which consist of clay, straws and colourful beads, and were invited to make a visual representation of their relationship with a person older than 60 years. When all the participants had completed their visual presentations, the researcher asked what each had made and why they had made it. An informal group discussion was conducted after each participant had told the others what they had made. During the discussion participants shared their subjective view of their experiences of their relationship with older people. The researcher employed visual data analysis and discourse analysis to analyse the data. Different guidelines were applied to ensure the trustworthiness of the research process and the findings. The results revealed that young adults experienced four types of relationships, which are presented as typologies. The two axes which describe the four types of relationships are: intimacy (physical and emotional) or distance and empathy or judgemental. The four types of intergenerational relationships that emerged from the combination of the different axes were: effective, normative-guided, ineffective, and double-bind. These findings can be used to develop programmes and interventions to promote intergenerational relationships. They also provide an opportunity for cross-cultural and international data to be compared with the four different relationship types. / MA (Clinical Psychology), North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2014

Intergenerational relationships can be defined as interactions between members of different generations. There are two different groups of intergenerational relationships, historical and familial. The familial relationship consists of members who are familially related, while historical generations can be viewed as a cohort, or a group of people who have experienced similar historical events, because they are the same age or have lived through the same historical period. Most research in South Africa has focused on intergenerational relationships among African families. Research into these families highlights the role of grandparents as people with wisdom, life experience and the educative relationship they have with their grandchildren. Grandchildren, on the other hand, have to take care of their grandparents and respect them as older people. Members of the different generations provide social support, despite the fact that they are not familially-related. The norms that guided the interactions between these two generations provide individuals with a sense of continuity and stability. Social theories regarding intergenerational relationships are: the solidarity model, the solidarity and conflict model, and ambivalence. Current theories from the psychological perspective are: intergenerational intelligence and self-interactional group theory (SIGT). Little research has been conducted into intergenerational relationships among white familial generations in South Africa even though the phenomenon has been widely researched internationally. In order to establish the nature of the intergenerational relationship, young adults’ lived experiences of their relationships with older people was the focus of this research. This focus has been motivated by the fact that young adults and older people can benefit from effective intergenerational relationships; young adults provide a source of physical and emotional care for older people, where the older person in turn provide a source of affirmation and shared experience for young adults. This research is further motivated by the fact that it cannot be assumed that white generations in South Africa are necessarily following international trends. The study was conducted at the North-West University, at Potchefstroom in South Africa. Psychology Honours students were purposively selected to participate because of their age group as young adults, and their knowledge of human behaviour. It was thought that their description of their relational experiences would be of particular interest. Nineteen young adults (eighteen women and one man) aged 21 to 30 formed part of the study. Ethical approval for the research was obtained from North-West University. The participants gave informed consent that their participation was voluntary, and that they had been made aware that they could withdraw from the study at any time for whatever reason without any negative consequences. They were provided with the materials of the Mmogo-method®, which consist of clay, straws and colourful beads, and were invited to make a visual representation of their relationship with a person older than 60 years. When all the participants had completed their visual presentations, the researcher asked what each had made and why they had made it. An informal group discussion was conducted after each participant had told the others what they had made. During the discussion participants shared their subjective view of their experiences of their relationship with older people. The researcher employed visual data analysis and discourse analysis to analyse the data. Different guidelines were applied to ensure the trustworthiness of the research process and the findings. The results revealed that young adults experienced four types of relationships, which are presented as typologies. The two axes which describe the four types of relationships are: intimacy (physical and emotional) or distance and empathy or judgemental. The four types of intergenerational relationships that emerged from the combination of the different axes were: effective, normative-guided, ineffective, and double-bind. These findings can be used to develop programmes and interventions to promote intergenerational relationships. They also provide an opportunity for cross-cultural and international data to be compared with the four different relationship types. / MA (Clinical Psychology), North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2014

The purpose of this study is to conduct an investigation of the lived experiences of asthma and sporting embodiment in non-elite sportspeople of different ages and levels of ability, involved in a range of sports. Asthma is characterised as a breathing disorder and the aim of this research is to add to embodied literature by providing ‘fleshy’ realities of the moving, sweating, sensuous sporting body, which holds meanings, purposes and interests for people who experience sport with asthma. Breathing is not only a physiological process, but it is also cultural and people may deal with their asthma symptoms in ways that reflect cultural attitudes embedded in sport. This qualitative study addresses five exploratory questions: 1) How do sportspeople experience asthma? 2) How do sportspeople negotiate their asthma and sporting identities? 3) How do emotional dimensions play a role in sportspeople’s asthma and sporting experiences? 4) How do perceptions of environment and illness shape one another by examining the relationship between the body, the self and environment? 5) What is the role of trauma in sportspeople with asthma? 6) How do key senses (sound) play a role in sportspeople’s asthma and embodied sporting experiences? Through a symbolic-interactionsist and phenomenological-inspired approach, this research places emphasis on the mind-body-self nexus in relation to sensory experiences with a focus upon the centrality of the ‘visceral’ body in the relationship between self-consciousness and the self. A bodily disruption (e.g., asthmatic attack) is likely to heighten awareness of the body-self and contingency and may amplify how sportspeople listen to their own embodied selves when engaged in sporting action. Therefore, sportspeople may become even more acutely aware of, and attuned to, their breathing in ways that link the physiological, the psychological, the social and the environment. This may lead to a permanent re-ordering/negotiation of identities (e.g., athletic identity - asthma identity) through ‘emotion work’ and ‘somatic (auditory) work’ in which a concern with the body is central. The findings are represented as a typology consisting of Conformers, Contesters and Creators, which may be used as a framework to assist health care and sporting professionals in developing more appropriate and effective rehabilitation regimes for sportspeople, in order to improve the quality of treatment and outcomes.