Doctor of Philosophy / Curriculum and Instruction Programs / Margaret G. Shroyer / This qualitative case study focused on 11 non-traditional, ELL, Latinas within a community-based, teacher education program. The purpose of the study was: (a) to explore the various internal characteristics and external factors that foster Latina, English language learner (ELL), non-traditional students’ resiliency in reaching and remaining in college and (b) to determine what ways these internal characteristics and external factors influenced participants’ desire to pursue and ability to persist in teacher education. The researcher utilized two primary sources of data, (1) an autobiographical, qualitative survey, and (2) individual in-depth, semi-structured interviews. As a secondary source, the researcher used academic documents to provide context for student success in the program. The internal characteristic of sense of purpose and a future (demonstrated in participants’ determination, identity, and responsibility) proved to be most protective for participants’ resiliency. Caring relationships (with the features of: consejos (advice or homilies), quality not quantity, and high expectations in the context of care) proved to be the most significant external factor for fostering participant resiliency. The study also identified the overarching emergent theme of advocacy inspired by hardship found among participant discourse. Within this theme, findings indicated that, as a result of their cultural and experiential understandings, participants were able to enact culturally responsive teaching with their Latino/a students. Furthermore, participants demonstrated a strong sense of agency to improve the education outcomes of culturally and linguistically diverse (CLD) students and a desire to advocate specifically on behalf of ELL Latino/as students.

Doctor of Education / Department of Special Education, Counseling and Student Affairs / Warren J. White / Since 1990, IDEA has required a transition-focused IEP for adolescents with special needs. There have been limited data on whether culturally and/or linguistically diverse (CLD) students in Kansas were receiving transition services to mitigate or remedy their marginalized, disenfranchised, and dis-empowered status. This study examined transition practices for CLD students with special needs in Kansas. The hypothesis tested was that Kansas schools address the multicultural needs of exceptional students in transition practice. There were two research questions. First, do considerations of multicultural needs figure into transition practices in Kansas schools? Second, are multicultural needs taken into account to a greater extent in certain areas of transition? A review of research literature yielded multicultural considerations relevant to the five domains of transition: 1) self-care, domestic living; 2) recreation and leisure; 3) communication and social skills; 4) vocational skills; and 5) community participation skills. An Internet survey with 22 Likert items covering these multicultural needs and concerns was administered via e-mail. A total of 582 valid e-mail addresses were used, comprising contact information developed from a sample frame of a KSDE database of resource-room teachers. The survey e-mail and follow-up were sent to every contact, covering 190 of the 293 unified school districts of Kansas. The completed sample was 178, for a response rate of 30.58%. Data were analyzed from the 93 participants whose responses indicated experience as caseworkers in the past three years on transition-focused IEP teams for at least one student in any of the three CLD groups of interest in the present study—African Americans, Native American Indians, or Hispanic/Latinos. Means and standard deviations were calculated for the frequencies of choices on the 22 Likert items. Pearson's chi-square testing was used to determine significance. Survey results indicated that on 17 of 22 items there was 80% or higher agreement among caseworkers that their school communities were addressing the multicultural needs and concerns of students and families in transition practices. Discussion includes participants' comments. Recommendations are given to increase the roles of cultural and linguistic heritages in transition in Kansas schools, especially in the skill-areas of community participation and communication-and-social skills.

Doctor of Philosophy / Department of Curriculum and Instruction / Kay Ann Taylor / This study explored Islamophobia and Muslims’ religious experiences in the Midwest. Its purpose was to propose a new theory named Critical Muslim Theory. The research methodology was autoethnography (me, the researcher) in concert with discovering in-depth experiences and narratives of nine Muslim participants (five Muslim females and four Muslim males) in dealing with Islamophobia. Religion became the centrality of Critical Muslim Theory in replacing race (as in Critical Race Theory) while centralizing other oppressions Muslims experience through intersections with religion and law, religion and gender, and religion and race. Critical Muslim Theory represents six basic tenets, namely: (a) Islamophobia is endemic and pervasive, (b) Critical Muslim Theory is critical towards how the dominant society views Islam and Muslims, (c) Islamophobia is a social construction, (d) Legal basis, (e) Intersectionality, and (f) Storytelling and counterstories reveal the oppression and pain of Muslims. An historical context was established for Muslims in the United States of America, although more research needs to be contributed to this area. Instances of interest convergence also were present, however, more research in this area is needed. One recommendation from this research suggests combating ignorance through education and establishing a pure relationship between Muslims and non-Muslims through dialogue for understanding. This study further proposes Muslim Double Consciousness as an area for future research. This topic was of interest due to proposing the theory, its further research and development, and the potential for Critical Muslim Theory to stand on its own as a methodology.

Doctor of Education / Department of Educational Leadership / Be Stoney / David C. Thompson / This qualitative case study explored the role of leadership in a mentoring program designed to work with students of color. Specifically, an instrumental case study was used to explore the leadership of the “Can We Talk” mentoring program. Utilizing the framework of Critical Race Theory and themes related to the current status of students of color along the with the concept of school culture, the purpose of this study was to explore the leadership of a program “Can We Talk” designed to work with students of color in a majority White high school located in the Midwest. This purpose was also driven by the rationale that districts and schools due to increased accountability measures have to incorporate different strategies to meet the academic and social needs of all students. Mentoring programs are one of the strategies gaining momentum in education, especially for students who come from marginalized socio-economic, ethnic, and racial groups. The findings indicated that the “Can We Talk” program was implemented into this school setting based on interest convergence. The principal needed the program in order to meet accountability measures such as adequate yearly progress. The founders of the “Can We Talk” mentoring program had an interest of increasing the academic and social opportunities for the students of color at this school setting. Furthermore, the findings indicate that the “Can We Talk” program was successful based on the mentors being able to share their experiences with the mentees, attract students from other gender, ethnic and racial groups, and increase the academic and social opportunities of the mentees by creating a shared voice. The implications of this study includes questions about the ways mentoring programs for students of color are implemented and maintained in majority White school settings. Therefore, this study raises the question about the role of school administrators, founders of mentoring programs, teachers, and the rest of the school community in terms of implementing, maintaining, and supporting programs designed to support the needs of children of color.

Doctor of Education / Department of Educational Leadership / Michael Holen / Facing the rapidly increasing globalization of world economies and a steadily diversifying domestic consumer base, U.S. corporations have embraced the benefits of hiring more employees with diverse perspectives and experiences. Particularly in industries dependent upon knowledge of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics, recognition has grown that the American work force is seriously constrained by the clear underrepresentation of minority participants. In engineering, the most prevalent attempt to address these issues is through the establishment of multicultural engineering programs (MEPs), often designed as partnerships between universities and major corporate entities. These programs strive to identify, recruit, retain, educate and ultimately employ significant numbers of students of color to strengthen industry innovation and competitiveness. This investigation was initiated to expand the limited research literature on MEPs and the nature of their partnerships with industry. Using qualitative methodology, an exploratory viewpoint, and the lens of the Commitment-Trust Key Mediating Variable Model (KMV) of Relationship Marketing, the relationships of five mature and highly regarded university MEPs and one of their self identified primary industry partners were examined. Leaders of the National Association of Multicultural Engineering Program Advocates, the national representative body for MEPs, identified exemplary MEPs in the organization’s five regions; using a selection paradigm, five institutions were chosen for study selected from four of the regions. Each institution then identified a primary industry partner. Participants responded to in-depth interviews (MEPs) and questionnaires (industry) with respect to the nature, benefits, and challenges to both entities in the partnerships. Documents were reviewed for each program and industry. Responses were coded, crosschecked, and analyzed for patterns and themes. In particular, the study explored the issue of how commitment and trust are established in these partnership relationships. Twenty-four patterns and three themes emerged. Clearly, university-industry multicultural engineering partnerships are viewed as engendering important employment opportunities for underrepresented program graduates, promoting a well-developed pipeline of minority employee talent for industry, and increasing funding both for university multicultural programming and minority student support. The study also reports on the broad range of activities these partnerships practice. It suggests avenues for further study to enhance university-industry engagement.

Master of Arts / Communication Studies / Timothy R. Steffensmeier / This thesis explores the rhetorical function of creative writing being written by queer/two-spirit identified indigenous authors. The rhetorical function being the way these stories politicize the various ways gender and sexuality were foundational tools of settler colonialism in de-tribalizing and assimilating indigenous folks. The literary perspective often elides politics in favor of deconstructing aspects of creative writing such as genre, syntax, and themes instead of the socio-political potential such works produce. The three works I examine all have something to teach rhetorical scholars about the need to politicize the socio-sexual and gendered imaginaries of settler colonialism in discourses of the founding fathers, manifest destiny, westward expansion, land purchase. statehood, American exceptionalism, democracy promotion, and many more. They fundamentally challenge rhetorics that posit static notions of American identity and/or purpose that represses the historical and ongoing genocide of indigenous culture and life. In this way, they intervene in the very notion of communicability itself within the socio-symbolic economy of settler colonialism and its attendant hetero-patriarchal gendered and sexual imaginaries.