As the student population in U.S. public schools becomes more diverse, with an increase of students of color and from low socioeconomic backgrounds, it is critical that the opportunity gaps in our education system are addressed to provide an equitable education for urban youth. To mitigate these gaps, there is a need for an experienced urban teacher workforce, but urban schools face staffing challenges that make this difficult. There is an exceptional need for Latina/o teachers, who demonstrate positive impacts on Latina/o students, the largest minority population nationwide, however, the retention rate amongst Latina/o teachers is lower than that of other demographics. This phenomenological qualitative research study explored the personal and professional factors that sustain Latina veteran urban teachers in a predominantly Latina/o school district through the development of testimonios. Data was collected through a survey, instructional documents, and interviews to produce the individual testimonios of each participant’s history as a Latina veteran urban teacher and a cross-case analysis of the participants’ shared experiences. The findings demonstrated that Latina veteran urban teachers possessed la chispa, the spark, for serving students who share their cultural and linguistic identity. These teachers ignited, fueled, and preserved their chispa through various personal and professional factors, including a commitment to serving urban students, a dedication to continuous professional growth, and the support from personal and professional networks. These findings can inform teacher preparation programs and school systems on how to prepare and sustain Latina teachers for long-term careers in urban education.

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Since the Post-9/11 GI Bill an increasing number of veterans and military students are seeking to complete degrees online and through enrollment at campuses across the nation (Brown 2011). The increased number of military students in postsecondary education settings presents challenges and opportunities for both the veteran student and institution of higher education. Military students also referred to as veteran students are choosing to pursue postsecondary education for occupational and employment opportunities, personal growth and enrichment, and to use their Post-9/11 GI education benefits. It is expected that military personnel with past military service in Afghanistan and Iraq will become a growing student population enrolled in U.S postsecondary education. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the experiences and expectations of an African American male veteran student at an institution of higher education. This qualitative research study included an in-depth interview with an African American male veteran student. Through interviewing the participant, I listened to the experiences and expectations from an African American male veteran student from Iraq War who attended a state assisted predominantly Caucasian university. The collection and analysis of his stories gave me an understanding of his diverse needs, experiences, and expectations.

This autoethnographic account details the author's ongoing struggle with combat-related posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and how leisure was integral to his journey toward recovery. By showing the mental and emotional struggles of life with the disorder, this paper offers an alternative viewpoint from the traditional scientific studies of PTSD which bury soldier's voices under layers of analysis. The purpose of this paper is to deepen and expand an understanding of both combat-related PTSD and the power of leisure in an individual's recovery from combat trauma

This study was designed to examine the responses of four veteran teachers with 15 or more years of teaching experience as they moved through a beginning technology staff development program. The purpose of the study was to examine what factors have caused some teachers to wait until mid-career to take a beginning course in computer technology, determine what veteran teachers feel are successful computer technology professional development strategies, and to examine the resulting changes that a veteran teacher makes in classroom computer use. The study followed teachers from pre-instruction to instruction to one month after the staff development using interviews, journals and e-mail questionnaires. Taking as a starting point change theory literature, a grounded theory of the Five Universes that influence veteran teachers was defined. The study concluded with eight recommendations for future technology staff development programs for veteran teachers.

This case study acknowledges that militarization on digital media is inadequately studied. A research contribution is therefore created through a narrative textual analysis method informed by strategic narrative theory and research on multimodal meaning-making. The method is then applied qualitatively to a previously neglected empirical material, the Swedish Armed Forces' digital documentary series called “The Veteran’s Portrait”. Using narrative textual analysis, the study interprets that militarizing strategic narratives appear in the documentary series. Thus, the study contributes with needed insight into how militarization as a process occurs on digital media, while at the same time suggesting pathways for future research to further develop this body of research.

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Denna C-uppsats är en meta-analys som granskar 20 vetenskapliga artiklar om partnerrelaterat våld, grymheter i krig och könsmaktsordningar i militära familjer. Alla studier är publicerade mellan 1978 och 2011 och behandlar våld i parrelationer, grymheter som begåtts av både manliga och kvinnliga soldater och kausala samband mellan krig, militarism och det civila samhället. Mitt mål är att testa teorin som säger att krig beror på patriarkala köns-strukturer som konstruerar stereotypa maskuliniteter och femininiteter, vilka i sin tur definierar män som starka, aggressiva och känslolösa, medan kvinnor antas vara svaga, sårbara, och vårdande. Genom att undersöka och jämföra variabler i både positivistisk och konstruktivistisk forskning, söker jag likheter och skillnader som kan ge en vidare förståelse för hur detta fenomen är sammansatt. / This BA thesis is a meta-analysis that reviews 21 empirical studies on Intimate Partner Violence (IPV) and gender-relations among military families and the environmental structures in where they live and operate. All studies were published between 1978 and 2011 and reported Intimate Partner Violence in both military and civilian families, atrocities committed by both male and female soldiers and causalities on war and violence. My aim is to test the theory that says; war is depending on patriarchal gender-structures, that construct stereotype masculinities and femininities, which define men as strong, aggressive, and unemotional, while women are assumed to be weak, vulnerable, and caring. By examining both positivist and constructivist research, my ambition is to identify differences and similarities in those approaches, which can contribute to a wider understanding on this specific phenomenon.

Doctor of Philosophy / School of Family Studies and Human Services / Charlotte Shoup Olsen / Farrell J. Webb / Homelessness has become an enduring fixture of contemporary United States society. Female veterans face a host of unique challenges; females often carry the burden of serving in the armed forces, while balancing marriages, motherhood, and care giving responsibilities in their home lives. As the veterans return to their lives as civilians, the females who served in the military must deal with the possibility of sexual harassment, sexual assault, and rape while in the armed services. Female service members are twice as likely to have Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PSTD) than their male service members and are three to four times more likely to become homeless. Understanding this view of homelessness from the female veteran’s perspective is limited due to small sample sizes in previous research efforts. However, with the increasing numbers of homeless female veterans it is imperative to understand the risk factors. A qualitative descriptive study was conducted using a modified framework for studying vulnerable populations. The study was designed to explore the meaning of homelessness from the female homeless veteran’s perspective. Second, risk factors were examined for homelessness and the services necessary for the female veteran to exit the homeless cycle. Third, the data were coded and analyzed to identify patterns and commonalities of multiple psycho social factors such as unstable family support, domestic violence, job loss, affordable housing options, substance abuse, mental and physical health issues. These factors were cited as the leading risk factors contributing to the homeless state of this sample of female veterans. The data collection consisted of ten homeless female veterans participating in a private, audio taped interview using a semi-structure interview tool. Resources listed as a necessity to end homelessness consisted of affordable housing, job security, earning a living wage income, transportation, remaining drug free, and being awarded disability. The pathway to homelessness varied for each participant, but they all demonstrated a tremendous amount of resiliency.