IN THESE BONES THE ECONOMY OF THE WORLD: A MULTI-LOGICAL, MULTI-REPRESENTATIONAL CULTURAL STUDY
Year of Dissertation:
2011
In this work I offer critical interpretations of street skaters, images in schools, collaborative writing and discourses on Muslims in schools. Employing a phenomenological, hermeneutic approach, I have thought back on my experiences, made claims and supported them hermeneutically. As I have (in the tradition of critical pedagogy) told stories of being in the world, a critical perspective has anchored these stories to broader social, political and economic frameworks. Axiological concerns are at the forefront of this work, and the "so what?" question implicitly weaves through it. I do not seek to provide the answers, but rather to illuminate, through example, that asking questions of that which is taken for granted and connecting these questions to issues of power is a valid undertaking. In a world of truncated educational "accountability" this work joins those that seek to offer a counterpoints.
Left Behind: Children of Dominican Deportees in a Bulimic Society
Year of Dissertation:
2011
Advisor:
Nicholas Michelli
The United States has always taken great pride in its children's protection programs that have served as an example to developing countries. As a beacon of opportunity to poor and underdeveloped countries, the country is also known amongst third world nations, as the only hope to achieve social mobility because of its educational and labor market opportunities. Recently, in an apparent contradiction to its protection programs, social, and economic opportunities, the nation has instituted laws that undermine the welfare of children of immigrants and immigrant children by deporting people, regardless of their immigration status.
IMPROVING THE TEACHING AND LEARNING OF SCIENCE IN A SUBURBAN JUNIOR HIGH SCHOOL:ACHIEVING PARITY THROUGH COGENERATIVE DIALOGUES
Year of Dissertation:
2010
The research in this dissertation focuses on ways to improve the teaching and learning of science in a suburban junior high school on Long Island, New York. The study is my attempt to find ways to achieve parity in my classroom in terms of success in science. The goal of parity is for all students to have equal opportunity to enjoy a basic education of high quality, achieve at high levels, and enjoy equal benefits from education. I was specifically looking for ways to
Being, Doing, Knowing, and Becoming: Science and Opportunities for Learning in the Out-of-School-Time Setting
Year of Dissertation:
2010
This dissertation addresses the question of how structured out-of-school-time settings, such as afterschool programs and summer camps, are positioned to support children's engagement and learning in science. This study addresses a gap in the research literature that does not fully specify the nature of the out-of-school-time (OST) setting and that generally does not position learning and development in relationship to one another, instead focusing on one or the other. As a result of an incomplete conceptualization of the OST setting as a site for learning and development, the OST field is becoming increasingly academicized, and its developmental qualities and benefits for children are under siege.
Teaching style: an investigation of New York City public high school teacher dress practices
Year of Dissertation:
2010
Advisor:
Nicholas Michelli
In recent decades there has been increasing interest in regulating teacher appearance in the schools. While there is a great deal of anecdotal data available about what dress standards for teachers should be, to the best of the researcher's knowledge no one has undertaken scholarly research to investigate teacher attitudes towards their constructions of self, self-as-teacher, and educational philosophies as expressed by dress practices.
Open Admissions and Remediation: A Case Study of Policymaking by the City University of New York Board
Year of Dissertation:
2010
Advisor:
Nicholas Michelli
An open admissions policy for the City University of New York was approved by the University's Board of Higher Education in 1969, ushering in a new era of greater access to college for the city's poor and working class Blacks, Latinos, and white youth. This policy change was made in response to demands from students, civil rights organizations, minority elected officials, and civic organizations for access to higher education for historically underserved populations in the city. It also satisfied the political exigencies of the time, allowing the city and Mayor John Lindsay, who was seeking to tamp down civil unrest, to support open admissions as a response to the demands of the civil rights movement. As part of the implementation of open admissions, CUNY developed an infrastructure to support remedial work for students starting college without adequate academic skills.
The Comprehensive High School in Transition: A Study of Small Learning Community Reform
Year of Dissertation:
2009
Advisor:
Nicholas Michelli
For over forty years, the dominant secondary high school model in urban school districts was the comprehensive high school. As various attempts to turn around failing high schools in the 1970s and 1980s failed, increasing numbers of educators, researchers, and policy makers began to question whether the comprehensive high school model was viable. The history of small school reform over the last two decades represents an ambitious attempt to remedy the perceived disconnect between school structures and desired outcomes. But while hundreds of small schools have been created in New York City over the last two decades, small high school reform as an exclusive response to underperformance has increasingly been seen as untenable. As a result, there has been renewed interest in structures which allow for more personalized educational experiences while maintaining large schools intact. Small Learning Communities represent one such structure and this study examines an attempt to create semi-autonomous institutes within a comprehensive high school.
Basic Mathematics Education and Graduation from Community College: An Interpretative Study
Year of Dissertation:
2011
This research examines the relationship between basic mathematics courses and educational attainment at a City University of New York (CUNY) community college in the Bronx, where graduation rates hover at 25% or less even after students have attended classes for seven or eight years. Three-quarters of students leave college within the first three years after their original enrollment. This research examines the extent to which failure in mathematics basic courses is associated with the high dropout rate, low graduation rate, and length of time-to-degree.
Culturally Responsive Pedagogy for Teacher Candidates of Color in Teacher Education Programs
Year of Dissertation:
2011
This dissertation study uses culturally responsive pedagogy as a conceptual framework for exploring how teacher educators structure content, pedagogy, and classroom communities for teacher candidates of color at two model teacher education programs. Using multiple data sources including interviews, focus groups, classroom observations, faculty and teacher candidate logs, and course syllabi and assignments, this study found that the content knowledge and learning experiences of teacher candidates of color was enhanced by pedagogy that was culturally and linguistically raced, gendered and couched in a critical analysis of inequality. "Critically conscious" teacher educators were more likely to integrate "sociocultural consciousness" into their pedagogy, which resulted in the following changes in teacher candidates of color: 1) facilitated among teacher candidates of color an empowered view of their academic abilities and resources; 2) equipped them with critical epistemology to be "change agents" in public schools; and 3) provided them with a cultural and linguistic toolbox for instruction for all students. Findings suggest that "critically conscious" teacher educators may increase the likelihood of teacher candidates of color becoming highly qualified and effective teachers in the future. A theoretical framework for cultivating and identifying "critically conscious" teacher educator pedagogy for teacher candidates of color is also provided, in addition to a discussion of the implications for accountability measures in teacher education policy.
CONTESTATION AND POSSIBILITIES: EXPERIENCES IN THE `OTHER' URBAN CLASSROOMS
Year of Dissertation:
2011
The research presented in this dissertation is a response to the general lack of research conducted in independent urban schools. In my work, I present varied vignettes that aim to provide a glimpse into the lifeworlds of students within such schools and how they too struggle to learn science. There are two major goals of this study. First, I encourage readers to rethink current conceptions of urban schooling and redefine what it means to be an urban learner. Secondly, I intend to demonstrate how the cogenerated action plans of coteachers and cogenerative dialogue groups can serve to make science accessible to students whom are diagnosed and placed in mainstreamed educational settings. The idea is to show that by transforming science learning contexts into cosmopolitan learning communities, students can become successful in science. Through a three-year ethnographic study of middle science classrooms in an independent school in New York City, I present explorations of the culture and context of the independent urban classroom as a chief means to meet my stated goals. By utilizing cogenerative dialogues and coteaching, I show how students and teachers can work together as co-researchers and coteachers that engage in a dual process of creating structures that support science success.