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The goal of this chapter is threefold: to bring the context of disability into literature on fathering; to bring voices of fathers into scholarship on parenting children with disabilities; and to examine what individual stories about a very particular kind of fatherhood might reveal about the cultural narrative of the good father, and the reflexive nature of cultural narratives and individual stories.

Transcripts of in-depth, life course interviews with 14 parents of seven young adults, and older teens with severe impairments associated with a variety of diagnoses were analyzed using narrative analysis strategies. Transcripts of the fathers’ interviews provided primary data and transcripts of the mothers’ interviews were used as supplemental material.

Fathers included in this study drew from normative notions of masculinity and widely circulating cultural narratives of fatherhood, even while participating in caregiving tasks that are at odds with this narrative. Five specific narrative tensions that highlight cultural understandings of the “good father” were evident in these stories: (1) evoking masculinity in the context of care work; (2) providing financial security in the context of the high cost of disability; (3) maximizing potential in the context of realistic expectations; (4) protecting in the context of uncertainty and helplessness; and (5) finding a “new normal” in the context of the unexpected.

Findings add to what is known about mothering children with disabilities. Results also add a new dimension to fatherhood studies by illustrating how widely circulating cultural narratives of fatherhood are adapted in stories about fathering children with life-long assistance needs, and how individual stories might serve as a platform for social change.

This chapter offers professional advice for educators, particularly those unfamiliar with history-based performance, on how to move their historic character research to the place of actual portrayal. Using a questioning method, the author takes the reader step-by-step through essential elements of historical character portrayal such as character perspective, props, and costuming, placing them within the context of educational objectives and performance logistics. The author discusses in detail differences between portraying a well-known historical figure versus someone connected to that person. She explains the importance of choosing a date for a first-person portrayal, as it defines what the character “knows,” and provides techniques for handling questions beyond the character's date range. For newcomers to researching and portraying historical figures, it is important to consider the following points: What is each character teaching? Where will the presentation be held? Is the presentation solely for students, or does it include peers, parents, or administrators? This chapter addresses these critical questions along with research techniques, performance methods, and practical suggestions for obtaining costumes and props. In addition, the author discusses presentation skills required for an effective presentation, such as voice, mood, and movement. She provides examples from her own professional repertoire showing how techniques such as pace level and articulation work effectively in front of an audience and breaks down the structure of a 20- to 45-minute presentation. The author gives examples of how to be prepared for audience questions and unexpected interruptions during a performance. Finally, she explains the importance of the “story” in historic character presentations to enhance its teaching and presentation effectiveness.

Rigid environments, those with exceptionally strong cultural and traditional barriers to change, present unique challenges for institutional entrepreneurs attempting to initiate change. We utilize such a setting to examine what support mechanisms, both individual and contextual, have been utilized when attempting change in rigid environments. We examine the case of successful and unsuccessful attempts to make golf more inclusive to women. Our research supports the claim that rigid environments require more complex combinations of support mechanisms than other settings, illustrating the importance of institutions in both enabling and constraining change in such settings.

Social and emotional learning (SEL) is critical for students' social and academic success. Students' SEL is often contingent on their teachers' social and emotional competencies and capacities (SECC; Jennings & Greenberg, 2009; Chapter 5) and teacher preparation to facilitate SEL in classrooms (Schonert-Reichl, Kitil, & Hanson-Peterson, 2017). Concerningly, teacher training to facilitate SEL is frequently predicated on a color-evasive perspective that ignores the ways structural racism impacts the schooling experiences of racially minoritized students and associated academic and SEL outcomes (Jagers, Rivas-Drake, & Borowski, 2018; Jagers, Rivas-Drake, & Williams, 2019). In order to support SEL for students from racially minoritized communities, we assert that teachers' social and emotional competencies and capacities must incorporate a culturally responsive pedagogical approach that explicitly acknowledges and addresses issues of race and justice (Jagers et al., 2019; Ladson-Billings, 2014; Ladson-Billings & Tate, 1995). In this chapter we (1) provide an overview of culturally relevant pedagogy in relation to teacher social and emotional competencies and capacities; (2) outline existing models that support a culturally relevant approach to teacher social and emotional competencies and capacities; and (3) discuss future directions for education research, practice, and policy.

Microaggressions have gained heightened attention in academic milieus (Solórzano, Ceja, & Yosso, 2000). Originally Pierce (1995) defined microaggressions as “subtle, stunning, and unconscious put-downs of those in inferior status” by a collection of individuals in power (p. 313). Sue (2010) suggests that specific interactions involving race, gender, disability, sexual orientation, religion, class, etc. can be susceptible to a potential racial microaggression.

This chapter will begin with a summary of the rewards and challenges of my doctoral journey. I will share highlighted perspectives from a faculty socio-cultural phenomena perspective. Next, the chapter will explore the phenomenon of monochromatic microaggressions (MM) through the lens of my initial experiences as a new and unknown tenure track Assistant Professor and African American (AA) female.

An additional motif presented in this narrative is a discourse on silent forms of microaggressions and monochromatic microaggressions, both in and out of the classroom (Hendrix, 2007). Monochromatic microaggressions represents hostilities from two distinct, yet combined, groups of individuals at the same time. The term connotes concerted and combined microaggressions and MM associated with the dominant group and horizontal violence perpetuated with oppressed groups. Both groups, identifying from different plateaus, elicit a duality of enmities (e.g., one from underprivilege and the other from privilege).

The intention of this narrative is to write a new future, provide mentoring to those that may be vulnerable to similar experiences and to encourage resilience and broad networking. This chapter presents a personal, transparent, inspirational, but heartfelt narrative.

Despite continuing disagreement about the meaning of ‘sustainable development’, the so-called triple-bottom-line trajectory – which would see economic advancement being achieved alongside social equity and environmental security – is viewed as one of the promises for future progress regionally, nationally and globally. At the regional level we are witnessing various experiments in governance that cut across, challenge and undermine existing decision-making structures. They are being developed and implemented because of the perceived failure of older forms of governance to deliver sustainable development. This chapter will examine the ‘regional experiment’ that is occurring within the advanced societies, identifying the general features of the schemes, policies and programmes that are being promoted to bring about sustainable development. From a policy perspective, it will seek to identify the elements, and forms, of regional governance that appear to provide the best options for sustainable development.

Media power plays a role in determining which news is told, who is listened to and how subject matter is treated, resulting in some stories being reported in depth while others remain cursory and opaque. This chapter examines how domestic violence and abuse (DVA) is reported in mainstream and social media encompassing newspapers, television and digital platforms. In the United Kingdom, newspapers have freedom to convey particular views on subjects such as DVA as, unlike radio and television broadcasting, they are not required to be impartial (Reeves, 2015).

The gendered way DVA is represented in the UK media has been a long-standing concern. Previous research into newspaper representations of DVA, including our own (Lloyd & Ramon, 2017), found evidence of victim blaming and sexualising violence against women. This current study assesses whether there is continuity with earlier research regarding how victims of DVA, predominantly women, are portrayed as provoking their own abuse and, in cases of femicide, their characters denigrated by some in the media with impunity (Soothill & Walby, 1991). The chapter examines how certain narratives on DVA are constructed and privileged in sections of the media while others are marginalised or silenced. With the rise in digital media, the chapter analyses the changing patterns of news media consumption in the UK and how social media users are responding to DVA cases reported in the news. Through discourse analysis of language and images, the potential messages projected to media consumers are considered, together with consumer dialogue and interaction articulated via online and social media platforms.

In this chapter, I take a symbolic interactionist look at the anthropomorphic projections of 38 people in four large Canadian cities who report having encountered ghosts. As part of a larger project on perceived encounters with ghosts, I interviewed these people using audiotape, transcribed the interviews, and identified themes within them. Together, they mentioned 195 ghosts and described their appearances and actions. I identified anthropomorphic projections in four areas: (1) Physicality – pertaining to the bodies of the ghosts, (2) Relational – pertaining to kinship ties, e.g., mothers, fathers, grandmothers, (3) Rational – the ghosts' motivations and justifications, and (4) Affective – pertaining to the ghosts' emotions. These anthropomorphic projections were the respondents' efforts at sense making after having encountered what they believed to be phantasmal.