Search results
1 – 10 of 101Marcus Wayne Johnson, Anthony Johnson, Langston Clark, Jonathan E. Howe, Traveon Jefferson, Dionte McClendon, Brandon Crooms and Daniel J. Thomas
This study aims to stimulate scholarly attention and practical application pertaining to individuals recognized as “Docs.” Through conducting a comprehensive analysis and…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to stimulate scholarly attention and practical application pertaining to individuals recognized as “Docs.” Through conducting a comprehensive analysis and acquiring a profound understanding of its many connotations, the objective is to shift attitudes and approaches concerning those who are seen to possess knowledge and value within society.
Design/methodology/approach
For this study, culturally relevant pedagogies were used as theoretical frameworks in addition to Sankofa and concept explication being used as methodologies.
Findings
The authors identified three themes: (1) honorary cultural practice-community nomination of “professahs” and “docs,” (2) (Black) robinhoods – cultural signifiers of distinction and relatability and (3) docs as catalysts – elevating community via consciousness, trust and mentorship as significant understandings of this distinction.
Originality/value
The study emphasizes the importance of “Docs” in both academic and social contexts. The role of “Docs” serves to alleviate potential conflicts of being a Black intellectual. This study further reveals the ways in which Docs align with, promote or possibly undermine established frameworks of thought. Finally, this study provides institutions with opportunities to consider strategies for the utilization, recognition and integration of individuals who are frequently overlooked or undervalued.
Details
Keywords
Despite a variety of theoretical and empirical studies on work engagement (WE), few have explored the role of individual-level factors. Underpinned by person-environment fit (PEF…
Abstract
Purpose
Despite a variety of theoretical and empirical studies on work engagement (WE), few have explored the role of individual-level factors. Underpinned by person-environment fit (PEF) and self-determination theory (SDT), the present study aims to pinpoint the fundamental process driving the relationship between WE and perceived fit (PF).
Design/methodology/approach
Using the survey method, data were collected from 263 college teachers. Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) and structural equation modeling were applied to test the serial mediation paradigm.
Findings
The results of the study accentuate crafting as an important mediator between PF and WE. The current study does not support the mediating role of authentic living between PF and WE. Both authentic living and job crafting (JC) mediate the PF and WE relationship. Employees’ sense of congruence promotes living authentically and JC, resulting in WE.
Practical implications
The WE of employees is harnessed if they get an opportunity to practice authenticity. Authentic employees feel compelled to bring change to the job so that it is in alignment with their core values, thus resulting in WE. The organizations that create a culture in which the administrators allow the practice of individual-factors, namely authentic living, and JC successfully fosters WE.
Originality/value
The variables presented in the serial mediation model explain the underlying mechanisms between PF and WE. This is among the very few studies that explore the individual-level factors that boost individual levels of WE among teachers. Therefore, it adds to the literature on WE.
Details
Keywords
Hilary Lustick, Abeer Hakouz, Allison Ward-Seidel and Larissa Gaias
This study facilitated restorative coordinators in co-constructing and proposing solutions to common problems in RJ implementation.
Abstract
Purpose
This study facilitated restorative coordinators in co-constructing and proposing solutions to common problems in RJ implementation.
Design/methodology/approach
This study used grounded theory to examine barriers to equitable restorative justice (RJ) implementation in the US. Drawing on interviews and focus groups with restorative coordinators, we used a combination of inductive and deductive coding consistent with the grounded theory approach.
Findings
Coordinators distinguished between RJ as a top-down, isolated “program” versus RJ as a collaborative “practice” among all stakeholders. Only the latter was equitable, in their view, and required a consistent principal commitment to building and maintaining an inclusive school culture. Participants recommended that teacher and principal preparation provide opportunities to cultivate critical consciousness and participate in RJ practices.
Originality/value
Existing research on discipline reform tends to focus on outcomes, such as suspension rates. Instead, participants focused on the reform process, viewing equitable RJ as an ongoing “practice” to improve school culture. Our findings also open new discussions about leadership preparation content and pedagogy: participants called for preparation programs to cultivate critical consciousness and facility with RJ. Lastly, the study’s recruitment and focus group design raise important considerations for future RJ research.
Details
Keywords
Benjamin R. Wellenreiter, Xiaoying Zhao and Thomas Lucey
Preservice teachers (n = 39) described their definitions of patriotism and to what extent they believed statements from The 1619 Project (2019) and The 1776 Commission Report…
Abstract
Purpose
Preservice teachers (n = 39) described their definitions of patriotism and to what extent they believed statements from The 1619 Project (2019) and The 1776 Commission Report (2021) were patriotic.
Design/methodology/approach
This study employed a mixed-method survey including open-ended prompts requesting participants’ descriptions of patriotism and Likert scale prompts asking participants to agree/disagree with deidentified statements from The 1619 Project and the 1776 Commission Report. In vivo words reflecting emotional responses to patriotism and the statements informed the categorization process in a second round of coding.
Findings
Four categories of patriotism definition were identified. Identified were relationships between groups’ conceptualizations of patriotism and whether statements from history narratives were viewed as patriotic.
Originality/value
This article contributes to the field by exploring the intersectionality of the concept of patriotism with competing narratives regarding the foundation and growth of the United States.
Details
Keywords
This study aims to consider the role of emotions, especially those related to empathy, in promoting a more humane education that enables students to reach out across kinship…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to consider the role of emotions, especially those related to empathy, in promoting a more humane education that enables students to reach out across kinship chasms to promote the development of communities predicated on a shared value on mutual respect. This attention to empathy includes a review of the rational basis for much schooling, introduces skepticism about the façade of rational thinking, reviews the emotionally flat character of classrooms, attends to the emotional dimensions of literacy education, argues on behalf of taking emotions into account in developmental theories and links empathic connections with social justice efforts. The study’s main thrust is that empathy is a key emotional quality that does not come naturally or easily to many, yet is important to cultivate if social justice is a goal of education.
Design/methodology/approach
The author clicked Essay and Conceptual Paper. Yet the author required to write the research design.
Findings
The author clicked Essay and Conceptual Paper. Yet the author required to write the research design.
Research limitations/implications
The author clicked Essay and Conceptual Paper. Yet the author required to write the research design.
Originality/value
The paper challenges the rational emphasis of schooling and argues for more attention to the ways in which emotions shape thinking.
Details
Keywords
Melanie Moen, Hai Thi Thanh Pham, Mohd Ali Samsudin and Tiew Chia Chun
The aim of this study was to measure the level of challenges faced by novice teachers in South Africa. Findings suggest a need for professional development courses to upskill…
Abstract
Purpose
The aim of this study was to measure the level of challenges faced by novice teachers in South Africa. Findings suggest a need for professional development courses to upskill teachers with effective pedagogies that can incorporate the social and emotional components into teaching and learning.
Design/methodology/approach
This study applied a descriptive research methodology by administering a questionnaire to 143 novice teachers. The data analysis technique was the Rasch model.
Findings
The findings indicated high item and person reliability, with a good item fit and polarity values that are compatible with the Rasch model. The three major challenges identified are uninvolved parents, discipline problems and a lack of guidance and counselling. These challenges can be related to social and emotional learning (SEL) components.
Research limitations/implications
The study used quantitative methods and discovered the challenges that novice teachers face. If the research uses a combination of qualitative methods, it will be possible to better identify the specific causes of the above three challenges of novice teachers.
Practical implications
Due to the complex nature of South African society, many novice teachers are overwhelmed by the challenges they face when entering the profession. These challenges are often embedded in societal risk factors, which complicate the transition from student teacher to novice teacher. The major challenges identified in this study can be related to SEL components, as the challenges are closely linked to the psychological and social backgrounds of the students. Teachers in this study indicated that they found it difficult to deal with these challenges at the beginning of their careers.
Social implications
By identifying the challenges facing new teachers in South Africa, they will be better prepared for their work in schools. Therefore, they will improve the above situation to continue developing professionally.
Originality/value
The findings indicated high item and person reliability, with a good item fit and polarity values that are compatible with the Rasch model. Teachers in this study indicated that they found it difficult to deal with these challenges in the beginning of their careers. Professional development courses are suggested to help teachers deal with issues such as discipline, uninvolved parents and guidance and counselling effectively. Higher education programmes should also include these topics in their curricula for student teachers. A greater emphasis on training teachers in their pastoral roles is suggested.
Details
Keywords
Kelly C. Margot, Melissa Pierczynski and Kelly Lormand
The paper aims to address the increasing issue of teacher shortages and the lack of diversity in America’s educators. Highly diverse communities need ways to support community…
Abstract
Purpose
The paper aims to address the increasing issue of teacher shortages and the lack of diversity in America’s educators. Highly diverse communities need ways to support community members interested in careers as teachers. This article explores one promising approach to reach and inspire high school students considering the teaching profession. Camp ExCEL (Exploring Careers in Education and Leadership) provided a pathway allowing rising high school seniors an opportunity to explore the teaching profession. This pathway utilized the Grow Your Own framework, recruiting students from a diverse community and providing them resources and information that would further efforts to become an educator within their community.
Design/methodology/approach
The current study examined outcomes from an education summer camp, using qualitative thematic analysis to reflexively interpret participants’ (n = 29) feelings and beliefs about effective teaching, culturally responsive teaching (CRT), project-based learning (PBL) and their camp experience. Data were collected using Google documents and surveys. The four connected themes that emerged were obstacles and barriers to teaching, qualities of an effective teacher, the impact of culturally responsive teaching and project-based learning on classrooms, and the importance of mentorships within education.
Findings
The paper provides insight about how an education camp can support high school students as they explore a career in education. Results suggest that focus on high-quality pedagogy can support student understanding of the career. Students also suggested their perception of effective teaching that includes acknowledging the needs of the whole student, modeling high-quality teaching practices and displaying positive professional dispositions.
Research limitations/implications
Because of the chosen research approach, the research results may lack generalizability. Therefore, researchers are encouraged to conduct and examine education camps further.
Practical implications
The paper includes implications for the development of other education camps, especially in areas with highly diverse populations.
Originality/value
This paper fulfills an identified need to increase the number of persons pursuing a career in education. The focus on a highly diverse community is also an area of need in education. This article details the description of an education camp and the curriculum used, along with findings from data collected during the first year.
Details
Keywords
Katherine E. McKee, Haley Traini, Jennifer Smist and David Michael Rosch
Our goals were to explore the pedagogies applied by instructors that supported Black, Indigenous and People of Color (BIPOC) student learning in a leadership course and the…
Abstract
Purpose
Our goals were to explore the pedagogies applied by instructors that supported Black, Indigenous and People of Color (BIPOC) student learning in a leadership course and the leadership behaviors BIPOC students identified as being applicable after the course.
Design/methodology/approach
Through survey research and qualitative data analysis, three prominent themes emerged.
Findings
High-quality, purposeful pedagogy created opportunities for students to learn. Second, a supportive, interactive community engaged students with the instructor, each other and the course material to support participation in learning. As a result, students reported experiencing big shifts, new growth and increased confidence during their leadership courses.
Originality/value
We discuss our findings and offer specific recommendations for leadership educators to better support BIPOC students in their leadership courses and classrooms and for further research with BIPOC students.
Details
Keywords
The purpose of this conceptual article is to examine the role of villainification and heroification in social studies through critically analyzing the author’s place-based…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this conceptual article is to examine the role of villainification and heroification in social studies through critically analyzing the author’s place-based encounters with three civil war narratives.
Design/methodology/approach
The article describes the author’s critical reflections on three narratives involving confederate figures and examines theoretical and pedagogical implications.
Findings
The article introduces a spectrum of ethical judgments which plots villainification and heroification on opposing ends. The author advocates for more nuanced ethical judgments that contextualize decisions as understandable or defensible based on evidence. The term understandable reflects a concept of being able to explain (i.e. demonstrate understanding) why a curricular figure made certain choices without agreeing with or supporting those choices. The term defensible denotes the existence of evidence that provides a rationale for a choice such that the person making the ethical judgment would feel comfortable making (i.e. defending) the same choice.
Originality/value
The article introduces a theory of nuanced ethical judgments in social studies that maps onto existing literature on heroification, villainification and place-based education. Pedagogical implications for social studies education are also identified.
Details
Keywords
Early childhood and early elementary are key times when children develop internal and external antifat attitudes; thus, it is necessary to better understand the available…
Abstract
Purpose
Early childhood and early elementary are key times when children develop internal and external antifat attitudes; thus, it is necessary to better understand the available children’s literature around fatness.This paper aims to examine children's picture books with fat protagonists to better understand the current landscape of children's literature. Drawing on relevant literature around fat characters and the fat studies movement, this critical content analysis considers five children’s books featuring fat protagonists.
Design/methodology/approach
This study uses critical content analysis to analyze texts featuring fat protagonists, including two rounds of initial reading and analysis. Using lenses of critical literacy and critical multicultural analysis, the author looks for common themes, silences and absences in the texts, images and peritext.
Findings
This paper identifies themes of characters initially internalizing antifatness, then pushing back against antifat bias toward existing with joy and without stigma. Several of these texts even draw on the history of fat activism, highlighting societal critique and a potential activist component of children’s literature with fat protagonists.
Research limitations/implications
The study has a small number of books, due to the limited number of texts that fit the study parameters.
Practical implications
The paper concludes with examples of scaffolding for teachers and parents to have conversations with young children about antifat bias while also acknowledging notable absences, particularly boy protagonists.
Social implications
These themes illustrate the power of young children to push back against antifat bias and critique oppressive social structures.
Originality/value
There have been very few studies looking at antifatness in children’s picture books. With more books with fat protagonists coming out in the 2020s, this study offers an understanding of the themes present, while also emphasizing the need for an intersectional approach to literature with fat protagonists.
Details