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Soft Power and Polite Propaganda: Public Diplomacy in the Early Cold War
Get PDFIn the Aftermath of the Second World War, the United States and The USSR stood as the only true superpowers. Both states held their own spheres of influence, with interests in spreading that influence. With the fear of nuclear war and the still looming shadow of global conflict, a new brand of diplomacy began to take hold as the preferred method of international relations between adversarial states. Soft power was beginning to become an influential means to accomplishing the goal of nations abroad.
The careful curation of print media, literature, and informational campaigns became an important element to how the US chose to present themselves in the USSR in an attempt to realign the views of the Soviet people. Programs ranging from hard news radio broadcasts to cultural exploration magazines earned this brand of public outreach a fitting name, polite propaganda. In my research, I hope to examine the impact that the Cold War had in defining soft power, more specifically one of the tools that falls under the umbrella of soft power—cultural and public diplomacy. Through primary research of policies enacted at the time, and examination of State Department records and interdepartmental notes of the mid to late 1940s, as well as secondary resources concerning early US backed Cold War programs in the Soviet Union, I hope to make clear not only the use of soft power in late 1940s US-Soviet relations, but also the impact public diplomacy had on the direction of the Cold War and future endeavors regarding public diplomacy campaigns
Fo(u)r Friends: The Social, Emotional, and Academic Effects of an Extracurricular Program for Secondary Newcomer Students
Get PDFResearch has highlighted a variety of lived experiences, special assets, and unique needs that newcomer students and English Learners (ELs) bring to our schools and communities. The United States K-12 public education system largely focuses on academic needs, failing to honor students’ strengths or address their social-emotional learning and identity development. This project is an extracurricular program model for secondary newcomer students and their peers who want to engage in community and multicultural learning, encouraging positive social, emotional, and academic growth. The project is presented in the form of a handbook. In the handbook, program leaders can find introductory lesson plans emphasizing communication strategies for students with different skill-sets, community-building activities, strategies for constructive conversations, and materials for activity implementation. The program is built around students’ interests and community partnerships, so it can be used in any school setting and tailored to any group of students. The goal of the project is for students to gain positive, shared experiences in their community where they can grow socially, emotionally, and academically. Through program implementation and evaluation, the work can be extended to serve diverse students now and in the future
Leveling the Playing Field: A Proposal for a Portfolio Summative Assessment for a Task- Based Adult ESL Course to Address the Needs of Students with Limited or Interrupted Formal Education (SLIFE)
Get PDFResearch shows that students with limited or interrupted education (SLIFE) are at a distinct disadvantage when taking formalized exams as compared to their more highly educated peers due to factors such as cultural dissonance. The need for an alternative method of summative assessment that rewards SLIFE’s strengths, such as funds of knowledge and collaboration skills, instead of punishing them for their lack of test-tasking skills and background knowledge is the central focus of this project. This project is a proposal for an adult school district to pilot a portfolio summative assessment as an alternative to formalized testing. The rationale for this project is based on factors such as the negative effects of cultural dissonance, the benefits of collectivism as skill-building strengths in task-based learning environments, a comparison of research on formalized and portfolio assessments, and the need for assessment reform in adult education. The benefits of a portfolio summative assessment are many and may improve the summative assessment process not only for SLIFE but for all stakeholders. At the same time, research reveals that the method faces many challenges, mostly due to its recency. These challenges may be overcome with careful planning, input from all stakeholders, and further research. The design of the pilot project proposed herein is heavily influenced by Desyatova’s case study of Canada’s experience with a summative portfolio assessment and the problems they encountered. Solutions to those problems are embedded in the proposed project plan. The goal of this project is to open a dialogue with school districts in the hope that it leads to a pilot implementation of the method along with further research
Best Practices to Improve English Language Acquisition for High School EL Students who have Experienced Trauma
Get PDFEnglish Learner students are a rapidly growing subset of the U.S. student population with unique strengths and needs compared to their monolingual peers. My experiences as an EL teacher with secondary EL students who have experienced trauma led to my capstone question: what best practices can be used for high school EL students who have been impacted by trauma to build their English language acquisition? While there is a plethora of research on EL students and on trauma, there is little research connecting the two topics. However, research demonstrates a number of proven strategies to help EL students and students who have experienced trauma be successful in the classroom. The information learned in this capstone led to the creation of a professional development workshop series for all school staff on EL students, the effects of trauma, and best practices for working with EL students who have experienced trauma
Utilizing BIPOC Class Novels in the Middle School Classroom to Promote Empathy
Get PDFThe research focus for my capstone is: Utilizing BIPOC Class Novels in the Middle School Classroom to Promote Empathy. I have designed a website titled “Black, Indigenous, People of Color (BIPOC) Literature” to be accessed and utilized by parents and teachers of middle school students. For adults who seek high quality literature by / about People of Color that also incorporate empathy-building Social-Emotional Learning (SEL) skills, this website is an excellent resource. As the adolescent brain develops, so does the capability for empathy. Perspective-taking occurs after learned experiences. The perspective-taking element of empathy can be explicitly taught to adolescents in numerous ways, one of which being through the use of inclusive literature. Literature with BIPOC characters or authors is currently less common than stories with White authors or characters. Such texts can act as windows and mirrors for students: windows into experiences unknown to them and mirrors that reflect their similar or shared experiences and stories. Students can learn perspective-taking through books that act as windows. The BIPOC Literature website offers middle school teachers and parents the opportunity to discover high quality books by / about BIPOC with detailed descriptions, identified themes, age-appropriate levels, and SEL competencies they connect with. This site can be used in the school setting for teachers deciding on class novels, read alouds, and more, or for parents, independent or family reading at home.The implications of utilizing racially representative literature in classrooms in conjunction with the Social-Emotional Learning element of empathy are great, and can lead to an increase in critical literacy, student engagement, and meaningful student connections to classroom literature
Studying the Self: Students Examining Culture and Identity for Improved Engagement and Achievement
Get PDFResearch has demonstrated that incorporating culturally relevant and culturally sustaining pedagogy (CSP) into teaching can lead to greater academic success. The curriculum designed for this project focuses on using concepts of identity and culture as topics of study in a seventh-grade English language arts (ELA) class with the aim of improving student engagement and academic achievement. CSP argues that young people are in a fluid process of developing their identities, and our pedagogy should foster that development. CSP also maintains that classrooms need to provide space for communities of color to maintain, nurture, and sustain cultural practices. This curriculum design reimagined an existing seventh-grade ELA unit when taught with culturally sustaining practices, specifically asking students to consider their personal identity and cultural practices. In order to work within the constraints of the school where it will be taught, this curriculum is designed using the International Baccalaureate Middle Years Programme (IBMYP) Unit Planner. This curriculum will primarily be used in seventh-grade ELA classrooms in an urban district, but is adaptable to a variety of school settings. The goal of the project is to assist students in critical reflection and development of personal identity while promoting academic achievement and learning of Minnesota ELA standards
Developmentally Appropriate Literacy Instruction in the Kindergarten Classroom
Get PDFThe purpose of this capstone was to answer the question: What does a developmentally appropriate literacy curriculum look like in a kindergarten classroom? Research literature was comprehensively reviewed to delineate the history of kindergarten and to highlight the present day tension between academically-oriented and developmentally appropriate approaches to kindergarten instruction. Over the past decades, Kindergarten has become increasingly focused on academically oriented practices, with a heavy emphasis on the adoption of Common Core Standards. However, the published research repeatedly identified the benefits of a developmentally appropriate approach to instruction in the kindergarten classroom. The integration of developmentally appropriate practice into the literacy curriculum was found to be paramount. The capstone research review culminated in a demonstrative unit plan curriculum for Kindergarten teachers based on research-informed,developmentally appropriate practices and standards. The goal of this project was to help educators further appreciate how integrating developmentally appropriate practice and an academically oriented approach is not only possible, but ultimately highly beneficial for kindergarten students
Supporting Multilingual Learners in the Content Classroom Through Culturally and Linguistically Responsive Teaching Practices
Get PDFCulturally and linguistically responsive teaching practices have been demonstrated to yield positive learning outcomes for multilingual learners. The curriculum designed for this project focuses on making direct use of the culturally and linguistically responsive guidelines, frameworks, and strategies as proposed by Zaretta Hammond, Sharroky Hollie, Sydney Snyder, and Diane Staehr Fenner in a secondary level history classroom for the purpose of maximizing learning opportunities for multilingual learners. This project involved creating a dynamic curriculum complete with teacher considerations to transform content learning through cultural and linguistic responsiveness. The curriculum will primarily be used in secondary social studies classrooms for multilingual learners but can be adapted to a variety of settings. The curriculum aims to build independent learning capabilities that can benefit multilingual learners within and beyond the secondary level academic context. The goal of the project is to support content learning and academic language building for multilingual learners in secondary settings while affirming largely marginalized identities
Food Justice and Urban Agriculture: Using City Spaces to Foster Equity
Get PDFIn an increasingly urban society, urban agriculture creates opportunities to address inequalities in access to healthy foods and bridge gaps in our food systems. While solving the problems of food and environmental injustice demands large-scale changes at a systemic level, urban agriculture can promote community engagement, education, and sovereignty, empowering city residents to gain control over their resources and access to nutritious foods. This research seeks to explain how two very different urban agricultural projects are impacting their communities through access, engagement, and education. Intersections Food Forest is a neighborhood project that utilizes an empty city lot to cultivate perennial produce plants that are available for anyone to harvest. Lowertown Farm is a larger urban farm that serves its surrounding community through workshare, farm stands and educational outreach, as well as supporting small producers by helping them bring their products to market. Through the use of observation, participation, interviews, and archival documents, two case studies have been created to offer a side-by-side comparison of the driving forces, operations, and community impacts of both projects. London et al.’s (2020) model of the driving forces behind urban agriculture projects is used as a scaffolding for this research. London et al. (2020) proposed that such projects are driven by the goals of market development, community health, or social justice. This research suggests that a fourth driver may be emerging as community leaders seek to use urban agriculture to support community engagement and education
Unraveling My Sweater: Reflections of White Student Affairs Practitioners Committed to Social Justice
Get PDFCollege student demographics are shifting campuses to a more racially diverse student population while the racial homogeneity of practitioners remains overwhelmingly White. Research shows disparities in campus climate and sense of belonging between White students and students who are Black Indigenous People of Color (BIPOC). Literature confirms that racial representation of faculty and staff have a strong influence on the experiences of BIPOC students, and that White practitioners have a duty to address their own racial identity within their work in order to contribute to inclusive institutions committed to strengthening equitable access to higher education. Using Culturally Responsive Practices (CRP) as a framework, this dissertation uses reflective narrative analysis to examine the ways White student affairs professionals articulate the effects of their whiteness on their campus interactions with racially diverse students and colleagues. Interview participants were solicited through professional network referrals based on a strict set of criteria including that they must identify as white, identify as being committed to social justice, work at a Historically White College or University in the greater Twin Cities area, work within a student affairs functional area with contact to new students on campus, and fit within a pre-set range of professional experience. Findings provided rich evidence of the socialized racialization of White practitioners leading to an internalization of White supremacist characteristics influencing professional practices. Findings also depicted strong ways professionals actively resist White normativity through professional practices. This research confirms the need for White practitioners to participate in the vulnerable work of racial self-awareness in order to support equitable student success on campus. Additionally, campus leaders, professional organizations, and graduate preparation programs must model a commitment to social justice and racial self-awareness, provide purposeful professional development, and promote campus policies that align campus mission and values to address campus climate and belonging across different racial groups. Future research could focus on applying CRP to examine the influence of other privileged social identities on the work of student affairs practitioners, or expanding on whiteness through a larger participant pool