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Liberatory Love: Exploring Educators’ Perspectives in Alternative Education
Get PDFEstablishing an operational understanding of love is difficult. The struggle is magnified when attempting to create a shared vision of love across a group of educators. As Freire (1970/2005) and Darder (2011) affirmed, academic success is advanced when educators demonstrate love as part of their praxis. Continuation high schools represent a population of at-promise students who stand to gain much when their educators employ liberatory love practices. This study examined how educators’ perceptions about liberatory love are shifted or formed when they read, discuss, and reflect on the topic with their colleagues. This study drew on critical pedagogy and engaged pedagogy to conduct an ethnography of a community of educators at a continuation high school. This study explored the following research questions: (a) How do staff members at a continuation high school conceptualize the role of love in education? In what ways, if at all, are these conceptualizations about love aligned to the practices of liberatory love? (b) In their self-reporting, how do staff members reflect liberatory love in working with students at a continuation high school? (c) Based on self-reporting, how do discussions centered on liberatory love affect the praxis of staff members at a continuation high school? Although participants were unaware of the tenets of liberatory love prior to the study, participants were willing and excited to read, discuss, and consider the elements and their praxis. Data analysis revealed aspects of liberatory love (e.g., sharing dialogue and naming assets) were easily incorporated into educator praxis while other aspects (e.g., sharing decision-making) were met with resistance. Findings highlight the need for teacher and administrator training opportunities that unpack the tenets of liberatory love and how a school site can meaningfully incorporate them into educator praxis. This work has the potential to shift interventions for at-promise students to prioritize an epistemology that examines systems and educators rather than pathologizing students
Yeshivas and the Legacy of \u3ci\u3eMeyer\u3c/i\u3e and \u3ci\u3ePierce\u3c/i\u3e: Is Substantive Due Process Substantial Enough?
Get PDFIn America’s ongoing discussions regarding religious liberty, situations such as the conflict over New York’s yeshivas demonstrate how grave the stakes can be. Meyer and Pierce advanced the freedom of parents to educate children according to their faith and traditions, but as they relied on substantive due process, they do not offer a firm foundation upon which to build a legal case defending parents who want to enroll their children in yeshivas or similar faith-based schools. Fortunately, recent developments in First Amendment jurisprudence offer a much firmer foundation
Becoming a Leader “On the Job”: An Exploratory Study Examining How Internal Interim Leaders Build their Leadership Capacity While Nonprofit Executive Directors are on Sabbatical
Get PDFNonprofit organizations have long underinvested in leadership development, potentially hindering their ability to fulfill their missions effectively. This study examined the use of nonprofit organization sabbaticals that give executive directors time away while building the leadership capabilities of the interim leader. This research explored the on-the-job leadership development of six individuals who served as interim leaders in southern California nonprofit organizations during their executive directors\u27 participation in a 3-month, foundation-funded sabbatical program.
In this study, data were collected through in-depth interviews with interim leaders. A formative influences timeline technique was employed to center the participant\u27s voice rather than the interviewer\u27s lead. A dual analytical approach that one methodologist has characterized as narrative analysis and analysis of narrative was employed to make sense of and report the collected data. In short, data for each participant were reconstructed as stories and, then, a cross-case analysis was employed to highlight common themes and patterns across the six individual narratives.
Key findings revealed that interim leadership experiences served as leadership laboratories, fostering both horizontal (skill-based) and vertical (perspective-shifting) development. The study identified seven categories of experiences that contribute to leadership growth; the list includes managing operations, board engagement, leading staff, managing major initiatives, external relations and community engagement, navigating unexpected challenges, and responding to challenges related to the COVID-19 global pandemic. Additionally, the study illuminated the critical role of reflection in translating experiences into lasting development and the influence of individual, cultural, and structural factors on the interim leaders\u27 development.
The research contributed to the field by proposing an Integrated Model of Nonprofit Interim Leadership Development, which synthesizes the complex, cyclical nature of leadership growth during interim periods. This model offers insights for designing effective interim experiences and integrating leadership development with succession planning in nonprofit organizations.
Results from this study provide valuable insights into leveraging the interim leader role as an experiential leadership development strategy and succession planning tool for nonprofit organizations. It offers practical recommendations for interim leaders, CEOs, boards, and funders to maximize the developmental potential of these experiences, ultimately strengthening leadership pipelines in the nonprofit sector
Scholarship Applicants and Scholarship Literacy: How Students Access and Use Scholarship Information to Apply for Scholarships
No full textThe purpose of my research was to enhance the University of San Diego Alumni Office’s scholarship website to give students better information regarding the scholarships offered. My research questions were: how can I better understand and make changes to the process of how students access scholarship resources at University of San Diego? What do applicants want to know more about, and how can our office make the scholarship application process more applicant friendly for them? I utilized two types of data collection, a combination of focus groups, interviews and a survey. The findings indicate that students are having challenges accessing scholarship information. Recommendations include: updating the website to make the information easier to sort through, enhanced marketing efforts for the scholarship application period to include fliers around campus, and advertising in student newsletters. Lastly, create a downloadable summary sheet with the scholarship information
Engaging Undergraduate Students in Critical Visual Reflections Using Their Visual Journals
Get PDFThis qualitative, arts-based study examines how undergraduate students engage with visual journaling to construct and articulate knowledge in a social science course centering issues of diversity, inclusion, and social justice. Drawing on Freirian critical pedagogy and critical visual reflection, this research centers students’ voices and creative processes. Through one-time, audio-recorded interviews, participants share insights about their journaling experiences, reflect on memorable pages, and articulate both the significance and intended future use of their visual journals. The collaboration between researchers and student participants involves shared reflective practices, flattening hierarchies, and emphasizing embodied expression, including nonverbal and vocal cues. This approach builds on existing scholarship around visual literacy and multimodal learning, while filling a gap in the literature by directly emphasizing students’ perspectives as creators and meaning-makers. In capturing these reflective and dialogic processes, this research aims to challenge dominant systems of knowledge creation and broaden pedagogical strategies that elevate student agency
Programming A More Efficient Onboarding Process For New Employees
Get PDFThe current onboarding process for new hires in the University of San Diego’s Shiley-Marcos School of Engineering is inefficient. There is no central location where new hires and administrators can track onboarding progress. Both parties have to manage multiple email chains and write their own reminders to keep track of everything. This leads to delays, missing deadlines, and confusion for both parties. A web-based onboarding application has been developed recently to address these issues and streamline the onboarding process for new hires. However, this application contains several accessibility issues and does not follow all of the standards for effective employee onboarding. In this project, I improve upon the application to ensure that it follows the standards for effective employee onboarding. Specifically, I am improving the user interface and implementing accessibility features to ensure that all people, including those with disabilities, can navigate through the application. I discuss how I will improve the user interface and what accessibility features I will implement. I also demonstrate the application without the improvements and accessibility features to show what it looked like before the implementations. I then showcase the application with the improvements and accessibility features to demonstrate the impact of the implementations. The goal of this project is to demonstrate the positive impact that accessibility features and an improved onboarding application can have on the onboarding process
Implementing a Provider Education Program for Opioid Medication Management
Get PDFImplementing a Provider Education Program for Opioid Medication Management
Mitra Akhavan Taylor, BSN, RN
Joseph F. Burkard, DNSc, CRNA, EBP-C, AACN Health Policy Fellow
Introduction: Continuing health provider education is an important intervention supported by health policy to counter the opioid epidemic. The purpose of this evidence-based project was to create and implement an opioid prescribing program in line with California and Federal regulations in response to the opioid epidemic. The purpose of this project was to evaluate the effect of the program and EMR template and guidelines on opioid prescribing practices. The motivation behind this evidence-based practice (EBP) project was to improve documentation of controlled substances prescribed for patients, abide by prescription drug monitoring programs such as CURES, implement and document pain contracts consistently, document patient medication risk education and regularly screen patients for urine drug screening.
Background/significance: Chronic pain is a nationwide epidemic affecting individuals in various aspects of life. In 2017, opioid-related deaths accounted for 68% of the total drug overdose deaths in the United States. From 1999 to 2017 the annual number of overdose deaths related to opioids increased more than 600%. Commonly prescribed opioids continue to play a significant role in the epidemic, and interventions to improve opioid prescribing processes should be a priority. Time constraints in the clinic setting result in limited interventions for pain management, which can lead to opioid abuse or opioid use disorders. Time constraints in clinic can also contribute to inefficient follow up with patients suffering with chronic pain who are prescribed opioids. Creating and implementing an education program and an EMR template will help to improve documentation for controlled substances prescribed for patients, and thus, improve patient safety and patient outcomes.
Methods: In a small outpatient clinic setting in North County San Diego a comprehensive provider education program and EMR template was created and implemented between October 2024 and January 2025. An individual meeting was held prior to the start of the program to introduce and review the details and at the end of the program to debrief. A validated scale, The Opioid Medication Management Safety Scale, was used at two time periods throughout the program: pre-program and post-program. The process proceeded for four months concluding with program evaluation.
Outcomes achieved: Data was obtained pre-program and post-program to compare the effectiveness of the provider education program and EMR template. Based on the retrospective pre and post assessment, the providers were receptive to the education program and to the EMR template. Results indicated utilization of the education program and the EMR template from October 2024 to January 2025 improved documentation for all categories, as evidenced by pre and post data.
Evaluation of Results: An EMR template specific to opioid medication management allows for improved documentation, consistent with California and Federal regulations. Data collection prior to project implementation provided a comparison pre and post intervention.
Implications for Clinical Practice: Using a multimodal education framework and strategies can improve clinical practice and should be considered for all healthcare-related education, in various clinical settings.
Conclusions: The provider education program and EMR template intervention seems to be both practical and effective in improving documentation, which can lead to improved patient safety, decrease utilization of opioid medications, and thus, improved patient outcomes.
Keywords: Pain, chronic pain, nurse practitioner, electronic medical record, cures, prescription drug monitoring programs, improving patient outcomes, opioid use disorder
U.S. - China Technological Rivalry and the Future of International Scientific Norms
Get PDFThis study is investigating how technological competition between the United States and China is reshaping international norms of scientific cooperation, with a particular focus on the semiconductor and computing sectors. Drawing on constructivist international relations theory, this research evaluates changes in norms of openness, academic exchange, multilateral governance, and ethical convergence. Using sector specific case studies, it compares the current U.S. - China dynamics to Cold War era science diplomacy. The analysis highlights growing fragmentation, norm divergence, and institutional strain as the global scientific order enters an era of techno-nationalist rivalry. It also considers whether new norms are emerging in place of older ones. The study concludes by discussing implications for future international peace, cooperation, and governance in emerging technologies