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Supporting Preservice Teachers of Color in Culturally Relevant Pedagogy
No full textWhile learning how to become culturally and critically conscious educators and advocates for their PK-12 students, racially minoritized preservice teachers often feel isolated. More research is needed to learn how teacher preparation programs could consistently empower rather than isolate preservice teachers of color as they engage in coursework involving culturally relevant pedagogy.
This study focused on the experiences of preservice teachers of color engaging in culturally relevant pedagogy coursework in a K-12 teacher preparation program at a predominately White institution. In partnership with this teacher preparation program, one current preservice teachers of color, five former alumni of color, and three faculty members of this program were recruited to share their experiences and curricular artifacts connected with curriculum related to culturally relevant pedagogy. A phenomenological case study approach with elements of Community-Based Research methods was used to collect data and analyze these interviews and artifacts. The findings of this study support the need not only for a more robust but also a differentiated integration of culturally relevant pedagogy into the coursework. Preservice teachers of color also seem to desire more supports in connecting with other educators of color.
Teacher preparation programs serving preservice teachers of color at predominantly White institutions might consider ways to more consistently integrate differentiated culturally relevant pedagogy while providing community support and addressing potential threats for preservice teachers of color. These findings and recommendations are shared with the goal of not only co-developing next steps for this teacher preparation program but also supporting other programs striving to provide more equitable culturally relevant instruction for their preservice teachers of color
Model-Based Navigation and Control of Multirotor UAVs: A Machine Learning Approach
Get PDFIn recent decades, unmanned systems, particularly Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs), have seen significant advancement and unprecedented growth in military, civilian and public domain applications. Scientists have focused on enhancing UAV navigation and control through cutting-edge technologies and support tools. UAVs find applications in many fields, except military, such as agriculture, infrastructure inspection, wildlife monitoring, search and rescue, emergency response, border protection, to name but a few relevant civilian applications. Given the faster-than-exponential increase of available computational power, learning-based algorithms have emerged as a prominent tool for (real-time) multirotor UAV navigation and control. This dissertation centers around the fusion of conventional control methods with learning algorithms to fine-tune and/or identify and estimate multirotor UAV aerodynamic parameters (model parameters), as well as controller parameters and gains, also tackling uncertainties. The combined multilayer navigation control architecture, based on obtained results, shows promise as it is real-time applicable and implementable
Reducing Epistemic Tension: How Relational Cultural Theory Can Inform the Field of Therapeutic Assessment
No full textTherapeutic Assessment (TA), developed by Dr. Stephen Finn, is an approach to psychological assessment that prioritizes respect for clients, highlights the vital role of collaborative meaning-making, forwards a relational view of test administration and interpretation, and emphasizes the importance of helping clients come to terms with the root of their problems of daily living. Accordingly, the practice of Therapeutic Assessment places high value on the evaluator-client relationship and highlights the notion that no psychological test, and therefore no individual, can be interpreted or understood within a vacuum. With the recent resurgence in racist, anti-semitic, and xenophobic rhetoric thrust back into the American limelight, questions around issues of multiculturalism, diversity, equity, and inclusion have surfaced to the forefront of the field of clinical psychology, and more specifically, in the practice of psychological assessment. As practitioners of TA work towards implementing these considerations into the model, a valuable question arises: How might we strengthen the practice of TA so that it is effective and meaningful for all? This paper outlines the core tenants of TA, introduces the Relational Cultural Theory (RCT) lens in relation to psychological assessment, and outlines specific key aspects of RCT that can be utilized in making TA effective and meaningful for all
A GIS Approach to Predictive Wildfire Mapping in the Pike National Forest
No full textOne of the most devastating natural disasters that occur in Colorado is wildfire. Fires are larger, occurring more often, and are frequently more intense than they have been in recorded history. According to the CDFPC, twenty of the largest fires in the state’s history have occurred within the last 25 years. Creating maps to predict where fire is most likely to occur will provide valuable time for emergency personnel in their battle against these blazes. The setting chosen for this project is the Pike National Forest, in central Colorado. This study seeks to establish the wildfire ignition danger level in the Pike National Forest. This ignition risk will be based upon 4 fire ignition factors: slope, aspect, proximity to roadways, and land cover. These maps are then layered using GIS software to create a simple overall fire risk assessment for the forest
Influences on Small Business Leaders’ Decisions About Supportive Policies and Practices for Employees Who Have Experienced Intimate Partner Abuse
No full textIntimate partner abuse affects millions of individuals from all segments of society, and existing literature demonstrates that it has extensive impacts on American companies through loss of workplace productivity, reduced workplace safety, and employee turnover. While several supportive policies and practices have been suggested for implementation in business environments, many business leaders do not perceive the utilization of such measures as having business value. Thus, this study addresses the question, What influences business leaders’ decisions about whether and to what degree to adopt policies and practices for responding to employees’ experiences of intimate partner abuse? This dissertation is a qualitative study in which thirty-one small business leaders were interviewed. The findings indicate that external and internal environments, as well as leaders’ characteristics and perceptions, influence the type of stakeholder approach they might take, as well as their tendency toward a servant leadership style. Both their stakeholder approaches and their servant leadership styles then influence their decisions about implementing supportive responses for employees who have experienced intimate partner abuse. This effect is particularly strong for the implementation of informal practices. Planned behavior, stakeholder, servant leadership, and critical and feminist theories coalesce to form the theoretical model that is developed herein. This dissertation expands the fragmented research about the intersection between intimate partner abuse and business leadership, it develops a new combined theoretical model that could be applied to other areas of research involving sensitive and stigmatized experiences in employees’ lives, and it suggests ways in which sex, gender, and various elements of socioeconomic status could influence leaders’ and employees’ experiences of such situations. Ultimately, these findings provide new insights for management training and consulting, as well as an understanding of how best to support leaders’ decision making-processes
“No Respecter of Persons”: A Constructive Black Theology of Otherness
No full textThe emergence of black theology in the American academy during the mid twentieth century is a significant development in contemporary theology. As a theology that speaks from a particular context (which is defined by its plurality rather than its uniformity), black theology attempts to make sense of God and humanity in a way that reflects the experiences of African Americans. While there are multiple trajectories within black theology, they share a common focus on constructively thinking about human alterity. Black theologians tend to engage human alterity by reconstructing race (e.g., reconceptualizing blackness in such a way that God takes on blackness through God\u27s identification with blacks) or centering human diversity (e.g., the multiplicity of differences that mark black bodies reflect the underlying plurality of the world). These approaches have led to the growth and maturing of black theology.
With this said, the further development of alterity within black theology requires the affirmation of the excessive nature of alterity (that is beyond containment in any totalizing concept) and a proposal for the way that humans relate to each other in the face of such excessive alterity. Through a critical engagement of Levinasian thought and black Pentecostal theology, I argue that the Spirit empowers humans to welcome each other’s irreducible otherness as a holy expression of communion with the infinity of the Other. The Spirit empowers the self to respond to the Other who approaches the self with an infinite call to responsibility. Through this interaction between the Other, the self, and the Spirit, a pentecostal subjectivity takes form in the self
Navigating the Labyrinth: A Narrative Inquiry into the Experiences of Rural Secondary School Women Leaders in Malawi
No full textThis dissertation aimed to underscore the multifaceted experiences of women leaders (headteachers) in rural secondary schools in Malawi. This study delved into the narratives of three women leaders, exploring the intricate connections between their leadership journeys, the principles of Ubuntu, feminist perspectives, and the dynamics of community capitals. This study employed a narrative inquiry approach, allowing and empowering participants to share their stories in their own words (Creswell & Poth, 2017; Egbert & Sanden, 2019; Hickson, 2016; Tenny et al., 2020). Through in-depth interviews, reflective narratives, and a focus group, this research captured the diverse narratives of the three women leaders, shedding light on the challenges, successes, and personal growth they encountered in their leadership roles.
Four main themes emerged from this study: headteacher by merit not chance, navigating (un)foreseen leadership circumstances, understanding community traditional culture and collaboration, and (mis)understanding feminism and gender in women’s leadership. This dissertation contributes to the existing literature on women\u27s leadership by offering a nuanced understanding of leadership complexities in a rural secondary school setting in Malawi. It also informs educational policy and practice by highlighting the unique challenges and opportunities of educational leaders. Finally, this study contributes to global discourse on the experiences of Black women in leadership
Self-Efficacy and Racial Identity for Undergraduate Music Majors
Get PDFStudents’ identities can impact their self-efficacy, or their confidence in their ability to succeed in producing a desired outcome (Bandura, 1997; Klassen, 2004a; Klassen 2004b; Oettingen, 1995; Usher & Pajares, 2008); however, little peer-reviewed research explores the relationship between racial identity and self-efficacy for undergraduate music majors. In the United States, undergraduate music students of color often navigate educational experiences where they do not find their identities represented in the curricula (Ewell, 2020), their faculty (Higher Education Arts Data Services [HEADS], 2020), or their fellow students (HEADS, 2020).
This convergent mixed methods study utilized the theoretical framework of critical race theory to explore self-perceptions of self-efficacy by undergraduate music majors of different racial identities. Mann-Whitney U tests found that mean rank self-efficacy scores for students of color were higher than White students on 10 out of 11 items on the Self-Efficacy for Musical Learning Questionnaire (Ritchie & Williamon, 2011a), with the differences on Item 9 (potential failure as motivation) being statistically significant. Narrative interviews explored the self-efficacy beliefs and lived experiences of ten undergraduate music majors of color. Despite systemic barriers to self-efficacy, students of color were confident in their ability to succeed in the field of music
Resisting the Historical and Geographical “Other”: The Role of Expertise in Video Game Music
Get PDFVideo games create rich, virtual worlds for players to explore. Game developers have often utilized exoticism, allowing players to experience the “Other” from the comfort of home. Music is a powerful tool to evoke Otherness and can reinforce stereotypes about the past and different cultures. This thesis looks at recent games where developers have collaborated with expert musicians either from the culture depicted or with expertise in historical performance practices. I document two purposes these collaborations can serve. First, the use of expert musicians creates a veneer of authenticity allowing developers to market the games as “authentic” experiences. Second, these collaborations can resist crude musical stereotyping and present more nuanced musical depictions of historical and non-Western cultures. Nevertheless, the hierarchical power structures of game studios can undermine these goals. My case studies explore the nuances of these collaborations, highlighting both the opportunities and pitfalls
