The purpose of this qualitative case study was to describe how one interdisciplinary program that used an authentic learning approach may have developed global competence in students. This study explored how teachers planned and implemented a global competence program and how students perceived their acquisition of global competence. I used an…

In this dissertation I present the main findings of a multiple case study using an ethnographic approach to explore high school teachers and students' understandings and practices of citizenship and citizenship education in a public, a private-subsidized, and a private independent school in Santiago, Chile. The study showed how citizenship…

Youth today are participating in political and civic life in new and emerging ways--some positive and some negative--but there is scant evidence that these new forms of engagement spawn enduring forms of participation to enhance democratization at all levels in society. How, then, do we educate for democracy and for what type of democracy,…

This research study focuses on how an aesthetic reading stance with dystopian literature can aid teens in the development of historical thinking skills. My research is based on ideas from Louise Rosenblatt's transactional theory and Sam Wineburg's concept and definition for historical thinking along with the UCLA Standards for Historical Thinking.…

This dissertation examines state-level efforts to mandate the Pledge of Allegiance in public schools, especially following 9/11. Despite longstanding Supreme Court precedent declaring mandatory flag salutes unconstitutional, various state legislatures sought to institute or strengthen pledge mandates irrespective of students' civil liberties.…

Due to the escalating moral problems in society, parents are asking schools to create an environment to not only teach academics but values and social responsibility as well. This dissertation examines the perceptions of teachers, parents, and administrators in regard to social responsibility at the elementary school level. Many programs exist to…

Given the tormented history of development projects around the globe and the fact that global service learning and engineering-for-development often engages students in development interventions, it is critically important to explore the impact of global service learning projects and partnerships not only on student learning, which has received…

Since the 1990s, Ireland has experienced a significant increase in racial, cultural, and ethnic diversity due, in large part, to immigration. A major cause for immigration in Ireland has been economic growth, although other influences, such as social factors, have played a role, too. Perhaps one of the most visible effects immigration and…

Staff and student surveys at Lane Elementary School (pseudonym) confirm that students lack motivation to complete class work and often struggle to interact appropriately with one another. Similar concerns are reported across the United States as indicated by national Gallup Poll results on student motivation, peer relationships, and feelings of…

The meatpacking industry has drawn an increasing number of immigrants to the Midwestern community of Washington River from Mexico and Central America, making it a New Latino Diaspora (NLD) receiving community. Demographic change amidst the sociopolitical landscape of neoliberalism, declining civic engagement, and polarized partisan politics has…

This dissertation examines representations of black lives in adolescent speculative fiction and explores what the genre offers to anti-racist teacher education. Situating my study at the intersections of literacy education and children's literature studies, I interrogate assumptions surrounding genre conventions adopted in multicultural education.…

Service learning is a pedagogy that combines classroom instruction with community service. Its goals are to provide students with learning experiences that reinforce the curriculum, improve students' personal and interpersonal development, and connect students to the needs of the community (Jacoby et al., 2003). Since the mid 1980s, the number of…

Over the last ten years, American Catholic bishops have suffered a catastrophic loss of authority in the wake of sexual abuse scandals. In the midst of these scandals, the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops [USCCB] has issued voting guides for presidential elections. In this dissertation, I investigate the American Catholic church's…

This study was primarily a multiple-case study that incorporated descriptive statistical analysis to examine the contributions that three niche institutions play in the diverse democracy of the U.S. A "niche institution" is a college or university whose role in U.S. higher education is to meet the needs of a specific group and whose…

The nationwide focus on standardized testing, as outlined in the No Child Left Behind Legislation (NCLB, 2003), has prompted many public schools to focus their instruction on preparing students for high-stakes tests in literacy, math and science. While NCLB may be lauded for its intent to ameliorate achievement inequities among subgroups of…