This critical autoethnographic dissertation delves into the personal journey of a Black female counselor and mother, whose path meanders through the complex terrain of education, leading her to a profound transition into the realm of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging (DEIB) leadership. Drawing from memories, emotions, and ongoing…

Teacher education programs are predominantly White spaces with their faculty, teacher candidates, curriculum, and practices. In these spaces, the experiences of teacher candidates from minoritized backgrounds can be alienating and their voices can be overlooked or silenced. In three interrelated but distinct studies, this research aims to…

This dissertation examines contemporary issues that 18 (im)migrant university students faced during a time of highly militarized U.S.-Mexico border relations while living in Arizona during the time of this dissertation research. Utilizing critical race theory and public sphere theory as theoretical frameworks, the project addresses several related…

In this ethnographic study, I draw on interviews, audiorecordings of course meetings, observation notes and student work to explore the experiences of White preservice teachers in two sections of a Social Contexts of Education course. The instructors of both sections sought to challenge students' color-blind racial ideologies. Whereas prior…

Literacy and learning is a social process, one that is both transformative, empowering, and can often lead to social change. The following study is based on the idea that literacy can be used as a tool not only to teach the basic skills of reading, but the skills for individuals to learn to be compassionate towards others, understand their…

This dissertation explores the experiences of middle childhood pre-service teachers (PST) across two academic years as they learn to teach English language arts to diverse students from conflicting sociocultural contexts. To help PSTs navigate the tensions across contexts, this study introduced culturally relevant (Ladson-Billings, 1995; 2014) and…

This dissertation explores and describes the in-character and out-of-character information worlds and digital literacy practices of role-players, those that create and enact their characters' or avatars' stories, both within and outside of WildStar, a Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Game (MMORPG) (Carbine Studios, 2015). Utilizing Jaeger…

This ethnographic study contextualized identity development and maintenance within the field of community music through case studies of four performing groups and interviews with seven current members. The underlying question guiding this research was how does participatory music making contribute to the development and maintenance of identity in…

Whether or not we are teachers, all of us must make sense of language. In doing so, we encounter representations of language, implicit or explicit descriptions which shift over time and are always tied to social and political interests. Teachers' work necessarily depends on these descriptions, which are deeply embedded within their…

Technologies have been and are being designed to address varied human needs. Of these, the need for physical and economic well-being is typically considered to trump the need for culture, leisure, fun, and entertainment. Research initiatives in the field of Information and Communication Technology and Development (ICTD) have been in motion to…

This dissertation explores the idea of national belonging, held amongst Indian youth in general, and male and female college students in an urban city in particular, to examine the multiple ways in which social and cultural dynamics (e.g., communalism, gender, class, and caste) interact with their idea of nation. It analyses the data gathered…

Over the course of 12 months, I conducted an ethnographic study in an urban preschool classroom in the northeastern Unites States. Employing a sociocultural perspective of early childhood development, I investigated the various social and academic discourses related to race and ethnicity, gender, and socioeconomic status (SES) presented in a…

This study investigated a little known topic: the experiences of working-class, white male, professors, who have attained tenure. Academics who have immigrated from working class backgrounds have reported experiences of navigating culturally confusing interactions within their professional settings, even years after their class migrations.…

Discursive practices enacted by educators in kindergarten create a blueprint for how the educational trajectories of students with disabilities get constructed. In this two-year ethnographic case study, I critically examine educators' relationships with students considered to present challenging behaviors in one classroom located in a…

This dissertation explores the relational worlds of a single child with a significant disability. Previous research on relationships for individuals with significant disabilities has heavily relied on the perceptions of and information from others, rather than the individual with a disability him or herself. This research is an ethnographic…