Homelessness is a global social justice concern. Social work staff at homeless shelters have high turnover and burnout rates, and have little to no experience with the homeless population. In this study, a professional development training on self-awareness was given to social work staff using social justice theory, a disaster resilience education…

In this dissertation, I explored students' expressed emotions as they worked on a problem-solving lab contextualizing the local lead poisoning issue in the city in which they attended college. I identified students' expressed emotions and their reasoning for expressing those emotions. I also looked at the change in students' emotions as they…

The problem addressed in this study was that there was the likelihood of a mismatch between preprimary teachers' racial, ethnic, and cultural make-up and the children and families they educate and care for in the preprimary classroom from birth to 5 years. The purpose of this basic qualitative study was to examine early childhood education (ECE)…

The unprecedented racial justice movements of 2020, intensified by George Floyd's tragic murder, catalyzed a global mobilization. This dissertation investigates the intersection of these movements with sociotechnical tools that shaped the movement, focusing on the youth deeply engaged with socioalgorithmic systems and their developmental…

Education is often positioned as a solution to incarceration while simultaneously using police (or commonly named School Resource Officers) to enforce discipline; or metal detectors and cameras for surveillance within school buildings as a measure of "safety" (Meiners, 2011). Sojoyner (2016) argues that both schools and prisons function…

Children begin forming ideas about race and difference at a very young age. In their review of field literature, Gaias et al. (2021) shared that "children's racial prejudice and awareness of racial categories has been found to emerge around age 3" (p. 273). ECE is an important time to address topics of difference and bias with young…

Formerly incarcerated students comprise a population that has been largely overlooked, when it comes to the recognition of their higher education promise and potential (Strayhorn et al., 2013; U.S. Department of Education, 2021). This lack of recognition contributes to the perpetuation of race- and class-based inequities and discounts the talents…

The Critical Literacy (CritLit) project promotes using critical texts to engage readers in examining their lived experiences and understanding of social justice issues. This study used a qualitative participatory approach with a narrative design to research the students' engagement in a book club using critical texts. Participants were fourth- and…

Demographics of the United States' school system continue to change and diversify. Meeting the needs of diverse learners is critical to the success of all children. Building and sustaining equitable learning environments has proven to be a challenging task for school leaders. Barriers that hinder equity continue to plague schools and are rooted in…

This qualitative study explored the perspectives of nine educators on how they define social justice and how they imagine transformational teaching and learning by integrating social justice in their teaching practices. The research sought to answer the following questions (a) How do teachers define social justice? (b) What is a teacher's role in…

The creation of the cisgender binary through the advent of settler colonialism in the land now known as the United States contributed to centuries of violence against and erasure of trans* communities. Structural oppression against trans*ness at a societal level contributes to similar modes of oppression in microcosms of society, including all…

Student conduct administrators are charged with crafting and enforcing an institution's code of conduct equitably for all students. Few administrators are in a position to disrupt or end a student's college career. Public institutions' administrators function as state actors and must uphold the student rights protected in the landmark 1961 Dixon…

Within educational systems across the nation, traditionally marginalized and "multiply marginalized and underrepresented (MMU)" groups, composed of students of color, students with dis/abilities, students living in poverty and/or emergent bilinguals, continue to be excluded and segregated, perpetuating discriminatory practices both…

Social Emotional Learning (SEL) programs and curricula have emerged as a priority in schools over the past three decades, with greater urgency since the COVID-19 pandemic. While SEL programs may show promise in supporting students' social and emotional needs generally, current SEL practices apply color-evasive approaches, leading to White-centered…

Teachers are at the front lines every day as educators. Their interactions whether positive or negative will have a lasting impact on students' lives. The purpose of this study is to better understand how self-reflection and identification of implicit biases function as tools that can help early career teachers in their journey towards cultural…