Browsing by Author "Pike, Gary"

Now showing 1 - 4 of 4
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Controversy and counternarrative in the social studies
    (2017-05-12) Shaver, Erik James; Rogan, Patricia; Medina, Monica; Keller, Deb; Engebretson, Kathryn; Pike, Gary
    This qualitative study sought to explore reasons why social studies teachers chose to teach controversial issues and counternarratives in their classroom in an era where doing so is dangerous for teachers and their job security, and how they go about doing so in their classrooms. The theoretical framework of this study encompassed the notion that the five selected teachers embodied and practiced elements of Foucauldian parrhēsía, which is teaching the truth despite the risk of doing so, despite not having explicit knowledge of this particular philosophy, and utilized counternarratives and controversial issues as a means of challenging dominant social norms to bring about a more just and equitable society. The existing literature suggests that their pre-service teacher education provided little influence on their decisions, despite the positive historical, personal, and democratic outcomes from teaching a curriculum exploring controversial issues and counternarratives. Five teachers were recommended for this study due to their reputations for teaching controversial issues and counternarratives in their social studies classrooms. After interviewing and observing these teachers, a number of interesting findings came to light, including a list of best practices for how to teach controversial issues in the classroom, reasons why the teachers taught controversial issues in the classroom, structures of support and barriers for teaching a critical social studies curriculum, and differences between those who believed they taught controversial issues in their classroom but did not, and those who actually did.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Gender, subjectivity, and the material-discursive school entanglement
    (2018-04-04) Robbins, Kirsten Rose; Pike, Gary; Thorius, Kathleen King; Dennis, Barbara; Engebretson, Kathryn; Medina, Monica
    New materialist scholars argue that schools are important material-discursive entanglements for engendering, racializing, and subjectivizing human subjects. Despite this claim, there is a dearth of research that examines the perceptions that students have of the messages they are sent from schools about how to perform their gendered subjectivities in schools, particularly from a material feminist framework. This study used native photography through a post qualitative methodological framework to explore the messages that students’ receive from their school related to subjectivity and gender. This study took seriously both the voices and perceptions of the participants and the significance of the material environment of the school. Within the course of the research study, students both resisted and conformed to messages the school sent them about their subjectivities. Students conformed to many of the dominant ideas about gender, including privileging maleness. Students resisted the school’s control of their bodies, as well as the school’s attempts at rendering the student population homogenous. The students, though aware that there were differences in the way the school treated them based in gender and other identity markers, struggled to articulate those differences because the school sent a false message of equality. This false message of equality performed an erasure of their experiences of differences and denied them the language they needed to discuss the inequities they experienced. The results of the analysis contribute to conversations about the ways in which school environments contribute to narratives about identity, particularly as it relates to gender. Additionally, the way in which this post qualitative study unfolded has implications for research, including the importance of emergent design. Finally, the tensions that exist in using the new materialisms as a framework when studying schools led me to question the benefits of choosing to decenter humans in this type of research.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Performance Measurement and Research Practices in Higher Education-Focused Philanthropic Organizations
    (2022-07) Essien, Frank Swanzy, Jr.; Konrath, Sara; Badertscher, Kathi; Pike, Gary; Shaker, Genevieve
    Performance measurement and research are key components of the operations of philanthropic organizations (both grant-making [GM] and grant-seeking [GS] organizations) —particularly those in the higher education subsector. Both conventionally and historically, performance measurement and research practices have been portrayed as rational tools that philanthropic organizations undertake to get the needed data or information to make evidence-based decisions. In this dissertation, I investigate, identify, and explain, beyond rational choice, the other possible motives that may drive higher education-focused philanthropic organizations to engage in performance measurement and research practices as well as the ways they use the information gained from these practices. In other words, I answer the research questions: why do philanthropic organizations (both grant-making and grantseeking organizations) engage in performance measurement and research practices? How do they use information from these practices? This dissertation employs a content analysis methodology to explore whether other theories may provide plausible explanations as to why higher education-focused philanthropic organizations engage in performance measurement and research practices. Some of the other theories upon which I draw to help explain why and how philanthropic organizations (GMs and GSs) use performance measurement and research practices are: organizational learning theory, principal agency theory, institutional theory, resource dependency theory, stewardship theory and culturally responsive, equitable and inclusive practices and outcomes theory (CREI).
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Toward Systematically Trauma-Informed Education: The Introduction of a Healing-Centered Multi-Tiered System of Supports Framework
    (2025-05) Feldman, Joseph L.; Scheurich, James; Medina, Monica; Pike, Gary; Swazo, Roberto
    This dissertation consists of three manuscripts that collectively argue for more holistic, systemic approaches to trauma-informed education. While the Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACE) framework has been valuable in identifying trauma originating from the home, it inadequately addresses structural and systemic factors, particularly those affecting marginalized racial and ethnic groups. This work advocates for a paradigm shift toward an ecological understanding of trauma, which recognizes the interconnectedness of individual, community, and institutional factors. The goal is to foster a trauma-informed, socially just educational environment that not only helps students overcome adversity but actively works to dismantle the systems perpetuating it. The first manuscript examines the evolution of trauma treatment in K-12 schools, from early interventions targeting specific students to more inclusive trauma-informed models. While universal interventions are beneficial, the manuscript critiques the ACEs framework for focusing predominantly on home-based trauma, often neglecting systemic issues such as racial trauma. It calls for the adoption of systemically trauma-informed practices to address these issues, highlighting the critical role of school social workers in facilitating this shift. The second manuscript builds on this argument by examining how institutional practices in schools, such as zero-tolerance policies and academic tracking, contribute to racial trauma. It critiques the pervasive issues of white saviorism and color-evasiveness, which hinder efforts to address systemic racial inequities. The manuscript advocates for anti-racist trauma-informed models that recognize and address the ways schools perpetuate racial disparities, offering recommendations for school leaders on how to dismantle these harmful practices and promote a more equitable environment. The third manuscript extends the discussion to higher education, particularly social work programs. It critiques the field’s historical contribution to systemic trauma and argues for a critical examination of social work education to ensure it aligns with principles of trauma-informed care and social justice. The manuscript proposes a Healing-Centered Multi-Tiered System of Supports (HCMTSS) framework, designed to support healing and resilience among students, staff, and faculty, emphasizing the collective nature of trauma and the need for systemic change within educational institutions. Together, these manuscripts advocate for an ecological, collective approach to trauma-informed education that prioritizes healing, equity, and social justice.