Browsing by Author "Lee, John Kelly"

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    Dewey, Disability, and Democratic Education
    Mullins Jr, Ricky Dale (Virginia Tech, 2019-04-22)
    This dissertation is comprised of three manuscripts that coalesce around the topics of Dewey, Disability, and Democratic Education. Each manuscript is formatted for publication and the dissertation itself is prefaced by information that explains my background and how it connects to my current research. As such, the work contained in this dissertation is a product of my experiences as a social studies teacher, special educator, and administrator. Henceforth, my work focuses on Dewey, Disability, and Democratic Education. My research interests culminate in a three-article dissertation. The first paper is entitled, "Using Dewey to Problematize the Notion of Disability in Public Education." A version of this paper is currently under review for publication. In this paper I situate Dewey's theoretical underpinnings in the conversation around special education. Previous scholars of Dewey and disability have examined the ways in which his work speaks to educational growth and educational opportunity; my work adds to this body of research. However, my work is unique in that not only do I discuss pluralistic, communicative, participatory democracy as it pertains to students with disabilities, I also examine how Deweyan democracy can take shape, specifically within the context of an Individualized Education Plan (IEP) meeting. I conclude by arguing that Deweyan democracy is not only ideal, but realistic, attainable, and necessary, especially in the lives of students with disabilities. In my second paper, I use the Schools and Staffing Survey (SASS) dataset in a paper entitled, "Can We Meet Our Mission? Examining the Professional Development of Social Studies Teachers to Support Students with Disabilities and Emergent Bilingual Learners." A version of this paper has been accepted for publication in The Journal of Social Studies Research. In this work, I first examine the social studies scholarship looking at students with disabilities and emergent bilingual learners, as well as research about the nature of professional development within the social studies. I then analyze the number of students with disabilities and emergent bilingual learners that we support in the social studies to provide a portrait of the field. Next, I examine the extent to which social studies teachers receive professional development to support those student groups, as well as the extent to which the social studies teachers found the professional development to be useful. My findings indicate that social studies teachers do not receive substantial professional development to support the learning of all students, as evidenced by the limited amount of professional development received focusing on students with disabilities and emergent bilingual learners. In my third paper, I build on previous research examining the possibilities and benefits of participating in informal learning spaces such as Twitter in a paper entitled, "'So I Feel Like We Were Theoretical, Whereas They Actually Do It': Navigating Twitter Chats For Teacher Education." A version of this paper is also under review for publication. In this paper, specifically, I examine the experiences and perceptions of pre-service social studies teachers who particip¬¬¬¬ated in a discipline specific Twitter chat known as #sschat. My findings indicate that pre-service teachers found value in the chat when they were able to share resources with practicing teachers and build professional learning networks. However, there were instances when the pre-service teachers felt like they contributed little because they did not have direct experience with teaching. Additionally, the pre-service teachers expressed dissatisfaction with using Twitter as a platform for professional chats. However, I still contend and conclude that the utility of such chats outweighs the negatives. Therefore, this study sheds light on the potentiality and necessity of utilizing Twitter chats as a space to provide ongoing and systematic support to pre-service teachers to help not only them, but the field of social studies education move forward. These papers when considered together form a foundation of scholarship and further inquiry focused on Dewey, Disability, and Democratic Education, on which I plan to build in the years to come.
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    Examining Holocaust education museum-initiated professional development:  The perspective of museum educators during planning and implementation
    Pennington, Lisa Kelly (Virginia Tech, 2016-06-28)
    Museums today frequently consider education as one of their priorities. As such, museum administrators will provide resources, field trips, or professional development opportunities to support teachers and schools. In an era of high-stakes testing, museums, like schools, are also influenced by standards that may dictate what information is taught and when. Therefore, to remain relevant and useful to school systems, museums have altered their educational practices to align with standards. Some museums choose to provide professional development workshops for educators that focus on a topic included within those standards. The Holocaust, a topic that is mandated by over 30 states, is an example of one such topic—albeit one that might also be difficult or controversial to teach. A regional Holocaust Museum that has chosen to provide a weeklong professional development opportunity for educators on teaching the Holocaust serves as an example of a museum providing support to local school divisions. However, the literature indicates that museums and teachers, while both working toward the goal of educating students, often have little communication with each other. While multiple studies have examined how teacher participants react to professional development workshops, far less attention has been paid to those that plan such opportunities. The multi-tiered issue of interest, then, is that little is known about how museum educators plan a Holocaust-related professional development opportunity, what role they play in workshop implementation, and what they consider to be crucial when preparing teachers to cover the topic This qualitative inquiry focused on understanding how museum educators planned and presented a weeklong Holocaust education workshop for teachers. The research question was developed to determine how museum staff members understand the Holocaust and Holocaust education, and how that understanding influenced their role when implementing the workshop. Data collection methods included observation and semi-structured interviews. Analysis methods utilized in this study included first and second cycle coding methods, as well as episode profiles for each participant. The key finding from this investigation suggests that museum educators' understanding of the Holocaust and Holocaust education greatly shaped their planning processes, as well as the role they fulfilled in workshop implementation. Though museum staff members agreed that the Holocaust is difficult knowledge, they each approached the topic and how it should be taught in a different manner. The implications of this study, its limitations, and suggestions for future research are detailed herein.
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    How is Citizenship Represented in Theory and Research in Social Education (TRSE)?  A Content and Discourse Analysis
    Johnson, Aaron Paul (Virginia Tech, 2016-06-27)
    Theory and Research in Social Education (TRSE) is arguably considered the flagship journal of research in social studies education. TRSE has been published on an uninterrupted basis for more than 40 years, dating back to its first publication in October of 1973. Given the longevity of TRSE and its status within the social studies field, the journal has given considerable attention to the cause of citizenship and citizenship education, a cause the social studies field agreeably prides as its governing rationale and source of academic responsibility. According to its mission statement, TRSE serves to "foster the creation and exchange of ideas and research findings that will expand knowledge and understanding of the purpose, conditions, and effects of schooling and education about society and social relations"(NCSS, 2012, para. 1). As such, this dissertation study examines the creation and exchange of ideas concerning citizenship within TRSE over a 40-year period (1973-2013). Utilizing a multiple methods approach (both content and discourse analysis) this study identifies nine citizenship discourse categories emergent from the TRSE anthology that are situated within four Perspectives (Practical, Critical, Connected, and Technical) that locate each discourse category within a larger contextual frame. Additionally, the discursive formations that ultimately bind each discourse category across time are identified along with intertextual chains, interdiscursive attempts, and fields most commonly visited within each discourse category. This study sheds light on a systemic shift concerning the citizenship discourse within TRSE, one that, over time, is increasingly informed by a critical epistemological assumption or stance with regards to what may be considered the status quo of American political and civic life; the implications of which are discussed further.