Critical peace education sets forth a process-oriented pedagogy with key tenets that include inquiry, reflection, dialogue, critical value-assessment, and empowerment. Empowerment as tenet is unique because, when viewed comprehensively, it is recognized as an integral element required for the actualization of all other tenets within CPE. Although…

This dissertation project interrogates the efficacy of restorative justice practices in repairing interconnections, human dignity, and social responsibility. More specifically, I analyze how these practices enable the creation of more relational spaces/relational ecologies in higher education in the United States. Using a collaborative…

Teacher dignity has been a topic of discussion among teachers and in society since the inception of schools in the United States. Yet even as the word "dignity" is referenced by educators, administrators, and community members, the term lacks clarity in understanding. As schools and society seek to understand the problem of the…

Incarcerated men look to the classroom as a refuge to learn, grow, and develop, departing from their typical, everyday environment where devaluation is the norm. Unfortunately, the absence of a humanizing pedagogical praxis exposes the danger of the classroom's inability to restore human dignity, implicitly perpetuating incarcerated men as less…

This asset-framing semi-ethnographic case study examined how school leaders in a successful, economically disadvantaged New York State high school--Evergreen High School--cultivated student belonging through a culture of dignity for low-income students. The dignity framework for educational equity (Cobb & Krownapple, 2019) was used as an…

This archival small-study meta-analysis was an examination of the across-study and in-study effects of functional behavioral assessment--based interventions on time-on-task for students with or at risk of emotional disturbance (ED)/emotional behavioral disorder (EBD). A sample of 15 across-study K-6 learners (11 males, 4 females; ages 5-13) was…

The topic of this research study is the experience of older adult learners' inclusion in a cooperative learning traditional classroom environment. For this study, older adult learners were defined as learners aged 50 and over. The definition of inclusion for older adult learners was focused on their perceptions of being equally valued and…

The lack of industry guidance within early childhood education (ECE) regarding roles and prescribed responsibilities leave privately owned centers to make such decisions independently, especially in the United States. Education Directors (EDs) at Prism Preschool, a young and growing franchise in Texas, are tasked with overseeing curriculum…

Ethical decision-making and ethical behavior are an essential focus of training for students who wish to pursue careers in behavior analysis. In addition to education and training mandates by the Behavior Analyst Certification Board, universities that offer a Verified Course Sequence are required to teach and maintain ethical behavior in students.…

This applied dissertation was designed to explore the communication between higher education leaders and faculty at the department level in the United States at a southeastern higher education institution. The study sought to explore (a) the communication relationship between leaders and followers; (b) commitment to the organization; and (c)…

This qualitative interpretive study examined the experiences of student conduct administrators using restorative justice conferences at American Catholic colleges and universities, as well as the role of restorative justice conferences in strengthening Catholic Social Teaching through such student conduct processes. At its heart, restorative…

This action research design drew on socioemotional conceptualizations of student validation. These concepts are based on stigmas, negative labels, and isolation bestowed on marginalized and oppressed students supported through special education, English language learners, foster care, and mental health services. This study examines conscious and…

Baltimoreans United in Leadership Development (BUILD) is radically pressuring institutions of power to rebuild and support Baltimore's families with livable-wage employment through their jobs movement, called Turnaround Tuesday. The organization has secured over 800 living-wage jobs for its participants, with a 2-year retention rate of 83% with…

This quantitative study uses a survey to determine how public school teachers perceive the efficacy of the intervention of the Dignity For All Student's Act on the climate of civility in the classroom at one specific public middle school located in Upstate New York. The intent is to explore the perceived efficacy of the intervention put into place…

Known as "invisible faculty," (Gappa & Leslie, 1993), adjunct or part-time, contingent instructors play a vital role in meeting the needs of two-year colleges. Adjunct faculty members teach over half of the United States' historically underserved college students (Center for Community College Student Engagement [CCCSE], 2014), and…