Literary and linguistic patterns delineate structure and theme in many documents of the ancient Mediterranean world. In this dissertation, I utilize the Aeschylean tragedies of the "Persians" and the "Oresteia", the narratives of Genesis and Judges from the Hebrew Bible, and the New Testament narratives of the Gospel of Mark…

The many manifestations of social justice education center the experiences of the marginalized and oppressed to create a more democratic society. In recent years, scholars have begun to argue that privileged students, not the marginalized, should be the target of social justice education, advocating for a pedagogy that puts the onus on the…

This study sought to describe secondary English teachers' experiences with text selection. Its first aim was to determine how secondary English teachers perceive the use of young adult literature (YAL) with adolescent students. The study also details factors that influenced teachers' text selections. Finally, the study describes how teachers'…

Piano literature (or keyboard repertory studies) is commonly included in piano performance and some piano pedagogy degrees in the United States. This single or sequential course is required by the National Association of Schools of Music (NASM) at both undergraduate and graduate levels. While most universities include such courses in their degree…

Researches conducted on narrative as it relates to learning overwhelmingly agree on its benefit for learners. Benefits include better comprehension, retention, persuasion, meaning-making, and wisdom for navigating the world. Themes in the literature relating to narrative and epistemology include narrative theory, narrative identity, narrative…

In the United States, Muhammad (2020) explains how Black students who attend schools have a greater potential for success when they see themselves represented in the curriculum and when their cultural, gender, and racial identities are affirmed. This dissertation study examined the ways in which third grade Black girls and boys (n=8) see…

This dissertation examines the possibilities and anxieties that attend a notion haunting Western thought since at least Kant--that reality itself is a revisable construct, a kind of collective game with social and physical rules that simultaneously delimit and solicit radical interactivity. Investigating experiments in the gamification of reality…

Although virtual reality (VR) is commonly used in science classes, for example, to enable students to do simulated human dissections and other medical procedures, research on the use of VR as a learning tool in the humanities, more specifically the literature classroom, are few. This grounded theory study sought to understand better the use of VR…

This qualitative teacher -- research study investigates how secondary students in English classes might use art materials and the construction of abstract artworks to explore, develop, and express their responses to and interpretations of literary works. The study was guided by the following research questions: 1. What happens when students are…

Settler colonialism relies on land seizure and the erasure of Indigenous peoples and culture, and has not ended, despite common belief (Arvin et al., 2013; Patel, 2021). As settler colonialism continues to function, so does its oppressive structures. This study identified dual phenomena requiring investigation. First, the presence of settler…

In this qualitative case study, I examined how teacher instructional practices and beliefs around teaching literature were impacted after self-selecting into a sustained professional development opportunity called Bard Core. Specifically, I ask, 1. What are the perspectives of secondary ELA teachers as to how a self-selected, year-long,…

English Language Arts curriculums traditionally include canonical authors such as Walt Whitman, Langston Hughes, and William Shakespeare. However, educators may not discuss the writers' nonnormative sexuality. Moreover, educators may avoid teaching literature from a queer perspective, whether due to discomfort with LGBTQ+ terminology or because of…

What does it mean to listen--and how can works of literature teach us about listening? Of the four modes of language--reading, writing, speaking, and listening--that together constitute the "language arts" as a curriculum area in secondary English education, "listening" is relatively undertheorized--and conspicuously so, given…

Research indicates that Response to Intervention (RTI) increases student achievement and significantly improves student academic and behavioral outcomes. RTI has demonstrated significant student gains in the elementary setting and research tends to be more heavily centered at the elementary level; however, RTI is expanding to being applied in the…

This study focuses on the life and times of a monster: a) the creation of a virtual reality (VR) simulation intended to enhance student engagement with Fitzgerald's (2004/1925) The Great Gatsby in a secondary English classroom; b) the subsequent suppression of the simulation when the creation, but not the researcher's intentions, were realized;…