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 study explored the perceptions of educators and staff about the ways dialogue and self-reflection promoted thinking about being equitable and becoming more culturally responsive in their work. Education leaders and practitioners have desired to develop and support more culturally responsive educators and staff. In my role as Chief Diversity…

Statistics on the success of transformational change efforts within and across organizations consistently indicate a high level of failure, something we can little afford in today's complex world. Transformative learning offers potential for improvement through the practice of intentional dialogue. The purpose of this research study was to develop…

This dissertation focuses on support for faculty teacher professional learning at a research university. This study brings new perspectives and direct data reporting to the field of higher education faculty professionalism. My conceptual perspective offers approaches to developing robust faculty teacher professional learning structures that are…

The combination of COVID-19 and the racial unrest that collided in the summer of 2020 caused dual pandemics that exposed pre-existing racial and social injustices within the university, college, and community where I serve. By utilizing case study methodology, I captured and analyzed a five-month timeframe of the documents and logistics I created,…

When teachers skillfully interact in reflective dialogue, they experience professional learning and motivation. However, teachers' interactional skills are often not data-informed. The purpose of this hermeneutic phenomenological study is to provide descriptive data on (a) how high school teachers experience the dialogic interaction within…

In this study, I examined the lived experiences of African American students who studied abroad in Ghana, West Africa. I used two theoretical frameworks. The first, Racial Identity Development (RID) filtered through the Multidimensional Model of Racial Identity (MMRI) as the conceptual model developed by Sellers, Smith, Shelton, Rowley, and…

The transition from preservice teacher to classroom teacher occurs rapidly, requiring that teacher candidates assimilate into the field quickly. In order to do so, these teachers must demonstrate appropriate language development as it relates to the teaching profession. Not only do novice teachers need to be able to articulate what they and their…

This study focuses on a hybrid form of David Bohm's (1996) conception of dialogue and how it is practiced as a complex communicative process. The research question considered if shared meaning is occurring, as expected with this critically reflective approach to communication. The qualitative research design emphasizes the use of Critical…

Although university students are key participants in knowledge-making processes, their insights about learning are sparsely documented, and too rarely considered in contemporary conversations in higher education. In centering the insights and experiences of students enrolled in two women's studies courses at the University of Maryland, this…