Browsing by Author "Banning, James, advisor"
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Item Open Access A critical ethnography: the process of change at a core knowledge junior high school(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2008) Urban, Elizabeth A., author; Banning, James, advisor; Dickmann, Ellyn, advisorThe challenge of educational change and the culture of organizational change have been the focus of research and literature for many decades. A look at the history of American education reveals that change designed in the direction of social fairness traditionally falls short of the objectives or fails completely within its first five years (Benham-Tye, 2000). The need for change and for continual renewal to improve schools is evident. The journey of change and the obstacles of that journey are more complex. The process of change and the puzzling dynamics of that process were the subject of this study. The purpose of the study was to further the understanding of the change process, the conditions which surround success and the obstacles which accompany failure. The focus of the study was a junior high school, which opened in the fall of 2004. An ethnographic study was conducted at the site over the period of the school's first sixteen months, from May 2004 to August 2005. The purpose of the first study was to record the journey of the school from its inception. In that first year, four key themes emerged: collaboration; visionary leadership; teachers and parents as agents of change; and trusting the process. That original study provided the archival data that were the starting point for the present study. The present study began in August, 2007 and continued through February, 2008. Research questions were designed to investigate the process of change over time. The qualitative research method was a modified version of Phil Carspecken's Model for Critical Ethnography (1996). The findings revealed additional cultural themes and dimensions as well as obstacles and barriers to the change process. New themes in year four. (1) The Journey of Change - From "Speed Boat to House Boat to Barge"; (2) Change Experienced by the Members - The Teacher's Stories; (3) From Trust the Process to Process the Trust - A Dose of Self-Scrutiny Four cultural dimensions. (1) Inquiry - Continual Study and Learning to Improve the Practice; (2) Responsibility - Speaking with Integrity and Doing What is Said; (3) Care - Practicing a Nurturing Pedagogy; (4) Celebration - Working Joyfully and Acknowledging Human Effort Obstacle to change. (1) Growth of School; (2) Fiscal Limitations; (3) Nature of the Profession; (4) Conventional Thinking Recommendations were made in the concluding chapter.Item Open Access A narrative inquiry of four female first-year, first-generation student perspectives of the university experience(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2007) Gengler-Dunn, Deborah, author; Banning, James, advisor; Griffin, Cindy, advisorThis narrative qualitative study explored the experiences of four first-generation female college students during their first year at Colorado State University. Guiding research questions addressed various influences impacting on this first year as a first-generation student, including social, familial, campus environmental issues, and perceptions of self and expectations. While the characteristic of being a first-generation student female overlapped with other characteristics such as race or socio-economics, the essence of this gender specific study sought to give voice to first-generation, first-year, female-dedicated accounts of the college experience. While shared themes were explored and while these proved useful in displaying index streams of some frequent female experiences, the academically mandated process of reducing individual participant experience into generalized themes appeared antithetical to the researcher's felt sense of directing a study toward the individual and the distinct voice and experience of each woman participant. Using a feminist theoretical lens to secure the ecology of the female experience, the researcher interpreted the experiences of these women and shared recommendations toward female leadership strategies. Although evocative insight emerged due to this marginalized group (females) striking out into unfamiliar academic territory for both themselves and their families, a telling wisdom came from what these women expected. While themes of Self-Expectation/Agency, The Familiar, Involvement, Challenges, and Other-Expectation surfaced, the dual expectations of Self and Other provoked a curious antagonistic binary wherein the first courted dynamic self-agency and the latter bred an acquired avoidance/acquiescence. As a result, the researcher questioned an existing perception of responsive gender equality in the college environment and challenged educators toward vital conversations regarding how equal-in-premise and equal-in-lived-reality present themselves for women on a college campus. The researcher also advanced the Fens Behavior Model, an oppositional resistance/avoidance of perceived negative female imaging utilized to defend and/or preserve a positive personal declaration of the female self. It is the researcher's belief that while the instinctive story these women tell themselves is one of personal strength and leadership, the grand narrative they seemingly, sensibly must acknowledge as regards gender may demonstrate a counter-productive adulteration.Item Open Access Constructing the collective experience of being Arab American in post-9/11 America(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2012) Mufdi, Jamillah L., author; Banning, James, advisor; Dickmann, Ellyn, committee member; Timpson, William, committee member; Bubar, Roe, committee memberThe events of September 11, 2001 dramatically changed the lives of Arab Americans. Some lost loved ones in the attacks while others, Arab Americans, became targets of discrimination and differential treatment because they had names and faces similar to the hijackers or they shared the same religion. Arab Americans defended themselves against accusations of being sympathetic to the hijackers and experienced treatment that indicated Arab citizens were not completely American. Like all Americans, those of Arab descent experienced fear, anger and grief in response to the attacks. Unlike other Americans, Arab Americans experienced fear that blame for the attacks would be place on them and shame that other Arabs committed such atrocities. America came together after the attacks and united as a people. Unfortunately, this unification process seemed to exclude Arab and Muslim Americans. Reports of hate crimes, discrimination and differential treatment climbed sharply and public opinion of Arabs declined steadily. This study examined the experience of navigating post-9/11 America as an Arab American. Findings confirmed that Arab Americans experience differential treatment on a regular basis and that there are commonalities in how the othering occurs. A collective story of the Arab American experience in post-9/11 America was constructed. The findings affirm existing studies regarding the collective experience and treatment of non-dominant groups who exist in America's margins.Item Open Access Dreams deferred: testimonies of the undocumented Latino/a student experience(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2012) Burton, Mirella Medina, author; Banning, James, advisor; Aragon, Antonette, advisor; Davies, Timothy G., committee member; Valdez, Norberto, committee memberAccording to Passel and Cohn (2008), in 2008, there were 1.5 million undocumented children under the age of 18 living in the United States. California housed 22% of the nation's total undocumented population (Passel & Cohn, 2008). Each year approximately 65,000 undocumented students graduate from United States high schools, and 25,000 of these students graduate from California alone (National Immigration Law Center, 2006). This narrative study explores the meaning of the label "undocumented" as it is experienced by Latino/a undocumented college students in educational settings. Utilizing Critical Race Theory (CRT) and Latino Critical Theory (LatCrit) theoretical frameworks to analyze the participant's testimonies, this study illuminates the multiple forms of subordination that Latino/a undocumented students experience because of their race, language, socioeconomic background, gender, and immigration status.Item Open Access Exploding heads, doing school and intangible work: an ethnographic case study of first year education doctoral students becoming education researchers(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2011) Meyer-Parsons, Beatrice, author; Banning, James, advisor; MacPhee, David, advisor; Kees, Nathalie, committee member; Most, David, committee memberThere is limited research concerned with how education doctoral students become education researchers, what Labaree (2003) described as "the peculiar problems of preparing education researchers." This is an ethnographic case study of a cohort of first year education doctoral students in a qualitative research classroom for the purpose of better understanding how they are becoming education researchers and "scholars of the discipline," able to guide both practice and policy. In this study, students described feeling met by the instructor with respect and developing new perspectives and actions by taking on the role of qualitative researcher. However, students also described experiencing "exploding heads" as they attempted to meet time constraints, competing demands within the program and in connection with commitments to family, work and other, personal projects. Within this culture of contradictions students engaged in strategies to manage their "exploding heads": they were "doing school" and "doing the intangible work" of becoming education researchers by strategies of self. "Getting the work done" and meeting instructor requirements were ways of "doing school". Negotiating commitments and resources (e.g., time away from family); making schoolwork "personal"; identifying as "certain kinds of people" (e.g., teacher); and/or identifying/dis-identifying with other students, faculty or valued persons were strategies of the self. Based on these students' descriptions, an ecological typology of students was developed: "savvy" students (who were "doing school"); "working from the self" students (who were actively fashioning selves); and "disconnecting students." For (future) education doctoral students the study suggests possible challenges, such as the ability to value contradictions as opportunities for expanding perspectives and taking new actions, as well as the need to actively engage in the intangible work of finding means for continuity and confirmation of self. In terms of classroom teaching, an action, paradoxical pedagogy is suggested to provide a "becoming space," an ecology that can create opportunities out of contradictions. From an organizational perspective the study suggests that schools of education consider curriculum, program requirements and faculty talk as areas to provide messages and niches for students who are actively looking to identify and connect their selves while becoming education researchers.Item Open Access Globalization of compassion: women in the foreground of cultures of peace(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2008) Tivona, Elissa J., author; Banning, James, advisor; Griffin, Cindy, advisorThis qualitative document analysis examines nine core rhetorical acts featured in the foreground of mediated public discourse (print and broadcast media) contrasting them to rhetorical acts of nine global "peacewomen" presented in 1000 PeaceWomen Across the Globe. This text is a compilation of the personal narratives of 1000 women nominated collectively for the Nobel Peace Prize in 2005. I constructed Local Focus Dyads, juxtaposing one woman's narrative from each global region with a first ranked news story for the same region, as identified through a systematic LexisNexis search. As a result of my analysis I derived a theoretical framework contrasting foreground and background rhetoric around overarching themes of progress, human security, and sustained agency. I found assumptions and news judgments dominating the foreground of public discourse glut communication delivery channels, crowding out clear depictions and focused understanding of alternate, peace-building rhetorical performance being regularly enacted in the background, often by women. The results of the study are discussed in terms of new possibilities for peace construction that emerge by "racking focus" and bringing women's background narratives to the foreground of public discourse. In Weaving Cultures of Peace-Tapestries in the Making I discuss six themes threading throughout the background rhetorical acts I studied. These new possibilities include: mending wounds and alleviating suffering; weaving social safety nets; crafting cultures of conflict resolution and "repurposing" cultures of violence; discerning innovative patterns; knitting together local and global; and affixing badges of honor to peace construction. My findings are consistent with other academic research and provide compelling possibilities for further investigation. From a journalistic perspective, I imagine action research raising questions of whether alternate news stories, featuring rhetorical acts central to cultures of peace (especially those enacted by women), contribute to changing the perceptions of media consumers? In Communications Studies terms, I envision in-depth studies continuing to clarify and articulate rhetoric of peace construction, grounded in a larger dataset of peacewomen narratives. As an educator, I wonder about our responsibilities for re-adjusting a lens on the world to more accurately portray the full bandwidth of human performance, not just the narrow spectrum currently featured in headlines.Item Open Access Higher education collaboration Great Plains Interactive Distance Education Alliance: selected policy analysis(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2011) Selkirk, Linda, author; Banning, James, advisor; Quick, Donald, committee member; Mallette, Dawn, committee member; Kraiger, Kurt, committee memberThis is a qualitative policy analysis that incorporates constructivism and template analysis to study the process of policy development of three policies for the Great Plains Interactive Distance Education Alliance. The policies studied were the financial, leadership, and intellectual property policies. Data was gathered utilizing meeting minutes, emails, three interviews, and institutional members' websites. Great Plains Interactive Distance Education Alliance is a consortium of mostly land grant universities in the Great Plains region of the United States. The human sciences colleges of these institutions collaborated to offer courses that the individual members did not have the resources to support with the goal of offering students master's degrees that the membership felt were needed by their discipline. The policies were developed to sustain the consortium while addressing the individual needs of the members. The findings include historical best practices for consortia, best practices from the work of the consortium that was studied, and gaps that could be addressed in future consortia. There are also some signposts for new ventures to be aware of as they begin the process of policy development.Item Open Access In & out of the learning community: a phenomenological study of the learning community experience of adult learners(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2009) Jackowski, Barbara, author; Banning, James, advisor; Davies, Timothy Gray, advisorThis qualitative study explored the lived experience of adult learners who had participated in a learning community. The phenomenon was examined through data collected by interviews with five students who had completed Associate of Art degrees through a learning community and then continued the upper division work towards a Bachelor of Arts in a more traditional setting. The structures of connection, support, and sentiments provided the framework for the meaning and essence of the phenomenon. Connection describes the relational experience of the participants in and out of the learning community. The participants experienced connection in student-to-student, student-to-faculty, and student-to-institution relationships. The structure of support described the means and methods used in and out of the learning community to address the obstacles that threatened the success of the adult learners. The need for systemic support, academic support, and emotional support was shared by the participants. The third structure of sentiments emerged from the attitudes, thoughts, and judgments the participants had for their learning community and more traditional experience. Considered together these structures frame the essence of their experience, a subtle shift. As a result of exposure to a learning community, as the participants transitioned into the more traditional educational setting they experienced a small but important shift in attitude or behavior reflecting their new situations. Each participant experienced a subtle shift as they proceeded from the learning community into the more traditional environment. Each experienced a shift in how they perceived themselves as students, a shift that redefined their meaning of the roles and responsibilities of the system and their participation with that system.Item Open Access Lessons learned in an inclusive classroom: a case study of differentiated instruction(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2009) Lange, Katherine, author; Banning, James, advisorThe use of Differentiated Instruction, a teaching methodology that encompasses aspects of brain based learning, multiple intelligences and cooperative learning, is a term heard widely in the realm of education today. Although Differentiated Instruction is used in educational settings more and more, studies that have been conducted about its use have not looked at the issues raised by teachers when implementing Differentiated Instruction or the specific strategies that teachers find most useful when using this methodology. In this case study analysis, teachers were interviewed and observed over a semester at a high school in Western Colorado. The purpose of the study was to fill a gap in research that looks at how teachers at the high school level begin using this methodology in their classroom and the pros and cons of using this methodology in their classrooms when seeing upward of 150 students a day. Results showed that even though the teachers in the study found strategies that were differentiated in style helpful to them in their classrooms, daily activities that teachers must adhere to became trying and cumbersome. Activities that became more difficult when trying to differentiate included planning and management. Both teachers in the study reported feeling a bit overwhelmed when trying to meet the varying needs of the 150 kids that they saw in one given day. Planning lessons differentiated in style and managing students' behavior in the classroom when students were engaged in differentiated activities sometimes caused the teachers to feel anxious and overwhelmed. Benefits of differentiating instruction that were seen with the students included an increase in autonomy and self-esteem. The findings and themes that emerged from the study are similar to information disseminated by authors and researchers alike that have looked at Differentiated Instruction over the past several years.Item Open Access Pastoral self-care: maintaining a balance to serve others: a narrative inquiry into the experience of church-based clergy(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2011) Morse, John B., author; Banning, James, advisor; Zimmerman, Toni Schindler, advisor; Kees, Nathalie L., committee member; Benn, Mark S., committee memberClergy in a church-based setting are under tremendous demands as they try to serve many people in multiple roles. Often they are called upon to be counselors, preachers, business CEOs, mediators, organizational psychologists, and to function as a moral compass for others. They are expected to perform these duties with superhuman perfection which takes a toll on the individuals and their families. At some time in their career, a majority of clergy experience burnout to some degree (Melander and Eppley, 2002) and must have a plan to keep balanced. This research study examined the phenomena of clergy burnout and resiliency through the methodology of a qualitative narrative inquiry. Interviews were conducted with ministers working in mid-sized churches to discover the challenges they experienced and the strategies they utilized to maintain themselves for a life-long career. The clergy's insights and techniques were organized through a thematic analysis that lends to the use of the PIESS model (physical, intellectual, emotional, social, and spiritual needs) to categorically group their ideas. Additionally, there were recommendations for how congregations and denominations can support their clergy for a lifetime of service. The interviewees also had many theories of what leads to burnout and even pastoral disasters that are included in this study. With purposeful planning and good boundaries, a minister can develop a lifestyle that remains balanced and prevents burnout. Without such a plan, it is difficult to participate long-term in this demanding profession and remain effective. Worse yet, some clergy continue their work long after burnout and either become ineffective or turn to behaviors that are destructive to themselves or others. The potential for damage is great as is the potential for effective and meaningful spiritual leadership when balance is maintained.Item Open Access Sense of place and student engagement among undergraduate students at a major public research university(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2013) Okoli, Daniel T., author; Banning, James, advisor; Gloeckner, Gene, committee member; Anderson, Sharon, committee member; Clemons, Stephanie, committee memberThe purpose of this study was to explore the relationship between sense of place and student engagement among undergraduate students, in order to influence how higher education institutions view the role of the physical environment in fostering student engagement, learning, and personal development. Student engagement, a very important predictor of student learning, deals with the notion that when students and their institutions invest the time, effort, and resources in academically purposeful activities in college, the students become more engaged and learn more. Sense of place, an attitude to the physical environment, refers to the emotional bond that exists between individuals and a geographic or physical location. There is suggestion in the literature that sense of place is related to student engagement but no empirical studies were found that linked the two constructs; and instrument for assessing student engagement do not contain items that are specifically designed to measure sense of place or students' attitudes to the physical environment of their college campuses. Data for this quantitative study employing a non-experimental cross-sectional survey method were gathered with the National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE) instrument modified to include sense of place and other items. Exploratory factor analysis was conducted on the 70 Likert-style items of the 85-item instrument (n = 358) and yielded 13 factors with Cronbach's alpha ranging from 0.57 for High Impact Practices to 0.92 for Sense of Place. Cronbach's alpha for overall instrument was 0.93. A statistically significant correlation was found between sense of place and student engagement (r(413) = .43, p<.001). Based on simultaneous multiple regression analysis, the linear combination of variables: sense of place, campus design, gender, racial/ethnic identity, and enrollment status (full-time/part-time), predicted student engagement, F(5,346) = 24.88, p < .001 with all five variables significantly contributing to the prediction. The adjusted R squared value was .256 indicating that 25.6% of the variance in student engagement was explained by the model.Item Open Access The influence of negative educational experiences on health behaviors among gender nonconforming American Indian/Alaska Native people(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2013) Martin, Chicora, author; Banning, James, advisor; Rankin, Sue, committee member; Carlson, Laurie, committee member; Vernon, Irene, committee memberUtilizing data from the National Transgender Discrimination Survey (NTDS) Public Use dataset which reports data collected in the 2009 National Transgender Discrimination Survey (NTDS), completed by The National Center for Transgender Equality and the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force, the purpose of this study is to provide more insight into transgender and gender nonconforming Indigenous people's experiences in education and the impact on health behaviors. With 329 responses from those participants identifying as American Indian/ Alaska Native, the quantitative analysis methods of bivariate correlations and logistic regression were used to analyze the impact of harassment and policy barriers in higher education settings on substance use and suicidality for gender nonconforming Indigenous people. Both substance use and suicidality are impacted by the experiences of harassment and barriers in the higher education setting. The impact of these experiences on suicidality is especially concerning, as the rate of over 53% for gender nonconforming Indigenous students is higher than any other group within this sample. This analysis offers some insight into these experiences of this population and how important interventions in the higher education setting--related to both reducing incidents of harassment and addressing policy and access barriers--may be to the success of gender nonconforming Indigenous students in college.Item Open Access Understanding the epistemological development of substance abusing college students: a construct exploration study(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2009) Miller, Lisa A., author; Kuk, Linda, advisor; Banning, James, advisorThe purpose of this study was to delve into the epistemological constructs of substance abusing college students and explore whether consistencies with Baxter Magolda's (1992) epistemic constructs were indicated The study utilized a qualitative, narrative inquiry research design framed by Baxter Magolda's interview outline. Interviews were conducted with five, college, males each of who were in a leveraged, substance abuse, campus treatment model. All five men had experienced significant consequences related to substance abuse and had been assessed by substance abuse professionals. The same questions regarding the role of the learner, the role of the instructor, the role of peers, the role of evaluation, and the nature of knowledge were employed with each participant. The method of template analysis was utilized to examine and understand the rich narratives of participants by deductively searching for categories outlined by the theoretical underpinnings of cognitive theorists and inductively exploring emerging themes. The findings of the study revealed a consistency between the epistemic constructs of the participants and Baxter Magolda's (1992) epistemic constructs of absolute and transitional knowing The findings tentatively suggested that an epistemological delay was present among some participants. The emergence of voice and a utilitarian value of learning emerged as relevant themes regardless of the participant's epistemic construct. This study provides a foundation in understanding the significance of the epistemological development of substance abusing college students. The findings suggest that the epistemological development of college students may be an important consideration in designing and implementing substance abuse intervention strategies.