Education Doctorate (Ed.D.) Dissertations

Searching for equity within children's literature: A professor and students' journey of diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging. 

Presented April 10, 2024

Dissertation Chair: Dr. Amy Pfeiler-Wunder

Committee Members: Dr. Catherine McGeehan and Dr. Perkins

Connecting Culturally Relevant and Sustaining Competencies in Teacher Preparation Programs to the Experiences of Mixed-Race Learners in K-12 Settings: A Mixed Methods Study 

Presented April 16, 2024

Dissertation Chair: Dr. Amy Pfeiler-Wunder

Committee Members: Dr. Helen Hamlet and Mr. Julian Saavedra 

A Teacher and Her Language Minoritized Students in a Translanguaging Mathematics Classroom: Activating and Suppressing Our Full Linguistic Repertoires for Increased Mathematical Reasoning and Sense-Making 

Presented April 17, 2024

Dissertation Chair: Dr. Mark Wolfmeyer

Committee Members: Dr. Helen Hamlet and Dr. Kate Seltzer 

More than just checking a box: Teachers' experiences of transformation in equity-based professional development. 

Presented March 28, 2024

Dissertation Chair: Dr. Amy Pfeiler-Wunder

Committee Members: Dr. Wolfmeyer and Dr. Shelley 

Exploring Student Experience Through Photovoice: A Transformative Approach to Studying School Climate and Culture at CHS 

Presented March 29, 2024

Dissertation Chair: Dr. Mark Wolfmeyer

Committee Members: Dr. Amy Pfeiler-Wunder and Dr. Edwin Mayorga 

Trauma-Informed Teaching Perspectives of Art and Non-Art Educators: 

A Mixed Methods Study for Transformational Change 

Presented March 18, 2024 

Dissertation Chair: Dr. Helen Hamlet

Committee Members: Dr. Amy Pfeiler-Wunder and Dr. Scott Tracy

Mara Hope Thompson

Hidden Meanings in Elementary Instrumental Music Method Books: A Multimodal Critical Discourse Analysis 

Presented March 7, 2024

Dissertation Chair: Dr. Mark Wolfmeyer

Committee Members: Dr. Amy Pfeiler-Wunder and Dr. Renee Lapp Norris 

Mallie Culpepper-Yablonsky

Culturally Integrating Nuestra Juventud: Understanding Spanish-speaking Multilingual Learners through Culturally Relevant Pedagogy

Presented February 28, 2024

Dissertation Chair: Dr. Helen Hamlet

Committee Members: Dr. Cathy McGeehan and Ms. Katie Sames

Kimberly Kneller

Misappropriating Self-Care: a Mixed-Methods Analysis ofThe Burnout Experiences of Teachers who Identify as Women.

Presented February 27, 2024

Dissertation Chair: Dr. Helen Hamlet

Committee Members: Dr. Mark Wolfmeyer and Mrs. Beth Guarriello

Oral Dissertation Presentation by Michele Ehrhart

Student and Teacher Perspectives on Asynchronous Learning during the COVID Pandemic

Presented on Thursday, December 1st, 2022.

• Committee Chair: Dr. Amy Pfeiler-Wunder
• Committee Members: Dr. Roseanne Perkins and Dr. Gregory Shelley

Oral Dissertation Presentation by Shelby Sammartino

Understanding Your Cultural Identities: A Self-Study of the Impact of One’s Cultural Identities on Interpreting Interactions

Presented on Monday, November 21st, 2022.

• Committee Chair: Dr. Michele White
• Committee Members: Dr. Brenda Muzeta and Dr. Patricia Tinsman-Schaffer

Oral Dissertation Presentation by Jane Ammon

Decentering Whiteness in Teacher Education Through a Creative Self Study of Womanist Pedagogy

Presented on Wednesday, March 2nd, 2022.

• Committee Chair: Dr. Brenda Muzeta
• Committee Members: Dr. Amy Pfeiler-Wunder and Dr. Michele White

View & download dissertation here.

Oral Dissertation Presentation by Lori G. Berryman

Another Empty Seat: Educators’ Experiences with Trauma and Grief After a Student Death

Presented on Friday, April 15th, 2022.

• Committee Chair: Dr. Kathleen Stanfa
• Committee Members: Dr. Patricia Walsh Coates and Dr. Scott Tracy

View & download dissertation here.

Oral Dissertation Presentation by Tracy Driehaus

Blinded by Whiteness: Middle-Class White Teachers’ Explorations of Identity and Deficit Discourse at the Intersection of Race, Class, and Perceived Ability

Presented on Thursday, March 10th, 2022.

• Committee Chair: Dr. Michele White
• Committee Members: Dr. Brenda Muzeta and Dr. Amy Pfeiler-Wunder

View & download dissertation here.

Oral Dissertation Presentation by Amanda Holbrook

A Critical Analysis of Cultura in Spanish World Language Textbooks

Presented on Tuesday, March 8th, 2022.

• Committee Chair: Dr. Brenda Muzeta
• Committee Members: Dr. Patricia Walsh Coates and Dr. Kathryn Accurso

View & download dissertation here.

Oral Dissertation Presentation by Karen A. Ladley

Learning to Navigate the Unknown: The Importance of Critical Reflection and Collaboration for Community College Faculty During a Pandemic

Presented on Thursday, April 7th, 2022.

• Committee Chair: Dr. Brenda Muzeta
• Committee Members: Dr. Michele White and Dr. Cheryl Doll

View & download dissertation here.

Oral Dissertation Presentation by Ed Luckey

Belonging and Banding Together: Perspectives and Insights of Newly Recruited ELL Musicians

Presented on Monday, June 13th, 2022.

• Committee Chair: Dr. Kathleen Stanfa
• Committee Members: Dr. Michele White and Dr. Francis Kumor

View & download dissertation here.

Oral Dissertation Presentation by Karise Mace

Mathematics is Art: The Impact of a Non-traditional Metaphor on Teacher Mindset and Instructional Practices in Mathematics

Presented on Monday, April 18th, 2022.

• Committee Chair: Dr. Michele White
• Committee Members: Dr. Kathleen Stanfa and Dr. Erin Kraal

View & download dissertation here.

Oral Dissertation Presentation by MaryJo Rosania-Harvie

Strength, Beauty, and Resilience: The Impact of Self Reflection & Exploration of Memory on Postmodern Feminist Educators, Inside and Outside the Classroom

Presented on Friday, April 8th, 2022.

• Committee Chair: Dr. Kathleen Stanfa
• Committee Members: Dr. Amy Pfeiler-Wunder and Dr. Michele White

View & download dissertation here.

Oral Dissertation Presentation by Melanie A. Turrano

The Recovery Coach: An Intentional, Relational Interventionist as a Response to the COVID-19 Incomplete Grade Trend

Presented on Thursday, March 10th, 2022.

• Committee Chair: Dr. Kathleen Stanfa
• Committee Members: Dr. Michele White and Dr. Amy Pfeiler-Wunder

View & download dissertation here.

Oral Dissertation Presentation by Paul F. Walsh

Writing through Whiteness: Utilizing Personal Narratives to Strengthen the Racial Competency of White Teachers

Presented on Friday, February 11th, 2022

• Committee Chair: Dr. Kathleen Stanfa
• Committee Members: Dr. Brenda Muzeta and Dr. Samuel J. Tanner

View & download dissertation here.

Oral Dissertation Presentation by Denise Bosler

How Will I Thrive? Developing Designer Professional Identity Among Undergraduate Communication Design Students

Presented on Monday, February 15th, 2021

• Committee Chair: Dr. Catherine McGeehan
• Committee Members: Dr. Mark Wolfmeyer and Dr. Amy Pfeiler-Wunder

View & download dissertation here.

Oral Dissertation Presentation by Richman Mathis II

The Impact of Relationships on School Culture From Perspectives of Faculty at a Philadelphia High School

Presented on Thursday, May 20th, 2021

• Committee Chair: Dr. Andrew Miness
• Committee Members: Dr. Flannery O'Connor and Dr. Mark Wolfmeyer

View & download dissertation here.

Oral Dissertation Presentation by Daniel E. McClary

In Search of Kinship: Traveling into new worlds through conversation and the impact on building community

Presented on Thursday, May 13th, 2021

• Committee Chair: Dr. Andrew Miness
• Committee Members: Dr. Catherine McGeehan and Dr. Brenda Muzeta

View & download dissertation here.

Oral Dissertation Presentation by Daniel J. Metzger

Journaling on the Transition to College: Foucauldian Approaches in the First-Year Writing Classroom

Presented on Friday, March 19th, 2021

• Committee Chair: Dr. Mark Wolfmeyer
• Committee Members: Dr. Catherine McGeehan and Dr. Amy Lynch-Biniek

View & download dissertation here.

Oral Dissertation Presentation by Heather Elizabeth Osborn

The Writing for Healing and Transformation Project

Presented on Monday, March 22nd, 2021

• Committee Chair: Dr. Mark Wolfmeyer
• Committee Members: Dr. Andrew Miness and Dr. Amy Pfeiler-Wunder

View & download dissertation here.

Oral Dissertation Presentation by Samantha G. Piller

Stakeholder Perspectives: How Participation in a Work-Based Learning Program Affects Perceptions

Presented on Thursday, April 1st, 2021

• Committee Chair: Dr. Mark Wolfmeyer
• Committee Members: Dr. Andrew Miness and Dr. Diane King

View & download dissertation here.

Oral Dissertation Presentation by Brittany Purr-Brehony

Transforming the Urban Educator: The Power of Reflection and Its Effect on Teacher Perception, Essential Teaching Dispositions, and Teacher Leadership

Presented on Friday, April 9th, 2021

• Committee Chair: Dr. Andrew Miness
• Committee Members: Dr. Catherine McGeehan and Gina Beaver

View & download dissertation here.

Oral Dissertation Presentation by Elizabeth Ehrig Schucker

Changed Agents: Cultivating Students’ Civic Identity Through Participation in a Social Justice-Themed Book Club as a Subversive Approach to Critical Literacy in Education

Presented on Monday, March 8th, 2021

• Committee Chair: Dr. Catherine McGeehan
• Committee Members: Dr. Andrew Miness and Dr. Terre Sychterz

View & download dissertation here.

Oral Dissertation Presentation by Cathy A. Shappell

Breaking Barriers and Bread to Build Bridges: How do Latina/o families and schools develop meaningful home-school relationships?

Presented on Monday, March 29th, 2021

• Committee Chair: Dr. Catherine McGeehan
• Committee Members: Dr. Andrew Miness and Dr. Roula Elliker

View & download dissertation here.

Oral Dissertation Presentation by Nicole M. Wack

Bridging barriers in inclusive classrooms: Avenues for communication between general education teachers and families

Presented on Monday, March 29th, 2021

• Committee Chair: Dr. Mark Wolfmeyer
• Committee Members: Dr. Catherine McGeehan and Dr. Amy Pfeiler-Wunder

View & download dissertation here.