Term of Award

Fall 2009

Degree Name

Doctor of Education in Curriculum Studies (Ed.D.)

Document Type and Release Option

Dissertation (open access)

Copyright Statement / License for Reuse

Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.

Department

Department of Curriculum, Foundations, and Reading

Committee Chair

Delores D. Liston

Committee Member 1

Grigory Dmitriyev

Committee Member 2

Hsiu-Lien Lu

Committee Member 3

David Alley

Committee Member 3 Email

dalley@georgiasouthern.edu

Abstract

Author's abstract:The curriculum studies field is marked by two significant concerns-the desire for a complex conversation about connection and diversity and the drive to address structural inequities. Drawing from the rich theoretical field of post positivist realism and in the intellectually rigorous tradition of curriculum studies, this inquiry traces the socioemotional and pedagogical development of five educators before and after a brief professional development experience abroad as they explored what a pedagogy of hope (Freire, 2004; Hooks, 2003) might look like. These five participants traveled to Honduras during the summer of 2009 with Heifer Project International (HPI), a non-profit, non governmental community development organization as participants in their Study Tour for Educators. Heifer created the Study Tour, a nine day, intensive immersion into social justice topics, in order to support the ongoing process of critical engagement with the issues of hunger, poverty and care for the Earth. The long term objective of the professional development is increased personal and professional advocacy in home communities and schools. This study explores topics of conscientization, solidarity and political advocacy. Through the narratives of these individuals, readers can experience the triumph of successful community development, the struggle for social justice and the burgeoning questions of a complicated critical consciousness. This investigation draws from the work of Freire (2004; 2005), Cushner (2007), Moya (2000), Weiley (2008) and Mohanty (1997; 2000) to analyze the words and experience of these five individuals.

Research Data and Supplementary Material

No

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