Matching Items (3)
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- All Subjects: critical pedagogy
- Genre: Academic theses
- Creators: Wise, Greg
- Creators: De Barona, Maryann Santos
Description
The need for a critical education in a democracy, its difficulties, and how to reform this field requires urgent attention. This project begins with the premise that education is necessary for a vibrant democracy. While examining differing voices that advocate for educational reform, mainly that of Critical Pedagogy, it is shown how conflicting forms are advocating similar ideals. Henry Giroux and David Horowitz, both reformers that are on opposite sides of the political spectrum appear to have similar goals. Yet, the question becomes how to solve these differences between these parties? By examining the philosophical origins of these projects and explicating differences rooted in human nature and the good, the basic differences can begin to be shown. In showing these differences it requires going back to the work of Kant. Kant shows the necessity of beginning with philosophy and examining basic assumptions in order to begin to critique and build an education that would guarantee equality.
ContributorsNolen, Matthew (Author) / Wise, Greg (Thesis advisor) / Anderson, Owen (Committee member) / Ramsey, Ramsey (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2011
Description
Although the social network site (SNS) Facebook achieved great success around the world, in China, it was over taken by the local website Kaixin001. Using comparative analysis and interviews, this thesis compared the architecture of the two websites and Chinese users' attitude towards them. From one side, the result indicates that they are almost the same, but not quite. Kaixin001 is a copycat which adapts to local cultures and political regulations. From the other side, the research also highlights that people associate Kaixin001 with a game platform rather than a social tool. It suggests that there are two layers of digital divide: access and utilization. Chinese users can not get equal access because of the Great Firewall. At the same time, unlike western users, they are fond of playing games, listening music and other functions, rather than creating original content or building social capital. Therefore, the SNS utilization is not equal. Because of regulations and self-surveillance, their SNS use is enjoying the apolitical does not challenge the Chinese state. At the end of the thesis, the author points out the limitations of this research. As Internet-mediated qualitative research, this study lacks extended time and samples to explore the SNSs in global context. Further research is needed to collect extended samples. Moreover, the users' dependence on social network websites may be addressed to seek more comprehensive and deeper understanding of SNS.
ContributorsQin, Yuchun (Author) / Wise, Greg (Thesis advisor) / Kassing, Jeffrey (Committee member) / Waldron, Vincent (Committee member) / Mean, Lindsey (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2011
Description
This study examines teacher educators' understandings of hope related to teacher education. The study provides a previously unforeseen perspective on teacher educators' hope or lack of hope, and gives insight into that hope's foundation and maintenance. I have designed and implemented a rigorous multi-method study, beginning with developing and conducting a nationwide on-line survey with 625 participants. From a pool of 326 participants expressing interest in participating in interviews, I interviewed 23 teacher educators selected from a randomized and purposive sample. Finally, 25 participants took part in a writing prompt sent in lieu of an interview. Findings reflect that teacher educators' "hope" is a construct, a mixture of abstract ideas, emotions, dispositions, attitudes, that is hard to conceptualize or measure, but appears to be a very relevant and influential and hope for teacher educators takes place on a continuum from bystander to actualizing. The results of this study serve as a way to encourage educators to be more explicit about hope and discourses about teaching. It raises awareness about "false senses" of hope, which arise from narratives of redemption, paving the way for a conception of hope grounded in a strong understanding of the multiplicities of teaching, and how things "are." This conception of hope has the potential to foster discussions and actions of what education can be, rather than dwelling in the rhetoric of what education is not. Further, this research has the potential to open up spaces to discuss both the importance of and how to begin to think about incorporating hope into curricula through critical pedagogy and pedagogies of hope.
ContributorsRivers, Melissa Beth (Author) / Fischman, Gustavo E (Thesis advisor) / Christine, Carol J (Committee member) / De Barona, Maryann Santos (Committee member) / Barone, Thomas (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2011