Dissertation Defenses

Doctoral Dissertation Announcement

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Candidate: Richard H. Fowler

Degree of: Doctor of Philosophy

Department: Educational Leadership, Research, and Technology

Title: Comparing Indigenous and External Rural Teachers: Beliefs, Origins of Beliefs, and Expectations

Committee:
Dr. Walter Burt, Chair
Dr. Patricia Reeves
Dr. Liliana Rodriguez-Campos

Date: Monday, November 2, 2009 6:00 p.m. - 8:00 p.m.
3306 Sangren Hall

Abstract:
This phenomenology examines rural economically poor school teachers’ beliefs, belief origins, and their expectations of and for their students. Data analysis employs two lenses. The proposed lens examines participants as either Indigenous or External utilizing Banks (2001) cross-cultural teaching experiences. In this study the Indigenous participants experienced childhoods in poor rural towns, while External participants experienced childhoods in urban/suburban areas. A second emergent lens examined participants as experiencing working-class or middle class childhoods. Findings utilizing lens one are mixed and varied with no definitive pattern. The emergent lens utilizing economic class of participants’ childhoods, a number of consistent differences between the groups are found. An emergent finding about teacher practices provides reinforcing data regarding the differences between working and middle class childhood experiences. The differences in beliefs about rural poor students coincide with the expectations of and for the students as well as the espoused practices.