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theses

High schools in New Jersey are expected to help their students to become citizens of the global world. The state standards suggest that students need to become globally aware and be able to make informed decisions about global events. Despite the intent of the standards, as a teacher of Global Studies I was concerned that our rigid system of academic tracking meant that students in the lower tracks were not having the same opportunities as those in higher tracks. This study sought to address this problem by examining the experiences of students in each of the tracks of Global Studies and eliciting their voices and perspectives on the curriculum. Three research questions guided the study: How is Global Studies taught in each of the academic tracks at West Brunning High School? How do students in these three tracks describe their experiences in Global Studies? What do my findings suggest for creating equity across tracks for Global Studies students at West Brunning High School? Over the course of 5 months, I analyzed the lessons of participating colleagues by collecting their written lesson plans, gradebooks and teaching materials. I observed 6 classrooms (2 in each track) and asked participating teachers to complete “data sheets” highlighting the classroom activities they completed for each unit. Both observational data and teacher materials were used to create a narrative for each track. I also conducted 3 focus groups (1 per track) with 27 students in an effort to highlight the voices of the students themselves. Each track was found to have its own culture shaped by teacher expectations. There was an emphasis on discussion, multiple perspectives and detailed content at the higher levels where students were expected to be college-bound, while students in the lower tracks experienced more book-work and less detailed content as they were not expected to complete college-level tasks. Students reported enjoying and finding value in the Global Studies course especially the units on Culture and Africa. Students also enjoyed certain pedagogies such as classroom debates and discussions and the use of feature films. Suggestions to improve the Global Studies program include reconceptualizing how we teach the subject and aligning instruction for “best practices” which includes interdisciplinary activities, learning beyond the walls of the classroom, and an emphasis on multiple perspectives.

ETD_7905

Ed.D.

Includes bibliographical references

by Justin Gerard Negraval

doi:10.7282/T3C82D2W

ETD doctoral

The author owns the copyright to this work.