Actualizing Social Justice: an Exploratory Case Study of a Public Middle School
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University of Massachusetts Amherst ScholarWorks@UMass Amherst Open Access Dissertations 5-2010 Actualizing Social Justice: An Exploratory Case Study of a Public Middle School Camille Lee University of Massachusetts Amherst Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.umass.edu/open_access_dissertations Part of the Education Commons Recommended Citation Lee, Camille, "Actualizing Social Justice: An Exploratory Case Study of a Public Middle School" (2010). Open Access Dissertations. 219. https://scholarworks.umass.edu/open_access_dissertations/219 This Open Access Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by ScholarWorks@UMass Amherst. It has been accepted for inclusion in Open Access Dissertations by an authorized administrator of ScholarWorks@UMass Amherst. For more information, please contact [email protected]. ACTUALIZING SOCIAL JUSTICE: AN EXPLORATORY CASE STUDY OF A PUBLIC MIDDLE SCHOOL A Dissertation Presented by CAMILLE LEE Submitted to the Graduate School of the University of Massachusetts Amherst in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of DOCTOR OF EDUCATION May 2010 Student Development and Pupil Personnel Services Social Justice Education Copyright by Camille Lee 2010 All Rights Reserved ACTUALIZING SOCIAL JUSTICE: AN EXPLORATORY CASE STUDY OF A PUBLIC MIDDLE SCHOOL A Dissertation Presented by CAMILLE LEE Approved as to style and content by: __________________________________________ Pat Griffin, Chair ___________________________________________ Barbara Madeloni, Member ___________________________________________ Alexandrina Deschamps, Member ____________________________________ Christine McCormick, Dean School of Education DEDICATION For Dad All he ever asked was for me to make room for him in my life. iv ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Completing my doctoral studies and dissertation has been a long and difficult journey. Many obstacles have challenged me during the near decade that it has taken me to complete this dream. I eventually quit counting the number of times an event beyond my control nearly halted this project. The Universe, at times, seemed against me as one life event after another hindered my progress. Many times I had no choice but to make these ancillary events the top priority, and consequently, I often questioned whether or not I should continue on this path. I lost confidence, motivation and drive more times than I can count. However, in spite of all the obstacles and road blocks, a flicker of light remained that somehow kept me focused on and trudging toward my goal. That guiding beacon was the encouragement and support I received from numerous people in my life. I may have finally finished this project, but I have not done it alone. Although only my name appears on the cover of this dissertation, it belongs, in a certain respect, to many individuals. It is the result of collective efforts from my advisor, committee members, parents, siblings, friends, and the project participants. I am most deeply indebted to my advisor, Dr. Pat Griffin. I admire Pat greatly and feel that I was mentored by the best. She is a distinguished scholar, and I had the fortunate opportunity to be her research assistant for two years. She was my Chair up until her retirement six years ago, but true to her commitment she continued to stay with me until I finished. I am exceptionally fortunate to have had an advisor who stood by me through many mishaps and crisis situations. She empowered me to finish this dissertation. Chances are that had she not been willing to continue to advise me after her retirement, I v would never have completed this dissertation. I thank Pat for her gentleness, patience, flexibility and genuine caring. She never judged and pushed me just enough when she knew I had to juggle other priorities. For this, I cannot thank her enough and am forever grateful. The other members of my dissertation committee, Dr. Barbara Madeloni and Dr. Alex Deschamps, also gave generously of their time and expertise to better my work. I thank them for their contribution and good natured support. It was a pleasure to work with these fine educators who are both personally committed to social justice. I thank Alex for coming on board so late in the process without even knowing me and contributing so much personal passion to my defense. Barbara helped me tackle the challenge of completing a dissertation long distance. At one point, via the telephone, Barbara generously went through my comps line by line for over five hours. She also helped me structure and develop my writing and ideas. At my defense her question, “How do we institutionalize disruption?” will stay at the forefront of my own social justice work. I will be forever grateful for the summer I spent in London with Brandon and Josie. Soon after my arrival, Brandon and I developed a productive routine. After commuting in on the tube and bus, the morning would start at the London Business School coffee shop for my caffeine boost. We’d then climb the three flights of stairs to Brandon’s office where we would write our daily agendas on the white board (not that we ever completed all our goals). After listening to “The Eye of the Tiger,” we would begin our first thirty minute work session. I would just get started when the computer’s sheep would baa telling us it was time for a break. It was a bit of a struggle to adapt to vi Brandon’s short, but intense, ADD work sessions. The orange juice breaks at the executive education center always came at the most needed moments. Our daily lunch outings were always the highlight of the day and I experienced some of London’s finest eating establishments (however, we will skip the salt beef sandwiches next time). I will always cherish this time that I had with my little brother, both of us in the midst of the academic experience, both of us working together and experiencing the daily successes and failures. He thanked me one afternoon for the role I played in supporting him as he was growing up. He mentioned how I turned him into a star baseball catcher when I gave him knee pads to wear. With them, he was no longer afraid of the ball. He also reminded me how well I prepared him for his baptism. It is interesting how the tables turn when we grow up and I am now learning from him. He has become a fine academic and I admire him greatly. I appreciate his patient mentoring, especially his willingness to engage in discussions of social justice while sitting in London’s finest institution of capitalism. When we arrived home in the evenings, Josie turned the childcare over to Brandon, put on her academic hat, sat with me, and reviewed the work I’d done that day. Her guidance and mentoring were invaluable. We went through so many revisions and reorganizations that I can’t count them all. At times I wanted to say “Isn’t this good enough?” But Josie pushed me to create the best product I possibly could. When I hit bottom, she was my constant unwavering cheerleader. She never let me entertain thoughts of quitting. I thank her for sharing her own dissertation experience with me. She spent so many hours reading multiple revisions, suggesting additional directions and pushing me to a more thoughtful analysis. Josie is my role model. In addition to being the vii brightest, most intelligent woman I have ever known, she is also a terrific mother and wife. I am blessed to have her as a sister in law. Laurie, fondly known as my “very extensive editor,” has been crucial to this project and I have been amazingly fortunate to have had her as a partner on this journey. I don’t think she had any idea what she was in for when I asked her to help me with my comps. I’m sure if she had known she was making a five-year commitment she would have turned me down. I’m quite sure she spent well over a hundred hours reading and editing my work. Her tolerance for my inability to focus is amazing. She knows my dissertation as well as I do and the many hours of discussion we had greatly enhanced my thinking. Laurie has been a pillar of strength and support for me. Her patience and selflessness have been invaluable. She was always available to offer insightful comments and constructive criticism at the many different stages of this project. I am deeply grateful to her for the long discussions that helped me sort out and focus my ideas. And, having my friend attend my defense was the highlight of the process. Thank you. Caroline and Yvonne greatly facilitated my research by welcoming me into their home and providing me with a sense of family and security when I was far away from my own. I appreciate their allowing me to come and go at all hours as I was racking up the frequent flyer miles. As proof of their friendship, they let me park my car on their property for years. They were my closest friends in Massachusetts, and I knew I could always count on them. When I visited, they always gave me a comfortable room and warm meals. Caroline helped me maintain my sanity by introducing me to the network of hiking trails that surrounded the area. Seeing Yvonne at my defense was also a great support. viii Many friends helped me to stay sane through these difficult years. Their constant caring and support helped me overcome setbacks and stay focused on my graduate studies. They celebrated the landmarks along the way with me and I greatly value their friendship and deeply appreciate their belief in me.