Georgia State University ScholarWorks @ Georgia State University Educational Policy Studies Dissertations Department of Educational Policy Studies Winter 12-22-2018 Embodied Hope in an Urban Elementary School: Stories of Veteran Educators Martha Donovan Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.gsu.edu/eps_diss Recommended Citation Donovan, Martha, "Embodied Hope in an Urban Elementary School: Stories of Veteran Educators." Dissertation, Georgia State University, 2018. https://scholarworks.gsu.edu/eps_diss/212 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Department of Educational Policy Studies at ScholarWorks @ Georgia State University. It has been accepted for inclusion in Educational Policy Studies Dissertations by an authorized administrator of ScholarWorks @ Georgia State University. For more information, please contact [email protected]. ACCEPTANCE This dissertation, EMBODIED HOPE IN AN URBAN ELEMNTARY SCHOOL: STORIES OF VETERAN EDUCATORS, by MARTHA K. DONOVAN, was prepared under the direction of the candidate’s Dissertation Advisory Committee. It is accepted by the committee members in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree, Doctor of Philosophy, in the College of Education and Human Development, Georgia State University. The Dissertation Advisory Committee and the student’s Department Chairperson, as representatives of the faculty, certify that this dissertation has met all standards of excellence and scholarship as determined by the faculty. _________________________________ _________________________________ Jennifer Esposito, Ph.D. Richard D. Lakes, Ph.D. Committee Co-Chair Committee Co-Chair _________________________________ _________________________________ Kristen Buras, Ph.D. Deron Boyles, Ph.D. Committee Member Committee Member _________________________________ Chantee Earl, Ph.D. Committee Member _________________________________ Date _________________________________ William Curlette, Ph.D. Chairperson, Department of Educational Policy Studies _________________________________ Paul A. Alberto, Ph.D. Dean, College of Education and Human Development AUTHOR’S STATEMENT By presenting this dissertation as a partial fulfillment of the requirements for the advanced degree from Georgia State University, I agree that the library of Georgia State University shall make it available for inspection and circulation in accordance with its regulations governing materials of this type. I agree that permission to quote, to copy from, or to publish this dissertation may be granted by the professor under whose direction it was written, by the College of Education and Human Development’s Director of Graduate Studies, or by me. Such quoting, copying, or publishing must be solely for scholarly purposes and will not involve potential financial gain. It is understood that any copying from or publication of this dissertation which involves potential financial gain will not be allowed without my written permission. Martha K. Donovan NOTICE TO BORROWERS All dissertations deposited in the Georgia State University library must be used in accordance with the stipulations prescribed by the author in the preceding statement. The author of this dissertation is: Martha Katherine Donovan Department of Educational Policy Studies College of Education and Human Development Georgia State University The co-directors of this dissertation are: Dr. Jennifer Esposito and Dr. Richard D. Lakes Department of Educational Policy Studies College of Education and Human Development Georgia State University Atlanta, GA 30303 CURRICULUM VITAE Martha K. Donovan ADDRESS: 700 United Ave. SE, Apt. A Atlanta, GA 30312 EDUCATION: Ph.D. 2018 Georgia State University Department of Educational Policy Studies Masters Degree 2000 Emory University Division of Educational Studies Bachelors Degree 1993 Northwestern University Department of Performance Studies PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE: 2017-present English Teacher Washington High School 2016-2017 University Supervisor Georgia State University 2013-2017 Graduate Research Assistant Georgia State University 2000-2015 IB Coordinator and Teacher Druid Hills High School PRESENTATIONS AND PUBLICATIONS: Refereed Journal Articles Donovan, M. K. & Cannon, S. O. (2018). The University Supervisor, edTPA, and the New Mak- ing of the Teacher. Education Policy Analysis Archives, 26(28). Donovan, M. K. (2017). Commodification, Whiteness as Property, and the Elementary and Sec- ondary Education Act. 2016 SAPES Yearbook. Donovan, M. K. & Lakes, R. D. (2017). “We Don’t Recruit, We Educate:” High School Program Marketing and International Baccalaureate Programmes. Critical Questions in Education. Lakes, R. D. & Donovan, M. K. (2017). The International Baccalaureate in the Public Sector: Marketing a College and Career Ready Certificate for Vocational Students. Journal of Education Policy. Under Review Thomas, C. & Donovan, M. K. (under review). What Does it Mean to be United? Using our Voices to Dismantle the School-to-Prison Connection. Chapter proposal. K. Varner & L. L. Martin (Eds.), Black deaths and blue ribbons in urban centers. Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield. Book Reviews Donovan, M. K. (2015). Review of Collier, Mary Jane. (2014). Community Engagement and In- tercultural Praxis: Dancing with Difference in Diverse Contexts. New York, NY: Peter Lang Publishing, Inc. International Conferences Donovan, M. K. & Lakes, R. D. (2017, February). “We don’t recruit, we educate:” High school program marketing and the International Baccalaureate Career Programme in the U.S. Paper presented at the Comparative and International Education Society (CIES) Annual Conference, Atlanta, GA. Lakes, R. D. & Donovan, M. K. (2017, February). The International Baccalaureate in the public sector: Marketing a college and career ready certificate for vocational students. Paper presented at the Comparative and International Education Society (CIES) Annual Con- ference, Atlanta, GA. Donovan, M. K. (2016, March). Post-human Pedagogy: Instruction and (Dis)embodied Experi- ence. Panel presented at Doing the Body in the 21st Century Conference, Pittsburgh, PA. National Conferences Donovan, M.K. & Cannon, S. O. (2017, April). The university supervisor, edTPA, and the new making of the teacher. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the American Education- al Research Association, San Antonio, TX. Lakes, R. D. & Donovan, M. K. (2016, April). Unifying the vocational-academic divide? A study of the International Baccalaureate Career-related Programme in the USA. Paper pre- sented at the annual meeting of the American Educational Research Association, Wash- ington, DC. EMBODIED HOPE IN AN URBAN ELEMENTARY SCHOOL: STORIES OF VETER- AN EDUCATORS by MARTHA K. DONOVAN Under the Direction of Dr. Jennifer Esposito and Dr. Richard D. Lakes ABSTRACT Neoliberal education policies ignore the intersections of place and race when it comes to accountability at urban schools. The result is schools serving marginalized communities of color often are labeled failures because they do not meet the numerical thresholds established by the state. This ethnographic study examined the ways seven veteran educators shared their educa- tional knowledge with students, parents, and the community as a form of cultural subterfuge, ac- knowledging state accountability goals but working to improve the community as a whole. The study took place at Clement, an urban elementary school, during the 2016-2017 school year. The research involved 12-20 hours a week of participant observation coupled with 3 interviews per participant. Data sources included field notes from each day of observations, interview tran- scripts, and visual and auditory material recorded during observations. The study investigated how seven educators navigated and negotiated the constraints of accountability policies while helping to create a site of hope by incorporating pedagogical practices with community outreach. Methodologically driven by the principles of desire-based research (Tuck, 2009) and critical race theory (Ladson-Billings, 1998), the study found that veteran educators were policy adapters and cultural responders. Policy adapters are educators who, over the course of sustained careers, maintain their own pedagogical beliefs while striving to meet policy demands, especially related to accountability and testing. Cultural responders are educators who nurture Black children to reach their highest potential while honoring their cultural backgrounds and assets. In this study, educators were policy adapters and cultural responders who reached out to the community as well as into themselves to create hope and provide children with an education that enriched their lives. INDEX WORDS: Urban schools, accountability policy, critical race theory, ethnography EMBODIED HOPE IN AN URBAN ELEMENTARY SCHOOL: STORIES OF VETERAN EDUCATORS by MARTHA K. DONOVAN A Dissertation Presented in Partial Fulfillment of Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy in SOCIAL FOUNDATIONS in Educational Policy Studies in the College of Education and Human Development Georgia State University Atlanta, GA 2018 Copyright by Martha K. Donovan 2018 i DEDICATION For E and S, and their moms ii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Dr. Rick Lakes, you gave me freedom and faith and the opportunity to change through qualitative educational policy research, which I love. Dr. Jennifer Esposito, you took me up when my methodological motivation went way over my head. You read and re-read this work and helped me learn in life-transforming