Different Lattitudes, Different Attitudes: Educator Narratives of a Professional Development in Honduras

<p> Author's abstract:The curriculum studies field is marked by two significant concerns-the desire for a complex conversation about connection and diversity and the drive to address structural inequities. Drawing from the rich theoretical field of post positivist realism and in the intellectually rigorous tradition of curriculum studies, this inquiry traces the socioemotional and pedagogical development of five educators before and after a brief professional development experience abroad as they explored what a pedagogy of hope (Freire, 2004; Hooks, 2003) might look like. These five participants traveled to Honduras during the summer of 2009 with Heifer Project International (HPI), a non-profit, non governmental community development organization as participants in their Study Tour for Educators. Heifer created the Study Tour, a nine day, intensive immersion into social justice topics, in order to support the ongoing process of critical engagement with the issues of hunger, poverty and care for the Earth. The long term objective of the professional development is increased personal and professional advocacy in home communities and schools. This study explores topics of conscientization, solidarity and political advocacy. Through the narratives of these individuals, readers can experience the triumph of successful community development, the struggle for social justice and the burgeoning questions of a complicated critical consciousness. This investigation draws from the work of Freire (2004; 2005), Cushner (2007), Moya (2000), Weiley (2008) and Mohanty (1997; 2000) to analyze the words and experience of these five individuals.</p>

Name thesis:degree_name

Doctor of Education in Curriculum Studies (Ed.D.)

Level thesis:degree_level

Dissertation (open access)

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Department of Curriculum, Foundations, and Reading

Year dc:date.available

2009

Author dc:creator

• Holder, Polly Stewart

Contributors dc:contributor

• Grigory Dmitriyev
• Hsiu-Lien Lu
• David Alley

• ETD
• professional development
• study abroad
• advocacy
• social justice
• conscientization
• community development
• cross-cultural experience
• Bilingual, Multilingual, and Multicultural Education
• Curriculum and Social Inquiry
• Education
• Other Education

Repository record dc:identifier

https://digitalcommons.georgiasouthern.edu/etd/1039

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:digitalcommons.georgiasouthern.edu:etd-2072