{"id":{"repo_id":"uiuc","oai_identifier":"oai:www.ideals.illinois.edu:2142/129810"},"canonical_url":"https://search.dev.ndltd.org/etd/uiuc/oai:www.ideals.illinois.edu:2142/129810","repository":{"repo_id":"uiuc","name":"University of Illinois - Urbana-Champaign","base_url":"https://www.ideals.illinois.edu/oai-pmh"},"display":{"title":"A multiple case study exploring suburban Chicago middle school social studies teachers overcoming modern constraints to enact dialogic pedagogy","abstract":"This multiple case study explores how exceptional middle school social studies teachers in suburban Chicago understand, enact, and sustain dialogic pedagogy amid contemporary educational constraints. Guided by Ecological Systems Theory and using qualitative research methods, the study examined the experiences of teachers and administrators across several school contexts to uncover the systemic influences that shape dialogic teaching practices. Findings reveal that while teachers, students, and administrators share a common language around dialogue, their understandings are deeply nuanced and reflect the complexity of enacting dialogic pedagogy in real-world classrooms. Teachers viewed dialogic pedagogy not just as a classroom strategy but as a broader civic and relational practice. Despite facing systemic constraints—such as time pressures, rigid curricular standards, and traditional expectations of teaching—participants demonstrated the capacity to creatively reimagine instructional practices. They did so by building trust-based relationships, establishing classroom structures that support student-led discourse, and embracing a mindset shift from control to facilitation. Administrators played a key role in fostering environments of autonomy and support, sharing the same values and recognizing these educators as exceptional. Systemic supports such as inquiry-based standards, cross-curricular literacy goals, and a growing emphasis on critical questioning were also found to encourage dialogic approaches. Ultimately, the study highlights the importance of structural understanding, intentional relationship-building, and educator autonomy in sustaining dialogic pedagogy. It underscores the need for educational systems to make space for pedagogies that empower student voice and transform traditional conceptions of teaching and learning.","abstract_html":"This multiple case study explores how exceptional middle school social studies teachers in suburban Chicago understand, enact, and sustain dialogic pedagogy amid contemporary educational constraints. Guided by Ecological Systems Theory and using qualitative research methods, the study examined the experiences of teachers and administrators across several school contexts to uncover the systemic influences that shape dialogic teaching practices. Findings reveal that while teachers, students, and administrators share a common language around dialogue, their understandings are deeply nuanced and reflect the complexity of enacting dialogic pedagogy in real-world classrooms. Teachers viewed dialogic pedagogy not just as a classroom strategy but as a broader civic and relational practice. Despite facing systemic constraints—such as time pressures, rigid curricular standards, and traditional expectations of teaching—participants demonstrated the capacity to creatively reimagine instructional practices. They did so by building trust-based relationships, establishing classroom structures that support student-led discourse, and embracing a mindset shift from control to facilitation. Administrators played a key role in fostering environments of autonomy and support, sharing the same values and recognizing these educators as exceptional. Systemic supports such as inquiry-based standards, cross-curricular literacy goals, and a growing emphasis on critical questioning were also found to encourage dialogic approaches. Ultimately, the study highlights the importance of structural understanding, intentional relationship-building, and educator autonomy in sustaining dialogic pedagogy. It underscores the need for educational systems to make space for pedagogies that empower student voice and transform traditional conceptions of teaching and learning.","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Schmidt, Diana Tarant"],"institution":"University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign","degree_name":"Ed.D.","degree_level":"Dissertation","degree_discipline":"Educ Policy, Orgzn & Leadrshp","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":["Roegman, Rachel","Davila, Liv","Rice, Patrick","Herrmann, Mary"],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2025,"date_issued":"2025-05-05","date_published":"2025-05-05","updated_at":"2026-07-22T22:25:05Z","subjects":["Dialogue","Dialogic Pedagogy","Ecological Systems Theory","Middle School Social Studies","Teaching","Constraints"],"languages":["eng","en"],"rights":["Copyright 2025 Diana Tarant Schmidt"],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://hdl.handle.net/2142/129810","outbound_label":"Handle","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor","label":"Contributor","values":["Roegman, Rachel","Davila, Liv","Rice, Patrick","Herrmann, Mary"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Schmidt, Diana Tarant"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date","label":"Dc Date","values":["2025-05-05","2025-08"]},{"key":"dc:type","label":"Dc Type","values":["Thesis","text"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["Educ Policy, Orgzn & Leadrshp"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Dissertation"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Ed.D."]},{"key":"thesis:institution_name","label":"Thesis Institution Name","values":["University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["Dialogue","Dialogic Pedagogy","Ecological Systems Theory","Middle School Social Studies","Teaching","Constraints"]}]},{"id":"language_rights","label":"Language and Rights","entries":[{"key":"dc:language","label":"Dc Language","values":["eng","en"]},{"key":"dc:rights","label":"Dc Rights","values":["Copyright 2025 Diana Tarant Schmidt"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://hdl.handle.net/2142/129810"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description","label":"Description","values":["This multiple case study explores how exceptional middle school social studies teachers in suburban Chicago understand, enact, and sustain dialogic pedagogy amid contemporary educational constraints. Guided by Ecological Systems Theory and using qualitative research methods, the study examined the experiences of teachers and administrators across several school contexts to uncover the systemic influences that shape dialogic teaching practices. Findings reveal that while teachers, students, and administrators share a common language around dialogue, their understandings are deeply nuanced and reflect the complexity of enacting dialogic pedagogy in real-world classrooms. Teachers viewed dialogic pedagogy not just as a classroom strategy but as a broader civic and relational practice. Despite facing systemic constraints—such as time pressures, rigid curricular standards, and traditional expectations of teaching—participants demonstrated the capacity to creatively reimagine instructional practices. They did so by building trust-based relationships, establishing classroom structures that support student-led discourse, and embracing a mindset shift from control to facilitation. Administrators played a key role in fostering environments of autonomy and support, sharing the same values and recognizing these educators as exceptional. Systemic supports such as inquiry-based standards, cross-curricular literacy goals, and a growing emphasis on critical questioning were also found to encourage dialogic approaches. Ultimately, the study highlights the importance of structural understanding, intentional relationship-building, and educator autonomy in sustaining dialogic pedagogy. It underscores the need for educational systems to make space for pedagogies that empower student voice and transform traditional conceptions of teaching and learning.","Submission original under an indefinite embargo labeled 'Open Access'. The submission was exported from vireo on 2025-10-20 without embargo terms","The student, Diana Schmidt, accepted the attached license on 2025-04-29 at 20:09.","The student, Diana Schmidt, submitted this Dissertation for approval on 2025-04-29 at 20:21.","This Dissertation was approved for publication on 2025-05-05 at 15:34.","DSpace SAF Submission Ingestion Package generated from Vireo submission #22102 on 2025-10-20 at 16:57:01"]},{"key":"dc:format","label":"Dc Format","values":["application/pdf"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["A multiple case study exploring suburban Chicago middle school social studies teachers overcoming modern constraints to enact dialogic pedagogy"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor":["Roegman, Rachel","Davila, Liv","Rice, Patrick","Herrmann, Mary"],"dc:creator":["Schmidt, Diana Tarant"],"dc:date":["2025-05-05","2025-08"],"dc:description":["This multiple case study explores how exceptional middle school social studies teachers in suburban Chicago understand, enact, and sustain dialogic pedagogy amid contemporary educational constraints. Guided by Ecological Systems Theory and using qualitative research methods, the study examined the experiences of teachers and administrators across several school contexts to uncover the systemic influences that shape dialogic teaching practices. Findings reveal that while teachers, students, and administrators share a common language around dialogue, their understandings are deeply nuanced and reflect the complexity of enacting dialogic pedagogy in real-world classrooms. Teachers viewed dialogic pedagogy not just as a classroom strategy but as a broader civic and relational practice. Despite facing systemic constraints—such as time pressures, rigid curricular standards, and traditional expectations of teaching—participants demonstrated the capacity to creatively reimagine instructional practices. They did so by building trust-based relationships, establishing classroom structures that support student-led discourse, and embracing a mindset shift from control to facilitation. Administrators played a key role in fostering environments of autonomy and support, sharing the same values and recognizing these educators as exceptional. Systemic supports such as inquiry-based standards, cross-curricular literacy goals, and a growing emphasis on critical questioning were also found to encourage dialogic approaches. Ultimately, the study highlights the importance of structural understanding, intentional relationship-building, and educator autonomy in sustaining dialogic pedagogy. It underscores the need for educational systems to make space for pedagogies that empower student voice and transform traditional conceptions of teaching and learning.","Submission original under an indefinite embargo labeled 'Open Access'. The submission was exported from vireo on 2025-10-20 without embargo terms","The student, Diana Schmidt, accepted the attached license on 2025-04-29 at 20:09.","The student, Diana Schmidt, submitted this Dissertation for approval on 2025-04-29 at 20:21.","This Dissertation was approved for publication on 2025-05-05 at 15:34.","DSpace SAF Submission Ingestion Package generated from Vireo submission #22102 on 2025-10-20 at 16:57:01"],"dc:format":["application/pdf"],"dc:identifier":["https://hdl.handle.net/2142/129810"],"dc:language":["eng","en"],"dc:rights":["Copyright 2025 Diana Tarant Schmidt"],"dc:subject":["Dialogue","Dialogic Pedagogy","Ecological Systems Theory","Middle School Social Studies","Teaching","Constraints"],"dc:title":["A multiple case study exploring suburban Chicago middle school social studies teachers overcoming modern constraints to enact dialogic pedagogy"],"dc:type":["Thesis","text"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["Educ Policy, Orgzn & Leadrshp"],"thesis:degree_level":["Dissertation"],"thesis:degree_name":["Ed.D."],"thesis:institution_name":["University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-22T22:25:05Z"}