Congratulations to Elaine Primus who on Monday, September 9, 2024, successfully defended her dissertation proposal. The title of her dissertation is: PERCEPTIONS OF BLACK AND LATINO FAMILIES ON DEPLOYING EXISTING CULTURAL CAPITAL IN THE SPECIAL EDUCATION PROCESS: A QUALITATIVE STUDY.
Elaine successfully defended her qualitative research proposal which seeks to describe the experiences of Black and Latino families who have utilized their cultural capital to navigate the special education systems in public schools. Elaine will use Yosso’s (2005) Community Cultural Wealth (CCW) model as her theoretical lens to uncover an asset- (vs deficit-) oriented approach to cultural mismatch in classifications. Elaine will conduct semi-structured interviews to capture the cultural assets of Black and Hispanic families which aid them in navigating assumptions and biases that might have contributed to (mis)classifications of their children and advocating for themselves and their children.
Recognizing that both general and special education teachers perceive themselves as ill-prepared to address the learning needs of racially diverse populations of students with (and without) disabilities due to lack of exposure, this study aims to identify how Black and Latino families tap into community resources to capitalize on cultural wealth to ensure equitable collaboration between families and schools.
Dissertation Committee Chair:
Dr. Susan Iverson
Dissertation Committee Members:
Dr. Kenneth Mitchell
Dr. Monica George-Fields
Take Your Career to the Next Level
Elevate your leadership skills, deepen your understanding of critical and contemporary education issues, and learn to help solve the current challenges in P-20 education.
Learn to Inspire Change
The Doctoral Program in Educational Leadership from Manhattanville, offered in partnership with Putnam Northern Westchester BOCES, utilizes a forward-thinking approach to educational leadership that is ideal for practicing and aspiring leaders in any educational context. It is designed to support the goals of educational professionals who seek to develop their leadership skills for career advancement or current job enhancement.
