Islands of Testosterone: Men in Early Education

During my little brother's junior and senior years at a small private school, he was often the only male student in his classes.  At his senior awards ceremony, he was given the humorous "Island of Testosterone" award.  I have co-opted this phrase as it is representative of mine and other male presenting teachers experiences working in early education.

Skill Represented: The skills presented in this artificat are "Identifying important/practical questions that can be addressed through scholarship." Throughout my time as an early education music teacher, I have noticed the lack of other teachers and staff who look like me and have the life experiences I have.  While I am confident that I can be the person that the children need me to be to guide them to success in life, I wondered what the disparity of representation might have on students and the perceptions of other male presenting teachers.

Overview: This paper, titled "Islands of Testosterone: Men in Elementary and Early Childhood Education" represents my first large investigation during my Ed.D studies.  The paper investigates the gender misbalance of male presenting teachers in early education, the challenges this may present to children, and the social reasons and implications of non-representative staffing of within schools.

Connection to future study: This study aligns with my future dissertation study as it targets the dispositional development and belief systems of teachers while presenting a student needs-focused perspective.  Where my dissertation study will be focused on how teachers learn to be affective advisors to students, this paper focuses on the initial identity development of a particular class of teachers who stand out due to gender representation.

Teacher Mentorship as a Recruitment and Retention Strategy

Skill Represented: This collaborative project represents the scholarship skills of "Identifying important/practical questions that can be addressed through scholarship" and "Communicating results of research in writing and orally with diverse audiences."  As a group, we were regularly hearing about the teacher shortage in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.  We were curious of what actionable processes could be used by schools and districts to retain and recruit teachers.  An aspect of this project not represented in the scholarship skills represented in the ED.D. handbook was the project management role I needed to take to complete this work with my colleagues.  There were many moving parts with four authors.  Along with my writing role, I served as first/last pass editor of the paper, editor of the supplemental video, and project manager to keep my colleagues to their deadlines.

Overview: This presentation was initially researched and assembled for the "EDA 725: Metropolitan Education" course and was reorganized as a panel discussion for the Winter 2023 EdD Community Forum.  The panel slides for the full panel discussion, including those presented by others is below. Also below is the video I created as part of our final presentation for the EDA 725 course.  This video includes an additional member, Dr. Aishary Pawar, of the University of Michigan Dearborn engineering program.  In the video, each contributor scripted and recorded their own section and I assembled the sections to tell a concise and relevant narrative.

Connection to future study: The study focuses on teacher needs and the ways in which school and district structures can meet those needs.  The perspective of workers' rights and needs is valuable when considering the addition of programs within schools.  As the proposed dissertation study focuses on teacher needs in support of student needs, the perspective of meeting teachers' needs to support children and viewing the educator as a developing professional is key.

Public Pedagogy in the Second Oldest Community Band in the United States

I first became aware of the group during their Marches in Place Project (link) that replaced their Summer 2020 concert season in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. My friend, the director, asked me to be a "ringer" and record one of the parts their virtual ensemble was missing. Even though I've played in suburban community bands since middle school, I was unaware of the long history and cultural significance of a group like the Adrian City Band in a small community.

Skill Represented: This project represents the largest number of scholarship skills with four.  These are "Collecting and analyzing appropriate types of data," "Communicating results of research in writing and orally with diverse audiences," "Developing and nurturing diverse relationships across institutions and different communities," "Connecting scholarship and practice in the service of diverse communities." 

Community bands in the United States represent an aspect of shared culture, community belonging, and public pedagogy. Other skills included qualitative methods such as interviews and coding.  During this study, I acted a participant researcher as I felt there was only so much I could gain from sitting in the audience during a rehearsal.  While sitting in the rehearsal arc and playing with the band, I was able to crack jokes, share playing tips for tricky sections, and build trust with the people I would later interview.  At the end of the study, every person I interviewed asked if I would be back the next week to play - exemplifying the character of the community.

Overview: The case study research presented below focuses on the second oldest community band in the United States, the Adrian City Band.  The study involved member interviews and embedding myself within the community for the period of the study.  The social, psychological, and educational purposes of the band emerged as themes through interviews and field observations.  Faltering support by the city and disparate needs by the director and membership of the band also emerged through interviews.

Connection to future study: The proposed dissertation study may align with case study research as it might not be possible to draw generalizable conclusions from the findings of the interviews with teachers and administrators.  Additionally, the perspective of this Public Pedagogy case study allows me to take a philosophical lens on the purpose of education as an expression of care and social-emotional and psychological needs within the affective domain as well as academic outcomes.

Data Driven Audit of School Community

Skill Represented: The scholarship skills represented below are "Connecting scholarship and practice in the service of diverse communities" and "Promoting intelligence, rationality, and careful problem solving."  I have since used to the data found through this audit to communicate strengths and advocate for needs to our Board of Education, to discuss use of need-based interventions with district assessment representatives, to help a colleague maintain grant funding with the Special Olympic of Michigan, and to determine the quality of assessments we use for triangulation of student achievement. 

Overview: This audit was collected and presented as part of the "EDB 720: Principal Internship" course.  The project involved analyzing demographic data, historical trends, assessment, available resources, and community connections in order to provide recommendations for future development of the school.  This is akin to the comprehensive audit that is performed by principals of schools every three years in Michigan.  This audit found the school to be "settling" after a shake-up caused by district restructuring in 2017.  This appeared in the assessment data and demographic data.  Instructional and Behavioral Supports were areas of strength that led to the school performing Top 4 (of 15 schools) in reading and math within the district.  The interventionists within the school refer to their strategy as "Double Dip" wherein every student who need help receives both Tier 1 instruction and Tier 2 or Tier 3 supports with a qualified member of staff or qualified volunteer. 

Connection to future study: The demographic and assessment data anlysis according to trends will be needed within the qualitative portion of the proposed dissertation study to draw an accurate picture of the schools in which the study is to take place.  These data were taken from local public records, Michigan Department of Education (MDOE) data tools, Housing and Urban Development (HUD) records, and the United States Census Bureau. 

Special Education Music Consultancy

Skill Represented: The scholarship skills represented in this role as a consultant are "Connecting scholarship and practice in the service of diverse communities."  Through multiple years of providing these trainings, the way in which I share the information has changed.  Initially, I would be very academic in what I presented.  With practice, these presentations have become structure conversations that lead teachers to make better use of the strategies they already know work but feel unsure to try in special situations.  I feel that my role is not to share the findings of research but to make the connection to practice so the teachers I guide may then have a shorter leap to application in their unique classrooms.

Overview: I regularly present on issues of special education and elementary general music at our state conference, for the Michigan Music Education Association (MMEA), and as a private consultant.  In October 2023, I was asked to present a half-day professional development to a large Wayne County school district's music teachers.  The department head told me many of the teachers felt lost - both in understanding what was expected of them with their special education students and how to structure their lessons for learning.  This presentation differed from prior trainings as it could not focus simply on "here are 5 strategies that work." This training needed to focus on the teachers' developing belief in their efficacy and their use of effective structures.  At the end, one teacher said "I feel like you gave me permission to do the things I knew were right but was afraid to do." 

Connection to future study: My proposed dissertation study is focused on developing teacher dispositions to work in the affective domain.  This domain is often recognized as vital by my college level students when discussing the role of education but can be difficult to enact when in the classroom. This consultancy practice connects to dispositional development but is focused on special education music.