Congratulations to the six doctoral candidates in the Reich College of Education’s (RCOE) Doctoral Program in Educational Leadership who graduate at the end of the 2022 fall semester:
- Whitney Greene
- Candie Greer
- Deirdre Smith Isom
- Rachel Nelson
- Gwynne Shoaf
- Olivia Sikes
Whitney Greene
Dissertation Title: Shifting the Narrative from Broken Youth to a Broken System: Dismantling Deficit-Based Narratives of Youth with High ACES Through a Post-Qualitative Decolonizing Approach
Dissertation Committee Members: Dr. Brandy Bryson (chair), Department of Leadership and Educational Studies; Dr. Peter Fawson, Department of Social Work; and Dr. Jason Lynch, Department of Leadership and Educational Studies
“The doctoral program has fostered my growth as an educator and allowed me to push beyond and engage with my experiences differently, to unlearn so that I may learn differently. This journey has taught me that no knowledge is absolute and that we all hold partial knowledge, which is defined and influenced by our cultural, social class, and lived experiences. It is through this work that I have learned and relearned that others’ narratives and experiences (not just the privileged) are invaluable to dismantling the systems of power and oppression.”
Candie Greer
Dissertation Title: Teacher Preference of Administrator’s Transformational or Transactional Leadership Style: A Regression Study
Dissertation Committee Members: Dr. Christopher Cook (chair), Department of Curriculum and Instruction; Dr. Mina Min, Department of Curriculum and Instruction; and Dr. Cacey Wells, Department of Curriculum and Instruction
Recipient of the Mabel Augusta Morgan Ed Scholarship
Deirdre Smith Isom
Dissertation Title: Fostering the Social Emotional Competence of Educators Through a Virtual Professional Learning Community
Dissertation Committee Members: Dr. Karen Caldwell (chair), Department of Human Development and Psychological Counseling; Dr. Vachel Miller, Department of Leadership and Educational Studies; and Dr. Chris Osmond, Department of Leadership and Educational Studies
“Completing this doctoral program has changed the way I view individuals and information. I am more respectful of how the lived experience of individuals shapes their truth. I can listen to different opinions with a respect for their truth and while I may not agree, I seek to genuinely understand their lived experience and their perspective. Through this process, I have developed a greater respect for my own lived experience and my own truth.”
Rachel Nelson
Dissertation Title: Learning to Teach in Troubling Times: A Critical Narrative Analysis Exploring the Process of Becoming a Teacher Amidst a Global Pandemic
Dissertation Committee Members: Dr. Elizabeth Bellows (chair), Department of Curriculum and Instruction; Dr. PJ Nelsen, Department of Leadership and Educational Studies; Dr. Mina Min, Department of Curriculum and Instruction; and Dr. Sarah Shear, University of Washington at Bothell.
Recipient of the 2021 Outstanding Graduate Student Service Award Recipient, Appalachian State Graduate School
Conferences/Campus Presentations:
- March 2022 - Conference Presentation - North Carolina Mid-Level Educators Conference: “Utilizing Video as a Place for Reflection and Growth”
- Feb. 2022 - Paper Presentation - North Carolina Association for Research in Education Conference: “Learning to Teach in Troubling Times: Experiencing edTPA and First-year Teaching During a Global Pandemic”
- April 2021 - Paper Presentation - Comparative and International Education Society Conference: “Enablers and Barriers for Rural School Teacher Agency for Culturally Responsive Teaching”
- March 2021 - Research Presentation - Office of Student Research Student Celebration “Learning to Teach in Troubling Times: An Exploration of Culturally Responsive Teaching and edTPA”
- March 2021 - Paper Presentation - North Carolina Association for Research in Education Conference: “Experiencing Community in an Online Doctoral Cohort”
- Fall 2020 - Appalachian State Doctoral Symposium Paper Presentation: “What Empowers Teachers to Become Social Justice-Oriented Change Agents?: Influential Factors on Teacher Agency Towards Culturally Responsive Teaching”
“The Ed.D. program at App State has been the highlight of my educational journey. I can say that it has had a profound impact on the trajectory of my career and my sense of self. Throughout the program, I was challenged to transition from student to teacher and now educational theorist. I felt supported throughout my journey not only by those at App State but also by members of my cohort. I can't say enough good things about this program. Go Mountaineers!”
Gwynne Shoaf
Dissertation Title: Problematizing the Deficit Discourses of People with Autism and Autism Parents: A Poststructural Analysis of Subjectivity and Power/Knowledge
Dissertation Committee Members: Dr. Alecia Jackson (chair), Department of Leadership and Educational Studies; Dr. Vachel Miller, Department of Leadership and Educational Studies; and Dr. Debra Prykanowski, Department of Reading Education and Special Education
Recipient of Graduate School Student Travel Award 2020
Conferences/Campus Presentations:
- North Carolina Association for Research in Education (NCARE) 2020, 2021, 2022;
- Doctoral Symposium 2021, 2022
“As part of the original online cohort, the doctoral program has meant the creation of community and the pursuit of my passion as an educator in my own place and space. I am wholly changed, unable to see without questioning and always thinking otherwise, as a result of my work in this program.”
Olivia Sikes
Dissertation Title: The Intersectionality of Motherhood and Educational Leadership
Dissertation Committee Members: Dr. Julie Hasson (chair), Department of Leadership and Educational Studies; Dr. Vachel Miller, Department of Leadership and Educational Studies; and Dr. Kimberly Money, Department of Leadership and Educational Studies
“The doctoral program at Appalachian State University has provided opportunities for me to expand my thoughts and professional experiences in educational leadership. The program faculty are supportive mentors and experts in the field. The program has also enabled me to create a long-standing professional learning network. I received my administrative licensure, Education Specialist degree, and now my Doctorate degree from here. App State continues to provide high-quality programs, and I am proud to be a Mountaineer!’
Doctoral Student graduates for Fall 2022
