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Kristina Marie Pham Ed.D., is a 2025 graduate of the Ed.D. program in Educational and Professional Practice at Antioch University.

Dissertation Committee:

Ashley Nielson, Ph.D., Committee Chair

Richard Kahn, Ph.D., Committee Member

Jenny Miller, Ph.D. Committee Member

Keywords

humane education, participatory action research, backward design

Document Type

Dissertation

Publication Date

2025

Abstract

Academic freedom is under attack in the United States, hindering the ability of educators to develop critical thinking skills in students to prepare them for their roles as participating members of a democracy. The inquiry that informed the curriculum development is as follows: How to embed Humane Education and Participatory Action Research into a General Psychology class? The theoretical framework of Humane Education was the basis for utilizing the principles of Participatory Action Research in the General Psychology curriculum co-created with rural community college students. The Backward Design Model was chosen because the curriculum was created using an existing General Psychology curriculum and embedding Humane Education into the existing framework. The use of reflective questions allowed students and instructors to evaluate the broad aim of the curriculum and collaborate on the effectiveness of the aims. Embedding Humane Education in a General Psychology curriculum allows for studying human thought and behavior in alignment with introducing the idea of solutionary thinking. It also aids in helping students to identify oppression not only their own lives, but in the lives of others. This dissertation is available in open access at AURA (https://aura.antioch.edu) and OhioLINK ETD Center (https://etd.ohiolink.edu).

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ORCID No. 0009-0006-4887-9087

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