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Darshini Margaret Elizabeth Stark Ed.D., is a 2026 graduate of the Ed.D. program in Educational and Professional Practice at Antioch University.

Dissertation Committee:

Emiliano Gonzalez, Ph.D., Committee Chair 

John Scott, Ph.D., Committee Member

Kimberly Hardy, Ed.D., Committee Member

Keywords

educational philosophy, Oru Maram, care ethics, relational ontology, culturally sustaining pedagogy, critical pedagogy, humanizing methodologies, healing‑centered engagement, transformative paradigm, collective flourishing

Document Type

Dissertation

Publication Date

2026

Abstract

Public education in the United States is often framed as a neutral pathway to opportunity, democratic participation, and individual success. Yet for many students, particularly those from historically marginalized communities, schooling has functioned as a site of self-abandonment, where compliance means survival. This dissertation argues that persistent educational harm is not the result of individual curriculum failure or isolated policy shortcomings, but something far more insidious: the intentional use of schooling as a mechanism of political control and socioeconomic hierarchy, shaped over centuries by authoritarian governance and colonial ideology. In response, this work advances Oru Maram (Stark, in preparation) as a cultural and care centered philosophy of education oriented toward collective flourishing. Oru Maram (Stark, in preparation) does not propose a new pedagogical model to replace existing frameworks. Instead, it offers an integrative philosophical orientation organized around four interrelated pillars: Culture, Critical inquiry, Care, and Connection. Together, these pillars bring culturally sustaining pedagogy, critical and liberatory educational traditions, care ethics, and relational understandings of human development into conversation, emphasizing their interconnectedness rather than their separation. Methodologically, this dissertation takes a philosophical approach, weaving educational theory, critical scholarship, and lived experience into a single line of inquiry (Ahmed, 2017; Fine, 1994; San Pedro, 2018; Wilson, 2008). The work is intentionally written in an accessible voice, reflecting a commitment to relational accountability and the belief that iv educational theory should remain accountable to the communities it seeks to serve. Rather than prescribing solutions, the work invites educators and scholars to imagine how integrated approaches to education could support dignity, belonging, and collective flourishing for all. 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. 0009-0001-2192-1154

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