Date of Award

Winter 1-15-2026

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy

Major

Educational Studies

First Advisor

Susan Rauchwerk

Second Advisor

Patricia Crain de Galarce

Third Advisor

Kevin Matteson

Abstract

The current state of adolescent well-being in “post-COVID” America demonstrates a need for widespread intervention to aid students in coping with trauma and mental health issues. In a review of the literature, feelings of empowerment have been found to be antithetical to feelings of trauma. Moreover, the benefits of empowerment in terms of adolescent mental health, academic achievement, and behaviors are well documented. However, strategies designed to impact students’ feelings of empowerment have not been well established, and programs that are presently offered are often inaccessible due to cost, public opinion, and a need for whole school adoption. In this mixed methods grounded theory study, five middle school teachers, each representing a different grade (4-8), utilized the researcher’s current version of his Empowerment Pedagogy Framework to explore how pedagogical values and processes can impact students’ feelings of empowerment. These include self-efficacy, self-esteem, perceived ability to be heard, and psychological well- being. The development of the current framework was guided by a thorough review of the literature, Zimmerman’s Empowerment Theory, Brendtro, Brokenleg, and Van Bockern’s Circle of Courage, and a grounded theory pilot study completed by the researcher. Findings reveal that intentionally designed pedagogy as outlined in the Empowerment Pedagogy Framework has statistically significant positive impacts (p=0.008, n=94) on students' feelings of empowerment. Student focus group interviews reveal a high level of agreement with the existing framework and offer suggestions for additional considerations. Data from teachers (e.g., observational checklists, meetings, reflective journals) suggest the framework has a positive influence on educators and reveals a need for additional guidance, specific curricular tools, and professional development for improved operationalization. This study provides critical understandings regarding how specific pedagogical values and processes can be used by individual teachers to positively impact students’ feelings of empowerment.

Creative Commons License

Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial 4.0 License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial 4.0 License

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