DISSERTATION AWARDS, 2008

Leah Curran, George Washington University

Leah is conducting a critical feminist discourse analysis of federally funded sex education curricula to examine the ways in which discourses of gender and sexuality operate explicitly and implicitly in U.S. sex education programs.  She is comparing abstinence-only and comprehensive sex education curricula to see how discourses of gender and sexuality operate similarly or differently both within and across the alternative types of sex education.   

Howard Glasser, Michigan State University

Amendments to Title IX permit single-sex classes in public schools and this project focused on two single-sex science classes taught by the same teacher in a public, coeducational middle school. Science was investigated because it serves as a gateway to many professional opportunities, but males tend to outperform females in school science, take more science classes, and are more likely to obtain careers in science. This work explores issues of equity between these courses, the history and rationale for the program, and how the classes impact students' performance in school and their development as men and women.

LingLing Yang, Sam Houston State University

The synergistic leadership theory (SLT) is a socially just and gender inclusive theory that addresses the attributes, experiences, and abilities found in both female and male leaders. The purpose of LingLing’s dissertation research is to use the SLT as the theoretical framework to investigate the applicability of the theory to educational leaders in Chinese and American public universities. LingLing believes the findings of her research will have significance to gender equity and social justice that Myra Sadker has promoted. Her study has the potential to improve leadership practice and programs in both Chinese and American universities by including the female leaders' perspectives and experiences and embracing a broader knowledge base of leadership.

HIGH SCHOOL AWARD, 2008

Nicole Vournazos

Nicole is a sophomore at Newtown High School in Connecticut and an active debater. In fact, she was the only female to participate in the Lincoln-Douglas Debates in the state of Connecticut the previous year. She received her award to offset the costs of participating in a series of debates during the coming academic year.