Perceived Implications of a Political Party’s Policies on an Urban Texas School District’s Educational Technology

Project Lead: 
Real name: 
Steven Watkins

Email

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Steven Watkins, PhD

Picture: 
Steven Watkins
Research Center: 
Center for Educational and Instructional Technology Research
First and Last Name: 
Steven Watkins

History

Member for
8 years 2 months
Person Type: 
Research Fellow
Associate Faculty
Dissertation Chair
Committee Member
Phone: 
(214) 458-1293
Current and Ongoing Research Interests: 

One's research and scholarly interests change over the years; right now in my professional career with the University of Phoenix, I am interested in how politics influences and shapes educational practices and instructional technology uses. One has to realize that education does not exist in a vacuum; rather, it exists in a pulsating and vibrating context filled with human beings. My goal is to examine and understand it in order to help educate future generations.

I am also interested in the humanities; the humanities seek to define what it is to be human through the lenses of philosophy, theology, communication, history, and other fields of study. The humanities focus on the human aspect of existence and what can be learned about "humanity."

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Working on a book called Teilhard de Chardin: A Man for the Twenty-First Century (2018/2019). Applied to the National Endowment for the Humanities for a funding grant.

Working on a book about the influence of the Cultural Manifestation of Politics on Education and Instructional Technology (2018/2019). Currently in negotiations with Routledge Press to publish a book.

 

 

 

 

Publications: 
How the Clash Between Essentialism and Progressivism Shaped Technology Adoption: A Case Study
Political Influence on a School District's Educational and Instructional Technology
Benefit and Bane of Artificial Intelligence in Educational Leadership Projects in Community College Environments
University of Phoenix Courses: 
DOC/733
DOC/734
Professional Bio: 
In the past three years, as a Research Fellow and member of the Center for Education and Instructional Technology Research Center (CEITR), I have developed an expertise on how culture, learning and technology interact and function together in different educational environments. To date, I am an active member with the Association of Education, Communication and Technology (AECT) with developing and developed published articles on this aspect of education. Through AECT, I have published an article on political parties affecting school districts' educational and technological practices and in an upcoming book how politics affects different educational philosophical theories in educational practices. I am also working on an article for a symposium in Hong Kong in 2017 about politics in Chinese educational and technological practices. I am also working through AECT to establish avenues of support for doctoral students to gain experience in presenting and publishing. Through this avenue and subsequent goals, I seek to implement the announced objectives of the School of Advanced Studies for faculty in the school. My purpose in mentoring doctoral students is to help them develop their scholarly interests and skills in such an endeavor. I believe in working with them to accomplish the attainment of a doctorate degree and to transition to practicing, insightful scholars who are an asset to their field of study. At the same time I expect them to recognize the effort such an undertaking requires and be ready to implement the expectations needed to be successful in such educational projects.
Degrees Completed: 
Bachelors Degree
Management
University of Texas at Arlington
1980
Masters Degree
Theology
The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary
1988
Masters Degree
English
Tarleton State University
1994
Doctoral Degree
English-Comparative Literature
The University of Texas at Arlington
2005
Academic Appointments: 
Fellow-Center for Educational and Instruction Technology Research
School of Advanced Studies
Honors and Awards: 
Professional Education: 
Professional Suffix: 
PhD
Primary College or School: 
College of Doctoral Studies
Areas of Research Interest: 
Impact of Politics on Education
Educational Tools and Technology
Humanities

     The public educational process (primary and secondary) in the state of Texas has always been subject to examination, influence, and manipulation by various people, governmental agencies, political parties, and political movements. These various entities have dictated, either implicitly or explicitly, the content and conveyance in the public school educational process. Since 2010, a movement known as the Tea Party has explicitly sought to examine, influence, and manipulate the public educational process in Texas; the result is a potential, extensive controlling of education in this state. The perceived implications of the Tea Party movement on North Texas school districts’ educational and instructional technology in the 2013-2014 academic year and potentially influential in the 2014-2015 academic year is unclear.

Boyer's Domain: 
Teaching & Learning

Research Resources