“Well, Besides the Fact that Deployment Kinda Stinks…” Understanding and Supporting Military-Connected Students Dr. Vicki Sherbert, Kansas State University sherbev@ksu.edu
Our Stories
Memory Museum 2010
Sociocultural Theory Identity Agency Power
Identity • Identity can be described as a stable, internal state of being. • Identity is socially and linguistically fluid. • Identity takes into account the different positions individuals enact or perform in particular settings within social, economic, and historical relationships. • Individuals form identities when they participate in these settings and reconfigure their identities as they react to circumstances. • Individuals also define their identities based on what they believe others expect from them and those expectations may be based on messages they get from others and from society at large.
Agency • Agency can be described as the strategic making and remaking of selves, identities, activities, and relationships within structures of power. • Power circulates and as a result structures of power change in order to allow different degrees of agency, which can resist structural constraints and can sometimes lead to transformative practices. • Agency is a way of positioning oneself in order to allow for new ways of being and new identity development.
Power • In sociocultural research, power is considered to be produced and enacted through discourses, relationships, activities, space, and time by individuals as they compete for resources and identities. • Sociocultural researchers often consider Foucault’s theories about power as “productive”, as a result of interactions and relationships rather than something that is possessed by some and desired or resisted by others. • These productions may be unpredictable when individuals participate in or challenge oppressive power relations.
Phases of Deployment • Pre-deployment • Deployment • Post-deployment
What my students taught me….
Ambiguous Loss • Ambiguous loss is defined as a loss that is vague, unclear, and indeterminate (Boss, 2007; Huber, Mancini, Wilcox, Grass & Grass, 2007) – “From a situational perspective, the only certainty about the deployment of a service member during war in an era of terrorism is uncertainty from beginning to end.” (p. 113)
KSU College of Education Webpage http://www.coe.k-state.edu/military/
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Activities • Success Folders • Book Browse – Perspective – Intentional Selection • Fortunately/Unfortunately • Sentence Dice Challenge
Sentence Dice Challenge • Pick a letter (r) • Pick a topic with that letter (race car) • Roll the dice (8) • 1st sentence needs to be (8) words long (The revved up race car kicked up dusty dirt.) • Roll the dice again (11) (Once he was out in front, he maintained his superior status.) • Roll the dice again (3) (He remained victorious!) • Roll one more time! (6) (His success continued throughout his career.)
Resources for Educators •
K-State College of Education Military Initiatives page: https://www.coe.ksu.edu/about/military/ index.html
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Teachers College Press: Free guides to support military students and their families http:// www.tcpress.com/militaryfamiliesoffer.html
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Livebinder of Resources (Sandy Risberg): http://www.livebinders.com/play/play?id=860177
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Military Child Coalition: http://www.militarychild.org
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Resources for Military Child & Teens: https://www.coe.ksu.edu/about/documents/ Military_Children_Teens_Resources.pdf
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The Advocate Fall 2014-Winter 2015: http://www.atekan.org/wp/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/ Fall2014-FINAL.pdf
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Michigan Dept. of Ed.: http://www.michigan.gov/documents/mde/ Web_Resources_for_Teachers_and_School_Administrators_352413_7.pdf
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American Sociological Association: Teaching active duty military students http://www.asanet.org/ footnotes/marchapril13/military_0313.html
Contact Information Dr. Vicki Sherbert sherbev@k-state.edu Bluemont Hall 228
KSU College of Education Military Initiatives Page http://www.coe.k-state.edu/military/