Cassiopeia Guthrie, Ed.D.
Most Recent Projects
Politics, Policy, and Pressure: Studying San Diego Teachers’ Affective Responses to Political Rhetoric in Polarized Times
Researcher: Cassiopeia Guthrie
Dissertation Committee: Sarah Fine (UCSD), Alan Daly (UCSD), Christiane Wood (CSUSM)
Dissertation Description: In an era of increasing political polarization and intensified rhetoric, teachers must navigate directed attacks on educational initiatives. While prior research addresses conditions related to successful implementation of new policies in schools as well as the ways in which external threats can impact organizations and people working within them, less is known about how teachers react emotionally to polarized political rhetoric or how these reactions might relate to their perceptions of school climate and conditions. In an effort to address this gap, this mixed methods study investigated teachers’ affective responses to political rhetoric, their perceptions of conditions on their campuses, and the relationships therein. Using a dual theoretical framework of threat-rigidity theory and constructivism, the study explored three research questions via a concurrent embedded multi-phase mixed methods design using a quantitative survey with embedded qualitative components (n = 52) and opt-in interviews (n = 9). This study, conducted with public high school teachers in San Diego County, helps establish a greater understanding of how and in what ways an increasingly polarized political climate and its associated rhetoric influence teachers, schools, and systems. Findings indicate that, for the study participants: 1. the political climate is experienced through affective and identity-mediated meaning making; 2. heightened affective responses to the political climate correspond with perceived organizational constriction, which may exacerbate both affective strain and workplace challenges; and finally, 3. collaboration functions as both a protective condition and a point of tension in politically polarized schools. This study has implications for research, educational leadership, practice, policy, and social justice. While the current political climate continues to change, unearthing new feelings and emotional responses with it, it is imperative that the educational system responds nimbly to these potential effects in order to preserve their important work of ensuring students’ learning, wellness, and safety.
Keywords: political climate, political polarization, affective response, positive affect, negative affect, political rhetoric, threat-rigidity, threat rigidity, teacher policy mediation, threat-rigidity theory, constructivism, teachers, high schools, public schools
Distinguished Teacher in Residence
Revitalization Research Project
Co-Principal Investigators: Cassiopeia Guthrie, Elsie Solis
Co-Investigators: Paula Hewett, Anne René Elsbree, Xochitl Archey
Project Description: The CSUSM School of Education’s mission is to collaboratively transform education and advance practice by creating community through partnerships. Like university/school district partnerships in other contexts (Kirschenbaum & Reagan, 2001), the Distinguished Teacher in Residence (DTiR) program connects faculty and district partners through shared professional learning, innovation, and teacher leadership, thus embodying this mission. This project responds to a pressing institutional need by using a problem of practice approach (Horn & Little, 2010) to understand why district DTiR participation and faculty engagement have declined. By using a data-driven approach to investigate these challenges and co-construct potential solutions, the project will collect and interpret findings to guide the design and implementation of treatments and interventions in future phases via a continuous improvement approach (Bhuiyan & Baghel, 2005), thus ensuring that future professional development, partnership models, and recruitment strategies are grounded in evidence. The study explored four research questions: 1. To what extent do faculty, district partners, and university leadership understand the purpose, structure, and expectations of the DTiR program, and how do these levels of awareness influence current engagement? 2. How do faculty, district leaders, and university leadership describe the key problems of practice that have contributed to declining participation and engagement in the DTiR program? 3. How do faculty, district partners, and university leadership envision revitalizing the DTiR program, and what specific changes or innovations do they identify as necessary for strengthening the program’s relevance and effectiveness. 4. How do district leaders and faculty describe the supports, professional development opportunities, and partnership structures needed to enhance collaboration and better meet district needs moving forward? This study, used a mixed methods approach to survey and conduct focus groups with university faculty (n = 26), survey and interview district leaders (n = 6), and interview college and university leadership (n = 4) about their awareness of the program and perceptions of both problems of practice as well as methods to revitalize and improve the program for maximum sustainability and continuance. Findings indicate that, for the study participants: 1. The program is generally seen as a mission-aligned value which provides valuable leadership development; 2. Common challenges identified include operational and funding pressures, reciprocity challenges, and alignment and outcome inconsistences; 3. Participants identify underleveraged structures and systems and underrealized system-wide impacts as missed opportunities; and 4. Ideated solutions include strengthening program identity and visibility, deepening partnership alignment and collaboration, and redesigning structures, funding, and participation pathways. This study informs immediate next steps for program leadership including capturing and integrating all School of Education strengths in consortium offerings, working with the governance community to develop solutions to structural challenges to ensure buy-in and alignment, and redesigning the program to meet evolving goals for both districts and the university.
Keywords: program evaluation, community engagement, residency program, district university collaboration