MA in Sociology, 2017
School of Education
March 1, 2013
Ph.D. Student Jolene McCall Researches Institutional Oppression & Use of Individual Agency within Social Organizations
I currently am in my second year in the UC Irvine’s School of Education doctoral program, specializing in Educational Policy and Social Context. Serving in the Peace Corps in Niger increased my interest in understanding the social, cultural, and institutional practices that influence access to opportunity as well as educational outcomes. Additionally, as a Ph.D. student, my research approaches have largely been shaped by my master’s program at California State University, Long Beach, which applied a critical pedagogical approach towards education. This approach guides my work as a researcher to look critically at institutional oppression and the use of individual agency within social organizations.
For the past year, I have worked with my advisor, Dr. Maria Estela Zarate, on an early access intervention program implemented in schools in Southern California. The Kids on Campus program provides 6th grade teachers with lessons geared towards equiping students with essential college knowledge that could help facilitate a student’s path towards college. Looking specifically at the roles teachers play in disseminating college information to students, we asked teachers how they perceived themselves as sources of college knowledge. The study focuses on teachers’ roles and the actions they take, their sense of responsibility, and, also, the limitations they perceive in their roles.
Prior to attending UC Irvine, I earned a B.A. in Human Development in 2006 and an M.A. in Social and Cultural Analysis of Education in 2010 at the California State University, Long Beach.