A U.N.ified front: An ethnographic examination into why five educators in underserved Houston middle schools implement the global education experience of Global ClassroomsRTM: Model U.N

This qualitative research is focused on the stories of five middle school educators in the Houston Independent School District. The purpose of the study is to discuss and possibly understand why these educators in urban, underserved schools would choose to implement the ancillary curricular experience of Global ClassroomsRTM: Model UN. Global Classrooms is a free program aimed at teaching the basic functions of the United Nations. The program is generally used outside of the provided state curriculum, or the TEKS, and is implemented various ways. In order to understand why teachers voluntarily implement this experience, I investigate the daily lives and feelings of middle school educators within the context of the pervading issues in the public educational system today. A discussion regarding social studies education and the numerous issues pervading social studies as a content area is included. The place of global education in American Education is also important to consider since it has a natural connection to both Model U.N. and social studies education. Global Education can also play a significant role in critical pedagogy which is the lens with which I view schooling and American education. Critical pedagogy then ties the content areas discussed together and places a context for the qualitative research design and results found here. Throughout the manuscript I discuss my personal background and professional experience. This was done in order to gain a sense of context and provide a backdrop for the issues under investigation in this study. I used tools, instruments and processes that reflect critical pedagogy's holistic perspective. With ethnography as my foundation, I interviewed, observed and surveyed the five educators. Three distinct themes emerged. First, was the sense of responsibility for the successes and failures of curriculum as well as the overall successes and failures of their students. Second, was the relationship formed either implicitly or explicitly between the educator and students. Third, was the influence it or the educators may have on the students. This included the student's present life and potential future as they experience learning in different ways.