Marsha R. Martin Kerr, in fulfilling the requirements for an EdD in Educational and Professional Practice at Antioch University, has written and published a dissertation titled Educator Equity and Pedagogy: Multilingual Learners in Rural Schools.
Kerr conducts a sequential explanatory mixed-method study to examine how educators’ experiences and beliefs shape equitable pedagogy for multilingual learners in rural K–12 public schools. Drawing on social learning theory and social theory, she analyzes both the psychological and institutional forces that influence teaching practice. She combines quantitative data from an online survey of 31 randomly selected educators with qualitative insights from six in-person interviews to identify the challenges, resistances, and shifts required to support multilingual learners more effectively. Kerr argues that equitable pedagogy demands greater educator self-awareness, critical reflection, collaboration, and multicultural responsiveness. Her findings call for more inclusive school climates and teaching practices that recognize cultural and linguistic diversity as central to meaningful educational change.
Kerr is an Ohio-licensed secondary school educator and scholar-practitioner with more than four decades of experience serving youth and families in rural and urban communities. Her work spans educational leadership, public policy, program development, and agricultural advocacy, with a sustained focus on social justice, equity, food literacy, and community-centered learning.
Read and download Kerr’s dissertation, Educator Equity and Pedagogy: Multilingual Learners in Rural Schools, here.
