ABSTRACT FINDING THEIR WAY: A CRITICAL ETHNOGRAPHY OF FIVE OF AFRICAN AMERICAN WOMEN EDUCATORS’ EARLY EXPERIENCES TO DEVELOP INTO CULTURALLY RELEVANT PEGAGOGUES by Rachel Beatrice Dunbar Teacher education programs have been charged with the responsibility to equip all teachers to work successfully in increasingly diverse elementary classrooms around the nation (NCES, 1996). However, the composition of the nation’s teaching force has not kept pace with these changes. Additionally, there is concern that many Pre-service teachers are ill prepared to work with culturally diverse students, partly because teacher education programs (TEPs) often adopt a monocultural, one-size-fits-all approach to preparation, ignoring race, class, and gender considerations (King & Castnell, 2001). African American women who seek preparation are greatly impacted by this singular approach to teacher education, which influences the way in which they experience their training. Consequently, they are often underserved in TEPs (Cozart & Price, 2005). It has been argued that TEPs will have to broaden their approaches to preparation by using a culturally relevant approach to teaching (Gay & Kirkland, 2003). Given the necessity for teachers to be equipped to meet the needs of culturally diverse learners in the classroom, it is imperative that TEPs are designed to cultivate culturally appropriate practices within Pre-service teachers. The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore the nature of the diversity preparation of five African American women and their teaching experiences following the completion of their teacher education training. The critical ethnographic case studies that developed were theoretically framed in Culturally Relevant Pedagogy (Ladson-Billings, 1995), Black Feminist Thought (Collins, 1990), and Womanism (Phillips, 2006). Data were collected from classroom observations, individual, and group interviews. Using a system of open coding (Strauss & Corbin, 1998), data analysis resulted in the emergence of three overarching themes: a) the formal diversity preparation offered by the university, b) the women’s individual perspectives of cultural relevance, and c) the ways in which the women incorporated their perspectives into their classroom practices. The experiences the young women encountered significantly influenced their understandings of culture and its impact on learning for diverse student populations. The results of this study suggest the need for teacher educators to reconsider how TEPs are structured to better prepare minority Pre-service teachers in the future to teach culturally diverse students.

This dissertation aims to contribute to the field of economics of competition policy by analyzing the demand structure and the market power in the Turkish beverage industry and in the cola market in particular. First, a demand system for the beverage products has been estimated by using a multi-stage linearized Almost Ideal Demand System (AIDS). Using the own-price elasticity of cola in a SSNIP test (Small but Significant Non-Transitory Increase in Price), it is shown that cola market consists of a distinct relevant product market. Then, the demand elasticities of cola products at brand and package level have been estimated by the simple and nested logit models. Finally, the estimated demand elasticities of cola products have been used in measuring the degree of market power and predicting the effects of a hypothetical merger between Pepsi and Cola Turca by using a merger simulation technique. The results show that all cola suppliers have large price-cost margins for most of their products. Prices of the merging parties increase in average by 15 - 21% after the merger. The merger also causes the market price to increase by 16- 22% and consumer surplus to decrease by nearly 5% in average. Finally, depending on these results, the thesis recommends a stricter merger control criterion than dominance criterion for competition policy in Turkey.

The purpose of this study was to identify the link between culture and pedagogy through the implementation of the Common Core Standards with the goal of increasing the instructional outcomes of African-American students. This study investigated culturally relevant pedagogy implementing of Common Core Standards through the variables of teacher efficacy, instructional delivery of Common Core Standards, cultural synchronization, and cultural sensitivity. Furthermore, the research examined Ladson-Billings criterion for culturally relevant teaching and its application to the 21st century student as they encounter Common Core Standards. This research was conducted at a primary public school with a large minority population and located in the suburbs of Atlanta. The participants in this study were certified classroom teachers, support teachers, and instructional lead teachers. Data were collected in a triangulated fashion through surveys, interviews, observations, and attitude scales. The study findings manifested how the characteristics of culturally relevant teaching aligned with regulated standards could create a connection between culture and education for African-American students. The findings and conclusions of this study suggest that cultural characteristics of teachers have an impact of culturally relevant pedagogy implementing Common Core Standards. Teachers are cultural beings and utilize their own cultural backgrounds to identify differences between themselves and African-American students. These differences manifested themselves as teachers worked to implement new standards while using culturally relevant teaching practices. Practical implications and recommendations based on findings and conclusions are offered in this study.

In the United States, diverse learners, defined by race, ethnicity, language, and socioeconomic status, do poorly in mathematics in disproportionate numbers. Research suggests that teachers who use instructional practices that build on the cultural strengths of racial and ethnic minorities can increase academic achievement for these students. Using culturally relevant pedagogy as a theoretical framework, this qualitative case study investigated the equity pedagogy of three secondary mathematics student interns in an alternative teacher preparation program during their student teaching experience. The following research questions were also investigated: What school factors do the interns perceive to influence their decisions in implementing equity pedagogy? Which aspects of the teacher education program do the interns perceive to most influence their implementation of equity pedagogy? For the purpose of this study, equity pedagogy is defined as modifying instructional practices in order to facilitate the academic achievement of students from diverse racial, ethnic, and/or socioeconomic backgrounds by applying the components of Zeichner et al.'s (1998) curriculum and instruction principles specifically to the secondary mathematics classroom. Data collected through videotaped classroom observations, field notes, semistructured interviews, and examination of the participants’ reflective journals were analyzed and categorized as follows: building on prior knowledge, high expectations for diverse learners, knowing students well, culturally responsive pedagogical skills, critical consciousness, sharing of power, and multiple funds of knowledge. Data analysis showed evidence of all seven aspects of equity pedagogy by one or more of the participants, although they demonstrated these practices to varying degrees. Colorblindness, lack of appropriate mentors, time constraints, the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics Standards (NCTM, 2000), and culturally responsive pedagogical skills that had been modeled in their mathematics methods courses most affected the interns’ implementation of equity pedagogy. These results indicate that preservice teachers need a framework to critically reflect on issues of equity in education, time to develop equitable teaching practices, and teacher educators that go beyond didactic discussions of inequity to make explicit the equitable teaching practices they want their students to learn.

近年來，世界青年就業問題持續發酵，中國大陸與台灣學生的就業問題也同樣嚴重。拋開大環境下的客觀原因，學生自身也存在不少問題，比如就業意識不強，就業能力不足等。生涯成熟度是個體在完成與其年齡相應的職業生涯發展任務的心理準備程度，是衡量個體生涯發展水平的有效工具，為提高學生就業能力和相關機構開展就業輔導提供理論基礎。目前，對生涯成熟度的研究逐漸增多，但針對兩岸學生的比較研究還為數甚少。因此展開這方面的研究是有意義的。 本研究爬梳整理了歸於生涯成熟度的的相關文獻，借鑑成熟的生涯成熟度量表，并進一步篩選，以此問卷對1404名政治大學和南京大學的學生進行生涯成熟度調查。研究結果發現：1.本次研究的學生樣本總體生涯成熟度處於較為成熟的狀態；2.學生生涯成熟度並不存在學校的差異；3.學生生涯成熟度存在性別的差異，男性的生涯成熟度高於女性；4.學生生涯成熟度存在教育程度的差異，受教育程度越高，生涯成熟度越高；5.學生生涯成熟度存在年級的差異，大學期間，兩者之間存在正相關關係，但大學延畢生的生涯成熟度最低；研究所期間，生涯成熟度隨年級增長而下降；6.學生生涯成熟度不存在文理專業的差異；7.學生生涯成熟度存在在校成績的差異，兩者為正相關關係；8.學生生涯成熟度存在學生幹部的差異，有學生幹部經驗的學生生涯成熟度高於沒有經驗的學生，擔任班級幹部的學生生涯成熟度高於其他類型的學生幹部；9.學生生涯成熟度不存在社團經驗的差異；10.學生生涯成熟度存在工作經驗的差異，有工作經驗的學生生涯成熟度高於沒有經驗的學生。生涯成熟度隨著工作時間的增長呈現「S」型增長；11.學生生涯成熟度不存在獨生子女的差異；12.學生生涯成熟度存在家庭經濟狀況的差異，家庭經濟較差的學生生涯成熟度最高；13.學生生涯成熟度不存在母親教育程度的差異，存在父親教育程度的差異，父母教育程度越低，生涯成熟度越高；14.學生生涯成熟度不存在學生生源的差異。 / In recent years, the youth employment is becoming more and more serious. Apart from the objective reasons, students’ inadequate employment competitiveness and consciousness also account for the status quo. Career maturity is the level of preparedness, an individual reaches when dealing with his/ herage- appropriate career development tasks. So, career maturity is an effective measurement to test individual’s career developmentlevel and provides the theoretical basis for practical study. Now, more and more people start to research the career maturity, but the research specifically aimed at the comparison of Chinese Mainland and Taiwan is rare. Therefore, the study is inevitably. Based on related literature review on career maturity, referring to the Career Maturity Questionnaire, the study discusses the career maturity and its affecting factors of students of Nanjing University and National Chengchi University. The results are as following: 1. Students’career maturity are not high;2. Campus, major, club experience and the sources of students bear little influence on career maturity;3. There is significant difference in gender;4. There is significant relation between students’ career maturity and their education degree;5. The career maturity differences in grades;6. The career maturity is in positive relation to academic score;7. The students who have the student leader and work experience get higher career maturity than others;8. The fact of being the only child or not does not relate to career maturity significantly;9. Family economic background impacts students’ career maturity;10. Parents’ education level has negative correlation with career maturity.

The current program of research contributes to the World Health Organisation's (WHO, 2004) recent call to pool global resources in the attempt to uncover the most effective countermeasures and polices for the prevention of road trauma. Specifically, this program of research investigates the persuasive outcomes of different emotional health messages in an important applied context, road safety. In this context the use of negative, fear-based approaches has predominated with limited use of more positive-based approaches such as humorous- or pride-based emotional appeals. The overarching aim of the current research program was to examine the effectiveness (i.e., persuasiveness) of positive and negative emotional appeals and, specifically, the issue- or message-relevant affect that such appeals evoke. An additional aim was to ascertain the relative influence and effectiveness of positive and negative emotional appeals for specific target audiences. Particular attention was given to the effectiveness of such messages for males, a high risk road user group of particular concern. The research program also aimed to examine the relative roles and interplay of emotion and cognition in determining message effectiveness. The research focused upon the cognitive constructs of response efficacy (i.e., the extent to which a message incorporates coping strategies and information as well as the extent that individuals' perceive a message as incorporating such coping strategies and information) and involvement (i.e., the extent to which individuals perceive an issue or message as personally relevant and/or as being at risk of experiencing).----- The research program may be conceptualised as three stages, with each stage comprised of an empirical study and one or more manuscripts. The first stage of the research explored the roles and effectiveness of negative and positive emotional appeals. With a substantial body of literature available on the use of fear as a persuasive strategy, Paper One reviewed the theoretical and empirical evidence relating to the function and effectiveness of such appeals. This paper highlighted the mixed findings that have been reported and the controversy surrounding the nature of the fear-persuasion relationship. This paper also highlighted the importance of cognitive components of a message and, in particular, the need to incorporate high levels of response efficacy and to be cognisant of the issue of threat and message relevance.----- Paper Two was based on qualitative research derived from focus groups of licensed drivers (N = 16). The study investigated the roles and effectiveness of positive and negative emotional appeals in road safety advertisements addressing speeding and drink driving. The results suggested that positive and negative emotional appeals may serve different functions. Positive emotional appeals were regarded as a potentially efficacious means of promoting the message of prevention and to model safe behaviour and the rewards received whereas negative emotional appeals were regarded an important way to remind drivers of the dangers of driving.----- The second stage of the research program endeavoured to extend upon the findings reported in the first stage by providing an empirical comparison of positive, humorous appeals and negative, fear-based appeals on a range of outcome measures and over time. In Paper Three, the type of emotional appeal (positive/humorous, negative/fear), level of response efficacy (low, high), level of involvement (low, high), and gender were manipulated in a 2 x 2 x 2 x 2 mixed group design. Licensed drivers (N = 201) completed either a paper-and-pencil or internet-based version of a questionnaire. Prior to the anti-drink driving television advertisements being shown, pre-exposure were assessed. Attitudes and intentions were then assessed immediately after exposure and attitudes, intentions, and behaviour, 2 to 4 weeks later. The results provided evidence of the greater persuasiveness of negative appeals immediately after exposure and greater improvement of positive appeals over time. Also, the results highlighted the importance of high levels of response efficacy, irrespective of emotional appeal type. Paper Three also supported and extended upon earlier findings by examining third-person perceptions in relation to positive, humorous emotional appeals. The results revealed that males reported significantly greater overall influence both to themselves personally, as well as other drivers in general, than females for the humorous appeals. Further, consistent with the multiple roles of affect posited by Elaboration Likelihood Model, explanations were provided for the differential effectiveness of positive and negative affect.----- An additional aim of the second stage of the research program was to clarify an important methodological issue; the sampling adequacy of traditional university student samples versus internet-based samples for health message persuasion research. Fear appeal empirical literature has been criticised for its over-reliance upon student samples. Paper Four examined the extent that the internet may function as an efficacious means of accessing drivers for road safety advertising research. The sample characteristics and results obtained from student and internet samples of drivers were compared empirically. The results provided support for the greater diversity and representativeness of the internet sample and suggested that the two sampling approaches produce equivalent results. This paper served to inform the validity of prior research and informed the choice of sampling methodologies for the subsequent research stage reported in Paper Five.----- The third stage of the research built upon the preceding stages and, most notably, broadened the scope of emotional appeals examined by comparing a range of negative and positive emotional appeals addressing the issue of speeding. Drawing upon the Rossiter-Percy (1987, 1997) motivational model, Paper Five examined two different negative and two positive emotional appeals designed as audio messages. Specifically, the type of emotional appeal (Problem Avoidance/Fear based; Problem Removal/ Agitation or annoyance-based; Social Approval/ Pride-based; and Intellectual Mastery/ Humour-based), level of response efficacy (low, high), level of involvement (low, high), and gender were manipulated in a 2 x 2 x 2 x 2 fully between groups design. A range of persuasion outcome measures, including attitudes and intentions, were assessed immediately after exposure and 1 month later. Further, the study assessed adaptive (message acceptance) as well as maladaptive (message rejection) intentions. The results provided evidence of the effectiveness of humorous-based appeals for males and highlighted that appeals of the same valence (positive or negative) need not have the same persuasive effects. The results also supported the importance of response efficacy for all appeal types and highlighted that a message's overall effectiveness requires consideration of both message acceptance and rejection rates.----- Overall, the current research program, based upon a sound, multi-disciplinary theoretical framework, provided evidence for the need to broaden the scope of emotional appeals in the road safety advertising context and which may also be relevant within a wider health persuasion context. The results of the three studies have important theoretical and practical implications for future campaign development which are discussed.

Made available in DSpace on 2014-12-17T15:53:15Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 JoaoRTB.pdf: 336138 bytes, checksum: 9b4ba6bdeac81481a2f150f62f2c5f42 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2006-05-19 / This study has as main objective to verify the proportionality of the costs with elaboration of didactic material and costs with tutelage and instruction incurred in a higher education institution, located in national territory, and that offers a degree course in the education area in the modality of EaD online. The purpose of the measurement of this proportionality of the costs was of answering these they are, among other, the relevant costs incurred by the institution research object. This is a research of exploratory stamp whose methodological procedure adopted for your development, in what it refers the collection, analysis of the data and the investigation means, it is the case study, as well as the documental and bibliographical research. The found results indicate that the costs with elaboration of didactic material and the costs with tutelage and instruction are relevant, however they are not the only ones considered as such. The costs involved with acquisition and operation of specific softwares they also constitute an relevant costs. The structure of the costs can be altered in agreement with the analyzed period and in agreement with the characteristics of synchronism of the offered course. It was also verified that the technology used in this education modality it ends up generating additional costs incurred with professionals of specific knowledge in technology / Este estudo tem como objetivo principal verificar a representatividade dos custos com elabora??o de material did?tico e custos com tutoria e instru??o incorridos em uma institui??o de ensino superior, localizada em territ?rio nacional, e que oferece um curso de gradua??o na ?rea de educa??o na modalidade de EaD online. O prop?sito da medi??o desta representatividade dos custos foi de responder se estes s?o, entre outros, os custos relevantes incorridos pela institui??o objeto de pesquisa. Trata-se de uma pesquisa de cunho explorat?rio cujo procedimento metodol?gico adotado para o seu desenvolvimento, no que se refere a coleta, an?lise dos dados e os meios de investiga??o, ? o estudo de caso, bem como a pesquisa documental e bibliogr?fica. Os resultados encontrados indicam que os custos com elabora??o de material did?tico e os custos com tutoria e instru??o s?o relevantes, entretanto n?o s?o os ?nicos considerados como tal. Os custos envolvidos com aquisi??o e opera??o de softwares espec?ficos constituem tamb?m um custo relevante. A estrutura dos custos pode ser alterada de acordo com o per?odo analisado e de acordo com as caracter?sticas de sincronismo do curso oferecido. Verificou-se tamb?m que a tecnologia utilizada nesta modalidade de educa??o acaba gerando custos adicionais incorridos com profissionais de conhecimento espec?fico em tecnologia

abstract: The Kasturba Gandhi Balika Vidyalaya (KGBV) policy scheme launched in 2004 by the Ministry of Human Resource Development, the Government of India, aims to provide secondary level education (grade 6-8) for girls residing predominantly in minority communities, the Scheduled Caste (SC), the Scheduled Tribe (ST), and the Other Backward Caste (OBC). Since its launch, the Government of India established 2,578 KGBV schools in 27 states and union territories (UTs). The present study examines the new policy and its implementation at three KGBV schools located in rural villages of Uttar Pradesh (UP), India. The purpose was to analyze the Government of India's approach to increasing education opportunity and participation for educationally disadvantaged girls using the empowerment framework developed by Deepa Narayan. Observations at three schools, interviews with teachers and staff members of the implementation agency (i.e., Mahila Samakhya (MS)), and surveys administered to 139 teachers were conducted over a four month period in 2009. Adopting creative teaching approaches and learning activities, MS creates safe learning community which is appropriate for the rural girls. MS gives special attention to nurturing the girls' potential and empowering them inside and outside the school environment through social discussion, parental involvement, rigid discipline and structure, health and hygiene education, and physical and mental training. Interviews with the state program director and coordinators identified some conflicts within government policy schemes such as the Teacher-pupil ratios guidelines as a part of the programs for the universalization of elementary education. Major challenges include a high turnover rate of teachers, a lack of female teachers, a lack of provision after Class 8, and inadequate budget for medical treatment. Recommendations include promoting active involvement of male members in the process of girls' empowerment, making MS approaches of girls' education in rural settings standardized for wider dissemination, and developing flexible and strong partnership among local agencies and government organizations for effective service delivery. / Dissertation/Thesis / Ph.D. Educational Leadership and Policy Studies 2011

abstract: Despite its rich history in the English classroom, popular culture still does not have a strong foothold in first-year composition (FYC). Some stakeholders view popular culture as a “low-brow” topic of study (Bradbury, 2011), while others believe popular culture distracts students from learning about composition (Adler-Kassner, 2012). However, many instructors argue that popular culture can cultivate student interest in writing and be used to teach core concepts in composition (Alexander, 2009; Friedman, 2013; Williams, 2014). This dissertation focuses on students’ perceptions of valuable writing—particularly with regards to popular culture—and contributes to conversations about what constitutes “valuable” course content. The dissertation study, which was conducted in two sections of an FYC course during the Spring 2016 semester, uses three genre domains as a foundation: academic genres, workplace genres, and pop-culture genres. The first part of the study gauges students’ prior genre knowledge and their beliefs about the value of academic, workplace, and pop-culture genres through pre- and post-surveys. The second part of the study includes analysis of students’ remix projects to determine if and how students can meet FYC learning outcomes by working within each domain. Through this study, as well as through frameworks in culturally sustaining pedagogy, writing studies, and genre studies, this dissertation aims to assist in the reconciliation of opposing views surrounding the content of FYC while filling in research gaps on the knowledge, interests, and perceptions of value students bring into the writing classroom. Ultimately, this dissertation explores how pop-culture composition can facilitate student learning just as well as academic and workplace composition, thereby challenging course content that has traditionally been privileged in FYC. / Dissertation/Thesis / Doctoral Dissertation English 2017

abstract: This dissertation describes a qualitative research study that was conducted in order to deconstruct the notion of trauma using a resiliency framework in one Pueblo Indian community in New Mexico. Trauma is widely discussed in relation to mental health issues impacting Indigenous peoples worldwide, as demonstrated in my review of the literature and throughout this work. Yet, the result of most research tends towards pointing out deficiencies in Indigenous communities. Rarely, if ever, is trauma explored through a strengths-based and resiliency approach. This study represents the first attempt to do so in and with a Pueblo Indian community. As a Pueblo researcher working with my own community of Kewa, my goal was to go back to the very people consistently being studied, that is, the Indigenous community, and to re-examine what is trauma, including its definitions and with a focus on local culturally-based interventions. This work is broken down into three components that are woven together through the common theme of understanding, deconstructing, and addressing trauma: a journal article, book chapter and policy brief. The journal article is titled: “Walking the Path: A Pueblo Journey through Trauma and Healing.” The journal article begins by reviewing concepts on trauma and resilience documented in a literature. I both review the literature and offer critiques from the perspective of a Pueblo Indian researcher working in the field of health. This segues into my dissertation study. A series of eight qualitative, semi-structured interviews were conducted using an interview guide with open-ended questions. I found that participants reported ample evidence of both trauma and resilience, documenting the need for further research in this area and, most importantly, a values-based intervention. Critical in my research findings is that participants revealed the types of trauma relevent to Pueblo people, which points to our understanding of local issues that may also resonate with the experiences of other Indigenous peoples but that are intended to speak to Pueblo communities. Through my research, I consistently assert that understanding trauma also includes the need to document how Pueblo people have coped and overcome their trauma. These forms of resilience were also documented in the findings. The book chapter is titled, “Using Pueblo Values to Heal from Trauma.” This section of the dissertation details Pueblo values and the implications on trauma. Pueblo values are described in detail based on my research and explicated in relation to theory that I propose. In this book chapter, I argue that these Pueblo values play an integral role in how we cope and heal from trauma. To summarize what participants explained, the idea is proposed that following these values will lead you to “the right path.” Suggestions for an ideal intervention based on participant interviews include the development of a values-based curriculum whose success is contingent on following Pueblo values that teaches values as defined by the Pueblo community. My dissertation concludes with a policy section that focuses on “Finding the Path when you have Fallen Off.” This section talks about “cultural freezing” and the need to integrate positive cultural identity in youth, who are especially vulnerable in Indigenous communities, through the development of a values-based curriculum. The policy section will focus on the implications of trauma concepts defined for Native People that have demonstrated the need to process trauma. In order to process trauma, culturally-relevant frameworks and curricula such as “Transcending the Trauma” or “Gathering of Native Americans” (GONA) have been developed to help guide communities to begin the conversation around trauma. These discussions help to raise awareness around trauma and help people begin their healing journey. However, these developed concepts, frameworks and curricula have only started the journey and now there is a significant need for interventions to sustain recovery from trauma. These interventions also must include levels of individual and community readiness to address trauma and align with the values of the community and individual. It is a step we need to take to decolonize education and unfreeze culture / Dissertation/Thesis / Doctoral Dissertation Justice Studies 2018