Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of North Texas, May, 2009. / Title from title page display. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (M. Ed.)--University of Hong Kong, 1998. / Letter to the parents also in Chinese. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 125-139).

Thesis (M.Ed.)--University of Hong Kong, 1998. / Letter to the parents also in Chinese. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 125-139). Also available in print.

This research investigates parental choice in an active preschool education market in Taiwan. Most research into parental choice of school has been conducted in quasi-markets; markets that are highly regulated by government policy. The Taiwanese preschool market could be said to be a true market, operating through supply and demand and regulated by price. How parents operate in such markets and how their choice influences what is offered, is less explored. The research consisted of following eighteen parents through the choice process. Data collection methods involved diaries completed before the child started preschool and two in-depth interviews; one at the beginning of the school year and one nine months later. The parents who supplied the information came from different educational backgrounds, social status and family structures. For most it was their first experience of choosing an educational setting for their children. Using a rational choice theoretical framework the thesis argues that there was certain rationality in the parents’ process of choice but balancing the benefits and costs of preschool education was embedded in a wider family context. In addition, the findings show that whilst the parents were initially concerned about the more structural aspects of quality, their on-going engagement with the preschool provision enabled them to have a deeper understanding of process issues. However, there were other criteria that the parents used which would suggest that they were defining quality in a way that may be more influenced by Taiwanese life and culture. One implication is that the quality of preschool provision is not likely to improve if it is purely dependent on preschools wishing to meet the parents’expectations. However, neither will it improve if the contextual conditions are ignored. The implications for Taiwanese government preschool policy are discussed.

Submitted by Renata Lopes (renatasil82@gmail.com) on 2018-09-20T13:31:49Z No. of bitstreams: 1 sirleyglacienemendesdesouza.pdf: 1503191 bytes, checksum: ad800eaf05ff1431d536f24d6fc2b7d4 (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Adriana Oliveira (adriana.oliveira@ufjf.edu.br) on 2018-10-16T11:33:50Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 sirleyglacienemendesdesouza.pdf: 1503191 bytes, checksum: ad800eaf05ff1431d536f24d6fc2b7d4 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2018-10-16T11:33:50Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 sirleyglacienemendesdesouza.pdf: 1503191 bytes, checksum: ad800eaf05ff1431d536f24d6fc2b7d4 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2018-07-16 / A presente dissertação foi desenvolvida no âmbito do Mestrado Profissional em Gestão e Avaliação da Educação (PPGP) do Centro de Políticas Públicas e Avaliação da Educação da Universidade Federal de Juiz de Fora (CAEd/UFJF). Este caso de gestão teve como lócus de pesquisa as escolas públicas estaduais dos municípios de Cacoal e Ministro Andreazza em Rondônia, e como questão de investigação: que ações podem ser propostas para que o Plano de Gestão Escolar (PGE) se torne um efetivo instrumento de planejamento da gestão escolar na CRE de Cacoal-RO? Com esse propósito, apresentou como objetivos (i)descrever o PGE, plano elaborado pelos pré-candidatos a gestores escolares da SEDUC-RO durante o processo de consulta a comunidade, mostrando sua importância enquanto instrumento de planejamento que apresenta propostas de melhoria para a unidade escolar e as possibilidades de sua execução; (ii) identificar os fatores que dificultam a implementação do PGE nas escolas públicas estaduais de Cacoal e Ministro Andreazza; e, por fim (iii) Propor ações para os problemas identificados neste estudo que viabilizem a implementação do PGE nas unidades escolares estaduais dos municípios de Cacoal e Ministro Andreazza. Os autores principais que embasam o referencial teórico são: Paro (2002; 2007) e Neubert (2016) acerca da instituição escola como organização; Soares e Teixeira (2006) e Oliveira (2015), com reflexões sobre a importância da Gestão Escolar; Ferreira e Aguiar (2011) sobre demandas contemporâneas na gestão educacional; quanto aos princípios da educação e da gestão escolar, Krawczyk (1999) e Lück (2009); a respeito das dimensões da gestão escolar, Lück (2009) e Ferreira (2013) e referente ao planejamento estratégico como ferramenta de melhoria nas práticas de gestão, Lück (2009) e Mintzberg (2010). Para alcançar o objetivo proposto nesta dissertação, a metodologia adotada foi o estudo de caso. A fim de investigar quais seriam esses fatores, optamos pela abordagem qualitativa, e como instrumentos questionários aplicados aos 16 gestores escolares de Cacoal e Ministro Andreazza para levantamento inicial dos dados e, numa segunda etapa, realizamos grupos focais com o mesmo público. Os resultados evidenciaram que, embora o PGE seja um importante instrumento de planejamento para as escolas, sua implementação não é percebida como significativa pela Seduc-RO, porquanto os fatores que dificultam a sua implementação estão correlacionados à insuficiência de regulamentações, à inexistência de formação e à ineficiência da sistemática de acompanhamento. Diante dos resultados encontrados, desenvolvemos propostas de ação para a melhoria da implementação do PGE e apresentamos um Plano de Ação Educacional (PAE) no modelo 5W2H. Dentre as propostas sugerimos no PAE a elaboração de referências orientadoras específicas para elaboração do PGE, elaboração de legislação com diretrizes norteadoras para o cargo de gestor escolar, além de formação inicial e continuada dos gestores. Por fim, as dificuldades percebidas pelos gestores indicam a necessidade de sistematizar o acompanhamento da implementação do PGE na rede pública estadual de ensino de Rondônia, para que a partir dos fatores dificultadores, o processo de implementação possa ser reformulado assegurando a melhoria da qualidade na educação do Estado. / The present work was developed under the Professional Master in Management and Evaluation on Public Education (PPGP) from the Center for Public Policies and Evaluation on Education offered by the Federal University of Juiz de Fora (CAEd / UFJF). This management case had as research locus the public schools from the cities of Cacoal and Ministro Andreazza in Rondônia state. The research question was: what actions can be proposed so that the School Management Plan (PGE) becomes an effective tool for school management planning at CRE (Regional Education Coordination) from Cacoal-RO? With this purpose, the objectives of the project were: (i) to describe the PGE, a plan developed by precandidates to school administrators on SEDUC-RO during the community consultation process, showing its importance as a planning tool that presents proposals for improve the school and possibilities for its execution; (ii) to identify the factors that prevent the PGE implementation in public schools from Cacoal and Minister Andreazza; and finally (iii) to propose actions for the problems identified in this study that enable the PGE implementation in public school units from Cacoal and Ministro Andreazza. The main authors for theoretical reference are: Paro (2002; 2007) and Neubert (2016) who talk about the school institution as an organization; Soares and Teixeira (2006) and Oliveira (2015), with reflections on the importance of School Management; Ferreira and Aguiar (2011) on contemporary demands in educational management; about the education principles and school management, Krawczyk (1999) and Lück (2009); about the dimensions of school management, Lück (2009) and Ferreira (2013); and regarding strategic planning as a tool to improve management practices, Lück (2009) and Mintzberg (2010). In order to reach the objective proposed in this dissertation, the methodology adopted was the case study. For investigating what were these factors, we opted a Qualitative Approach, and as instruments we applied questionnaires to 16 school managers from Cacoal and Ministro Andreazza. Thus, we made an initial survey of the data and, as a second step, we held focus groups with the same public. The results have evidenced that although PGE is an important planning tool for schools, its implementation is not perceived as significant by Seduc (Education State Secretariat) from Rondônia, since the factors that hinder its implementation are correlated with insufficient regulations, lack of training, and inefficiency of monitoring system. In view of the results found, we developed action proposals to improve the implementation of PGE, and presented an Educational Action Plan (PAE) using the 5W2H model. Among the proposals we suggest on PAE, the elaboration of specific references for the PGE, the elaboration of legislation with guiding directives for the position of school manager, in addition to initial and continuous training of managers. Finally, the difficulties perceived by the managers indicate the need for systematize the follow-up of the PGE implementation on the public schools from Rondônia, so that from the factors that make it difficult, the implementation process can be reformulated, ensuring the quality improvement in the education from the state.

The name of this essay is The legitimacy of the free choice of school – a philosophical studyabout the value of autonomy in the context of paternalistic interventions and principles ofjustice. The aim of this essay is to examine how the free choice of school can be legitimizedthrough perspectives regarding principles of justice. The results show that the free choice ofschool can be legitimized from several different standpoints such as the intrisic value ofautonomy, the negative concept of freedom and the rights based perspective of equality.Further, the free choice of school can also be legitimized from an epistemic viewpoint aswell as through theories about fair processes and compensatory efforts. My ambition withthis study is to broaden the discourse surrounding the topic. A discussion based on ideas andprinciples is a valuable complement to the more common debate about outcome regardingthe free choice of school. / Denna uppsats heter Det fria skolvalets legitimitet – en filosofisk analys om autonominsegenvärde, paternalistiska interventioner och rättviseteoretiska principer. Syftet meduppsatsen är att undersöka hur och på vilka grunder det fria skolvalets legitimitet kanmotiveras utifrån ett rättviseteoretiskt perspektiv. Mina resultat visar att det fria skolvaletkan legitimeras utifrån ett antal olika utgångspunkter såsom autonomins intrinsikala värde,det negativa frihetsbegreppet och ett rättighetsbaserat perspektiv på jämlikhet. Det friaskolvalet kan också legitimeras utifrån ett epistemiskt perspektiv samt utifrån teorier omlegitima processer och kompensatoriska insatser. Min ambition med uppsatsen är att breddadiskussionen genom att angripa det valda området utifrån ett filosofiskt perspektiv då det iden politiska debatten kring det fria skolvalet tenderar att vara fokus på de faktiska utfallenav reformen. Min uppfattning är att en idéburen och principiell utgångspunkt i frågan är ettviktigt komplement som jag anser borde få större utrymme i debatten.

[pt] Essa dissertação tem como objetivo fazer um estudo exploratório sobre as escolhas de estabelecimentos de ensino privado no Rio de Janeiro. Está articulada ao SOCED/PUC-Rio nos estudos de Sociologia da Educação sobre a escolarização das elites. Através de entrevistas, procurou-se perceber os critérios e estratégias utilizadas pelas famílias no momento da escolha da escola de Educação Infantil e de Ensino Fundamental. Também foram utilizados dados do survey SOCED na pesquisa Contextos institucionais e a qualidade de ensino na Educação básica, (2009) para uma visão mais ampla do fenômeno. Para a interlocução com o tema foram utilizados os estudos de Zaia Brandão e Maria Alice Nogueira, assim como de seus colaboradores e também de estudos indicados por elas em seus artigos como os de Ball, Gewirtz e Bowe, Héran e Ballion, dentre outros. Além disso, o trabalho tem como orientação teórica os estudos de Pierre Bourdieu sobre a habitus, ethos e manutenção e ampliação do capital social através da escola. O primeiro capítulo apresenta a contextualização da pesquisa e a delimitação do objeto nos estudos do SOCED e da escolarização das elites. O segundo discute as estratégias metodológicas utilizadas na perspectivada articulação das entrevistas aos questionários do survey. O terceiro capítulo apresenta as famílias, sujeitos dessa pesquisa e as imagens que essas formaram sobre os estabelecimentos de ensino cogitados no momento da escolha. O capítulo 4 aborda a escolha da escola de Educação Infantil, apresentando e explicando seus principais critérios. No capítulo 5 os dados do survey do SOCED e as entrevistas são analisados de maneira conjunta para tentar compreender o peso da qualidade do ensino Fundamental para os setores estudados. / [en] The purpose of this dissertation is to make an exploratory study on the choices of private educational institutions in Rio de Janeiro. It is linked to the SOCED/PUC- Rio in the Sociology of Education studies about elite schooling. Based on interviews, it sought to perceive the criteria and strategies used by families when choosing Child Education and Elementary Education schools. In order to achieve a more comprehensive view of the phenomenon, data from the SOCED survey in the research entitled Institutional contexts and the quality of teaching in basic education (2009) were used. Studies by Zaia Brandão, Maria Alice Nogueira and their collaborators were applied in the interlocution with the subject, as well as studies recommended by them in their articles, such as the ones by Ball, Gewirtz and Bowe, Héran and Ballion, among others. In addition, the work has as its theoretical orientation, the studies by Pierre Bourdieu on habitus ethos and the maintenance and amplification of the social capital through the school.The first chapter presents the contextualization of the research and the objective s delimitation in the SOCED s studies and the elites schooling. The second chapter discusses the methodological strategies used in the interviews perspective articulation and survey questionnaires. The third chapter presents the families, subjects of this research, and the images formed by them about the learning institutions taken into consideration when making a choice. Chapter IV broaches the selection of a Child Education school, presenting and explaining its main criteria. In Chapter V, the SOCED s survey data and interviews are analyzed as a whole, in an effort to understand the weight that quality of Fundamental education has in the studied sectors.

Abstract The disquiet around parent-school relationships is the focus of this study. During transitioning to high school, the boundaries around this relationship changes. Few studies have addressed these changes, particularly from parents’ perspectives. It is parents’ voices which are central to this study. This dissertation uses the standpoint of parents, which is often absent or silent in educational literature and research. Within a critical and constructivist paradigm, and influenced by Institutional Ethnography, two elementary schools (divergent in race, social class, ethnicity and immigrant status) and one high school are the sites for interviews with 14 parents and 13 educators. 11 parents were re-interviewed after their children entered high school. Four questions were addresses: How has parent involvement come to be understood? How is the parent-school relationship experienced by parents and educators? How and why are decisions made around the transition and school choice process? Do parents’ perceptions align/vary from those of educators? Based on historically constructed notions and assumptions, parent involvement is usually understood as a visible and public demonstration of appropriate and caring parenting ignoring interactions outside of the public’s gaze. Illustrated through Parent Council membership, parent involvement is gendered, classed, culturally related and race, ethnic and immigrant status specific. Some parents had more social, cultural, economic and emotional capital to bring to the transition process, while others were marginalized and had to rely on/trust the education system. School and Board policies and procedures were examined and their varied affects on parents’ experiences and choices analysed. Educators assisted in disseminating assumptions around parent-school relationships and contributed to inequitable parent knowledge, partially as a result of too little training. By examining social, economic and cultural positioning of parents within local school communities, positive parent-school relationships can be nurtured, which political pundits and educationalists have failed to accomplish. During transitioning, organization and social discontinuities contributed to parent and school disconnects and constructed borderlands in the parent-child-school relationship. This study evidenced the fragility of the parent-school relationship, especially during this vulnerable time for parents and thus, reflective questions are presented in hope of initiating a crucial conversation in local school communities.

Abstract The disquiet around parent-school relationships is the focus of this study. During transitioning to high school, the boundaries around this relationship changes. Few studies have addressed these changes, particularly from parents’ perspectives. It is parents’ voices which are central to this study. This dissertation uses the standpoint of parents, which is often absent or silent in educational literature and research. Within a critical and constructivist paradigm, and influenced by Institutional Ethnography, two elementary schools (divergent in race, social class, ethnicity and immigrant status) and one high school are the sites for interviews with 14 parents and 13 educators. 11 parents were re-interviewed after their children entered high school. Four questions were addresses: How has parent involvement come to be understood? How is the parent-school relationship experienced by parents and educators? How and why are decisions made around the transition and school choice process? Do parents’ perceptions align/vary from those of educators? Based on historically constructed notions and assumptions, parent involvement is usually understood as a visible and public demonstration of appropriate and caring parenting ignoring interactions outside of the public’s gaze. Illustrated through Parent Council membership, parent involvement is gendered, classed, culturally related and race, ethnic and immigrant status specific. Some parents had more social, cultural, economic and emotional capital to bring to the transition process, while others were marginalized and had to rely on/trust the education system. School and Board policies and procedures were examined and their varied affects on parents’ experiences and choices analysed. Educators assisted in disseminating assumptions around parent-school relationships and contributed to inequitable parent knowledge, partially as a result of too little training. By examining social, economic and cultural positioning of parents within local school communities, positive parent-school relationships can be nurtured, which political pundits and educationalists have failed to accomplish. During transitioning, organization and social discontinuities contributed to parent and school disconnects and constructed borderlands in the parent-child-school relationship. This study evidenced the fragility of the parent-school relationship, especially during this vulnerable time for parents and thus, reflective questions are presented in hope of initiating a crucial conversation in local school communities.

published_or_final_version / Education / Master / Master of Education