<p> Because of marriage-immigrants and migrant-workers, demographic diversity has rapidly increased in South Korea since the late 1990s. Discourses of multicultural education have arisen in the field of early childhood education; they have focused on having children with diverse linguistic backgrounds adapt to Korean language and customs. What are the national goals of multicultural education policies for young children in Korea? This study investigated multicultural education policies for young children. Critical Discourse Analysis was used to examine values and hidden ideologies in policy texts. Findings demonstrate that, by borrowing and selecting favorite words from Western multicultural education models or theories, policymakers reframed early childhood multicultural education to assimilate ethnic minorities in Korea. National educational institutions functioned as the dominant form of producing and controlling the notion of multicultural family and education. It is recommended that policymakers in Korea consider experiences of teachers and voices of parents and children from culturally diverse backgrounds in developing multicultural education programs.</p>

<p>Media outlets have propagated news about teen suicides resulting from bullying and harassment because of perceived or identified sexual orientation and gender identity. However, the issues of bullying and harassment based on sexual orientation and gender identity are rarely addressed at the elementary school level because of limited resources, little training, and low incidences of such reported events. </p><p> The purpose of this study was to explore the attitudes and knowledge of elementary school principals in one Southern California school district regarding LGBTQ-related issues and to identify the requirements principals deem necessary in order to create a safe learning environment for LGBTQ students. The study relied on two sources of data, including a survey and individual interviews. After data was gathered, it was analyzed to determine common themes among participants. </p><p> Three major themes emerged from the qualitative study that connected principals' experiences and attitudes regarding the integration of LGBTQ topics in the school curriculum and LGBTQ bullying at the elementary school level. The themes included a) affirmative views that personal backgrounds influenced attitudes regarding LGBTQ issues, (b) adequate or sufficient education not provided for principals at the school district level, and (c) elementary school environments were not safe learning environments for students who identify as or are perceived to be LGBTQ. </p><p> Based on the findings of this qualitative study, three recommendations were made to assist principals in their efforts to create safe learning environments for LGBTQ elementary school students and to integrate LGBTQ topics into the classroom. These recommendations included, (a) provide elementary school principals with professional development opportunities on LGBTQ topics, (b) educate parents on LGBTQ issues, and (c) include information on LGBTQ bullying and harassment in school discipline policies and safe schools plans. </p><p> Elementary school principals are not provided with sufficient professional development and resources to address the issues of bullying of LGBTQ students or the integration of LGBTQ topics into the instructional program. This study contributed to the extant body of literature that exists to support school leaders in providing LGBTQ students with safe learning environments and information on the integration of LGBTQ related topics into the school curriculum. </p>

<p>Every college age student should have the opportunity to attend college and earn a degree, but the fiscal realities for lower income students prevent the majority from attending and the vast majority from completing college, thus perpetuating an intergenerational trend of limited postsecondary education and a likelihood of marginal income and status. Past research studies have shown that, among lower income students, those who receive higher levels of grant funding to offset college expenses are more likely to persist toward completing their educations than those who do not receive the same level of grant funding and thus are forced to rely upon other means, such as student loans or employment, to pay for college. The majority of this research was conducted prior to the recession that began in December 2007 (National Bureau of Economic Research, 2008), which has been more severe and longer lasting than any economic contraction since the Great Depression (Dwyer &amp; Lothian, 2012); more current research is needed to determine whether the educational retention behaviors of lower income students in the current challenging economic climate are positively impacted by grant funding. In this study I used quantitative methods to analyze a specific state policy change to determine whether a significant change in the grant funding provided to lower income students resulted in increased retention rates for these students. This study examines school years from 2006&ndash;2010, thus encompassing the recent financial crisis and affording an opportunity to explore the persistence behaviors of lower income students during the greatest financial crisis of modern times. The ultimate purpose of the study is to provide conclusions from the research to postsecondary policy makers in the hopes of informing policy and supporting continuing funding of need-based financial aid for lower income students. </p>

<p> The 2006 student movement, termed the Penguin Revolution for the black and white uniforms worn by high school students, and the 2011 student movement, called the Chilean Winter, a reference to the "Arab Spring," have captivated the attention of the media and scholars alike. However, little work has been done to place these student movements into a broader historical context. Historically, Chilean students have had a long record of both general political activism and specific activism over educational matters dating back over 100 years. Even the most recent student protests, which developed into a broader movement against the neoliberal policies implemented under the dictator General Augusto Pinochet, were preceded by demonstrations with similar demands dating back to at least 2000. However, these precedents do not explain why the movements developed between 2000 and 2011, rather than immediately after the fall of the dictatorship in 1990. I argue that part of the reason is because that the students in the twenty-first century were the first ones to attend high school and college who were not raised under the dictatorship and for that reason they did not fear the repression and violence their predecessors, who grew up predominantly under the dictatorship, experienced. Thus, an analysis of the history of student political activism in Chile, the history of Chilean politics, the history of the Chilean education system, and the neoliberal reforms, especially in education, is necessary to provide a historical, political, and social context for the recent student movements.</p>

<p> Collegiate secret societies, as distinguished from Greek-letter fraternal organizations, enjoyed prominence within many American campus communities from the early nineteenth century through the mid-twentieth century (Baird, 1879; Hitchcock, 1863; Slosson, 1910; Veysey, 1965). The establishment of these elite groups preceded the maturation of university administrative structures responsible for managing students&rsquo; extracurricular life, as well as the mass democratization of American higher education which occurred after World War II (Rudolph, 1990; Cohen, 2010). The presence of prestigious secret societies is documented and celebrated in college yearbooks and newspapers, reflecting a period in higher education's past when the hegemony of the white, male prevailed in student culture and fostered the composite ideal of the &ldquo;Big Man on Campus&rdquo; (&ldquo;B.M.O.C.&rdquo;) &ndash; the handsome varsity athlete, fraternity man, and club president destined for success in American public life.</p><p> Although collegiate secret societies &ldquo;disappeared&rdquo; on many campuses in the Civil Rights Era amidst accusations of elitism and reactions against established white, Anglo-Saxon Protestant norms, their legacy lingers into the twenty-first century, along with many unanswered questions about their historical role as a source of student power on campus. Their roots can be traced to the prestigious all-male boarding schools of the Northeastern United States in the late nineteenth century where patterns of upper-class masculine socialization developed. Due to a dearth of historical research on this topic, however, institutional leaders are challenged to understand the origins, purpose, and legacy of this type of student association that still holds meaning for students and other stakeholders in some campus communities. </p><p> This study utilized critical social theory from Bourdieu and Gramsci and the emerging scholarship of whiteness studies to provide an historical analysis of the rise and fall of the Order of Red Friars senior class secret society that was active at Duke University (Trinity College prior to 1924) between 1913 and 1971. Student leaders who manifested the &ldquo;B.M.O.C.&rdquo; ideal were tapped for membership in this group and collaborated with presidents, trustees, administrators, and select faculty on an agenda for student life (Durden, 1993). Utilizing archival research methods and oral history interviews, I was able to explore the involvement of the Order of Red Friars in the administration of student affairs at Duke University for sixty years during the twentieth century. This study provided basic knowledge about the phenomenon of the collegiate secret society and a deeper understanding of the cultural hegemony from which they emerged that continues to influence campus cultures today.</p><p> The history of American higher education literature documents how faculty discarded their <i>in loco parentis</i> responsibilities for managing student behavior as their field professionalized in the late nineteenth century (Rudolph, 1990; Thelin, 2011; Veysey, 1965) and how specialization of the student affairs profession coalesced four decades later in the 1930s (ACE, 1937; Biddix &amp; Schwartz, 2012; Lloyd-Jones, 1934; Schwartz, 2003). Yet, the historical role of students in the campus power structure of the early twentieth century, and particularly their role in sustaining their extracurricular affairs during this period, has been largely unexamined. This study addresses the gap that exists in the history of higher education literature about collegiate culture in the early twentieth century in the South, as well as the phenomenon of the collegiate secret society as a source of power on campus. (Thelin, 1982; Veysey, 1965).</p>

<p>This study explored the implementation of social science English-taught undergraduate degree programs in Japanese universities and investigated the challenges they face. As higher education institutions in Japan seek to become more competitive, many institutions are introducing undergraduate degrees taught exclusively through the English language. Existing research in non-Anglophone countries has shown that programs differ in their rationales for implementation and in their design and characteristics, and therefore, experience different types of implementation challenges that inspire varied responses. However, in Japan, studies in the English language focusing on the implementation of English as a medium of instruction in higher education are few and concern only short-term and graduate programs. This study used a qualitative multiple-case study design to examine four-year social science undergraduate programs at three universities from the perspectives of those involved with the implementation process. Data were generated via 27 interviews with senior administrators, faculty members and international education support staff. </p><p> The results indicate that the rationales for implementing the programs at the case-study institutions are grounded in a desire to increase competitiveness, with a focus on developing the international competencies of domestic Japanese students. Program design is oriented towards international and Japanese students in the same classrooms and is influenced by the understandings of key program implementers. Structural challenges were found to be the most significant obstacles to program implementation. In particular, institutions struggle with issues relating to program coherence and expansion, student recruitment and program identity. Structural challenges are so prominent that the study proposes a new typology of challenges facing the implementation of English-taught programs in Japan. This typology includes challenges related to the constructed understandings of the programs as institutions within the university. Practical responses to the challenges consist of discrete actions with little movement made that affects the university more broadly. Five salient elements that play an important role in the implementation of all of the case-study programs were also identified. These comprise the presence of committed leadership, implementer orientation regarding the English language, the position of the program within its institution, student recruitment, and the clarification of outcomes and goals. </p>

Studies focusing on Catholic schools as a proxy for all private education or all private religious education miss important variances within the private school sector, especially at the first grade level. The implication of this is that the vast majority of secondary school choice studies are incomplete; the elementary schooling decision of the parents should be included for all secondary school choice analyses. I augment the scope of a households first grade schooling choice by offering a rich model that includes the public schooling option and the most detailed typology of private schools to date: Catholic, Evangelical or Fundamental Protestant, Mainline Protestant or Other Faith, and Secular. Upon selecting a school type, I evaluate a students performance within this selected sector. While critics argue that selection and omitted variable biases generate test score gains for students rather than private school superiority, I include a childs fall kindergarten reading, math, and general knowledge test scores to control for a students knowledge acquired prior to kindergarten enrollment. I examine whether higher first grade test scores are the result of selection into the private sector or preeminence of the private sector. I find kindergarten test performance, household income, and parental education are significant and positive factors in selecting a school. Additionally, household religiosity and the denominational composition in the households home county are also significant determinants of schooling choice. Results from voucher simulations indicate that an increase in private school attendance does not translate to uniform enrollment increases at all types of private schools. White and Hispanic girls display similar patterns for Catholic and Protestant schools while African-American and white girls select Evangelical schools in analogous trends. Findings suggest that, while a students ability is the driving force behind first grade achievement, the type of school attended in first grade does affect a childs test score for all three tests. First grade private school enrollment makes below average achievers in kindergarten into better students in the first grade. Private schools offer no significant benefit for first grade enrollment to high achieving kindergarten students.

<p> Even with the controversial history of tracking students by ability and its possible differential, socially reproductive effects on student outcomes, tracking remains a common practice in public secondary schools. The purpose of this quantitative study was to investigate the relationship between students' performance on state standardized tests and the type of classroom assignment practice employed. Specifically, students were tracked by ability for English Language Arts (ELA) two consecutive years. Their average performance was compared to the next year's result when, at the same school, the same students were instructed in mixed ability ELA classrooms. With persistent achievement and resource gaps, continued pressures of high stakes testing, and the recent advent of including student performance data in educator evaluations, it was both timely and relevant to re-examine student to classroom assignment practices and their relationship with student achievement. </p><p> Taking advantage of a unique site in which most students experienced both "treatments" of tracked and mixed ELA instruction, changes in student performance were more attributable to time-varying factors, such as the type of classroom assignment, as opposed to time-invariant characteristics, like race, gender, or ability. Multilevel modeling accounted for the nesting of students within classrooms, while other factors such as teacher sequence, race, sex, and initial ability were also included in the model. Overall, non-advanced students who were mixed by ability with advanced students had the most significant achievement gains. Other groups also had gains, though not to a statistically significant level. This finding, with replication, offers promise for the narrowing of the achievement gap between advanced and non-advanced students. As this gap mirrors racial and socioeconomic lines, also seen in this study, mixed ability classrooms may lead to more equitable outcomes, thereby also affecting future life conditions. Educational leaders must be cognizant of how and why student to classroom decisions are being made, paying attention to both results and antecedents. Similarly, as teachers play a critical role in student achievement progress, also supported by this study, leaders must develop and support teachers so they can best meet the varying needs of students. </p>

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<p> The purpose of this qualitative research case study was to investigate leadership and funding decisions that determine key factors responsible for sustaining arts programs in public schools. This dissertation represents one of eight dissertations in a thematic dissertation group at the University of Southern California. Each researcher conducted a qualitative research case study at a separate, individual school site. While the educational climate, financial constraints and use of standardized testing to evaluate schools continue to threaten arts programs in public education, Eastland High School, the site of this case study, managed to sustain its visual and performing arts program. Understanding the key factors that sustained the arts program at Eastland High School shaped the foundation of this research study. A qualitative lens investigated three research questions to understand: (1) arts programs at the school, (2) leadership decisions that support the arts program, and (3) funding decisions made at the site. The triangulation of data identified several emerging themes relevant to the three research questions. The first significant theme found collaborative leadership built ongoing social and political capital among all stakeholders to support and sustain the arts program. The findings discovered community partnerships represented a second important theme, which contributed toward the longevity of the arts program. A third theme determined resourceful funding decisions guided school leaders to build successful arts programs. The implications of this case study indicated collaborative leadership and resourceful funding decisions sustain viable arts programs in public schools. Based on the evidence analyzed and discussed in the findings, the case study provided educational leaders with recommendations for future research and advice to sustain arts education in public schools.</p>