The Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) was first passed in 1965 and has since been reauthorized several times, including as No Child Left Behind in 2001 and the Every Student Succeeds Act of 2015. The ESEA seeks to address the needs of low-income students; however, decades of reform efforts and government reports documenting inequality have done little to close gaps in educational resources or outcomes for marginalized groups. Accountability systems based on standardized testing are seen by policymakers on the Left and Right as the best way to improve education for marginalized groups, improve students’ economic preparedness, hold schools accountable for the funds they spend, and maintain an objective meritocracy. This paper argues that testing is a flawed tool to achieve the goal of education equality as accountability systems rely on flawed assumptions influenced by conservative and neoliberal economic ideologies.

Thesis (PhD (Education))--Stellenbosch University, 2008. / The dissertation investigates whether liberal conceptions of autonomy are relevant to higher education in African. And if they are relevant, the dissertation further examines the extent to which liberal conceptions of autonomy can enhance governance arrangements of the higher education system. The focus of the research is on governance arrangements. It proceeds by exploring selected cases of African universities in order to show that these universities function autonomously along a continuum of less autonomous to more autonomous (or substantively autonomous) systems, and argues that universities with the least autonomy can be said to function as less liberal institutions and those with more autonomy function as liberal universities. Different philosophical conceptions of autonomy are examined (in Chapter 4) to foreground what may be considered as constitutive meanings or marks of liberal autonomy. The constituent elements include freedom, rationality and objectivity, authenticity and identity, responsibility, critical thinking, and the enhancement of a vibrant critical community. This discussion has considered autonomy from a specific historical context of conceptual theorisation. In view of this, autonomy can be considered as more liberal and / or less liberal depending on the characteristics of the constituent elements. A continuum exists in conceptions of autonomy. This dissertation argues for a liberal communitarian position of autonomy where the “encumbered self” is acknowledged together with its life circumstances (Callan, 1997; Sandel, 1984). The recognition of the situatedness of being further sustains the concept of a deliberative process of engagement and promotes the public good. The dissertation has also examined the development of higher education in Germany, England and the United States in order to understand how conceptions of autonomy in each of these systems have developed against the background of the particular societies at the different historical moments. For instance, Wittrock‟s (1993) account of the universities in Western Europe, England and iv America acknowledges that as much as universities are situational; that universities are neither disembodied nor mindless in terms of how they frame their missions, yet again the same universities represent a particular function and identity as reflective spaces in different societies across generations. This discussion has further looked at university autonomy through the symbolisms of the University of Reason, the University of Culture, and the University of Excellence (Readings, 1996). Chapter Five has argued that neoliberalism and globalisation can make university governance less autonomous. Despite that neoliberalism and globalisation have been ushered in to make the university space the most dynamic in research and technology, such an approach has ushered in a competition-concentrated model of higher education in Europe and America (Scott, 2006: 129-130). While acknowledging that “ economic and technological forces have impacted on the university, undermining some of its modernist assumptions based on the idea of autonomy and underpinned by academic self-governance”, Delanty (2004: 248-249) considers these shifts and forces as multidirectional and not uni-linear in the sense of one replacing another. The dissertation argues that the African higher education system has similarly been affected by globalisation and neo-liberalism. Despite their being founded on notions of freedom, globalisation and neoliberalism undermine the practice and governance of higher education on the African continent. This dissertation argues that the function of universities is not just to focus on its economic extension but also and more importantly its civic role, and proposes that higher education in Africa can fulfil its civic role by the creation of a cosmopolitan citizen. In this way, the African university has a real chance to widen its autonomy. In conclusion, the implications of this envisaged civic role of the university on academic freedom and institutional autonomy are also examined.

Malaysians’ journeys to pursue graduate education in the U.S. generate more than just degree attainment. This dissertation looks at how experiences in the U.S., both in graduate school and in the workplace, influenced highly educated Malaysians, especially in their exploration of push and pull factors that influence their decisions to remain in the U.S. or to return to Malaysia. This study focuses on twenty-two participants comprised of those who have returned to Malaysia, those who are working in the U.S. on non-immigrant visas, those who became Permanent Residents and those who are naturalized U.S. citizens. The first major finding demonstrates that decisional turning points emerged mainly based upon national policies and employment opportunities prompted by the high demand for talented human capital. Such turning points are crucial telling moments of when individuals make decisions. The second major finding is that push and pull factors -- which include economic conditions and opportunities, quality of life, social justice and freedom perspectives, as well as social network/ social capital -- are assessed through the comparative views acquired between living in Malaysia and in the U.S. The third major finding is that the challenges and experiences participants encountered in the U.S. prompted the formation of transnationalism, wherein their identities, behaviors and values are not limited by the location in which they live. They use a dual frame of reference to evaluate their experiences in the U.S. and the continuous relationships with their family and communities in Malaysia. Understanding the notion of transnationalism in the process of individuals’ decision making could help states develop policies that promote brain circulation. Policies that support this global mobility of the highly educated and skilled workforce would not just benefit those nations that send and receive students for higher education enrollment. Because 1) the knowledge economy demands the global flow of highly educated workers and 2) people who study transnationally develop a flexible sense of identity and location, policies that enable international mobility for brain circulation are significant for all nations.

For the last 25 years, research on the effects of community colleges on baccalaureate degree attainment has concluded that community colleges drastically reduce the likelihood of attaining a bachelor's degree compared to the effects of four-year institutions on this likelihood. The thesis of this dissertation is that community colleges have been misjudged as institutions that tend to perpetuate social and economic stratification; what previous studies on the topic have found is based on systematic differences in the student populations. Community college students are consistently more at risk of failing academically than four-year students. Then, the positive impact that four-year colleges have on their students compared to the impact of two-year colleges is to a great extent due to the fact that four-year students tend to have more resources and means to handle college requirements than two-year students. The main challenges to analyze two- and four-year sector effects relies on identifying community college students who resemble four-year college students and then compare their outcomes. This dissertation expands on previous research that has only looked at the effect of community colleges on students' educational outcomes by including labor market outcomes. The analyses conducted in this study primarily relied on propensity score matching (PSM) and the Heckman two-stage estimation procedures to reduce bias in the analysis by accounting for non-random selection into the treatment. In addition, the analytic samples were disaggregated by gender and ethnicity. To estimate the effects of interest, a nationally representative sample that is longitudinal and panel in nature was used: The National Education Longitudinal Study of 1988 (NELS:88).Results revealed that neither the two- nor the four-year sectors were able to help students with very low probabilities of graduation from a four-year college. A new financial aid approach that bridges merit-based and aid-based perspectives is proposed. Community colleges, by welcoming a greater proportion of first-time, full-time undergraduate students, many of whom are underrepresented in higher education, and by helping their students to perform similarly than four-year college students in the outcomes analyzed, are conceptualized as engines for mobility helping surpass economic and social stratification of opportunities in American society.

The study was concentrated on the period following the first democratic elections for a new government in South Africa, that is, post -1994 up to the year 2000. The change from a system based on fixed apartheid ideology to a more open and democratic one meant that the political scene became more characterized by fierce competition and volatility. The aim of the research was to understand the nature of the contestation as it manifests itself in both the development and implementation of school governance policy at national, provincial and local levels in a climate of political change and turbulence.

This study is interested in defining new variables that contribute to the explanation of whether or not an individual applies to postsecondary institutions. Prior research has explained differences based on demographic variables, such as first generation status, income and race, and differences in information and social support that an individual possesses. While these variables have a significant effect on the decision, they do not completely explain why individuals decide to pursue postsecondary education. This research suggests that how an individual moves through the decision process, as well as how information is interpreted and used will have an effect on the ultimate decision outcome. The Sense-Making model (Dervin, 2003) is adapted here to define the differences in the decision process. A telephone survey was conducted with a randomly selected sample of 448 residents of the Commonwealth of Virginia asking them to describe their decision process regarding participating in postsecondary education based on the variables comprising the Sense-Making model. Stepwise logistic regression was used to determine the effect of the demographics-based and Sense-Making model variables on the likelihood that an individual applies to postsecondary education. The descriptive analysis of the survey findings indicated that respondents do not rely solely on a rational, information-based decision process. The resulting model produced by the stepwise process indicated that income and familiarity with postsecondary education had the strongest effects on the likelihood of applying, which is consistent with the existing literature. As for the Sense-Making variables, the analysis provided a set of variables whose presence makes a respondent less likely to apply. Feeling a lack of control over the decision outcome, perceiving information as not supportive to the process, using social support to make the decision and noting social support and school characteristics as a barrier all decreased the likelihood of respondents applying. The findings of the descriptive and predictive analysis defined the shortcomings of information and indicate that social support, like information, may not always facilitate the decision process. Recommendations are made to create information that is more supportive and will accurately portray the work necessary to prepare for postsecondary education and to create participatory programming to address misperceptions and acceptance of information. These findings provide the basis for additional research to define how information can support the decision process.

Despite recent drops in rates, juvenile incarceration remains a serious issue in the United States (Hockenberry, 2013; Mendel, 2011). One shared part of the incarceration experience across different systems and facility types is the obligation for juvenile offenders to receive correctional education. Ample research demonstrates that increased academic achievement, attending community school, and being employed are connected to better community outcomes and desistance, yet little is known about how school experiences in the facility influences these outcomes. Applying life-course theory of the development of crime (Sampson & Laub, 1997, 2005), the present study investigates whether correctional education serves as a turning point to influence a number of community adjustment outcomes in serious juvenile offenders. Specifically, it tested how subjective (teacher bonding and school orientation) and objective (grades, time spent in the facility school) parts of the school experience during the facility stay were related to transitioning to community schools (attendance), and/or work (gainful activity and employment), self-reported delinquency, and staying in the community at 6 and 12 months after release for a sample of 519 male and 50 female serious juvenile offenders. Results showed that across juvenile and adult facilities, improved attachment to the facility school while incarcerated predicted increased involvement in gainful activity and decreases in self-reported delinquency up to 12 months after release. This positive effect was greatest for younger offenders who returned to school, even when accounting for the number of previous facility stays and prior community school experiences. Conversely, older offenders who returned to gainful employment showed less positive adjustment. In contrast to other studies, grades received while incarcerated were not a significant predictor of community adjustment. Overall, the results repeatedly show behavioral differences based on individual history and experiences during incarceration across different types of facilities, strongly supporting a research agenda that treats incarceration as more than a binary variable. The present results add to the corpus of evidence that the perspective of the incarcerated juveniles matter and suggest that the school experience while incarcerated can serve as an important turning point, indicating resources should be directed towards enhancing juveniles’ school orientation and relationships with teachers.

La Confédération Sénégambienne (1981-1989) résulte de l'association de deux États indépendants de l'Afrique de l'ouest: le Sénégal et la Gambie; afin de renforcer leur unité en s'appuyant sur leurs similitudes (géographie, langues, cultures...). Cependant, ce dessein se substitue rapidement, en une inquiétude de la classe populaire gambienne. Celle-ci soupçonne son voisin de cacher l'ambition d'annexer et de transformer la Gambie en une région sénégalaise. L'introduction de l'armée sénégalaise dans les territoires gambiens, après la tentative de coup d’État contre le PrésidentDawda Jawara, n'arrangera pas les choses et déclenche les hostilités. Une revendication identitaire et un nationalisme anti-sénégalais, sont nettement visibles dans la littérature, les discours politiques et médiatiques de l'époque. La langue anglaise et les traditions britanniques deviennent ainsi en Gambie des traits de démarcation. Simultanément, la langue française est perçue de façon péjorative, comme une langue sénégalaise à éloigner des frontières gambiennes. Elle cesse alors d'être une langue universelle. Toutefois, la dissolution du pacte confédéral en 1989 et la signature du Traité d'amitié en 1991, donne un nouvel élan positif, pour la promotion du français en Gambie. L’État gambien opte désormais pour l'ouverture au monde francophone, afin d'exhorter aux partenariats culturels, économiques, politiques … C'est dans ce cadre que cette thèse propose d'analyser les représentations, les attitudes que les Gambiens ont de la Francophonie (langue, espaces, habitants). Sont-elles restées négatives et confondues à l'espace sénégalais, ou ont-elles au contraire, évolué positivement ? Elle a aussi pour objectif de signaler les mesures prises pour la diffusion du français en Gambie et de rendre compte des obstacles rencontrés par les acteurs. Pour ce faire, une enquête de terrain a été menée en 2010, au sein de certains établissements scolaires, de l'université et de quelques organismes étrangers et nationaux à Banjul et à Brikama. Et c'est sur la base des résultats obtenus que notre travail s'articulera. / Senegambia Confederation (1981-1989) results from the combination of two independent states of West Africa: Senegal and the Gambia to strengthen their unity based on their similarities : geography, languages, cultures … But this aim is quickly replaced by a concern. The Gambian people suspects his neighbor to hide the ambition to transform their country into a region of Senegal. The attendance of the Senegalese army in the Gambia after the attempted coup against President Dawda Jawara leads hostilities. Gambian nationalism appears in the literature, the media and political discourse. English and British traditions become symbols of identity in the Gambia. Simultaneously, French is perceived in a negative way, as a Senegalese language. The agreement between two countries is canceled in 1989. Since 1991, a new cooperation based on a friendship and partnership is born. Gradually, Gambian authorities promote the French language. Then, positive attitudes about French-speaking world are observed. This thesis analyze the Gambian representations of French: language, spaces and people. It will indicate steps and difficulties of the promotion. Our work will focus on the results of investigation conducted in Banjul and Brikama in 2010 in schools, at the university and some national and foreign agencies and national.

Doctor of Education / Department of Educational Leadership / W. Franklin Spikes / In the United States, foster care is provided to children to avert maltreatment and abuse of children in distressed families by providing a temporary home or a foster home. Courts with jurisdiction over families have been charged by Congress to find appropriate homes when necessary circumstances occur. In fiscal year 2009, there were 423,773 children in foster care (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 2010). When the term “foster child or foster care” is used, most individuals view the term as negative. Most statistical data reaffirms this belief and casts a negative light on the foster care system in the United States. Foster children exit the foster care system and face higher rates of substance abuse, unemployment, and incarceration, and lower educational attainment. Though foster children do suffer from uncertainty of shattered relationships, there are success stories that arise from foster care. This study examines the discovery of strengths and emerging possibilities in the State of Kansas foster care system and the conditions that make them possible. This study identifies and examines success stories of 15 former foster children in the State of Kansas and analyzes how to build on those success stories. This case study uses qualitative methods such as audio-taped interviews and an interview protocol with a pre-determined set of open-ended questions. This study identifies stories of effectiveness in the State of Kansas foster care system.

ABSTRACT Using the lens of school finance reform, this thesis analyses the progress towards equity in public schooling in post-apartheid South Africa. It distinguishes between equality and equity and argues that that redress, positive discrimination or differential distribution must become part of a meaningful definition of equal education. This thesis utilises recent quantitative data and empirical methodology to explicate the patterns and typology of inequality in public schooling in one province in post-apartheid South Africa, and to deepen our understanding of the construct and application of equity within that milieu. It does this by establishing a key equity indicator, per capita expenditure, for each of the approximately 1900 schools in Gauteng in 1999 and 2002, and by carrying out various school-level analyses on this data. This approach quantifies inequity and progress towards equality, and establishes a broader set of variables and correlates with which to comprehend school finance equity. This is particularly significant because data of actual school-level expenditure as an outcome of merging various databases did not previously exist for Gauteng province, nor did an understanding of the role of private income in differentiating public schooling, particularly on the basis of fees. For the first time, the actual expenditure for each school in Gauteng is established, allowing an assessment of the variability of financing in public schooling. The disaggregated analysis illustrates that the race-based hierarchy of school finance expenditure has been replaced by a new typology of schools based on new categories of privilege and disadvantage. After eight years of post-apartheid education, an important achievement in the public schooling sector is convergence or equalisation in state expenditure. Differential distribution, a notion of equity which includes what is socially just, has been slow to develop. Moreover, while old racial patterns of distribution have shifted, private inputs into public schooling change the picture of “sameness” to one of substantial differentiation. An emerging feature is the evidence of intra-race differentiation, illustrated by the growing spread of expenditure within former African schools. There is also empirical evidence that the emerging education system in postapartheid South Africa has continued to favour the deracialising middle class, despite policy intentions which promote redress for the poor. Unequal education still continues, bur for a different set of reasons. At an empirical level, the research shows that while there has been significant progress towards same spending on average, specific type of schools have benefited more or less. There are policy and management explanations for this. Equity as differential distribution is yet to be achieved. At a methodological level, the study shows both the feasibility and utility of using disaggregated approaches and the ingredient method for fiscal research. At a conceptual level, the study shows the need to go beyond existing categories when exploring equal education, to look at the newly privileged and the newly disadvantaged. This contributes to our understanding of a more complex typology of public schooling in South Africa.