Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Chicago, Dept. of History, June 2001. / Includes bibliographical references. Also available on the Internet.

published_or_final_version / Comparative Asian Studies / Master / Master of Arts

The social and political systems are vital for any idological belief. During the course of human events, no ideology existed without these two essential components. This dissertation endeavors to establish a modern model of the political system for the Islamic Nation as one political unit adhering to Islam. The study considers solely the primary source of Islam, that is, the Islamic Holy Constitution - the Holy Qur'an and Sunnah. In order to achieve such an aim, the study starts with analysis of the content of the Islamic Holy Constitution. It appears that Islam is a complete permanent system for all people of all persuasions. Such universality and continuity of the system dictates two sorts of instructions: infrastructural and superstructural laws. The first is comprehensively decided for all cases that are not subject to change. The second is merely an outline guidance for Muslims to establish laws that are compatible with their circumstances. To provide a complete understanding for the Islamic System, the study sets up the necessary background. It outlines the ruling system that are repeatedly mentioned in the Islamic Holy Constitution. Also a brief analysis for the alleged contrast between human and Divine law is provided together with the concept of ethics in Islam. In addition, the study discusses, maybe for the first time in the Islamic historical jurisprudence, the basic foundations of the Islamic System, such as sovereignty and nationality in Islam. The Islamic State, its functions and organizations, is the central part of this study. The Islamic political system is modeled according to the need of the contemporary Islamic Nation without ignoring the practice of the Prophet of Islam {Peace be upon Him} and his right-guided successors. The concepts of peace, war, and economy are considered in relation to the political system of Islam. The study discusses the major rules concerning these aspects. The study concludes that Islam is a complete system of life, concerned before its religious instructions with a unique social and political order under which Muslims have to practice their lives and perform their religious activities.

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Many educators and business people are awakening to the growing need to better equip students with an international perspective and understanding. One common method to promote these goals is accomplished via a variety of study abroad programs offered through colleges and universities. The most often cited gains or benefits related to study abroad participation are in the areas of maturity, language proficiency, increased knowledge of a specific culture, and global-mindedness. Existing theories of learning, student development, and human capital suggest that participation in study abroad could theoretically lead to increased psychological and skill growth, thereby leading to positive educational and employment outcomes. Using archival Florida state system databases, this study investigated educational and employment outcome differences between study abroad participants and non participants. The study found common characteristics among gender, race, and high school academic achievement for study abroad participants. Although claims of causality cannot be made between study abroad and various outcomes, several significant associations were found particularly for educational outcomes. For example, 93.2% of study abroad participants received some type of degree compared to only 64% of the non study abroad group. The study abroad group also had a higher mean college GPA of 3.19 compared to the 2.74 for the non study abroad group. The non study abroad group was found employed in Florida at higher rates; however, the data was limited to those found employed only within Florida and did not account for those who might have found employment in other locations. The non study abroad group also had a higher mean wage than the study abroad group. However, when controlled by degree program and study abroad location, this wage difference dissipated suggesting degree program is the stronger indicator of wage outcomes. Implications for policy development and future study include more detailed examination of the study abroad experience as a recruitment tool, as well as a retention/graduation best practice. Institutions should also examine methods to increase minority participation in study abroad. / A Dissertation submitted to the Department of Educational Leadership and Policy Studies in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. / Degree Awarded: Fall Semester, 2003. / Date of Defense: November 6, 2003. / International Education, Education Outcomes, Employment Outcomes, Graduation Rates, Study Abroad, Retention, Attrition / Includes bibliographical references. / Joseph C. Beckham, Professor Directing Dissertation; Peter B. Easton, Outside Committee Member; Jon C. Dalton, Committee Member; Robert A. Schwartz, Committee Member; Joy Gaston, Committee Member.

Grade retention has long been at the center of education debates (Rothstein, 1998). Despite the overwhelming evidence of the negative effect of retention on student's self-esteem (Holmes and Matthews, 1984), attitude towards school (Jimerson, 2001), and increased likelihood of dropping out of high school (Roderick, 1994; Jimerson, Anderson, and Whipple, 2002), it is still difficult to promote students who do not have a mastery of the curriculum content of their current grade. But it is not just content mastery that is in question, there are other factors that make a student more likely to be retained. Students who are Black, male, and come from a low socioeconomic background (Bali, Anagnostopoulos, and Roberts, 2005; Meisels and Liaw, 1993) have an increased likelihood of being retained. Based on what we know about who is impacted the most by retention and the effects of retention on students, it is important to understand how grade retention policy is understood by those who are tasked with enforcing it. Two schools in a rural school district in Florida participated in this case study analysis. Twelve elementary school teachers and three school leaders provided a deeper understanding of how they have made sense of their school district's grade retention policy. The framework developed by Spillane, Reiser, and Reimer's (2002) informed this study. This framework breaks down sense-making into three categories: individual knowledge and beliefs, collective sense-making, and external pressures. The findings revealed that from the outset participants worked within the framework of external pressures. How participants individually and collectively made sense of grade retention policy was nested in the context of pressures within and surrounding the policy. Participants reported that prior experiences were an important influence in how they made sense of policy individually. If participants had a personal experience with retention they said this contributed to their understanding of and subsequent reaction to the policy. All participants reported making their decisions about retention in a context and culture of collaboration. Participants collaborated with each other on everything from intervention strategies to making final decisions on who should be retained. / A Dissertation submitted to the Department of Educational Leadership and Policy Studies in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. / Fall Semester 2015. / October 27, 2015. / Florida Policy, Grade Retention, Grade Retention Policy, School District Policy / Includes bibliographical references. / Stacey Rutledge, Professor Directing Dissertation; Ralph Brower, University Representative; Patrice Iatarola, Committee Member; Tamara Bertrand Jones, Committee Member.

It is a common knowledge that student achievement is a product of multiple individual and environmental factors. The literature developed various models to organize and explain the relationship between some of these variables and student learning which translates into student achievement. Yet, no comprehensive model is able to capture all possible variables. Student's achievement is often related to student, classroom, and school factors. Teachers are an important factor in student achievement because they facilitate, manage and encourage student learning. Teacher professional development (PD) maintains an important role in developing teacher knowledge, skills and attitudes and consequently improve student performance. Guided by Guskey's Model for Teacher Change (1986), and Desimone's proposed core framework for studying effects of professional development on teachers and students (2009), this research study examined overall professional development, and its association to grade 8 student math scores in the Kingdom of Bahrain. The research also examined six types of professional development, content, curriculum, pedagogy, critical thinking, pedagogy and assessment. The teacher professional development variables were examined through Hierarchical Linear Modeling (HLM) using the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) 2003-2007-2011 eight-grade dataset for the Kingdom of Bahrain. The outcome variable was the TIMSS math score in these years. The Ministry of Education also adapted a new professional development policy to encourage teachers in Bahrain to participate in PD. The research also examine the policy's relationship to change in student achievement and to the change in PF programs in Bahrain. Bahrain invests a fair amount of the educational budget in PD for teachers with the belief that PD is associated with student achievement. Overall, the results of this study suggest that the overall professional development is positively associated to student achievement. Math content and math curriculum PD programs are associated to student achievement. Professional development in assessment, IT, pedagogy and critical thinking are not significant variables. Introducing the 2008 new professional development policy in the country to encourage more teachers to be involved in PD programs was not significant to student achievement. That suggests that investment in teacher professional development activities is a good investment, yet needs to be closely monitored and periodically evaluated. / A Dissertation submitted to the Department of Educational Leadership and Policy Studies in partial fulfillment of the Doctor of Philosophy. / Fall Semester 2015. / December 7, 2015. / Kingdom of Bahrain, Professional Development, Teacher, TIMSS / Includes bibliographical references. / Linda Schrader, Professor Co-Directing Dissertation; Stacey Rutledge, Professor Co-Directing Dissertation; James Klein, University Representative; Marytza Gawlik, Committee Member; Toby Park, Committee Member.

The primary purpose of this study was to contribute to the understanding of how committed, engaged teachers construct their work lives. This study focused in particular on how "star" teachers who stay in the classroom sustain engagement in and make meaning of their professional experience. The nine teachers selected to participate in this study were all public school teachers in Florida. Each of the teachers included in the study taught in either the elementary or middle grades. All had been teaching for five or more years. A qualitative approach was utilized in this study to explore the work lives of the participating teachers and to identify factors that contribute to their professional longevity. This methodology included focused in-depth interviews and personal classroom observations. The interviews were structured using in-depth, phenomenologically based interviewed interviewing (Seidman, 1998) that allowed the researcher and the teacher to engage in a guided conversation. Open and focused coding methods were used to analyze the data (Anfara et al, 2002; Emerson et al, 1995; Guba and Lincoln, 1985). Conceptual categories were developed from emergent themes (Harry et al, 2005). A process of thematic analysis provided a means by which to give structure and a framework for description (Van Manen, 1990). Six findings about star teachers emerged from the study. The star teachers had five behaviors in common and also shared one organizational factor. The teachers all engage in the following actions: (1) seek opportunities to learn and enrich their practice in ways that will improve classroom teaching; (2) employ adaptive strategies to meet systemic challenges; (3) work to develop rich professional collaborative relationships with other teachers; (4) want to recognized and respected for their professional efforts; and (5) view students as important partners in a democratic learning community. The organizational factor common to the star teacher is the need to have a supportive principal. The study highlighted how principals and teachers work together in school cultures that support collaboration and innovation. The study recommendations call for a system-wide "reculturing" that would change "individually and collaboratively held meanings" about schools and learning (Sergiovanni, 2000, p. 147). / A Dissertation submitted to the Department of Educational Leadership and Policy Studies in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. / Degree Awarded: Fall Semester, 2005. / Date of Defense: April 30, 2004. / Teacher Motivation, Learner Centered Teaching, Florida Education Policy, Teacher Engagement, National Board Certified Teachers, Teacher Retention, Role Of The Principal, Teacher Education, Middle School Teachers, Elementary School Teachers / Includes bibliographical references. / Sande Milton, Professor Directing Dissertation; Patricia Y. Martin, Outside Committee Member; Patrice Iatarola, Committee Member; Pamela Flood, Committee Member.

During the past 20 years, there has been a change in the higher educational landscape. As federal financial assistance to students has increased in form of increased educational loans, state educational funding to higher educational institutions has decreased. To make up the shortfall and to address rising operational costs, institutions have increased student tuition. These changes underlie a continuing discussion as to whether society or the individual benefit from higher educational attainment. Part of that discussion is if one particular entity benefits the most from a higher educational degree, then they should be responsible for the majority of the cost of higher education. With shifts in funding from society to the individual, it then becomes important to explore what the effects of those costs are, what effect costs have on decision-making in the college-going process, and who is affected by the costs the most. This study focuses on first-generation and low-income college students facing academic distress and the factors that affect their decision-making in regards to financing their education. This qualitative case study takes place at Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University and employs a two-stage process that includes document analysis and interviews. The theoretical framework that is used in this study is based on Perna's (2006) conceptual model about college-choice. The findings from the research are then used to modify the conceptual model to create a theoretical model. The theoretical model can be summarized by stating: first-generation and low-income students who are facing academic distress are influenced by family characteristics, access to educational finance information, and transitional issues when deciding how to finance their college education. While we do not know their decision-making process, we know that their decisions result in them paying for their college-related costs and financially supporting their families by using financial aid and by working. / A Dissertation submitted to the Department of Educational Leadership and Policy Studies in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. / Fall Semester 2018. / October 25, 2018. / Includes bibliographical references. / Patrice Iatarola, Professor Directing Dissertation; Diana Rice, University Representative; Shouping Hu, Committee Member; Toby Park, Committee Member.