No description available.

No description available.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Miami University, Dept. of Educational Leadership, 2008. / Title from first page of PDF document. Includes bibliographical references (p. 103-121).

In response to the changes brought about by globalization, colleges and universities around the \Vorld are increasingly developing and expanding the 4 internationalization programs on their campuses. One important aspect of these programs that is often highlighted by institutions in their mission statements is the development of global citizenship among graduates. However, despite the rhetorical claims and apparent intemationalization activity aimed at producing global citizens, many recent reports suggest that most institutions in North America and elsewhere have not been successful in this goal. Two common issues in this failure are a Jack of clarity in the definition and purpose of global citizenship education, and Jack of appropriate assessment tools and practices. In light of these problems, this exploratory thesis examines two existing frameworks, cosmopolitanism and intercultural relations, in an effort to establish a strong theoretical foundation for the support and development of a moral, ethical, and social justice perspective of education for global citizenship programs in colleges and universities that reflects the traditions of a liberal education. Analysis of the existing scholarship in these two areas shows a commonality between the frameworks that is mostly unrecognized in the literature. Together, the similarities in these two theoretical frameworks combine to make a compelling argument for the continued development of global citizenship programs that focus on peace and social justice. In addition, these frameworks provide effective solutions for the critical problems faced by education for global citizenship programs.

This dissertation examines the socio-cultural underpinnings of neoliberal educational reforms vis-à-vis the national educational settings in Russia. By drawing upon NVivo-aided Discourse and Frame analysis as a methodological path, this study critically examines a corpus of state laws on education and official government statements from 1991 to 2012 in contrast to contemporary societal discourse on education, where novel and indigenous educational meanings have been contested and re-negotiated. This thesis shows how the conceptual mélange of global neoliberal ideas has been interpreted, institutionalised and resisted in Russia by exploring the semantics of key neoliberal reform ideas - ‘quality assurance,’ ‘educational standards,’ and ‘commercial educational service’ - at the micro-level of policy texts, political debates and public discussions. This thesis shows that having heralded an educational revolution, the official reform narrative rhetorically endorsed neoliberal orthodoxy, while continuing in practice to discursively draw on pedagogical and administrative frameworks which it previously renounced as outdated. In communicating the spirit of radical neoliberal modernisation, the Russian government rhetoric has collectively embraced a number of contradictory concepts, slogans and directives that have never been harmonised in a unified reformatory framework. The study also argues that the public interpretation of neoliberal concepts has been radically different from the intended conceptualisations offered by the global international stakeholders and conveyed by the Russian educational elite. It shows how, when interpreted through the lens of local pedagogical values, the semantics of global modernisation templates, such as ‘educational quality’ and ‘educational standardisation,’ took on unexpected, culturally-specific, meanings. It also finds that the newly introduced principles of entrepreneurship, self-interest, consumer choice, self-responsibility and competition, which underlie the neoliberal economic reform, remained in opposition to fundamental principles of Russian culture, such as communalism, egalitarianism, state paternalism and anti-monetarism. By unpacking opposing ideological and pedagogical frames, this thesis explains the cultural aspects of the widespread public resistance to post-1991 education reform in Russia. This dissertation seeks to enhance the understanding of the policy formulation process and interpretation of global neoliberal ideas from both top-down and bottom-up perspectives. By advancing a culturalist approach to policy analysis, the present study addresses an overlooked piece of the long-standing puzzle of perceived post-Soviet educational crisis, supplementing the broader scholarly discussion on the successes and failures of neoliberal reforms in the post-Soviet space.

This in-country grounded theory study examined the lived experiences of 24 Chinese returnees who completed advanced degrees in the United States. The study found that the four types of organizations in mainland China determine the social context of the application of Western education of the Chinese returnees. Returnees working in multinational corporations apply their Western education more than the returnees working in the other types of organizations. Themes that revolved around the international educational experiences of the Chinese students, including the development of cultural intelligence and new understanding of the ‘other’, and their realization of the differences between their home and host cultures, are included in the findings of this study. The relationship between these themes has led to the construction of a new concept concerning their self-cultivation that, in the Chinese perspective, is integral to Chinese leadership. This study introduces the concept of the bridger as a role that some Chinese returnees take on within their Chinese organizations and the third space that bridgers occupy.

This dissertation examines factors that explain interactions between undergraduate African and African American students enrolled at one Historically Black University (HBCU). It explores beliefs, cultural and contextual factors that shed light on interactions across the two categories of students. The research 1) identifies factors that explain inter‐group interaction; 2) analyzes identified factors; and 3) examines their impact on overall attitudes, behaviors, interactions, and relations across the two groups. Identity theory and social identity theory are applied to explain interaction patterns. Both theoretical frameworks acknowledge the importance of the individual’s goals and purposes and apply conceptions of the self in exploring identity formation. While identity theory focuses on social structural arrangements and the link between persons, social identity theory focuses on characteristics of situations in which the identity may be activated. These theories show how interpersonal and intergroup interactions merge into identities, generate and change social limitations, and build social relationships. Data were collected using surveys and through in‐depth individual and focusgroup interviews. Thirty‐one (31) participants were interviewed individually, and three focus‐group interviews were conducted with 14, 16 and 17 participants respectively. Two more large‐group sessions of 33 and 51 participants also contributed information for the study. Participants were observed in their university setting. Web documents and course syllabi were analyzed for applicable information. The study finds that cultural differences, perceptions and misconceptions about the out‐group, and lack of balanced knowledge about the out‐group, contribute to minimal inter‐group interaction. In addition, increased intercultural knowledge and exposure lead to enhanced inter‐group identification and interaction, and ultimately functioned to minimize misconceptions and advance inter‐group understanding. Understanding cultural and other differences between Africans and African Americans as an integral part of inter‐group relationships enables people to be more accepting and accommodating of difference and of one another. Also, engaging members of both groups in discussions about inter‐group interactions raised awareness and developed in them a critical stance toward their own responsiveness to others they may consider different.

This thesis is an empirical qualitative case study of the work of an evaluation commission which was established by the Ministry of Culture, Research and Art in the German state of Baden-Württemberg in 2003 to undertake a cross-sectional examination of the quality of teaching and research in universities and teacher training colleges offering courses in Educational Science (Erziehungswissenschaft). Although much literature on evaluation methods and models exists, little addresses the minutiae of evaluation work through the eyes of those doing it. This study therefore aims to augment this knowledge by examining the attitudes, experiences and difficulties which evaluators face. It contributes to the discourse on evaluation theory and practice by providing suggestions for what might help to improve decision-making processes in this particular environment. Informed by phenomenological theory, this exploratory study also uses decision-making theories as a means of providing knowledge on both individual and organisational issues which can augment our understanding of how expert commissions work: the social, political and cultural mechanisms that are involved, and the techniques that evaluators employ in order to provide institutions with an objective, fair, trustworthy and reliable evaluation report. As external review has become an accepted means of quality assurance, this research constitutes a contribution to the discourse on ways of improving quality assurance in higher education on a broader scale, not just within the context of German higher education. Furthermore, it also offers insight into the discipline of Educational Science itself and the notion of competing research paradigms, which have an impact on the way the discipline perceives itself and is perceived by others. The study is broadly divided into three main sections. The first contextualises the history of higher education evaluation, specifically within the German context. It looks at how the idea of what a university is has changed, especially during the last few decades of the 20th century, and notions of quality within this particular environment. The evaluation is also briefly introduced within the context of Baden-Württemberg. The second section explores the evaluation by examining the documents available in the evalag agency archive in Mannheim, thereby facilitating an understanding of the background to the commission and the processes which the evaluators underwent as work progressed. The third provides insight into what the evaluators themselves thought of the process and is based on interview analysis. The thesis concludes with a brief survey of more recent developments in quality assurance in Germany.

Drawing on twelve months of fieldwork in suburban Hyderabad, India, this thesis contributes to emerging debates on the Indian new middle classes and postcolonial middle classes more generally. I challenge images of a homogenous middle class enjoying the benefits of liberalization by highlighting the diversity in wealth, lifestyle and access to opportunities within this class sector. Contrary to the pervasive image of a hedonistic and morally corrupt new middle class, I assert the centrality of moral discourses to the construction of middle-class identity in Hyderabad. Middle-class Hyderabadis engage in moral discourses of ‘respectability’ and ‘open-mindedness’ in relation to caste, consumption, education, and women’s public and domestic roles. These discourses of morality are central to the reproduction of class and gender inequality as successfully balancing the demands of respectability and open-mindedness is particularly difficult for those with fewer resources such as the lower middle class and for women who are expected to embody authentic Indianness in their demure comportment, ‘traditional’ attire and commitment to ‘Indian’ family values, but are also liable to being judged ‘backward’ if their clothing and lack of education and paid employment are seen to be in conflict with fashion and open-mindedness. The focus on balance and compromise in middle-class Hyderabadis’ narratives echoes other work on postcolonial middle classes that has emphasised people’s efforts to adhere to local notions of respectable behaviour that are central to national identities while also attempting to align themselves with a ‘modern’ global consumer culture. In contrast to much of this literature, however, I challenge the notion that modernity and tradition, the local and the global are objects of desire in and of themselves and instead argue that they function as important reference points in discourses that legitimate the dominant position of men and those of upper class-caste status.

Broadly, the study examines the argument that education potentially contributes to violent conflict or, on the contrary, acts as a mediating factor in the reconstruction of divided or fragmented societies; indeed, as a driver for peace and unity. It looks at the case of Sierra Leone, a country emerging from a decade-long civil war (1991–2002). There are four aims to the study: <ul><li>(1) To examine, by drawing on a number of disciplines, the theoretical explanations of what puts societies at risk of violent conflict;</li><li>(2) Using these interdisciplinary perspectives, to identify the features of educational systems that are considered to be associated with or give rise to violent conflict;</li><li>(3) To examine which of these characteristics are present in post-conflict Sierra Leone; and</li><li>(4) Based on the findings, to formulate a number of general theoretical propositions about the characteristics of educational systems that might put society at risk of conflict.</li></ul> The research question for the study is: Which features of the educational system in Sierra Leone might put the country at risk of further conflict? Importantly, the research question is approached theoretically; a study attempting to demonstrate this solely empirically would not be feasible. The study adopts a robust interdisciplinary approach. It seeks explanations across the social sciences for the causes of violent conflict and identifies three theories that bear upon the key features that characterise many contemporary conflicts, i.e. ethnicity or cultural identities, status as a low-income country, and ‘fragile’ or failing states. The explanations revolve around the theories of: 1) ‘horizontal inequalities’ by Frances Stewart; 2) the ‘opportunity cost of rebellion’ by Paul Collier et al.; and 3) the role of state and ruling elites by Robert Bates. The study, then, together with an analysis of education and its relationship to conflict, creates an interdisciplinary theoretical and conceptual framework on the characteristics of educational systems associated with a risk of violent conflict. Methodologically, the study examines the educational system of post-conflict Sierra Leone as a case study, focusing on young people’s experiences, perceptions, and expectations of education. Three groups of young people with different educational experiences in Makeni city are selected as principal cases: (1) 15 students in a secondary school; (2) 15 students in technical and vocational training; and (3) 10 out-of-school informants. Additionally, 49 adult key informants were interviewed (among which 34 were ultimately analysed) and documentary analyses were conducted. The findings from the study reveal a number of features in the educational system in Sierra Leone (in areas such as access, curriculum, and governance) that the theoretical lens adopted in the study suggests as being associated with a risk of violent conflict. The analysis that follows seeks to further elucidate these features and recognise their complexity. The analysis is enriched by the perspectives and experiences of the beneficiaries of education who participated in the study. This sets it apart from other studies. The limitation of the study lies in the fact that it cannot demonstrate a causal relationship between the features of education and possible further violent conflict in Sierra Leone (a challenge most studies of this kind would face). The study does, however, offer a rich theoretical and conceptual framework and a robust set of theoretical propositions in relation to the question it poses. In contribution to the field and the growing literature on this topic, the study offers a theoretical and conceptual base for future research tackling the role of education in violent conflict and for building (and modifying) knowledge on the topic.