The purpose of this study was to measure the relationship between the motivation and learning outcomes of incoming exchange students at Queen’s University. The majority of research on study abroad programs measures the learning outcomes of U.S. students abroad in courses and programs designed exclusively for them. What is lacking is research on participants in exchange programs where incoming students study alongside, and are immersed in a similar living environment to, local students. The present study adds to the literature on study abroad by providing information about motivation and learning outcomes resulting from participating in an exchange. Using a pre-test/post-test research design, this study examines how both motivation and learning outcomes vary by gender, program of study, region of origin, duration of study and first language. The Study Abroad Goals Scale was used to measure motivation in the pre-test (n = 182) and the Global Perspectives Inventory (GPI) measured learning outcomes in both the pre- and post-test of incoming exchange students to Queen’s university in the 2009-2010 academic year (n = 98). Results indicate that the strongest motivation of the incoming exchange students was Cross-Cultural, followed by Academic and Personal/Social. Motivation differences were found in each independent variable except for gender indicating that motivation to study on exchange is not uniform among all participants. Findings from the measures of the GPI did not indicate any significant changes between the pre- and post-test. This suggests that participation in an exchange program does not necessarily lead to student development and that program administrators may need to implement proactive learning interventions to enhance the exchange experience for students. / Thesis (Master, Education) -- Queen's University, 2010-09-09 23:30:52.947

Sri Lanka’s past, present and future efforts to improve the provision of education are in focus. Decentralization of education is reviewed. Since 1960s when decentralization in education management was initiated schools have been subjected to multiple control by the such layers of management as the provincial ministry, provincial department, zonal office and the division. To reduce role ambiguity clarity in division of roles and functions is needed as well as collaboration among the different layers.  Historical and recent reasons that hinder decentralisation and school autonomy are reviewed. Structural and cultural changes that facilitate the democratisation of school management are proposed. The newest trend in educational decentralisation in the country the Programme on School Improvement (PSI) is a kind of school based management. In PSI, schools are given a degree of autonomy in the areas of planning, teaching-learning process, co-curricular activities, staff development and the maintenance and development of the school plant. PSI enables schools to forge links with local communities through the establishment of a School Development Committees to improve resource mobilization and public accountability, thus creating better learning cultures in schools. The role and functions of the zonal education office are examined. The role of the zone is proposed to provide strategic guidance to the schools and effectively monitor overall performance. The zones have to work with schools and not on schools. The role and the main challenges of the school leaders in the proposed decentralized set-up are also examined and the need for more collaborative partnerships within the school is emphasized. The research further examines the factors that contribute to the institutionalisation of the new organizational innovation and as to how the capacity building institutes can help in transforming the roles of the zonal staff and school leaders.

This study explores a form of transnational economy that involves cross border movements of students, families and business people that are motivated by education. A main objective of the study is to explore the interplay of structural factors and the agency of migrants in the development of this industry. Using interview data collected in Seoul, Korea and Vancouver, Canada, this study demonstrates that the globalization of the international education industry is not simply an economic process but a by-product of complex relations between many economic and non-economic factors. The intensification of globalization in general, and the rise of neo-liberalism in particular, have introduced macro structural changes in the political economies of both Korea and Canada that have had important implications for growth in the education industry. The role of nation-states is critical in that both Korean and Canadian national governments have delivered more relaxed policies regulating international migration and educational flows between the two countries. At the local level, both public and post-secondary educational institutions in Vancouver have become actively engaged in recruiting fee-paying international students. Ordinary migrants, both permanent residents and temporary visitors, play an important role in promoting Canadian education in the global market as well. The successful recruitment activities of local schools (and school boards) have been facilitated by Korean international education agencies operating in Vancouver. Relying on close social and cultural linkages between Korea and Canada, the transnational entrepreneurial activities of Korean immigrants demonstrate how globalization actually works in practice. With strong motivation and spatial mobility, the rising demands of Korean students and their parents have also been an important precursor of recent industrial growth. This seemingly smooth growth of the international education industry between Seoul and Vancouver, however, masks more complex dynamics of the process. I provide four critiques on taken-for-granted approaches towards neo-liberalism and economic globalization. Exploring immigrant participation at the heart of the knowledge economy (education), this study also asks if the entrepreneurial opportunities that are being cultivated by Korean-immigrants represent an innovative shift from traditional and low-level ethnic niche economies toward more lucrative opportunities.

From their nascent beginnings during World War II to their good governance and capacity building focus under the Post-Washington Consensus of the early 21st century, international development activities have encompassed a particular world view. This world view, founded on Western historical materialism and a normative perspective, rationalizes “the project” as the predominate form of development assistance and the “expert” or “volunteer” as its agent. Yet this approach to development, although at times successful, has often proved to be unsustainable in the absence of international financing and expertise. Still, there is an alternative approach available when one recognizes that what the vast majority of people want is security for themselves, their families, and their lifestyles.1 From this approach, the focus of development is shifted away from what people do not have (be it material comforts, infrastructure, or good governance) and sets it on the critical roles culture, individual growth, and informal association have in community development. In this approach, human agency at the interpersonal level becomes critical in the diffusion of social, political, economic, and technological innovation and, accordingly, the decisive factor in poverty reduction. That is to say, development that can address poverty must come from within the social classes that experience it. To explore how the international development community can act on this alternative approach, this thesis provides a review of the theory, practice, and consequences of international development to the present day and, from that lead, builds a theoretical argument for the individual creative sojourner as a primary messenger of development. In addition, it presents an exploratory case study of creative sojourners in Timor-Leste and, from their ideas and insights, proposes policy considerations for an overseas apprenticeship program that would support the efforts of trades people, agriculturalists, and small entrepreneurs in improving their lives and, in the process, renewing their societies.

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) / The thesis investigates the motivations behind, the methods used in, and the results of the overseas students’ collective action contesting the measures, which the Australian government introduced from 1983 to 1996. As a group of temporary residents located outside the boundaries of domestic political systems, yet within the core of Australia’s revenue earnings, overseas students independently mobilised in an attempt to influence the Australian Government policy on education from a position of limited political, social and legal rights. As temporary residents on short-term permits fully regulated under prescribed immigration rules, overseas students employed conventional repertoires of contention— they established formal structures, adopted action tools, framed their claims, internationalised their protest, formed alliances — in an attempt to mobilise resources and access existing avenues to influence government’s export of education services policy. Their mobilisation response and campaign strategy achieved modest success in securing some policy concessions, particularly during the early stages of education aid reform. Their strategy, however had to evolve as the fledgling export of education services expanded and eventually they shifted their position to fully embrace and reinterpret the government’s own ‘language of liberalisation’, which they used to greater effectiveness in making subsequent claims. Overseas students ability to procure concessions is derived not from their political or universal rights to education, but from their ability to influence policy changes based on their importance and strategic location in the Australian economy. In other words, government, universities and industry stakeholders have increasingly become dependent on substantial revenue earnings derived from overseas students and have become susceptible to potential chaos that may be precipitated if current students withdrew from the economy, or potential students choosing alternative education service destinations.

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) / The thesis investigates the motivations behind, the methods used in, and the results of the overseas students’ collective action contesting the measures, which the Australian government introduced from 1983 to 1996. As a group of temporary residents located outside the boundaries of domestic political systems, yet within the core of Australia’s revenue earnings, overseas students independently mobilised in an attempt to influence the Australian Government policy on education from a position of limited political, social and legal rights. As temporary residents on short-term permits fully regulated under prescribed immigration rules, overseas students employed conventional repertoires of contention— they established formal structures, adopted action tools, framed their claims, internationalised their protest, formed alliances — in an attempt to mobilise resources and access existing avenues to influence government’s export of education services policy. Their mobilisation response and campaign strategy achieved modest success in securing some policy concessions, particularly during the early stages of education aid reform. Their strategy, however had to evolve as the fledgling export of education services expanded and eventually they shifted their position to fully embrace and reinterpret the government’s own ‘language of liberalisation’, which they used to greater effectiveness in making subsequent claims. Overseas students ability to procure concessions is derived not from their political or universal rights to education, but from their ability to influence policy changes based on their importance and strategic location in the Australian economy. In other words, government, universities and industry stakeholders have increasingly become dependent on substantial revenue earnings derived from overseas students and have become susceptible to potential chaos that may be precipitated if current students withdrew from the economy, or potential students choosing alternative education service destinations.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Melbourne, Faculty of Education, 2006. / Typescript. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 265-288).

Thesis (Ed. D.)--University of Toronto, 2007. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 68-06, Section: A, page: 2363. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 349-372).

Thesis (M.A.)--University of North Carolina Wilmington, 2009. / Title from PDF title page (January 13, 2010) Includes bibliographical references (p. 76-83)

Thesis (D.Ed.)--University of Delaware, 2009. / Principal faculty advisor: Douglas A. Archbald, School of Education. Includes bibliographical references.