Understanding what schools can do to help low-income and high-achieving students succeed academically was one of the prime motivations of this dissertation. In Mexico, low-income students perform in the lowest quartiles of standardized tests, and their future is not promising. In order to understand what factors can help low-income students succeed at school, I reviewed the school effectiveness and resilience literature as to understand the different factors that determine academic achievement of students coming from low-income backgrounds. Through a thorough quantitative analysis of the Programme of International Student Assessment (PISA) 2009 and the Formato 911 databases, I identified the different factors that helped low-income students succeed at school. I first analyzed the student, family, and school factors that determined students’ academic achievement in Mexico, in order to get a general idea of what determined achievement of students in Mexico, as a country. Then, I went further and focused more on my sample of interest and analyzed the student, family, and school factors that were associated with a higher probability of showing higher scores on tests, even when struggling with a lack of resources. The most noteworthy finding from the analyses conducted to understand what determined students’ achievement in Mexico, as a country, was that academic performance was mainly explained by students' individual characteristics. Characteristics, including whether the student had a low or high socioeconomic status, whether he or she was in the appropriate grade, whether the student was a girl or a boy, whether he or she attended preschool, whether the student lived with his or her mother, and the attitude he or she had toward school, seemed to be associated with how the student scored on standardized tests. The school level variables that had a positive association with the students’ performance were the schools’ mean Index of Economic, Social and Cultural Status (ESCS), whether the school was private, and the percentage of indigenous students in the school. By estimating cross-level interaction effects, I found the interaction between ESCS and whether the school was located in a rural area and whether the school was a distance education program to be statistically significant. The aforementioned outcomes showed that one additional standard deviation of income had a very small effect on the academic achievement of students living in rural areas or attending a distance education program school. Another interesting finding is that the number of teachers enrolled in the incentives program offered by the government, Carrera Magisterial, was not statistically significant in any of my models, showing that this program was not effective in improving the education that middle school and 15-year-old students received in Mexico. I also analyzed the different factors that increased the probability of low-income students obtaining scores that were higher than would have been predicted given their socioeconomic status. I named these learners resilient students. I found a student’s attitude toward school, whether the student repeated zero, one or two or more primary school grades, whether they student attended a private or a Telesecundaria school, and the average class size of the school to be statistically significant variables. Attitude toward school seemed to have the largest contribution to increasing the probability of being categorized as resilient, almost half of a standard deviation, and remained positive and statistically significant in the analysis. The analysis showed that improving a student’s attitude toward school in one standard deviation, increased the probability of that student being resilient by 24 percentage points. However, it is hard to tell if students who are succeeding are doing so because of their attitude or if successful students have a better attitude because they are doing well in school. In any case, this variable was highly statistically significant and was similar to a noncognitive ability measure, which, according to the literature, includes skills omitted in most of the analyses of the determinants of achievement. One of most relevant findings of this study is that the number of teachers enrolled in the incentives program of the government, Carrera Magisterial, was not statistically significant in any of my models, showing that this program was not effective in improving the education that middle school and 15-year-old students received in Mexico. One of the implications is that the government should not consider the possibility of restoring that program in the Mexican education system. Preschool education, attitude towards school, gender, and time-spent in class are factors that highly related with the success of low-income students. Additional analysis and data is needed in order to perform further analysis on the impact that these determinants have on students achievement. Finally, this study revealed that Telesecundarias play an important role in helping economically disadvantaged students gain access to education in locations where no teachers or other school resources are available and are also positively associated with academic success.

There is a scarcity of research exploring the field of Speech and Language Disorders (SLD) in the Greek mainstream primary education context. Accordingly, the aim of this study was twofold: (i) to identify the nature and extent of speech, language and communication skills of Greek pupils with noticeably slow progress, and (ii) to examine the provision made for these pupils in Greek mainstream and inclusion classes. The study was in two phases. For the first phase, pupils whose speech and language development was below expectations were assessed using a battery of tests. Data analysis indicated no significant differences in the language profile and non-verbal reasoning ability of the pupils with SLD, General Learning Difficulties (GLD) and other Special Educational Needs (SEN). The data also gave an indication of SLD incidence in Greek mainstream primary classrooms. Phase two involved seven case studies. Together, these provided a rich profile of the speech/language and literacy functioning of the pupils identified with SLD, GLD and Specific Writing difficulties (SpWd) and the provision offered to them in Greek primary mainstream settings. The findings revealed that these pupils shared difficulties in the domains of speech/language and literacy, which impacted on their access to the curriculum and academic attainments. However, teaching practices were not differentiated according to the pupils’ specific needs or year group. Additionally, pupils’ difficulties in the above areas had a negative impact on their social participation and acceptance by peers. Overall, the study highlights the complex nature of SLD, and the similarities in the language profile and the non-verbal reasoning skills of the SLD and other SEN subgroups. This raised questions about whether SLD, as used in these schools, is a distinct area of difficulty or on a continuum with other areas of difficulties. In addition, the study raised questions regarding the assessment and identification of SLD in the Greek context, as well as the practical teaching of pupils who experience such difficulties.

Building on research that has focused on understanding how peers contribute to students' engagement, this dissertation explores the extent to which peer group influences on students' engagement may add to and be contextualized by qualities of the relationships they maintain with their teachers and their parents. To focus on how each of these adult contexts work in concert with peer groups to jointly contribute to changes in students' engagement, the two studies used data on 366 sixth graders which were collected at two time points during their first year of middle school: Peer groups were identified using socio-cognitive mapping; students reported on teacher and parent involvement; and teachers reported on each students' engagement. In both studies, models of cumulative and contextualized joint effects were examined. Consistent with models of cumulative effects, peer group engagement, parent involvement, and teacher involvement each uniquely predicted changes in students' engagement. Consistent with contextualized models suggesting differential susceptibility, peer group engagement was a more pronounced predictor of changes in engagement for students who experienced relatively low involvement from teachers. Similarly, peer group influences on changes in students' engagement were stronger for students who experienced relatively low involvement from their parents. In both cases, these peer effects were positive or negative depending on the engagement versus disaffection of each student's peer group. Both studies also used person-centered analyses to reveal cumulative and contextualized effects. Most engaged were students who experienced support from either both teachers and peers, or both parents and peers; the lowest levels of engagement were found among those students who affiliated with disaffected peers who also experienced either their teachers or parents as relatively uninvolved. Both high teacher and high parent involvement partially protected students from the motivational costs of affiliating with disaffected peers. Similarly, belonging to engaged peer groups partially buffered students' engagement from the ill effects of low teacher and parent involvement. These findings suggest that, although peer groups and teachers and parents are each important individually, a complete understanding of their contributions to students' engagement requires the examination of their joint effects.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Texas at Austin, 2009. / Title from PDF title page (University of Texas Digital Repository, viewed on Sept. 9, 2009). Vita. Includes bibliographical references.

xv, 253 p. : ill. A print copy of this thesis is available through the UO Libraries. Search the library catalog for the location and call number. / The High School Behavior Education Program (HS-BEP) is a secondary level intervention for high school "at risk" students that provides both academic and social supports. Students participating in the HS-BEP attend a 45-minute study-skills course two to three days a week that focuses on organizational and self-management skills. As part of the study-skills class, students also participate in a modified behavior education program (BEP) designed to establish access to adult support. Six high school students identified by their teachers as "at risk" socially, and/or academically participated in the study. The students were enrolled in a Pacific Northwest high school implementing school-wide positive behavior support. Direct observation and permanent product data were collected on (a) the fidelity with which the HS-BEP was implemented, (b) academic engagement during general content classes (English, math, history, etc.), (c) problem behavior during classes, (d) percentages of course assignment completion, (e) class attendance, and (f) number of office discipline referrals. A single-case multiple baseline experimental design across students was used to assess the primary research question: is there a functional relation between the implementation of the HS-BEP and an increase in academic engagement. Secondary analyses examined the impact of the HS-BEP on (a) decreases in problem behaviors, (b) increases in assignment completion, (c) increases in class attendance, and (d) decreases in office discipline referrals for "at risk" high school students engaging in escape maintained behaviors. Results demonstrated a functional relation between implementation of the HS-BEP and improved academic engagement. Levels of problem behavior were too low to assess impact, and small to moderate improvements in assignment completion were observed. Implications are provided for the design of secondary-level supports in high schools. References / Committee in charge: Robert Homer, Chairperson, Special Education and Clinical Sciences; K Brigid Flannery, Member, Special Education and Clinical Sciences; Deanne Unruh, Member, Special Education and Clinical Sciences; Jean Stockard, Outside Member, Planning Public Policy & Mgmt

I demonstrate that household investments in children's education in Ethiopia are affected by parents' self-beliefs (such as their locus of control), parents' aspirations for children's educational attainment, children's conceptions of their roles and identities in the household and at school, and children's own preferences, all concepts not widely studied in development economics. Two empirical chapters report on a field experiment in which randomly selected adults watched documentaries about role models who were poor but succeeded in agriculture or small business. Six months later, parents' self-beliefs and aspirations for children's education were higher in the treatment than in the placebo and control groups. Enrolment of children in school, spending on education, saving and use of credit also increased. A third empirical chapter draws on longitudinal qualitative research to argue that children's preferences for their time allocation between work and school are strongly influenced by the desire to comply with valued identities as students and as independent earners and contributors to the household. The fourth chapter suggests that understanding children's preferences might improve predictions about their reaction to education policies. The literature predicts an increase in time in school will not improve test scores: children will reduce effort because they desire a limited amount of learning. I find a reform to lengthen the Ethiopian primary school day improves test scores. Although this could occur through many mechanisms, one possibility is that children do not prefer to limit their desired amount of learning. This suggests that better evidence on children's preferences might improve prediction of the effects of policies to alter school inputs. The conclusion reflects on whether the empirical relevance of concepts of self-beliefs, aspirations and identities implies that assumptions in standard models of decision-making in economics about the characteristics of beliefs and preferences ought to be rejected. I argue that these ideas can be captured by existing economic concepts of beliefs and preferences and by standard assumptions about these concepts. I suggest that, contrary to recent accounts building on human capital theory, self-beliefs should be viewed as beliefs, not non-cognitive skills. I consider aspirations as a type of preference, shaped by both objective constraints and self-beliefs. I consider identity as a preference for complying with a social role, but highlight that such preferences are often altruistic, rather than self-interested. In conclusion, I argue that economics should draw further on other social sciences, including psychology, to develop substantive theories of the formation and characteristics of beliefs and preferences. Doing so will suggest when it is appropriate to apply standard models and how their assumptions can be modified if their predictions do not hold.

Research has consistently shown that academic dishonesty has a detrimental impact on the learning process. Nevertheless, very little research explores "cheating" behaviors from students’ perspectives or the role that peer groups play in the proliferation or reduction of cheating cultures. Academic dishonesty has always been an important subject to study. Still, it is even more crucial today to explore this issue in Western contexts and Eastern countries such as Vietnam. This study seeks to fill the knowledge gap using a quantitative approach that draws on a sample of approximately 1,000 high school students in five provinces of Vietnam. I seek to understand three research questions: (1) How do Vietnamese high school students define "academic dishonesty”? (2) To what extent do personal and contextual factors influence the students' attitudes toward cheating; and (3) How does the difference between the definition of cheating and students’ attitudes affect students’ decisions to engage in cheating. The result of the Latent Class Analysis shows that Vietnamese students have very different perspectives on what is regarded as cheating in school. , In general, the definition of what it means as “cheating” is highly diverse. Student defined cheating differently depends on where it happens and who is involved, not just on the action itself. In the second research question, using different type of regression analysis and factor analysis, this study further finds that the student’s definition of cheating is the strongest among all the variables and is most likely to affect students’ reactions and attitudes about cheating. Other significant factors found included parental highest education level, leadership position in class, overall classroom achievement, and diligence culture affect students’ reactions. In the final research question, the study examines societal factors and finds that classroom climate also plays an essential role in explaining how students engage in cheating. Often, the class that values hard work over achievement has fewer students who confess to cheating, cheating frequently, and cheating in multiple subjects. In addition, a competitive culture that focuses on achievement can also affect and pressure students to cheat. This finding highlights the importance of studying dishonestly through the lens of sociology which goes further than the student’s values or “rebellious nature” that makes them cheat. While various research in the field has examined multiple factors related to student cheating, we need to understand the students' rationales for commit cheating to provide root-cause solutions and actionable steps to reduce cheating in schools. The dissertation concludes with recommendations for future research and policy recommendation at the national policy level and at the local school or classroom level.

No description available.

Thesis (MTech. degree in Education.)--Tshwane University of Technology, 2011. / Investigates the perceptions of educators of the effects of poverty on academic achievement in eMondlo schools. It attempted to investigate what happens to a learner's performance at school when he/she comes from a poor family background.

This research examines possible contextual effects upon gender role attitudes in the United States related to women's employment outside ofthe household. The study included individual-level data, mother's previous work status and mother's educational attainment, not previously analyzed in a hierarchical linear model and state-level data not previously investigated, particularly state median household income. The primary analyses focus upon the contextual effects of state-level educational attainment and income. Analyzing General Social Survey data from 1994 to 2002, these contextual data were not found to have an effect upon the gender work role beliefs. In fact, none of the examined state-level variables were statistically significant in detecting contextual effects. These findings contradict earlier research, which found the proportion of religious fundamentalists within a state to have a contextual effect upon gender role attitudes.