This thesis presents research into the processes, practices and experiences of transition to secondary education in Northern Ireland from a children's rights perspective. Three aspects of the contemporary landscape of transition are considered: availability of school places and children's school choice aspirations; privately operated unregulated tests used for selection; and school level admissions arrangements which mediate transfer. The overarching aim of the thesis was to understand how inequities in each of these areas are potential barriers to children's enjoyment of their rights under the Convention on the Rights of the Child (United Nations, 1989). The mixed-methods study was conducted in three strands: a documentary analysis of school admissions policies for 205 academically selective and non-selective secondary schools offering admission in September 2014; a collaboration with children as research advisors to inform the purposes, processes and outcomes of the research which reflects a rights based approach; and a questionnaire of a broad sample of transition age children (10-12 years, n=1327) which extensively investigated their views and experiences of the policy and practice of transfer. The rights based, mixed methods approach was intentional, so as to place the voices of those directly affected by the transfer arrangements at the heart of the research. The findings illustrate serious inequities which represent a system-level failure to safeguard the child's right to education (article 28) under the CRC and according to Tomaševski's 4-As conceptual framework; that education should be available, accessible, acceptable and adaptable (2001). Aspects of transition procedures, such as the differential availability of school places and inconsistencies in school admissions requirements, limit school choice and contribute to inequitable access to secondary education. The assessment arrangements are shown to create additional complexities in admissions practices, resulting in differential experiences of access to academically selective schools. This thesis, by offering insight into children's experiences of admissions decisions across the full range of school types, demonstrates that the power of choice lies with schools. An analytical tool, developed as an outcome of this research, is proposed as a means to assess the extent to which transition arrangements are underpinned by respect for children's rights.

This study considered whether participation in several out-of-class experiences during high school influenced the odds that a student will aspire to earn at least a Bachelor’s degree. Additionally, this study considered whether these experiences, considered together, had a cumulative effect on the odds that a student will aspire to earn at least a Bachelor’s degree, and whether the influence of these high school experiences on college aspirations was moderated by a student’s race/ethnicity or socioeconomic status. Results of the study revealed that several high school experiences, including participation in science-related school programs, participation in extracurricular activities, sitting in on or taking a college class, searching the Internet or reading college guides for college options, and talking to a school counselor about going to college, increased the odds that a student would aspire to earn at least a Bachelor’s degree. Additionally, results revealed that participation in four or more of the high school experiences examined in this study had a cumulative, positive influence on students’ eleventh grade college aspirations, and that the relationship between participation in these high school experiences and students’ aspirations to earn at least a Bachelor’s degree was not moderated by race/ethnicity or socioeconomic status.

Within the broader context of the representation of Latinas in higher education, the purpose of this study is to investigate the post-secondary aspirations of Latinas who were involved in a community-based folklórico program. In addition, this study seeks to understand how participating in folklórico programs can influence the college and career aspirations of Latinas, if at all. Finally, this study examines the skills developed by participating in folklórico programs that are transferable to education and career goals or life in general. The theoretical framework of this study was Yosso’s (2005) concept of community cultural wealth and included the expansion of community cultural wealth by Rendon, Nora, and Kanagala (2014). The method of this study was an instrumental case study using individual semi-structured interviews, a focus group, and document analysis to collect data. The findings of this study described the influence of participation in community-based folklórico programs for Latinas, and the development of transferable skills. This study informs educational leaders about the importance of developing pathways to college for folklórico participants that are equipped with the skills, qualities, and capital necessary to be successful in higher education.

I use unique longitudinal data to examine, with greater detail than previously achieved by quantitative researchers, variation in parents' educational aspirations. More specifically, I examine the effects of background characteristics (including demographic, geographic, and socioeconomic origin characteristics), socioeconomic status characteristics, such as education attainment and household income, and social-psychological characteristics, such as locus of control, job-satisfaction, and subjective well-being, on parents' odds of having high educational aspirations for their children (i.e. wanting their children to attain a Graduate or Professional degree).

This study examined the effects of good teaching practices on post-baccalaureate degree aspirations using logistic regression techniques on a multi-institutional, longitudinal sample of students at four-year colleges and universities. Using College Choice and College Outcomes models as a theoretical foundation, I examined whether eight good teaching practices (non-classroom interactions with faculty, prompt feedback, frequency of interactions with faculty, teaching clarity and organization, challenging classes and high faculty expectations, frequency of higher-order exams and assignments, academic challenge and effort, and integrated ideas, information, and experiences) influenced post-baccalaureate degree aspirations at the end of four academic years, while controlling for students' background characteristics and institutional characteristics that are theoretically associated with aspirations. Using pre-test and post-test data from the Wabash National Study of Liberal Arts Education (WNS), the findings suggest that good teaching practices are positively related to undergraduate students' aspirations for graduate education. This study contributes to college outcome models by emphasizing the importance of faculty to the undergraduate experience. Finally, this study has implications for higher education policy, including practical applications for those involved with undergraduate and graduate education, including administrators, faculty, staff, and students.

The purpose of this study was to conduct a national survey to examine job satisfaction of community college academic deans as measured by the Minnesota Satisfaction Questionnaire (MSQ) and an Individual Data Sheet (IDS) and to determine if academic deans will pursue the community college presidency in meeting the current leadership crisis. This study assessed the relationship of selected personal characteristics, unit-related characteristics, facets of job satisfaction, and career aspirations of academic deans. Six research questions directed this study. Four hundred community college academic deans were randomly assigned as participants and represented all 50 states. The usable response rate from the 400 participants was 50.5% (n=202) representing all 50 states. Demographic data pertaining to gender, age, ethnicity, degree status, tenure in position, gross annual salary, number of hours worked per week, major responsibilities, size of college, location of college, number of full-time and part-time faculty supervised, number of full-time and part-time staff supervised, and career aspirations were collected through use of the IDS. The 1977 Long-Form MSQ was used to measure general, intrinsic, and extrinsic job satisfaction. Appropriate summary statistics, correlations, and regressions were computed to answer all six-research questions. Community college academic deans were neither dissatisfied nor satisfied with an MSQ sample mean score of 3.828. The findings indicated that 55.5% (n=112) were neither dissatisfied nor satisfied. Only 76 academic deans or 37.5% stated that they were satisfied and three deans or 1.5% were very satisfied. Ten deans or 5% reported being dissatisfied and one or 0.5% dean reported being very dissatisfied. Only 15% or 30 deans reported that they had career aspirations to pursue the community college presidency within the next one to ten years. The results also indicated that those academic deans that do not desire to be a community college president are slightly more satisfied than those deans who want to be a president. The results of the survey indicate that academic deans with the lowest job satisfaction score desired to move along the academic leadership pathway, and the deans that were more satisfied wanted to move in another direction or stay a dean.

This senior thesis project examines how the educational system in Ecuador affects the youth of the country. It al so explores the aspirations mothers have for their children in terms of obtaining an education as well as their opinions about the current educational system in Ecuador. The investigation consisted of conducting interviews with both indigenous mothers who live in the countryside and mothers who live in the city of Quito. 1 chose to study two different demographics because I was curious if there were differences within the two groups on these issues. Moreover, 1 used my own observations as well as literary works to help me corroborate the information 1 received from the mothers to help me draw my conclusions. As 1 finished my interviews with 4 mothers from Cotacachi and 4 mothers from Quito, 1 found that the adolescents do differ in the way they access education, and how mothers perceive the educational system. Through data and interviews, 1 gathered that access to education as well as level of school attained by indigenous mothers and children is much lower than that of those in Quito. Nonetheless, there were similarities between the two groups in that they both had high aspirations for their child's educational future. Even though there are problems and inequalities in the educational system in Ecuador, the mothers expressed some hope as the government has made some positive changes.

Thesis PlanB (M.S.)--University of Wisconsin--Stout, 2009. / Includes bibliographical references.

No description available.

Cette étude porte sur le rôle des attitudes et des comportements parentaux dans le processus de décrochage scolaire au travers de deux objectifs. Le premier consiste à vérifier le rôle médiateur des aspirations scolaires de l’adolescent sur le lien entre les aspirations scolaires parentales pour leur enfant et le décrochage scolaire. Le second objectif vise à valider le rôle protecteur du soutien scolaire parental vis-à-vis du décrochage lorsque les aspirations scolaires des parents pour leur adolescent sont peu élevées. Les résultats ont été obtenus à partir de données longitudinales recueillies auprès de 4630 élèves québécois de secondaire pendant cinq ans. Ils mettent en évidence par l’emploi de régressions logistiques que les aspirations scolaires de l’adolescent médiatisent partiellement le lien entre les aspirations scolaires des parents et le décrochage scolaire. Comme attendu, le nombre de décrocheurs s’avère moins important dans la situation où les parents aux aspirations scolaires peu élevées soutiennent scolairement leur enfant. En revanche, les résultats n’ont pas permis de démontrer statistiquement le rôle protecteur du soutien scolaire parental car, contre toute attente, le nombre de décrocheurs s’est avéré également plus important lorsque des parents aux aspirations scolaires élevées soutiennent scolairement leur enfant. Quelques hypothèses sont avancées pour expliquer ce résultat contre intuitif. Les conclusions de cette étude laissent penser qu’accompagner les parents et leur enfant sur le niveau de leurs aspirations scolaires, permettrait de réduire le risque de décrochage scolaire. Elles ouvrent également sur de nouvelles perspectives quant au rôle modérateur du style parental et des difficultés scolaires de l’adolescent sur l’influence du soutien scolaire parental dans le processus de décrochage scolaire. / This study focuses on the role of parental attitudes and behaviours in the process of school dropout through addressing two objectives. The first objective consists in verifying the mediator role of educational aspirations of the adolescent on the relationship between parental educational aspirations for their child and school dropout. The second objective aims at validating the protective role of parental support against school dropout when parental educational aspirations for their adolescent are low. The results were derived from data gathered annually among 4630 Quebec high school students from 7th to 11th grade. The results demonstrate through the use of logistic regressions that educational aspirations of the adolescent mediate partially the relationship between the parental educational aspirations and school dropout. As observed, dropout were less frequent when the parents with low educational aspirations supported their child in its education. Nonetheless the results could not prove the protective role of parental educational support. Indeed, the number of dropouts appeared surprisingly also higher when parents expressed high educational aspirations and high support. Several explanations are proposed to explain those results. This study suggests that working with both parents and their child on their educational aspirations may help decrease the risk of school dropout. They also bring new perspectives on the moderating role of parenting style and academic difficulties of the adolescent on the influence of parental educational support in the school dropout process.