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Bound by compulsory attendance laws, over 48 million children attend public schools in the United States each year. Unfortunately, for a growing percentage of these students, compulsory attendance has not resulted in equitable achievement. In spite of educational reforms aimed at the school, district, state, and most recently, federal level, academic achievement gaps continue to exist between students of color and students of poverty as compared to white and/or more economically advantaged peers. Previously identified Educational Frameworks including the Effective Schools Correlates, Malcolm Baldrige Quality Improvement Educational Criteria, Stupski Foundation Components, and Professional Learning Communities Characteristics have described the elements present in successful schools and districts; however research into the process of how districts have made progress toward closing achievement gaps is less prevalent. This grounded theory study examined the processes employed by a single Texas school district serving over 26,000 students in an economically and ethnically diverse community which had made progress in closing achievement gaps with all students. Data gathered through semi-structured interviews, direct observations, and document reviews informed the findings. The research utilized Strauss and Corbin's three stages of coding: open coding, axial coding, and selective coding (Strauss & Corbin, 1998) for data analysis. Findings regarding the processes employed revealed that the district: created systems to select, develop and, evaluate leadership personnel; nurtured a district culture of shared accountability for results; crafted systems of accountability; built district structures to support learning and achievement; endorsed district-level decision-making; engineered a research-based and inquirydriven decision-making culture; intentionally managed change; deployed systems district-wide to impact change at the campus and classroom level, and embraced a commitment to professional learning.

published_or_final_version / Education / Master / Master of Education

published_or_final_version / Education / Master / Master of Education

published_or_final_version / Education / Master / Master of Education

published_or_final_version / Education / Master / Master of Education

Taking the structuralist approach as a starting point, this dissertation constructs a computable general equilibrium model for India using the social accounting matrix framework and along the lines of Lance Taylor's modelling of developing countries. The model is used to test the structuralist theories on the effects of a devaluation. The dissertation extends the testing of these models in two respects. First, by organizing the data in the form of traded and non-traded goods it studies the macroeconomic responses at a greater level of disaggregation than has been attempted earlier. Second, by constructing social accounting matrices for three time periods and using these to simulate the model, it examines the robustness of the predictions of the structuralist theories. The results indicate that the outcome of a devaluation depends on the structure of the economy and on the extent of the elasticity of exports, thus, generally supporting the structuralist theories.

The study uses racialisation as a lens to understand the racist experiences of ordinary Asian Australians. It examines the racialisation processes underlying these experiences and explores the strategies employed to respond to and mitigate the impact of being racialised. It addresses the need to develop the theoretical and methodological underpinnings of racialisation and anti-racism in light of the dearth of research work on these especially in Australia. Different elements from various theories were drawn to frame the empirical investigation since no single theory was adequate as anchor for this qualitative study. In-depth interviews and focus groups with 64 Asian Australians generated rich narratives that provided interesting insights on the personal, political, and spiritual dimensions of human experience that connect the lives of racialised subjects. Deconstructing stories of racialised subjects laid bare the essence of racist experiences by revealing insights into when and how race becomes a salient signifier of difference. Racialisation provides a productive way of understanding racist experiences since it allows for the unpacking of the multi-layered linked processes of racial categorisation, racial differentiation and problematisation, marginalisation and exclusion, inferiorisation and devaluation. These processes are ordinarily part of the experiences of minority people. They constitute what can be called 'everyday racialisation'. The study uses stress-coping theory to examine the long-term and cumulative impact of being part of a racialised group. It shows how exposure to racism stressors has multifarious effects on the health and well-being of racialised subjects. The everyday racialisation of minority groups affects their socio-psychological functioning and limits the life chances and economic opportunities available to them. In addition, the study demonstrates how Asian Australians cope with the stress of their everyday racialisation by drawing from their personal repertoire of discursive, cognitive and behavioural strategies. These, in combination with outside support mechanisms, make up what can be termed ?everyday anti-racism? strategies. Racialisation provides valuable insights into when, how and why racialised subjects deploy these different strategies to negotiate, contest and bridge the constraints and boundaries imposed on them. The study offers an integrated model for understanding racialisation experience and lays the foundation for developing further the concepts of 'everyday racialisation' and 'everyday antiracism'.

The study uses racialisation as a lens to understand the racist experiences of ordinary Asian Australians. It examines the racialisation processes underlying these experiences and explores the strategies employed to respond to and mitigate the impact of being racialised. It addresses the need to develop the theoretical and methodological underpinnings of racialisation and anti-racism in light of the dearth of research work on these especially in Australia. Different elements from various theories were drawn to frame the empirical investigation since no single theory was adequate as anchor for this qualitative study. In-depth interviews and focus groups with 64 Asian Australians generated rich narratives that provided interesting insights on the personal, political, and spiritual dimensions of human experience that connect the lives of racialised subjects. Deconstructing stories of racialised subjects laid bare the essence of racist experiences by revealing insights into when and how race becomes a salient signifier of difference. Racialisation provides a productive way of understanding racist experiences since it allows for the unpacking of the multi-layered linked processes of racial categorisation, racial differentiation and problematisation, marginalisation and exclusion, inferiorisation and devaluation. These processes are ordinarily part of the experiences of minority people. They constitute what can be called 'everyday racialisation'. The study uses stress-coping theory to examine the long-term and cumulative impact of being part of a racialised group. It shows how exposure to racism stressors has multifarious effects on the health and well-being of racialised subjects. The everyday racialisation of minority groups affects their socio-psychological functioning and limits the life chances and economic opportunities available to them. In addition, the study demonstrates how Asian Australians cope with the stress of their everyday racialisation by drawing from their personal repertoire of discursive, cognitive and behavioural strategies. These, in combination with outside support mechanisms, make up what can be termed ?everyday anti-racism? strategies. Racialisation provides valuable insights into when, how and why racialised subjects deploy these different strategies to negotiate, contest and bridge the constraints and boundaries imposed on them. The study offers an integrated model for understanding racialisation experience and lays the foundation for developing further the concepts of 'everyday racialisation' and 'everyday antiracism'.

The study uses racialisation as a lens to understand the racist experiences of ordinary Asian Australians. It examines the racialisation processes underlying these experiences and explores the strategies employed to respond to and mitigate the impact of being racialised. It addresses the need to develop the theoretical and methodological underpinnings of racialisation and anti-racism in light of the dearth of research work on these especially in Australia. Different elements from various theories were drawn to frame the empirical investigation since no single theory was adequate as anchor for this qualitative study. In-depth interviews and focus groups with 64 Asian Australians generated rich narratives that provided interesting insights on the personal, political, and spiritual dimensions of human experience that connect the lives of racialised subjects. Deconstructing stories of racialised subjects laid bare the essence of racist experiences by revealing insights into when and how race becomes a salient signifier of difference. Racialisation provides a productive way of understanding racist experiences since it allows for the unpacking of the multi-layered linked processes of racial categorisation, racial differentiation and problematisation, marginalisation and exclusion, inferiorisation and devaluation. These processes are ordinarily part of the experiences of minority people. They constitute what can be called 'everyday racialisation'. The study uses stress-coping theory to examine the long-term and cumulative impact of being part of a racialised group. It shows how exposure to racism stressors has multifarious effects on the health and well-being of racialised subjects. The everyday racialisation of minority groups affects their socio-psychological functioning and limits the life chances and economic opportunities available to them. In addition, the study demonstrates how Asian Australians cope with the stress of their everyday racialisation by drawing from their personal repertoire of discursive, cognitive and behavioural strategies. These, in combination with outside support mechanisms, make up what can be termed ?everyday anti-racism? strategies. Racialisation provides valuable insights into when, how and why racialised subjects deploy these different strategies to negotiate, contest and bridge the constraints and boundaries imposed on them. The study offers an integrated model for understanding racialisation experience and lays the foundation for developing further the concepts of 'everyday racialisation' and 'everyday antiracism'.