Thesis PlanB (M.S.)--University of Wisconsin--Stout, 2007. / Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (Ed. D.)--University of California at Berkeley, 1995. / eContent provider-neutral record in process. Description based on print version record. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 83-86).

Thesis (Ed. D.)--University of California at Berkeley, 1995. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 83-86).

Thesis (Ed. D.)--Illinois State University, 1999. / Title from title page screen, viewed July 19, 2006. Dissertation Committee: Elizabeth T. Lugg (chair), Dianne Ashby, Amee Adkins, Martin Hickman. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 105-114) and abstract. Also available in print.

No description available.

No description available.

No description available.

No description available.

This thesis addresses the need for schools to provide a method for young people to come to terms with the complexity of their changing world as they seek to make meaning for themselves. It begins by tracing the theoretical foundations for an increased focus on meaning in Australian schooling and its establishment as a stated pedagogical principle in federal and state policies, syllabi and Catholic Church documentation on education. It analyses the literatures of the future direction of schooling, youth spirituality and the foundation documentation on Catholic education. It proposes that there is a degree of overlap in these literatures and the common discourse and the emerging paradigm addresses the need for students to develop a sense of personal meaning. The thesis provides an historical overview of schooling in terms of the societal contexts and the educational and philosophical assumptions that underpin the curriculum and pedagogical activities. It develops a model that identifies changes in the process of meaning-making and proposes a framework that could help schools become more effective resource agents for students in the development of their meaning-making capacities. It uses this framework to investigate the key documents of one Catholic system of secondary schools. It identifies the extent to which the system actually puts into action this pedagogical principle through its policy, research material, strategic planning, school culture (charism) and religious education programmes. Finally the thesis relates the findings of the specific school system to the overall process of secondary schooling within a Catholic context in Australia and proposes some issues for further consideration.

The purpose of the study was to give a description of the curricula and methods used in the home schools of home educators and to evaluate by means of case studies the effects of home education upon those included in the study.Chapter I presented an overview of the background and significance for the study and five research questions which were addressed by the study. The questions were:1. Will students being educated in the home be able to obtain academic achievement at comparable levels with those students being educated in the public school? 2. Will students being educated in the home be able to show at least one years' gain in academic achievement when scores of the previous year are compared with scores from the current year?3. What curricula and methods are being used in the home education of the children included in the study?4. What attitudes and values motivated the parents in the study to home educate their children?5. What legal actions, if any, did the parents included in the study face as a result of their choice to home educate?Chapter II provided a review of related literature. Reviewed were: compulsory attendance laws, related court decisions, and research related to home education.Chapter III presented the plan of organization and procedures used in gathering, reporting, and summarizing the data.Chapter IV contained the data collected from the four home educators. The data were presented in narrative form and in tables for each family case study.Chapter V presented a summary of the case studies, answers to research questions, observations, and recommendations. The data provided the following answers to the five research questions:1. Forty percent of the home educated students scored equal to the median national score.2. Students showed inconsistencies in average gains for the year.3. Three of the four families used curriculum materials commercially prepared for home educators.4. The parent educators appeared motivated by socialization concerns and desires for values training.5. Legal action was taken against one of the four families in the study.