The purpose of this study was to critically examine three different approaches to educational provision in Zimbabwe during the pre-colonial, colonial and post-colonial periods. It was the intention of the researcher to then select certain features of the pre-colonial, which is also known as the traditional approach, and adopt them into the present practices in order to improve the later. To this end, two methods were employed, literary works and interviews. The major form of obtaining information here was through literary works. Various documents on the history of education in Zimbabwe during the colonial and post-colonial periods were examined and those relevant to this study were selected. Those of the current practices were also used. It was determined that both in the colonial and postcolonial eras, governments were using education as a tool to realize their political objectives. The concerns over political security led colonial governments to provide and withhold education provision as they saw fit. This was their way of checking and controlling the rate of African advancement. Current efforts in the provision of education by the government are a way of cementing the ruling party's administration of society around its own political ideology. This study has found that in both the colonial and the post-colonial periods, the African children were subjected to very strange experiences in the form of the school curriculum. The type of thinking and activities children did at school was not supported with the experiences that they had at home. The worlds of traditional Shona and thought (home) and that of the West (school) in many cases were found to be diametrically opposite. This study argues that these opposite worlds can be bridged if certain aspects of traditional thought and practice was allowed into schools. This would be done by providing a curriculum at school, which incorporated some of those experiences that are highly valued at home. That would make the students' experiences at home continuous with and complementary to those at school.

This dissertation addresses the problem of how best to teach undergraduate literature courses in the climate of challenge and hostility which surrounds traditional literary studies today. The practical purpose of the dissertation is to recommend that teachers of undergraduate literature classes not only become thoroughly familiar with current academic debates over how and which literature to teach, but that they incorporate these debates into the curriculum. The dissertation further recommends that undergraduate literature courses teach the historical circumstances which shaped literary study in America and subsequently created the issues and positions with which the current debate is concerned. The five chapters of the dissertation present an historical account of the development of literary studies in American higher education. Particular attention is paid to the influences of power and class which were brought to bear on this process from its origins in classical Greek education to its institutionalization in the late nineteenth century. This history is intended to serve as resource material for literature instructors who wish to expand their curriculum and teach undergraduates that the historical and cultural background to any text is essential to understanding its purpose and meaning. The dissertation concludes with recommendations for how teachers can incorporate cultural history into the undergraduate literature curriculum.

The purpose of this study is to create in the Bilingual Puerto Rican Teachers an awareness of his/her role as a transmitter of Puerto Rican cultural values. This dissertation proposes the development of a Teaching Handbook which teachers can use to amplify his/her knowledge of his/her own culture and which can serve those teachers that are not Puerto Rican as a learning/teaching guide. The investigator conducted a review of literature which includes: (a) aspects of the culture learned through literature; (b) aspects of the culture not necessarily found in literary sources and is acquired. The investigator presented the results from the findings of the present study that reveal that the majority of Puerto Rican teachers in the United States come here for different reasons. Later they became teachers in different parts of Western Massachusetts. Each one of the teachers agreed that they are and should be transmitters of the culture. Other findings were the fact that some students had problems or cultural shocks in the new country. For example: language, climate, foods and in high school a greater problem communicating with other students and teachers. Those parents that were interviewed agreed that they came to this country to help their children in receiving a better education. Another of the parental worries of those parents that were interviewed, was that their children's adaptation to the new school system was difficult. The parents were concerned that the education of their children should include the Puerto Rican culture. They saw it as something that they could learn in the schools via the teacher. The investigator introduces a model for a handbook to serve as an outline for the transmission of cultural knowledge to Puerto Rican teachers and non-Puerto Rican teachers and the students they teach. It was concluded from the study that through the proposed cultural workshops, bilingual teachers will be able to acquire a wider knowledge of Puerto Rican culture. Through the handbook s/he will get a clearer idea of the possible way in which s/he can communicate this knowledge to his/her Puerto Rican students.

This study has addressed the need for greater understanding of the part education for social change plays in the process of creating a more just, equitable, and humane society. The purpose of this study has been to develop a better understanding of education for social change through examining the case of Highlander Center, a leader and pioneer in American education in the Appalachian region, and its efforts to create greater economic democracy and a more just and democratic society. Initially the author presents the case of Highlander Center and a review of the literature of education for social change to establish a conceptual foundation for this phenomenon and to provide examples of this alternative educational approach. The study then focuses on the qualitative case study methodology that was used in collecting data through open-ended, in-depth interviews with Highlander Center staff and program participants, participant observation at Highlander Center education for social change workshops and trainings, site observations of program participants' efforts in four communities in three Appalachian states, and document analysis. Five themes are used to present the findings of the study: (1) The Economic Problem in Appalachia, (2) Forces That Aid Social Change Toward Greater Economic Democracy, (3) Forces That Constrain Change Toward Greater Economic Democracy, (4) Highlander Center Education for Social Change, and (5) The Part Education for Social Change Plays in the Process of Creating a Society That Is More Democratic and Just. Finally, a summary and interpretation of the research findings are presented, implications for education for social change including a Social and Human Reality Framework of Education for Social Change are discussed, and suggestions are made for further research.

<p> Despite the increasing research that lists cultural incongruence in the classroom among the top factors that speaks to the disproportionate numbers of Black females obtaining STEM degrees there is limited research on the actual number of Black female science teachers at the secondary level in education and the impact this plays on Black females in science, technology, engineering, and math classrooms (STEM). The consequence of all this is that we find ourselves with Black female science teachers &ldquo;missing in action,&rdquo; and only 5% of Black females receiving a STEM degree. I employ critical pedagogy, critical race theory, and Black feminist thought to answer: (a) What do the stories of Black female secondary science teachers tell us about issues related to their recruitment and retention within the science teaching force? (b) How do Black female secondary science teachers explain the shortage of Black females entering the STEM field? What do they believe should be done to increase the number of Black females in the field? (c) What contributions do Black female secondary science teachers make or potentially would like to make to increase the number of Black females entering and remaining within the science teaching force? This study explores how Black women are absent in the conversation about recruitment and retention of secondary science teachers. To answer the research questions in a humanizing way, this study was conducted collectively with my participants using the qualitative methodologies of critical narratives and decolonizing methodology. Therefore, this study represents an effort to address this phenomenon by listening to the voices of Black female secondary science teachers and engaging their stories, which often have remained absent from recruitment and retention discussions, to contribute to the scholarship on the recruitment and retention of Black science teachers.</p><p>

The question of how to design educational programs which are relevant to Native American Indians, has plagued both Indian and non-Indian educators for more than a century. How does an educational system provide instruction which is vital for survival in mainstream society and at the same time, maintain a Native student's rights to think and exist in the world as an indigenous person? The devastating shortage of Native American Indian teachers, and administrators, as well as the urgent need for bilingual education and culturally appropriate curriculum, continue as unresolved obstacles. Perhaps in order to constructively alleviate the dilemmas of contemporary Indian education, one must look to the past and determine where failings and successes occurred. Historically, a major contributor to the American Indian education of the twentieth century, has been the off-reservation boarding school system. Both the school system and the educational training programs have had a direct effect on Native American Indian cultures. The model for the off-reservation boarding school was established in 1878 at Hampton Agricultural and Normal School, in Hampton, Virginia. The Hampton Indian educational plan had two major components, the instruction of English and the development of vocational skills. In 1879, Hampton Institute established a summer outing system program. The study presents a historical record of the significant events which lead to the development of the Hampton Institute's outing program in western Massachusetts, its influences on Indian education and its historical connection to the Americanization policies for Native American Indians during the late nineteenth century. The time period examined by this research is from 1878 to 1912, the years during which Hampton's Indian educational program received funding from the United States government. The process of using education as a means of Americanizing Indian students continues to exist in contemporary times. The research conducted for this study further reveals and confirms this and provides some broad generalizations and recommendations which may lead to the development of Native and non-Native educators guiding principals for modification of current and future Indian educational programs.

This dissertation examines the manifestations of the development discourse in the context of a bilateral South-South program of educational assistance through scholarships provided by the Cuban government at the secondary and postsecondary levels to students from Ghana. The research assesses the meanings attached to this program on the basis of the observations, understandings and perceptions of a group of graduates, and of former administrators who were involved in the design, implementation and/or administration of the program. The study gives legitimacy to the perspectives of a distinct group of knowers in a country of the postcolonial Global South who were socialized into an educational model that differs from the educational context of their home country. The research aims to illuminate the links between the program graduates’ experiences with the Cuban program and their subsequent contributions to Ghanaian society, with particular emphasis on the process of their reintegration. Research questions focus on the study participants’ perceptions regarding the relevance of the Cuban education in regard to academic and practical preparation; the combination of liberal and utilitarian principles of education; access opportunities; and ways in which the Ghanaian government may have encouraged the graduates’ return to Ghana in the context of the global brain drain phenomenon. Upon their return to Ghana, the graduates encountered challenges with respect to cultural disorientation due to the partial adoption of Cuban norms and values. They experienced difficulties integrating into professional life based on a perceived lack of understanding of certain Cuban credentials among Ghanaian employers, and encountered discrimination based on their education in an Eastern Bloc country. Once they had overcome the initial challenges, the graduates felt that the technical and professional aspects of their education, in particular the strong applied focus of their study programs, were well aligned with the Ghanaian context. There was evidence that early recruitment at the secondary level and a defined recruitment strategy resulted in program participation across the 10 Regions of Ghana. A distinct subgroup of graduates currently residing in the Bahamas provided insights into the reasons for their non-return to Ghana or their decision to leave their home country again.

No description available.