Thesis (Ed.D.)--Teachers College, Columbia University, 1996. / Includes tables. Typescript; issued also on microfilm. Sponsor: Dale Mann. Dissertation Committee: Jon Hughes. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 252-255).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Alabama at Birmingham, 2007. / Additional advisors: Lois M. Christensen, Lynn D. Kirkland, Maryann Manning, Dorothy Riley. Includes bibliographical references (p. 121-126).

The government of Lesotho and the parent expect all learners to attend school daily to receive the best education so that they can have a bright future. Education prepares the learner for life; if the learner drops out, he/she will struggle to succeed in life. The ever increasing rate of primary school dropouts in Lesotho is of great concern as it has negatively impacted on education in the area. The education system as well as the Basotho community has over the years been affected in various ways. For example, school dropouts become liabilities to the community as they are not able to contribute maximally to nation building. In most cases the dropouts engage in anti-social criminal activities. They also cause educational wastage in the form of resources. For these reasons, it was of paramount importance to determine the reasons for dropouts and establish the possible solutions to this national problem. This study has examined factors influencing learners to dropout. It employed a qualitative research design, using focus group interviews and field notes to succeed in investigating the causal factors of learner dropouts. Purposive sampling was used for the research because it was convenient for the research in terms of time. By using purposive sampling, the researcher was able to include participants according to the relevant criteria based on the emerging research question: What are the factors influencing learner dropout? The main objective was to identify the factors influencing primary school learner dropouts in Teyateyaneng, Lesotho. The focus group interviews were made up of one principal and five educators from each of the three primary schools which are located in Teyateyaneng in the Berea district of Lesotho. This type of sampling was used because the researcher wanted rich information from participants regarding the reasons for learners dropping out of school. It has emerged from the empirical findings of the study that learner dropout is inter alia caused by school and home related factors. The study revealed that some learners dropped out of school because they were orphans, while others dropped out of school after being absent for a number of weeks. Mainstream classrooms were also found to encourage dropping out because educators are not fully trained to address problems that learners with disabilities bring to the classrooms. Lack of parental involvement was found to drive learners away from schools and into the streets. Due to poor financial situations learners leave school and are forced into child labour to better their families‟living conditions. Student educators were found to be a factor because they lack the necessary skills in developing learners. Other learners decided to stop schooling totally after repeating a grade.Due to the high prevalence of HIV/AIDS many learners are taken out of school to take care of their ill relatives. Some learners drop out of school after being abused and neglected. Due to the high unemployment rate and poverty in Lesotho, many learners quit school to support their families. All the above causes for learners dropping out of school have been discussed in detail in chapter four. These factors are complex issues, which should be handled by trained people. As learners spend a great ideal of time in their school environments, the educators play an integral part in alleviating the learners' social problems. It is essential that learners with social problems seek professional help at an early stage. Educators are obliged to help these learners although they are not necessarily equipped to give the required assistance. Suggestions and recommendations are mentioned to alleviate the situation. The study recommends that primary school learners should be encouraged to complete their primary level education. The Ministry of Education and Training should develop policy guidelines on inclusive education, facilitate legislation on compulsory basic education, improve teaching and learning conditions in all schools, abolish child labour, create employment opportunities for parents to prevent child labour, regulate traditional circumcision and solicit parental support. All the above suggestions hoped to be solutions to the problems of learner dropouts as discussed in detail in chapter two. / Inclusive Education / M. Ed. (Inclusive Education)

The author has tried to emphasize the importance of the health of the school child and of a good health program in the public school. Realizing that most school administrators have very limited knowledge regarding the establishment of a program of this nature, it has been the purpose of this paper to set up a basic structure that may serve as a guide to the school in building its school health education program. Although this is written specifically for the school at Warrington, Florida, it is felt that this program may be of some benefit to other schools that would like to establish a better health program. / Typescript. / "August, 1950." / "Submitted to the Graduate Council of Florida State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science." / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 38-39).

The purpose of this study is to explore the extent to which young children in three Grade R classes in the Eastern Cape Province were exposed to developmentally appropriate opportunities to achieve the Critical Outcomes as outlined in the South African National Curriculum Statement. The research took the form of a case study. Semi-structured interviews and observations were used to collect data. Respondents included children, their parents, Grade R practitioners and the school leadership. The findings tentatively showed that this set of parents perceived their role in providing for their children’s developmental needs as separate to that of the GR practitioners. They seemed to see their roles as helping their children to develop social and emotional competence only, and that the GR practitioners provided, in addition to this, literacy and numeracy teaching to their children. In contrast, the three GR practitioners believed that parents were responsible also for promoting literacy, numeracy and life skills. There seemed therefore to be a lack of clarity of specific teacher and parent views of their roles. The researcher found, however, that the children seemed to be given few developmentally appropriate opportunities for planned and structured activities which enabled them to explore the Critical Outcomes, for example, working together, solving problems, using technology. The teaching methodology used by the GR practitioners during the observation periods, seemed to a large extent, to be based in 'talk and chalk' in the plenary grouping. It did not seem to enable the implementation of the curriculum and especially of the Critical Outcomes in a developmentally appropriate way. In addition, the environment in which children learned was not observed to be developmentally appropriate for relevant education to take place. Too many children were crowded into the available space, while learning equipment and materials were lacking. Any competences that young children in these three GR programmes achieved were therefore possibly learned incidentally, rather than deliberately through planned activities. In addition, GR classes in this study were not observed to be supported within the schools to deliver competent curriculum activities to the children. The study makes suggestions to meet some of these challenges. These include improving the understanding of curriculum guidelines of all role players in the three schools, enabling the management teams and especially parents to take a stronger support and monitoring role, and providing and using materials and equipment to promote the use of the Critical Out comes as methods for teaching and for learning.

The underrepresentation of gifted Black and Biracial students is a pervasive problem in and of itself, and indicates a much larger struggle of disproportionality of Black and Biracial students who are not called upon or supported in efforts to meet their academic potential. Therefore, an evaluation of the inequity generated by gifted education is warranted. It is true that the majority of gifted programs are often predominantly White. Accordingly, Black and Biracial students who qualify for gifted programs may face unique challenges in their development of racial identity and their socio-emotional health. Using ethnographic techniques, this case study explored the ways that Discovery School, a predominantly White gifted school (PWGS), addresses race. It asked how Black and Biracial students at Discovery School understood themselves as racial beings. The fundamental research questions that guided this study were: (1) how is race addressed at a PWGS, and (2) how does a student of color feel Otherness at a PWGS? The case study was designed, and findings were analyzed, through the theoretical lens of critical race theory. Data was collected through several means, including interviews, surveys, direct observation, and email prompts. Interviews were conducted with four gifted students of color, three teachers, and three parents. Surveys were sent home for student participants and their parents to fill out together. Teachers and administrators were asked to complete two email interview questions. Throughout the data collection, I frequently observed students learning and playing at the school and recorded field notes. Findings indicate that: 1. Talented and gifted students thrive in programs that are uniquely tailored to meet their advanced academic and cognitive needs. 2. Policies and inadequate communication act as barriers for gifted Black and Biracial students. 3. Within a positive educational community, racial microaggressions- including the silencing of racial dialogue and individual bullying- exist. The results of this study suggest that Discovery School operates in ways that benefit the participants of the study. Overall, the student participants (and most parent participants) were satisfied with their experiences at Discovery School. Additionally, results indicate that Discovery School could strengthen their program with a commitment to diversifying the student population and implementing culturally responsive pedagogy and antiracist practices that change the consciousness of education professionals and offer support systems for gifted Black and Biracial students, and develop curriculum that is more reflective of students of color.

For decades, urban public schools have been plagued by systemic and structural challenges that continue today. Scholars, policymakers, and the general public have pointed to problems of learning in urban schools and to low expectations for urban students' learning, but little attention has been given to how urban students themselves conceptualize learning. This study sought to fill the void by asking a group of urban students about their views of learning. A phenomenographic approach was employed to examine the qualitatively different ways in which 20 urban elementary fifth-grade students expressed their conceptions of learning and of their learning approaches. Consistent with phenomenography, the study was intended to understand the collective expressions of individuals' conceptions regarding a phenomenon, and emphasis was on the mapping of variation across the conceptions. Semi-structured interviews with open-ended questions, conducted individually, elicited the students' conceptions of the meaning of learning and their learning approaches. In a "search for meaning" approach, analyses were based on students' transcribed responses forming a pool of quotations. These quotations were divided first into "what" and "how" categories—"what" is learning and "how" does learning occur—and then into subcategories. The results were a set of categories organized in a two-level hierarchy. The three "what" conceptions were as follows: learning as increasing knowledge, learning as growing as a person, and learning as applying knowledge. The three "how" conceptions were the following: learning by persevering, learning by using active learning strategies, and learning by participating in social interactions. These conceptions comprised an outcome space representing the six different ways that these urban school students expressed their conceptions of learning inside and outside of school contexts. Whereas much attention in the educational literature has been directed to teachers setting high expectations for urban students, students in this study seemed to be setting high expectations for themselves, which included college and career. Although prior research has pointed to a need for urban students to develop more positive mindsets regarding engagement and motivation, students in this study tended to express some major metacognitive insights into their own learning. Educational implications are suggested based on the findings.

M. Tech. Education / This study examines the factors that impacts on the benefits and challenges of Information and Communication Technology in some selected primary schools in central Johannesburg district 14. The study also investigates the level of availability of ICT facilities in these schools, the capacity for using ICT facilities for teaching and learning, the perceived benefits of using ICT and the challenges facing the use of ICT in these schools. The population consisted of all the educators school management teams and principals of these schools.

published_or_final_version / Speech and Hearing Sciences / Master / Master of Philosophy

何偉傑. / 呈交日期: 2000年9月. / 論文(哲學博士)--香港中文大學, 2001. / 參考文獻 (p. 335-360) / 中英文摘要. / Cheng jiao ri qi: 2000 nian 9 yue. / Available also through the Internet via Dissertations & theses @ Chinese University of Hong Kong. / Electronic reproduction. Hong Kong : Chinese University of Hong Kong, [2012] System requirements: Adobe Acrobat Reader. Available via World Wide Web. / Electronic reproduction. Ann Arbor, MI : ProQuest Information and Learning Company, [200-] System requirements: Adobe Acrobat Reader. Available via World Wide Web. / Mode of access: World Wide Web. / He Weijie. / Lun wen (Zhe xue bo shi)--Xianggang Zhong wen da xue, 2001. / Can kao wen xian (p. 335-360) / Zhong Ying wen zhai yao.