Doctorat en sciences psychologiques / info:eu-repo/semantics/nonPublished

This thesis consists of three essays on the economics of education and migration. The first essay analyzes the effects of remittances on public education spending in migrants’ source countries. The second essay studies the impact of migration on public education expenditures in migrants’ destination countries. The third essay investigates the effects of public education expenditures on subsequent human capital inequality. / Doctorat en Sciences économiques et de gestion / info:eu-repo/semantics/nonPublished

The private and social returns to education literature share the same conclusion: that education is beneficial for both the individual and society. However, the theoretical underpinnings are flawed as the literature does not account for the main feature that leads to the acquisition of education: the private demand for education. An understanding of the factors that motivate the individual to invest in education would lead to a deeper insight as to why both private and social returns to education exist, and would provide a clearer framework on which to base the government funding of education. This thesis provides a first attempt at filling this gap by introducing a method of estimating the returns to government investment in education, which is labelled the ‘labour market drop-out rate approach’. The approach focuses on the social return to education, not in terms of graduate earnings, but in terms of the interaction of the graduate with the economy. The approach introduces a measure of expertise utilisation, based on the premise that there is no social return to an individual acquiring education if he or she does not utilise the acquired knowledge base on entering the labour market. The approach is tested using the labour market for marine scientists in South Africa as a case study. In this case the private demand for education is found to be heavily influenced by the provision of student bursaries from the National Research Foundation, with a resulting estimate of the social return to a degree in marine science being a mere 20% to 25%. Owing to this, a new approach to government investment in marine science is introduced, that of graduate contribution schemes. Of broader significance is the ease of application of this approach, it may be adopted to analyse any funding programme in which a government may decide to invest. As such, the labour market drop-out rate provides an extension to the returns to education literature through its theoretical dealings of the private demand for education, as well as a practical tool which government agencies can use to evaluate the efficacy of any government funding of education.

In this thesis I explore the rhetoric behind the assessment push nation-wide and, particularly, in California. I take a close look at what politicians, educators, and citizens say about public education and their views of the current educational reform: whether they are speaking in support of or opposition to the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001. I look specifically at the finances of public education in California, the impact and current outcome of NCLB, and propose new reforms as suggested by those intimately involved in education.

The problem addressed in this study can be stated thus: There are extremely limited numbers of students from the lowest economic class graduating from our nation's institutions of higher education. The challenge to institutions of higher education is how to improve access, support, and successful completion of higher education for students experiencing the most extreme poverty barriers. Weber's (1946) social-class theory was selected to determine the meanings and interpretations of students from poverty backgrounds in regard to their success and perceived barriers to success in completing college. This theoretical construct is based on the idea that collectively held meanings arise from three distinct although related dimensions of life including, lifestyles, context, and economic opportunity. Focus group interviews with a representative group of 24 people who grew up in generational poverty were the main source of data (Merton, Fiske, & Kendall, 1990). The focus group interviews were open-ended and designed to reveal the participants' subjective experience of completing a college degree (Schatzman & Strauss, 1973). A demographic questionnaire administered to 56 respondents was used to complement the focus group interviews. The grounded theory approach guided the data collection and analysis process (Glaser & Strauss, 1967; Strauss & Corbin, 1990). According to its objectives, the study results provided: (a) a description of the poverty-related conditions, (b) an overview of the early educational experiences of the participants, (c) a demographic profile, (d) an overview of perceived challenges and barriers to higher education and (e) a discussion of success factors. The findings from this study would suggest five areas for educational improvement: (a) development of a campus climate sensitive to social class and poverty issues; (b) implementation of faculty, staff, and student social-class sensitivity training programs combined with curricular reform; (c) facilitation of connections to informal mentors; (d) articulation of connections between obtaining a college degree and earning a higher income; and an (e) exploration of expanding college partnerships with social service agencies that are geared to helping people in poverty.

楊希. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 2013. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 155-169). / Electronic reproduction. Hong Kong : Chinese University of Hong Kong, [2012] System requirements: Adobe Acrobat Reader. Available via World Wide Web. / Abstract in Chinese and English. / Yang xi.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the socio-economic impact of learners’ achievement at public schools in Nkangala District in the Mpumalanga Province. The benefits of the study were highlighted within the narrative of the study. The study was qualitative in nature and included a literature study, observations and semi structured interviews. It was discovered from the data that the socio- economic conditions in the district, the learners’ home environment, the school environment and the Department of Education impacted on learners’ achievement. Based on the findings, recommendations were made for improvements to assist in addressing the socio economic impact on learners’ achievement. / Educational Management and Leadership / M. Ed. (Education Management)

Thesis (MEcon)--University of Stellenbosch, 2006. / Education production function analysis is widely recognised as one important area of research that needs to inform education policymaking, specifically policy relating to the mix of funded inputs in a schooling system. Arriving at production functions is a complex task, and is fraught with methodological pitfalls. This thesis sets out to establish a framework for undertaking education production function analysis, and in discussing its various elements, including its pitfalls, recommendations for good practice are arrived at. The material analysed is of four types: texts on econometric theory; existing production function analyses; documentation relating to three dataintensive school monitoring programmes, namely Brazil’s SAEB, South Africa’s Systemic Evaluation and the international SACMEQ programme; and lastly data, relating mainly to South Africa, from the 2000 run of SACMEQ. The thesis is organised according what can be regarded as seven key analysis steps. These steps include a focus on the importance of a ‘mental model’, the relative benefits of the one-level regression model and the hierarchical linear model (HLM), and the formulation of actual production functions for South Africa based on the SACMEQ data, using both one-level and HLM models. Key conclusions are, firstly, that the HLM, though still under-developed, offers great analysis potential and, secondly, that production function analyses ought to be translated into budgetary terms in order for them to become fully meaningful to the policymaker.

Thesis (LLD)--Stellenbosch University, 2013. / The general public should have wide access to copyrighted materials for education and research. However, since the current copyright law system subtly favors copyright holders, it is time to re-evaluate copyright law to ensure it meets its original purpose of promoting the learning of the society. The research primarily focuses on how to broaden copyright limitations and exceptions for the public to access and use learning materials. Within the framework of the copyright law system, other mechanisms that allow users to access copyrighted materials at a reasonable price also are considered. Such mechanisms include an efficient collective copyright management system and various licensing schemes. In an information network environment, it is time for developing countries to reform copyright law in order to promote education and research. It is hoped the findings of this study not only benefit South Africa and People's Republic of China, but also provide insights and guidelines to other developing countries with similar conditions.

Global consensus on the importance of gender equity in education is perhaps one of the greatest agreements reached in the twentieth century. However, for countries in the sub Saharan African region where disparities of gender are wide and primary education takes priority, secondary education continues to remain in the periphery. As countries make progress towards the attainment of Universal Primary Education (UPE), the concerns for gender equity and equality have become associated with school access and pupil retention. Yet, patterns and trends in school enrollment suggest that disparities of gender are more complex. As lessons are learned from the achievements and challenges of attaining UPE, it is increasingly apparent that gender disparities within education occur in, within and beyond access to schooling. In other words, the challenge of making education gender equal goes beyond school access and school enrollment. Kenya is a signatory to the 1990 Jomtein Declaration on Education For All (EFA). It is also among the few countries in the sub Saharan Africa region with a significantly reduced gender gap in primary and secondary education. This is in tandem with the third of the eight Millennium Development Goals whose aims bear a broad social and economic development agenda. While education equity is important in Kenya and tremendous progress has been made in primary education, beyond the attainment of Universal Primary Education (UPE) there is an even more significant target; gender equity in education both in primary and secondary education by 2015. The attainment of this target requires more than access to schooling and for this reason it poses great challenges to governments and schools. In light of the progress made in Kenya and the need for more equitable education beyond primary education, this study conceives a need for an incisive examination of education equity priority areas in Kenya. The study argues on the need for a shift of concern and debate from primary education to secondary education because the gains of UPE only become meaningful when education equity is secured in secondary education. The study underscores that beyond school access and retention, education output and outcomes need to become prominent variables because they gauge trends and patterns and the quality of gains made where education is claimed to be both accessible and equitable. Using case study method, the study makes a critical interpretation of the schooling experiences, educational choices, preferences and aspirations of girls taking secondary education in single-sex schools in Murang’a district, Kenya. The study shows that girls schooling experiences are not homogenous and that there are contradictions in the ways that girls experience their schooling and make educational choices. It also shows that girls do not necessarily stand good chances with their education simply because they are enrolled in single-sex schools. The study reveals individual subjectivities and schooling culture to be at the centre of the differences between schools and the schooling experiences that girls have. The two have impact on how girls perceive themselves and their abilities, the preferences they nurture and the educational choices they make. The study draws attention to nuances in access and equity within girls’ education. It draws out issues and nuances linked to gender access, equity and equality with respect to school, teacher and subject access. Though the study is not generaliseable, it shows that in contexts where female access and survival is secured, there is need for attention to be paid to the environments that nurture educational choices and preferences so that the high rates in school access become translated into equally high educational output and outcomes.