Title from title page of PDF (University of Missouri--St. Louis, viewed February 23, 2010). Includes bibliographical references (p. 121-129).

This thesis presents an analysis of adult education programs concerned with reconciliation, and more specifically with reconciliation pedagogy used by community organisations in Northern Ireland. Northern Ireland for many years was the site of inter-ethnic violence expressed through sectarian and paramilitary presence, but has moved towards a more peaceful, civil society in recent years. This thesis investigates how the role of the citizen-subject in the new Northern Ireland is constituted in adult education programs and how funding regimes govern such community relations initiatives. The thesis offers a critical analysis of interviews with tutors, participants, designers and managers involved in a selected peace and reconciliation course. A broader view on reconciliation pedagogy and curriculum in anti-sectarian adult education in Northern Ireland leads to a closer exploration of social practices and power relations surrounding the chosen course, while drawing upon selected aspects of social theory, Foucauldian discourse analysis and concepts of governmentality. The analysis revealed that the chosen anti-sectarian course, ‘Us and Them’ (Workers Educational Association), proposes individualisation and responsibilisation as alternatives to community identities and nationalistic myths of origins. Equal rights are interpreted as equal rights to cultural expressions, and culture is continuously privileged over other structural differentials in Northern Ireland such as poverty, class or colour. ‘Us and Them’ is one component of a large machinery of projects designed to address the conflict situation in Northern Ireland. This machinery finds its centre in the Northern Ireland Community Relations Council, which privileges certain knowledges based on cultural consociationalism over others and which distributes funds for peace and reconciliation projects accordingly. Furthermore,the thesis examines how contemporary policy papers addressing community relations shape discourses found in anti-sectarian strategies and the rationales, strategies and policies informing “Us and Them’. The aim of the analysis is to explore the power and potential (and the limitations) of individualisation and responsibilisation as techniques in peace and reconciliation pedagogy in post-settlement ethnic conflict situations.

This thesis presents an analysis of adult education programs concerned with reconciliation, and more specifically with reconciliation pedagogy used by community organisations in Northern Ireland. Northern Ireland for many years was the site of inter-ethnic violence expressed through sectarian and paramilitary presence, but has moved towards a more peaceful, civil society in recent years. This thesis investigates how the role of the citizen-subject in the new Northern Ireland is constituted in adult education programs and how funding regimes govern such community relations initiatives. The thesis offers a critical analysis of interviews with tutors, participants, designers and managers involved in a selected peace and reconciliation course. A broader view on reconciliation pedagogy and curriculum in anti-sectarian adult education in Northern Ireland leads to a closer exploration of social practices and power relations surrounding the chosen course, while drawing upon selected aspects of social theory, Foucauldian discourse analysis and concepts of governmentality. The analysis revealed that the chosen anti-sectarian course, ‘Us and Them’ (Workers Educational Association), proposes individualisation and responsibilisation as alternatives to community identities and nationalistic myths of origins. Equal rights are interpreted as equal rights to cultural expressions, and culture is continuously privileged over other structural differentials in Northern Ireland such as poverty, class or colour. ‘Us and Them’ is one component of a large machinery of projects designed to address the conflict situation in Northern Ireland. This machinery finds its centre in the Northern Ireland Community Relations Council, which privileges certain knowledges based on cultural consociationalism over others and which distributes funds for peace and reconciliation projects accordingly. Furthermore,the thesis examines how contemporary policy papers addressing community relations shape discourses found in anti-sectarian strategies and the rationales, strategies and policies informing “Us and Them’. The aim of the analysis is to explore the power and potential (and the limitations) of individualisation and responsibilisation as techniques in peace and reconciliation pedagogy in post-settlement ethnic conflict situations.

Thesis (D. Min.)--Reformed Theological Seminary, 2006. / Abstract and vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 149-155).

Thesis (Ed.D.) -- Teachers College, Columbia University, 1991. / Typescript; issued also on microfilm. Sponsor: William Yakowicz. Dissertation Committee: Jack D. Mezirow. Includes bibliographical references: (leaves 169-191).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Wisconsin--Madison, 1973. / Typescript. Vita. eContent provider-neutral record in process. Description based on print version record. Includes bibliographical references.

The relationship of culture and healthcare plays an important role in the success of health care access for everyone. In recent decades, the United States has opened its door to welcome not only refugees and immigrants from Europe, but also from other countries all over the world. Coming to the United States, these ethnic groups must overcome many problems to adjust to the American healthcare system. Meanwhile, American health providers not only misunderstand their refugees and immigrant clients' culture, but also want them to conform to the requirement of purely biomedical treatment. The result is that access to healthcare for immigrant groups in the United States is likely to be difficult because of significant cultural differences between the clients and healthcare provider. This research used in depth-interviews, participant observations, and a case study to explore the interaction between culture and healthcare for Vietnamese refugee and immigrant adults and elderly living in the Greater Springfield, Massachusetts area; the level of their involvement in the American healthcare and in traditional healthcare; the extent of integration of American healthcare and traditional healthcare; the obstacles they face in accessing and using American healthcare; and the importance of health education in successful healthcare access. Theories of acculturation, such as Models of Acculturation (Padilla, 1980) and Health Care System Model (Kleinman, 1978a) were used to process the study data to determine the extent of the influence of culture on the effectiveness of healthcare. Finally, based on data analysis, I explain how Vietnamese refugee and immigrant adults and elderly acculturate to the American healthcare system, and make recommendations for improving healthcare for them, as well as for other ethnic groups throughout America.

This research involves understanding the civic learning that emerged from the ways individuals in two civic action groups, Greenhill Historical Society (GHS) in Bonnybridge, a deindustrialised location, and Cumbernauld Village Action for the Community (CVAC) in Cumbernauld Village, a Conservation Area, enacted their citizenship through the spatial (geographical) and temporal (historical) characteristics of their place. I use a citizenship-as-practice conceptualisation, where citizenship is not a status ‘given’ to individuals who have successfully displayed pre-requisite outcomes, but is a continuous and indeterminate practice through exposure to real challenges. To understand the learning occurring for, from and through their practices, I used Biesta’s theory of civic learning (Biesta, 2011). It involves a socialisation conception of civic learning as the adoption of existing civic identities, where individuals adapt to a given political order, and a subjectification conception which focuses on how political agency is achieved. The theory connects learning and action together, where Biesta argues socialisation involves the individual requiring to learn something in order to carry out the ‘correct’ actions in the future; however, subjectification involves action preceding learning, where learning comes second, if at all. I used a case study design and a psychogeographic mapping methodology involving secondary data analysis, psychogeographic mapping interviews and observations. Civic action emerged as a more central component than civic learning through my empirical analysis. The civic actions of GHS emerged as a case of reconsideration (redefining, re-meaning their location through interventions in public), and CVAC of reconfiguration (actions physically altering the landscape). These actions concerning space and time involved spatial shifts from mapreading to mapmaking, and temporal shifts from histories ‘of’ and ‘for’ the public, towards histories ‘by’ the public. Respondents became ‘curators’ of their places: from spectators to participants in making and representing spaces and histories that opened their locations to interruptions of the continuities of time. Attending to practices of citizens with space and time contains possibilities for public pedagogies that work ‘with’ context rather than just ‘in’, towards opening up opportunities for citizens to ‘become public’ as practices that trouble pre-existing arrangements and configurations.

Service learning literature focusing on participants and programs in an academic setting is extensive. However, there is a lack of research looking at the experiences of employees in a corporate setting. The purpose of this inquiry was to understand how employees experience corporate service learning and to explore how well existing literatures on service learning and volunteerism serve the corporate service learning experience. Using interpretive phenomenology and the Four Frame Organizational Model (Bolman & Deal, 1997) to frame the inquiry, the experiences of employees in a retail store (N= 9) participating in service learning were examined. Data were gathered through in-depth interviews with program participants. Seven themes were evident in the findings of the inquiry: skill development, health (sub-themes of self-esteem and empowerment), job satisfaction, improved workplace relationships, bridging into the community, social responsibility and challenges. The findings of this inquiry suggest that employee involvement in a service learning experience can stimulate a sense of social responsibility. Another important finding of the inquiry was that pairing service activities with health activities was a positive combination that contributed to personal and community health. Finally, there was evidence that service learning can help build social capital in the workplace. This inquiry supports research in the area of service learning in the corporate setting to more fully understand the potential of this pedagogical strategy. The development of educational resources for companies wanting to build service learning programs is also important if these initiatives are to be effective in the workplace.

Two groups of students in introductory physics courses of an Access Program for engineering technologies were the subjects of this study. Students with a wide range of academic histories and abilities were enrolled in the program; many of the students were re-entry and academically unprepared for post-secondary education. Five years of historical data were evaluated to use as a benchmark for revised instruction. Data were gathered to describe the pre-course academic state of the students and their academic progress during two physics courses. Additional information was used to search for factors that might constrain academic success and as feedback for the instructional methods. The data were interpreted to regulate constructivist design features for the physics courses. The Engineering Technology Access Program was introduced to meet the demand from non-traditional students for admission to two-year engineering technology programs, but who did not meet normal academic requirements. The duration of the Access Program was two terms for electronic and computer engineering students and three terms for civil and mechanical engineering students. The sequence of mathematics and physics courses was different for the two groups. The Civil/Mechanical students enrolled in their first mathematics course before undertaking their first physics course. The first mathematics and physics courses for the Electronics students were concurrent. Academic success in the two groups was affected by this difference. Over a five-year period the success rate of students graduating with a technology diploma was approximately twenty-five percent. Results from this study indicate that it was possible to reduce the very high attrition in the combined Access/Technology Programs. While the success rate for the Electronics students increased to 38% the rate for the Civil/Mechanical students increased dramatically to 77%. It is likely that several factors, related to the extra term in the Access Program for the Civil/Mechanical students, contributed to this high retention rate. Additional time, with less academic pressure in the first term of the Access Program, provided the Civil/Mechanical students with the opportunity to develop academic skills and maturity resulting in improved self-concept and academic identity. These students may have been better equipped to take advantage of the alternate instructional setting of the revised physics courses. Results from a wide range of studies in Physics Education Research provide ideas and opportunities to improve instruction and students conceptual understanding in introductory physics courses. Most studies focus on traditional students and curriculum. The development and implementation of alternate curriculum and instruction may improve outcomes for different groups of students, particularly for students in disciplines indirectly related to the sciences.