This dissertation is a case study and historical analysis of the rise of indigenous organizing in the state of Oaxaca, Mexico over the past three decades. The primary focus is on how indigenous organizations in Oaxaca reconstructed indigenous identity over the past three decades as part of their mobilization activities. The study traces the evolution of indigenous organizing from its roots in traditional peasant movements demanding land rights to its transformation in the 1980s and 1990s into an identity-based movement demanding indigenous rights and autonomy. This transformation is documented by examining changes in political strategies, organizational forms and discourses of the movement, particularly for the 1989-1997 period, when movement activity intensified and organizations making identity-based demands took center stage. The study also addresses the historical and structural factors that shaped the struggle, such as the initial indigenous resistance to the Spanish colonizers, the continuing resistance and adaptation throughout the colonial period and into the 20th century, the distinctive role of the post-revolutionary Mexican state, rural economic crisis, and the critical influence of the Zapatista movement in the neighboring of Chiapas. The study concludes with an analysis of a series of Zapatista-inspired debates about indigenous autonomy and their implications for the future of indigenous organizing in Oaxaca, including the definition of a long-term strategy of cultural revitalization at the community level as the starting point for extending indigenous autonomy to larger political, cultural, and geographic entities. / A Dissertation Submitted to the Degree Awarded: Summer Semester, 2011In Partial Fulfillment of the. / Summer Semester, 2011. / June 14, 2011. / Indigenous Organizing, Oaxaca, Mexico, Zapatista / Includes bibliographical references. / Sande D. Milton, Professor Directing Dissertation; Irene Padavic, University Representative; Jeffrey A. Milligan, Committee Member; Patrice M. Iatarola, Committee Member.

Some contend that grievance procedures, which typically include arbitration as the final stage of the process, may be a hindrance in administrators' ability to exercise discretion in school management operations (Hess & Kelly, 2006; Johnson & Donaldson, 2006). Yet, little is known about the grievance and arbitration processes in education (Hess & Kelly, 2006). Even less is known about how these processes affect personnel decisions. This study seeks to build an understanding of grievance and arbitration processes in public education and to explore how these processes influence personnel decisions. Case studies are conducted in six of Florida's school districts to analyze grievance and arbitration practices and the influences of such practices on administrators' staffing decisions. The following research questions are examined: (a) How do Florida's collective bargaining agreements outline the grievance and arbitration process? Do grievance provisions vary among districts? If so, in what ways? (b) How do grievance and arbitration policies work in practice? At what stages in the process are grievances typically resolved? How often do grievances progress to the arbitration stage, and, what are the outcomes? What accounts for district and school level differences, if any, in the number, type, and outcomes of grievance arbitration cases?; and (c) Do grievance and arbitration policies and practices influence decisions regarding teacher placement and dismissal? If so, how? An analysis of grievance and arbitration provisions and other policies (e.g., mediation, Administrative Law Judge disputes) that govern dispute resolution in Florida reveal that districts share similarities and differences in how they outline and implement these policies. Findings of the study also reveal that grievance and arbitration provisions, rarely, if at all, influence staffing decisions. / A Dissertation Submitted to the Department of Educational Leadership & Policy Studies in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy. / Summer Semester, 2008. / June 18, 2008. / Arbitration, Grievance Arbitration, Grievance Provisions, Grievance and Arbitration Provisions, Grievance / Includes bibliographical references. / Lora Cohen-Vogel, Professor Directing Dissertation; William E. Klay, Outside Committee Member; Patrice Iatarola, Committee Member; Stacey Rutledge, Committee Member.

This dissertation examines how the impact of private school choice policy on school district enrollment and expenditure differs by design, specifically in program type (voucher and tax-credit scholarship) and student eligibility (universal, low-income, and failing school). Private school choice has been one of the strongest and most important education reforms in the last several decades. As of 2018, a total of 63 private school choice programs are currently implemented in 30 states. The expansion of such programs from 2010 to 2018 has been especially dramatic, increasing from approximately 70,000 to 466,000 students, and with 13 states starting 38 new private school choice programs. However, policymakers and researchers have paid less attention to revealing trends within school district enrollment and expenditures since private school choice programs were implemented. Considering that private school choice varies by state in terms of program type and student eligibility, an examination of public-school district trends is particularly important because it provides insight into the repercussions of private school choice design. Therefore, this study clarifies the difference in district enrollment and spending patterns after adoption of the school choice policy, representing the treatment effects using the Difference-in-Differences model comparing districts in states with the choice programs to the same measures of districts in states without the programs. Employing a district-year fixed effect with a school district matched sample from panel data spanning 19 years, 1997 through 2015, three conclusions were made. First, any form of private school choice policy has negligible impact on district enrollment but significant impact on per-pupil spending. Second, in terms of the relationship between district enrollment change and policy design, all program types and student eligibilities show a negative relationship with district enrollment change, except for the voucher program type and low-income eligibility. On the other hand, district per-pupil spending has a statistically significant relationship with each program type and student eligibility. The direction and size of effects is generally constant regardless of the model specification. This study aims to fill the literature gap by exploring the association between private school choice design and school district change. It is a good starting point for a systematical investigation of the effects of private school choice design on school district enrollment and spending. For future study, other components and features of the policy and their changes over time need to be considered for estimating the effects of school choice policy. / A Dissertation submitted to the Department of Educational Leadership and Policy Studies in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. / 2019 / October 29, 2019. / difference-in-differences, private school choice, program funding type, propensity score matching, school district enrollment and spending, student eligibility / Includes bibliographical references. / Patrice M. Iatarola, Professor Directing Dissertation; Elizabeth M. Jakubowski, University Representative; Carolyn D. Herrington, Committee Member; Robert A. Schwartz, Committee Member.

The purpose of this dissertation is to investigate any variation in the level of mathematics and science courses that students take in high school that can be attributable to the mathematics and science teachers they had in previous grades and explore the relationship between teacher effects on the level of mathematics and science courses that students take and teacher effects on students’ test scores. Using value-added models, I investigated mathematics and science teacher effects on the level of mathematics and science courses their students take in upper grades in high school. I also compared the estimated teacher effects on course levels with the estimated teacher effects on students test scores. The findings showed that both mathematics and science teachers vary in terms of their students taking higher level, more advanced mathematics and science courses in high school. These teacher effects are persistent across classrooms of teachers and the variation of teacher effects is between 0.11 and 0.15 standard deviation. These variations are more than or equal to the variation of teacher effects on students’ test scores. Moreover, mathematics and science teacher effects on the level of mathematics and science courses their students take in upper grades vary by student characteristics. The largest difference in teacher effects was found between students who receive exceptional education and students who do not receive exceptional education. Finally, this study also showed weak relationships between the estimated teacher effects on the level of mathematics and science courses taken and teacher effects on test scores. This suggests that teachers who increase students’ test scores are not necessarily the ones who also increase their students’ course-level outcomes. Further research is needed to investigate teacher effects on the level of future mathematics and science courses students take in experimental settings. Exploring the mechanism that show the relationship between teachers and the level of courses students is also another area for future research. / A Dissertation submitted to the Department of Educational Leadership and Policy Studies in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. / 2019 / September 5, 2019. / Course Taking, Teacher Effectiveness / Includes bibliographical references. / Courtney Preston, Professor Co-Directing Dissertation; Linda Schrader, Professor Co-Directing Dissertation; Sherry Southerland, University Representative; Patrice Iatarola, Committee Member; Lara Perez-Felkner, Committee Member.

The increasing pressure to increase research productivity in higher education institutions (HEIs) has led many universities to regulate faculty research activities through various accountability and incentive policies around the globe. However, few empirical studies have been conducted to understand how university administrators and faculty make sense of these policies and implement them. The study sought to understand how faculty and administrators from two disciplinary areas (health and arts/science/education), at a Saudi university, understand, perceive and make sense of the university faculty research policies, while highlighting variation among the different levels of institutional actors. The use of the sensemaking theory provided an in-depth analysis of how research policies unfold at the practice level, while accounting for the power structure based on the faculty nationalities. The findings revealed divergent perceptions among the different levels of institutional actors, which resulted in resistance among the implementers, and negative consequences on the faculty’s morale and commitment. Furthermore, it highlighted the lack of involvement of faculty in decision-making as well as the lack of organizational changes as barriers to policy implementation. / A Dissertation submitted to the Department of Educational Leadership and Policy studies in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. / Fall Semester 2017. / October 31, 2017. / Includes bibliographical references. / Motoko Akiba, Professor Directing Dissertation; John Myers, University Representative; Marytza Gawlik, Committee Member; Tamara Bertrand Jones, Committee Member.

Thesis (M.A.)--University of Hong Kong, 1998. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 83-89).

Thesis (M.A.)--University of Hong Kong, 1998. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 83-89). Also available in print.

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Thesis (M. Ed.)--University of Hong Kong, 2001. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 133-144).

published_or_final_version / Public Administration / Master / Master of Social Sciences