Thesis (Ph.D.)--Baylor University, 2008. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 421-453)

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Ohio State University, 2006. / Title from first page of PDF file. Includes bibliographical references (p. 161-186).

The lower retention and success rates of Black and Latine students in the Cinema/TV Department at a Hollywood-based community college reflect a broader diversity issue in the entertainment industry. This qualitative, arts-based study focused on student voice and the power of counternarratives by utilizing participatory action research to determine Black and Latine student sense of belonging. Four participants engaged 19 of their fellow students in dialogues using the social media platform TikTok to discover what their lived experiences were in the department, and what those narratives revealed about their sense of belonging and support systems. The resulting 54 TikTok videos and participant interviews revealed that Black and Latine students did feel a sense of belonging in the department when it came to peer acceptance and resources, but their belonging could be greatly increased with more diverse curriculum and faculty, and more opportunities to create community. Findings demonstrated that centering student voice in the classroom is key to creating safe and inclusive spaces for Black and Latine students, who might then feel a greater sense of belonging, which in turn can increase their retention and success rates in the department and lead to greater opportunities for employment in the film and television industry, further diversifying the media landscape.

This dissertation breaks new ground in qualitative educational research by looking closely at the community and curricula of a well-resourced seven-year-old public high school in a New York City borough, which I call the Legal Studies Academy (LSA). This school created its own nonprofit organization in order to accrue private donations. Its most important “funder and founder” is an elite Manhattan law firm. The relationship between the firm and the school is emblematic of the direction that many urban public schools in the United States are moving: toward increased dependence on private funds to secure the resources deemed necessary for quality twenty-first century education (Anyon 1997; Lipman 2004; 2005). My project explores how the privatization of public institutions affects definitions of social justice and good education in the United States. I document the ways that students and teachers in the LSA community both reproduce and contest school norms. My methods in this two-year study included: teacher-research, participant observation of teachers and students, extensive interviews with teachers, students and parents, conduct of a summer book club / cultural circle, and analysis of data from a schoolwide student questionnaire. I also examine materials the school uses to solicit donations from its funders in relation to cultural constructions of urban students and their teachers in literature and the media. I explore what students’ and teachers’ daily practices of resistance or conformity to these cultural constructions might reveal about the place of democracy, humanization, character education, and critical pedagogy in U.S. public schools that depend on private or corporate philanthropists for resources. This ethnography nuances the often polarized debate around issues of achievement in education in the context of the demands of a global economy by documenting how the daily practices of students, families and teachers reflect on a social structure of education and achievement that, in the United States, ever more unequivocally aligns one’s identity and success with marketability. On a larger scale, it inspires critical questions about the place of democracy and citizenship as juxtaposed with inequities furthered by global racial capitalism. / text

Over the 1980s secondary schools and Technical and Further Education (TAFE) colleges in South Australia had increasing numbers of adults returning to formal secondary education mainly in search of better jobs or to qualify for tertiary studies. The teaching of such students required an appreciation of the difficulties they faced with the competing demands of family and work, and the anxieties they had in meeting the requirements of formalised study. In 1989 the South Australian Government made a policy decision, to transfer all the year 11 and 12 classes which TAFE colleges had specially established for adult students to the public secondary school system. Funds were allocated for the establishment of a secondary school system wide structure of nine Adult Re-entry sites, eight of which are still successfully operating within the Department of Education and Children’s Services. Whilst adult educational sites existed elsewhere, no other Australian state had a comparable systemic secondary school structure designed for adults returning to study. As a teacher of adult re-entry students, I sought to investigate the historical factors behind the policy decision to establish of adult re-entry sites within the secondary school system, to research the development of adult programs at a particular site and to study the experiences of adult students, analysing in particular why they returned to formal studies. Overseas studies indicated that to understand the personal worlds of adult students two sets of factors needed to be taken into account. External social and cultural factors influenced their current situation and their life experiences. Internal psychological factors helped to determine how they responded to the new demands of study. Four different educational responses to adult students could be identified. Direct and structured teaching could be seen in many vocational training models. Programs based on andrological principles put the emphasis on the individual’s self – directed learning. A third approach was focussed on critical pedagogy which sought to change society. There was also evidence of a holistic approach, which was centred on the adult learners but provided sympathetic educators to support their learning. The researcher’s underlying perspective in carrying out this study was that associated with Weber’s social action theory, because of the way it enabled emphasis to be placed on the actions of individuals and their interpretations of their actions in their social and cultural contexts. In this research portfolio the individuals concerned were politicians and educational administrators making policy decisions (Part 1); teachers developing appropriate programs (Part 2); and adult students deciding to return to studies and participating in adult programs (Part 3). Part 1 of Portfolio Two main sources of data were used to investigate the reasons for the 1989 policy decision to establish a system of adult re-entry colleges and schools within the Education Department of South Australia. The first was the official Hansard record of debates in the South Australian Parliament during the late 1980s and early 1990s. The second was a series of interviews with the Minister of Education involved and key officials in the Departments of Education and TAFE. The debates were focussed on the ideal educational location for adult re-entry students. Arguments based on the perspective of social justice and the special needs of adult students led to the establishment of a formal network of sites and programs to cater for the needs of adults within the secondary school sector. Despite the closure of one site in 1996 and funding readjustments in 1998, by 2005 adult re-entry colleges and schools had a well established role in South Australian public education system. Part 2 of Portfolio The investigation into the development of adult re-entry programs on one site was based on documents available in the Research School chosen – annual statistics, reports, curriculum, administration and journals. In addition, key members of staff involved in the adult program were interviewed. There was evidence of the way the adult program had changed over the period 1990 - 2005 in response to changing demography in the surrounding area and to changing needs and interests of those returning to study, as well as satisfying Departmental requirements. In recent years there has been a trend for more students to study part – time and to seek vocational rather than pre – university education. The provision of appropriate courses, resources and support was regarded by staff as important in the ongoing success of the adult re-entry program. Part 3 of Portfolio The investigation of adult students’ motivations and experiences in returning to study was based on the memoirs and personal statements of 40 adult re-entry students from the Research School. Their comments provided a unique understanding of the diverse personal worlds of adult re-entry students, their expectations, goals and aspirations, their difficulties and problems and their learning experiences. The formation of adult campuses in the secondary sector in South Australia was influenced by both pragmatic factors and by principles of social justice which sought to promote educational opportunities and offer those who had left school without recognised qualifications a second chance. Adult re-entry sites have continued to provide for the needs of adult learners in the communities they serve. They have made an important contribution both to the individual’s right to life – long learning and to society’s need for skilled workers and well educated professionals. During the twenty first century adult sites in South Australia within the Department of Education and Children’s Services have faced two challenges. The learning interests of adult students have changed, with more looking to the acquisition of technical and vocational skills. Furthermore, in order to remain viable, adult sites have had to maintain a high profile in relation to innovative policy development, student numbers, funding and resource allocation. Their successes have been due in large measure to their recognition that adult re-entry students were not big kids, but required specific educational structure and programs catering for their diverse learning needs. / http://proxy.library.adelaide.edu.au/login?url= http://library.adelaide.edu.au/cgi-bin/Pwebrecon.cgi?BBID=1415385 / Thesis (D.Ed.) -- University of Adelaide, School of Education, 2009

Thesis (Ph.D.(Education Management and Policy Studies))--University of Pretoria, 2010. / Includes bibliographical references.

Published Article / Why do African learners continue to be underrepresented in the top 20 positions of the Grade 12 examination results, and what can be done to remedy the situation? Yosso's notion of community cultural wealth shows that it is because our education continues to exclude the African learners' ways of knowing and being that the situation remains as it is. Analysing discourses of top performing white former Grade 12 learners, their teachers, their parents and their former African classmates, indicate that including modes of knowing of all learners in the curriculum irrespective of their race, class, disability or gender may help to create more socially just schooling, which is reflective of sustainable learning environments.

This mixed methods research investigated how young adult alumnae from a Catholic female high school perceive the impact of their high school service experience concerning their "beliefs" about the importance of service, current "engagement" in service, and their beliefs about and engagement with four Catholic Social Teaching principles (life and dignity, care for the poor, solidarity and common good, and rights and responsibilities) related to social justice. This research draws data from young adult alumnae from a Catholic female single-sex high school in a metropolitan city of the United States. The data collection included a web-based survey (N=131), individual interview (n=9), and school documents review. Catholic theology of the human person, and Catholic social teaching principles served as the conceptual framework for data analysis. This research draws data from young adult alumnae from a Catholic female single-sex high school in a metropolitan city of the United States. The data collection included a web-based survey (N=131), individual interview (n=9), and school documents review. Catholic theology of the human person, and Catholic social teaching principles served as the conceptual framework for data analysis. The quantitative data revealed that Catholic high school service program experience positively impacts participants' "beliefs" about the importance of service (65%), and the importance of four Catholic social teaching principles (73%). The qualitative data corroborates with the quantitative findings. However, participants lacked translating their beliefs in to action with only 42% reporting as "engaged" in service. Although a majority of participants (60%) reported as engaged in activities related to four CST principles, in reality only 25% are significantly engaged in service in the past 12 months. Catholic educators are invited to examine their service pedagogy and address factors that contribute to low level of service engagement. Further research is suggested to identify factors that would raise the level of service engagement in alumnae’s young adult life.