<p> This dissertation investigated the demise of Illinois State University (ISU), a small antebellum Lutheran denominational college that existed from 1852 to 1867 in Springfield, Illinois. The professional higher education historiography has described the phenomenon of antebellum college demise, but a traditionalist theory of causality by unrestrained competition among religious denominations to found colleges, proposed in the early 20th century, was by the end of the century largely debunked by revisionist higher education historians as based on ahistorical concepts and inaccurate data. The study utilized the historical narrative method consisting of document review and content analysis. Using Clark&rsquo;s (1972) concept of &ldquo;organizational saga,&rdquo; the study found that while ISU was in many ways indistinguishable from other denominational colleges in the United States of the era, ISU accumulated unsustainable debt on its edifice and failed despite determined founders. Durnford&rsquo;s (2002) model of institutional sponsorship revealed that despite growth during the antebellum era, the Lutheran Church was riven by doctrinal, linguistic, national and personal rivalries that undermined its ability to sustain ISU. Five of the seven factors in Latta&rsquo;s (2008) unique model of antebellum denominational college survival helped identify ISU&rsquo;s strengths and weaknesses, and revealed that an unresolved crisis in leadership contributed to the school&rsquo;s demise. This study provided data useful in furthering the development of a comprehensive revisionist narrative to explain antebellum college founding, demise and survival.</p>

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<p> This dissertation reviews the extensive literature on the history of academia and education in historical context, distilling it into a concise storyline, followed by a concentrated focus on the French and German university models, departmentalization, and subsequent reactions to it. The extensive documentation provides a detailed sketch for the motivated scholar to elaborate upon with further reading. Hopefully, the interdiciplinary approach has something to offer most academics. The literature review also helped guide development of a survey assessing student educational experiences in contemporary academia (Cronbach&rsquo;s &alpha; = 0.717). The endeavor included a far-reaching journey of field research across every continent of the world except Antarctica. A total of 273 universities were assessed. Qualitative notes were taken, which may lead to an illustrated travelogue, but the current dissertation aim was to survey undergraduates with the new instrument (N = 1,495 undergraduates). Results show the majority of students were pleased with the education they were receiving, though their program requirements prevented them from studying other subjects of interest, and opportunities to take interdisciplinary courses were limited. Most students found their professors available for guidance, but did not find opportunities to collaborate on publishable research with them. Furthermore, most students did not intend to submit their work for publication, but would be more inclined to submit to a student run journal, if one was available. Finally, most students believe it is important to spend a semester or more aboard, or at affiliate university campuses, but they find the expense and logistical problems a deterrent. In closing, policy considerations are proposed as possible solutions to the problems uncovered by the survey results. The limitations and contributions of this research are discussed. Theoretically, this research places the new global network university model within the context of historical developments. It expands the construct for rating universities beyond standard criteria for rankings to include the issues mentioned above. Methodologically, this research advances the field of university rating systems by providing a new reliable measurement tool. Practically, the survey instrument increases awareness of several issues that need attention in order to improve the educational experiences of university undergraduates.</p>

The purpose of this study was to examine the role of the ulama (Islamic scholars) in establishing an Islamic educational system for women in Saudi Arabia, and to determine their perceptions of women's education and employment in the kingdom. Data were collected through questionnaires and interviews from men and women in Saudi Arabia who had received an Islamic education--that is, they had been educated in Islamic universities and were knowledgeable of Islamic studies and law. / Most of the ulama are supportive of women's education. They have been influential in establishing policy for the women's educational system and they supervise this system in Saudi Arabia. They also play an important role in teaching the Saudi people that Islam encourages education for females, contrary to some of the prevalent tribal beliefs. The study also identified the respondents' opinions of the academic areas that are appropriate for women to study. / Most are also supportive of women's working, but support was greater among the women respondents. All, however, insist that women work in only certain prescribed occupations and that they observe strict segregation from men in the workplace. / Among the study recommendations are that there be more exchange of ideas among muslim countries so that the views of the Saudi ulama become better known and perhaps adopted by other muslims. More vocational education is needed for women, specifically targeted to available and appropriate employment. A separate university for women should be established as the number of girls graduating from high school is increasing rapidly and they need places in higher education. Also, a special system of transportation should be developed exclusively for women as they are not allowed to drive cars in muslim countries. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 55-07, Section: A, page: 1848. / Major Professor: James R. Robarts. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1994.

Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 31-09, Section: A, page: 4816. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1970.

The history of post-independence Guinean education is characterized by numerous reforms which could be grouped into five periods: A national unity period following the end of the French colonization, a political streamlining phase triggered by the 1961 riots, the 1970's militancy era of the Cultural Revolution, a prudent return to Western models resulting mostly from the 1977 troubles, and the relevancy period following the 1984 military coup d'etat. / The study carried out an historical analysis of these periods and focused on the changes undertaken between 1958 and 1977. It found the dominant role of political considerations in reform policies which were often guided by such considerations as coalitions building, political constituencies reshuffling, control and use of student activism, reaction to international political developments, and political control of opponents. / These reforms left a deep imprint on Guinea education. They developed a high political sensibility among educators and administrators, fostered an organizational insecurity in the system, and impeded to some extent, a true people's participation to the actualization of the reforms. Often, reforms were perceived not in terms of their academic potential, but their unspoken agenda to advance or combat political causes, and to alter or reinforce balance of power among interested groups. / The study found similar characteristics in reforms undertaken in India, Tanzania, Zaire, and Peru. / The study recommends full consideration be given to the political dimension of education in the assessment of success and failures of reforms, and in the design and conduct of policy reforms in developing countries. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 52-10, Section: A, page: 3482. / Major Professor: Clyde Maurice. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1991.

This study argues that early writings for children reflect by their very nature a radical social redirection, since the valuation of children and the state of childhood was the result of cultural upheavals in the late seventeenth and eighteenth centuries which led to the development of a powerful, literate and progressive working class: industrialization, educational reform, Puritanism, evangelicalism, a growing feminist movement and the socioeconomic struggle against poverty and repression. Children's literature was a means for ambitious and reform-minded outsiders--those excluded by class, economics, gender, and religious, political or sexual preferences--to communicate both subversive and optimistic values to succeeding generations who embody society's hopes for the future. / Chapter One reviews social background leading to the formal development of a body of reformative literature written expressly for children in the late eighteenth century, focusing in particular on the influence of subversive Puritan writings, such as those by Nathaniel Crouch and John Bunyan, and the political and economic empowerment of the working classes. Chapter Two examines the subversive nature of early imaginative writing for children, including works by John Newbery and Samuel Johnson's "The Fountains." Chapter Three discusses early writings for children by professional women writers. Works by Anna Barbauld, Mary Wollstonecraft and Sarah Trimmer are discussed as early examples of a radical reassessment of the significance of three groups of "little people": children, women and the working poor. Chapter Four examines the subversive effects of nineteenth-century works of fairy tale and fantasy such as Catherine Sinclair's Holiday House and John Ruskin's "The King of the Golden River." Chapter Five addresses the usurpation of children's literature as political and social satire by writers like Christina Rossetti and Oscar Wilde, concluding that cultural pessimism and skepticism led to a reactionary conservatism in children's literature at the end of the nineteenth century. Works such as J. M. Barrie's Peter and Wendy address a static and nostalgic childhood of adult memory rather than the dynamic spiritual and intellectual growth of real childhood. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 53-03, Section: A, page: 0822. / Major Professor: Bertram Davis. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1992.

<p> The purpose of this research is to capture for history the events and consequences of the racial desegregation of high school students within the Hickory Public Schools in Hickory, NC. The study includes a retelling of the events surrounding the desegregation of Hickory Public Schools, beginning with the <i>Brown v. Board of Education</i> ruling in 1955 and going through an analysis of four case studies of student conflict that disrupted daily high school life between 1966 and 1973. </p><p> The study is based on primary source documents including school board minutes, school district memos, articles in the local newspaper, and the high school student newspaper. Primary source documents were supplemented by oral history interviews with eight students who attended Hickory High School during the early years of integration. </p><p> The central finding is that desegregating Hickory Public Schools was a lengthy, complex process. At every step of the way through the desegregation of Hickory High, the school was left to handle the social changes that the community attempted to avoid. Four themes emerged in the stories of student conflict at Hickory High including loss, resistance, leadership, sports as a catalyst and arena for social change, and the power of symbols to represent a school. </p><p> Rather than viewing the student conflicts as examples of what was wrong with Hickory, they are evidence that the students were wrestling to create an inclusive school community that symbolically represented them all.</p>

Discussions of architectural education invite consideration of assumptions concerning the purpose and definition of an architectural education. Such pursuits raise questions that each of us should confront regarding our assumptions about what kinds of knowledge, values and relationships are deemed legitimate educational concerns.1 This thesis gives shape to the architectural student campaigns of the 1930's and the 1960's, their efforts to make sense of their experiences as well as their search for meaning in architectural education. In many of these instances, students began by drawing strength from a number of leftist protests which swept university campuses, but in the course of the ensuing controversy students ultimately concluded by raising questions about the nature of architectural education and developing a radically new consciousness concerning the purpose of education. Students emerged from these campaigns with fresh thinking about the objectives and methods of an architectural education. Such investigations invite consideration for contemporary student engagement in architectural education to undergo a similar sense of self examination and are encouraging of the fundamental changes such an examination often demands.2 1Henry A. Giroux, Theory and Resistance in Education, Westport: Bergin, 2001, p 193. 2William Deresiewicz, Garrett S. Finney, Sam Kirby, Clay Miller, ed., "Into the Fire," Perspecta (29), 1998. p. xiv.