<p>Across the globe, the viability of welfare states depends on the success of policy adaptations to a post-industrial, internationalized economy and domestic demographic changes that encompass family formation, declines in fertility, and lifespan extensions of the elderly. One of the most important issues facing contemporary welfare states is the need to adjust social policy to the demise of the male breadwinner model in favor of the increased participation of women and mothers in the workforce. Whereas childrearing was traditionally the central occupation of stay-at-home mothers, their workforce participation has necessitated out-of-home care for children under the ages of five or six, before the start of primary school. Providing financial supports and investing in early childhood care and education are several policy instruments that can be used, not only to ease the burden of care faced by working mothers and their partners, but to promote the well-being and long-term economic productivity of their children as adults. In turn, the increased economic productivity of future generations can mitigate social risks and threats to the survival of the welfare state. Using a social investment approach based on human capital development in children, a set of indices is constructed to measure public investments in early childhood by ten member countries of the OECD from 2001 through 2011. The indices permit a theoretical exploration of patterns of expenditure and characteristics of policy design relative to their conformity to acknowledged types of welfare state regimes. The indices are also used to detect empirical changes in welfare state expenditures for early childhood investments pre- and post- the fiscal crisis of 2008. The study contributes to the literature of welfare state theory by situating investments in early childhood as a stage in the evolution of family policy; by creating a set of measures that characterizes public investments from a child-centered developmental perspective, one that is less prominent than work-family balance and gender equity viewpoints; and lastly, by combining expenditures and policy design components into a single measure.

<p> This qualitative study explored how parents make school-choice decisions. I conducted a basic interpretive qualitative study to collect and analyze data. I used criterion purposeful sampling to determine participants who met the criteria for this study: (a) parents who currently had students at schools of choice, and (b) parents who were entering the educational marketplace for the first time. The study used participant interviews as the primary source of data collection to develop a deeper understanding of parents&rsquo; experiences and decision making regarding school choice. </p><p> The following research questions guided the research: How do parents from a diverse Mid-Atlantic urban&ndash;suburban county make school-choice decisions for their children? What factors do parents consider when choosing a school for their children? How do parents gather information about the schools available to their children? How do parents choose the school that best fits their preferences? The experiences of the parents unfolded through a semistructured interview protocol that used open-ended questions. Several themes emerged during the interview process: expectations, access, experiences, responsibility, and decision making. I coded and analyzed the experiences shared by the parents. The data collected indicate that parents factor in many reasons and characteristics when making school-choice decisions for their children, reasons spread along continuums of academics, personal convenience, and personality and characteristics of the child. I pieced together the common themes of each individual experience like pieces of a puzzle to paint a picture that had never been shared.</p>

<p> The purpose of this study was to assess the effect that different North Carolina state legislation had upon overall student engagement and success in dual enrollment Huskins, Learn and Earn Online, and Concurrent enrollment in comparison to the later Career and College Promise (CCP) dual enrollment program within North Carolina community colleges. </p><p> The questions researched in this study were the following: a. Was there a difference in completion between students who were dually enrolled in North Carolina community college programs in 2008 compared to 2012, as measured by the awarding of a certificate, diploma, or degree, three years from initial enrollment? b. Was there a difference in cumulative grade point average (GPA), total college credits earned, and total courses completed between dually enrolled students in North Carolina community colleges in 2008 compared to 2012, three years from initial enrollment? c. Was there a difference in success indicators specific to gender and minority status between dually enrolled students in North Carolina community colleges in 2008 and in 2012, three years from initial enrollment? </p><p> Dual enrollment student data including student GPA, course completion rates and cumulative course completion, level of credential awarded (certificate, diploma, or degree), gender, and minority status, were retrieved from state-wide student records contained in the Data Warehouse at the North Carolina Community College System Office. Data were analyzed using a combination of chi-squared and t-test statistical tests for significance testing (Mead, 2009). The results suggest that there were higher completion rates and higher GPAs for students who participated in Career and College Promise dual enrollment over earlier programs. It appears that minority students were not negatively impacted by CCP policies, in fact, Hispanic students showed marked improvement in several areas.</p>

<p> This study investigates the legitimacy of policies to import cross-border higher education (CBHE) in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). This study compares two of the UAE&rsquo;s higher education subsystems &ndash; Dubai and Ras Al Khaimah &ndash; to understand how higher education stakeholders in the UAE interpret foreign involvement in higher education and investigate how those interpretations contribute to stakeholders&rsquo; assessments of the legitimacy of the country&rsquo;s CBHE policies. The legitimacy of cross-border higher education policies is a potentially contentious issue because the higher education resources that are imported into host countries under CBHE policies are usually intended to supplement existing higher education systems whose stakeholders may not welcome foreign involvement in higher education. Given the multiple actors and national contexts that are active in the UAE&rsquo;s higher education systems, there are potential legitimacy challenges facing local CBHE policies. The purpose of this study is to explore this area of possible disconnect in the legitimacy of CBHE to more clearly understand how host country higher education stakeholders evaluate the legitimacy of CBHE policies within their own systems and to arrive at a theory of policy legitimacy for cross-border higher education. </p><p> This study approaches policy legitimacy in higher education by investigating how higher education stakeholders evaluate CBHE policies and derives a theory of CBHE policy legitimacy from the study&rsquo;s findings. The following research questions guide the study: </p><p> 1. What are the goals of CBHE policies? How do these goals serve to increase the legitimacy of the higher education subsystem? </p><p> 2. How do resident higher education stakeholders evaluate the legitimacy of CBHE policies? </p><p> 3. How do the findings of this study on legitimacy in a non-democratic environment resonate with existing policy legitimacy theories? </p><p> This qualitative study is a two-case comparison of CBHE policy in the emirates of Dubai and Ras Al Khaimah in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), each of which has implemented CBHE policies in their private higher education sectors. Forty-five higher education stakeholders were interviewed across the two emirates between January and April 2012. Site visits and document analyses were conducted in both cases and an additional 40 higher education actors were interviewed in other UAE higher education systems, providing background context for the two cases analyzed in this study. </p><p> Support was found for the model of CBHE policy legitimacy proposed in the study. Salient components of CBHE policy legitimacy include the procedural elements of legality, decision norms, and representation, as well as normative legitimacy of the policies.</p>

<p> Despite the growing population of Muslim students in U.S. public schools, few empirically grounded studies appear in the literature that have reported the opinions and viewpoints about U.S. public schools from the perspective of Muslim parents. This study deeply investigates the perceptions Muslim parents hold about U.S. public schools and focuses on how Muslim identity and other factors shape those views. <i>Q</i> Methodology, a mixed methods technique for the systematic study of subjectivity, is applied to reveal and analyze a varied set of distinct models of shared viewpoints held by Muslim parents about public schools in the U.S. Data were analyzed from 54 Muslim parents in the metropolitan New York City region. This study identified and examined 8 models of shared viewpoints held by Muslim parents. Further analysis demonstrated the relative prevalence of each of the revealed shared viewpoints about U.S. public schools and ways in which the identified models reflect disagreements, consensus, and absence of salience in views about U.S. public schools. Muslim parents&rsquo; Muslim identity, their experience attending schools in the U.S., their children&rsquo;s experience attending schools in the U.S., their experience as school teachers or administrators, their gender, and their highest level of education were examined to predict the likelihood a parent would share views with a particular <i>Q</i> model. Understanding the shared viewpoints of Muslim parents can be useful for educational policymakers, leaders, and teachers, who must ensure an effective and comfortable learning environment for all of their students.</p>

<p> Sexuality education in public schools in the United States excludes a large population of students. These exclusions are due to a long history of legal and economic battles, as well as the politicized nature of adolescent sexuality. This critical interpretive inquiry explored the long history of sexuality education through the lens of economics, law, and psychological paradigms and examined the way in which each of these lenses furthered the exclusion of nonheterosexual males in curricula. Using a framework comprised of critical feminist theory, critical pedagogy, and queer theory, this manuscript provides an understanding of the social structures of sexuality education and how they continue to marginalize students labeled as &ldquo;other.&rdquo; Using critical discourse analysis, this study reviewed legal and political documents, state and private curricula, and works in the sociology and psychology fields. </p><p> The outcomes of interpretive research do not lend themselves to specific answers, but to a greater understanding of the experience of marginalized individuals and the structures in place that keep this experience intact. Through a critical review of current programming initiatives, recommendations are made to continue moving toward a more gender- and identity-inclusive sexuality education curriculum. These recommendations, which are grounded in current legal and economic requirements, include teacher certification requirements, implementation of the Advocates for Youth 3Rs curriculum, utilization of a rights-based approach to program design, and adoption of national sexuality education by the Department of Health and Human Services, rather than by the Department of Education.</p>

This qualitative research study determined the effectiveness of Measuring Up, the National Center for Public Policy and Higher Education's national state based higher education report card, as a tool for state leaders in developing postsecondary educational policy. The researcher interviewed state postsecondary leaders in Maryland, North Carolina and Virginia, including state government leaders and administrative officials. Interviews were conducted with nine participants.The participants in this study collectively identified the most pressing issues impacting higher education access. Affordability was identified as the predominant factor impacting access to postsecondary education; the preparation of secondary students was also identified as an issue of concern for policymakers and leaders. In addition, the participants cited policies and initiatives undertaken to address these as well as other areas of concern.Measuring Up was identified as helpful as a data resource in developing policy; however, participants expressed concerns over the methodology used in report development. The methodology used in developing affordability measures was of particular concern and interviewees felt the metrics did not accurately reflect state attempts to address the issue.Recommendations include implications for the National Center for Public Policy and Higher Education (NCPPHE) and state governing/coordinating bodies. The NCPPHE should conduct conversations with state higher education leaders or representatives prior to the issuance of subsequent reports to enhance effectiveness and utilization by policymakers. State coordinating bodies need to be assertive in addressing the interests of its student constituents and aggressive in developing state data through assessments and research.

<p> Public universities face significant funding challenges as states continue to look for efficiencies or outright cuts. In addition, the call for accountability in higher education continues to grow as state lawmakers, policy analysts, and researchers voice concern that degree attainment has stagnated, is too low to support economic growth, and takes too long. Business and political leaders are also increasingly interested in developing higher education accountability in response to concerns by students and families over the rising cost of a degree. Together, these themes of accountability and cost control have resulted in dramatically different policy innovations in the form of performance-based funding in a growing number of states. However, these policies have thus far produced scant evidence of success. Furthermore, the potential unintended consequences of these policies seem large, including the risk of increased selectivity resulting in increased class-based inequality and the risk of decreased educational quality. Thus, the shift from basing state support on inputs to outputs could be much more than a simple accounting change. By stressing different priorities, the shift may ultimately alter the historic access mission of public higher education. Ohio created a new policy in 2012 that funds 100 percent of undergraduate higher education state appropriations to public universities on the basis of outcomes, the most aggressive policy of its kind in the nation. This study investigated the perceptions of 24 Ohio higher education leaders regarding this policy innovation and combined those responses with related performance metrics in order to synthesize a more comprehensive understanding of early impacts and implications, particularly as it pertains to outcomes, access, and education quality. The results of the investigation suggest that that retention has improved, access has decreased, and quality has been unaffected. University leaders were largely in favor of the policy and supported increased selectivity even in the face of declining enrollments. Although concerns remain regarding at-risk student support, the study suggests that a 100 percent performance-based policy may have positive benefits and achieve the intended objectives. It may also alter our conception of the broad access mission of higher education as access is traded for student success. </p>

<p> This study examines college entry experiences (enrollment, orientation, assessment, and support services) and their contribution to the persistence of nontraditional students enrolled in community colleges. By reviewing the current retention research and models on academic integration, social integration, involvement, engagement and the construct of resilience, college entry experiences were identified and correlated to the work of Tinto, Astin, Kuh, and other researchers. Based on the findings of each of the four college entry experiences, this study provides insights and offers recommendations to community college presidents, deans, community college leaders, professors, student advisors, and enrollment specialists to establish innovative and highly effective intrusive advising support structures, nontraditional retention framework considerations, and cohort learning models to increase student engagement, reach optimal student persistence term to term, and produce cutting-edge degree completion rates. </p>

<p> The purpose of this quantitative, non-experimental study was to investigate principals&rsquo; and assistant principals&rsquo; knowledge of special education law and procedures in Federal Military Connected Pacific Schools as it relates to Knowles theory of andragogy and how adults learn. This study investigated grade level and school size, individual knowledge base of special education law and procedures, initial in-service provided to principals and assistant principals, and principals and assistant principals ability to provide educational services to students with disabilities within their schools across the Pacific region. The following characteristics of gender, age, years of experience as a teacher, years of experience as a principal and assistant principal, degree level, area of concentration in graduate work, and number of courses taken in special education were also considered. A total of 21 surveys were completed out of 70 emailed to participants. Six of the surveys were rendered invalid as a result of being incomplete. The completed samples of the 21 received were evenly distributed into thirds for grade level of school. About 62% of the samples worked in schools with 500 to 999 students and two-thirds of the samples were female. About 76% of the samples were between the ages of 36 and 59. Almost 50% of the samples had 16 years or more of teaching experience and 38% of the samples had served as an administrator for 5 or less years, but nearly 30% had served as an administrator for 11 to 15 years. The conclusion obtained from this study support the findings in the literature regarding principals&rsquo; and assistant principals&rsquo; knowledge of special education law and procedures. Implications and recommendations were made from this study in Chapter 5. Research studies conducted in Federal Military-Connected Pacific Schools were not found and this research study will provide a foundation for future studies worldwide.</p>