<p> This study investigates the impact of students&rsquo; participation in the certificate program offered by the Asian Studies Center (ASC) at the University of Pittsburgh on their perception of global competency and skills development for international careers. Undergraduate and graduate students who were enrolled in the ASC&rsquo;s certificate program as of March 16, 2012 (n=125) participated in an on-line student survey. Data are used to provide a descriptive analysis, significance tests, and a multiple regression analysis that examine six research questions.</p><p> The descriptive analysis explores students&rsquo; characteristics, satisfaction with the certificate program, international experience, foreign language capability, and the extent to which the certificate program increases their global competency and skills for international careers. Tests were conducted to examine whether the differences in pre-post increases in students&rsquo; perception of their global competency and skills development for international careers were statistically significant for all respondents as well as between disaggregated groups. The multiple regression analysis tests the correlation between three independent variables (courses taken in the certificate program, center activity participation, and students&rsquo; international experience) and each of the two dependent variables (students&rsquo; perception of increased global competency and students&rsquo; perception of improved skills for international careers).</p><p> Findings show that significantly different changes in students&rsquo; perception of their global competency and skills development for international careers exist before their participation in the certificate program and after their participation in the certificate program. Students who stayed 1-6 months in an Asian country have the most significant increases in their perception of their global competency after their participation in the certificate program. Senior students have the most significant increases in their perception of their global competency and skills for international careers after their participation in the certificate program.</p><p> Students&rsquo; international experience and courses taken in the certificate program are important variables related to their perception of increased global competency and improved skill for international careers. The effect of students&rsquo; international experience is greater than courses taken in the certificate program on their perception of their increased global competency and improved skills for international careers.</p>

<p> The purpose of this exploratory case study is to focus a lens on lead teachers of California Partnership Academies (CPAs), who are responsible for overseeing the operation and coordinating the components of a complex, contra-normative secondary reform model. This study examines the stresses experienced by four CPA lead teachers at two different sites in a district committed to placing the <i>Linked Learning</i> model in the center of its secondary school reform strategy. Previous research has identified stressors inherent in the lead teacher role, and in the career academy reform studied here. This research assess the impact of those stressors, strategies lead teachers employ and conditions that facilitate lead teachers' work by looking at the dynamics of their role, the context in which they work, and patterns of leadership distribution through three key relationships, each focused on a particular routine.</p><p> This study found that the primary role-related stressor these CPA lead teachers experienced was overload, which may have implications for the sustainability of the model, particularly as it is scaled up. The contra-normative nature of this reform was evident in the conflicts that arose for lead teachers in each of the three relationships examined. In their relationships with administrators focused on the master schedule, traditional patterns of student placement into AP and non-AP tracks conflicted with the effort to create pathways for all students to access both college and career. Teachers struggled to create strategies for addressing this issue. In lead teachers' work with their peers on interdisciplinary curriculum, the collaborative and interdisciplinary nature of the reform conflicted with the autonomous, individualistic and subject-oriented nature of teacher culture. Where collective co-performance defined school-wide patterns of leadership distribution, lead teachers were better able to influence collaborative teacher norms. Lead teachers' relationships to community and industry partners facilitated integration of work-based learning into the CPA instructional program, accessed new resources and challenged the traditional segregation of academic and vocational education. This work was greatly facilitated by district support but limited by the capacity of site administrators who were often unaware of these partnerships, and were not developing systemic ways to include them in the school's vision or program.</p>

<p> Noting that colonial policies worked against the integral development of Nigeria, post-colonial administrations employed different policy initiatives to redress the situation. This case study aimed to measure the effectiveness of secondary school civic education in this regard. The Federal Capital Territory Abuja was chosen as the place of study due to its rich demographic variables. Fifty-four participants, covering six different segments of stakeholders were interviewed for analysis and results. The examination results in civic education at the end of the nine years of "Universal Basic Education" (UBE) program and the crime data of secondary school age students were also examined for enhanced credibility. The latter served as indicators of students' understanding of the content of civic education and the demand for effective citizenship respectively. Since civic education was introduced into the UBE program to shore-up dwindling national objectives through education, the study used Human Capital Theory as the theoretical framework. This study was conducted between April and September, 2013. The findings showed that ingrained ethnic consciousness in the community, bad leadership, distorted value outlook, and get-rich-quick syndrome diminished the effectiveness of secondary school civic education in the quest for the actualization of national objectives. </p><p> <i>Key Terms: National Objectives, Civic Education, Universal Basic Education, Human Capital</i></p>

This thesis is concerned with the organisation of education and training systems and the extent to which their design may challenge or reinforce social inequalities. In modern societies, people’s life chances are inextricably linked to the education they are able to access and the knowledge and skills (typically manifested through formal qualifications) they acquire, thus how countries organise their education and training systems is of fundamental importance in determining the opportunities available to its citizens and to their life chances. The specific focus of the thesis is on the design and organisation of post compulsory education and training systems - a stage that represents a particular challenge for policy-makers - and within that, on how systems might conceptualise academic and vocational learning in more productive ways. Education systems are not context-free structures: the design of a nation’s education and training system provides a window onto its traditions, its social values and economic stance, and its current preoccupations and ambitions for itself. Thus the thesis uses the example of the Higher Still reform of post compulsory education and training in Scotland (from 1999 onwards) to reflect more generally on education and social inequalities in Scotland and to ask how we should understand the way in which Scotland has approached reform of its education and training provision. It seeks to explicate the reasons for the adoption of the Higher Still reform strategy, to identify the factors that determined its specific design and development and to reflect on how the particular reform strategy embodied by Higher Still relates to certain aspects of the Scottish context and its policy processes. The thesis then examines the institutional response to Higher Still and its impact on the opportunities available to young people. It locates the Higher Still example within the broader field of education policy, considering what the experience of the Higher Still reform reveals about the possibilities of re-designing an education and training system in ways which promote social equality and the scope for manoeuvre that policy-makers, in a specific national context, have in relation to system reform.

<p> The ISLLC standard 6 of 2008 and ELCC standard 6 of 2011 both indicate that a district-level leader should be influential in state-level education legislation and policy-making. There was little scientific research that showed evidence as to how superintendents were adapting to this requirement, although anecdotal and journalistic writings were available. This study sought to fill that gap. </p><p> This study was of all public school superintendents in the state of Illinois. The study used mixed-methods, and utilized a sequential explanatory design. The quantitative portion of the study was completed via an online survey, and the qualitative portion of the study was complete with face-to-face interviews of randomly selected superintendents. 201 Illinois public school superintendents completed the online survey, and 6 superintendents were randomly selected for interviews. </p><p> The study identified 7 key findings regarding Illinois public school superintendents and their efforts to be influential in state-level education legislation and policy-making: they utilized professional organizations most extensively in their efforts to contact and influence legislators; their perceptions of effectiveness were significantly increase when there was a close personal or proximal association with a legislator; their perceptions of effectiveness were significantly increased in accordance with the number of prior administrative positions held; their perceptions of effectiveness were significantly increased with relation to a particular school district configuration; their perceptions of effectiveness were significantly increased with relation to their affiliations with particular educational organizations; they identified only one coherent impediment to being influential, that of graduate coursework preparation; and they had a reasonable knowledge of the legislative process, although that did not affect their perceptions of success in being influential. By applying these key findings, Illinois public school superintendents can make themselves more influential in state-level education legislation and policy-making.</p>

<p> Most research concludes that corporal punishment in schools does not lead to better student behavior, more respect for teachers, or higher scores on the Achievement Composite Test (ACT). In addition, some research points to the conclusion that corporal punishment of children is associated with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, which can include such symptoms as depression, and anxiety. One researcher has even identified a medical condition entitled Educationally Induced Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, which, I concluded, was brought about by excessive corporal punishment. </p><p> This research study is a comprehensive analysis of corporal punishment practices in the state of Georgia. The research approach adopted in this comprehensive analysis of corporal punishment in Georgia includes the use of online literature, print literature, legal databases, and research database sites. </p><p> The findings from this research provide evidence that Georgia currently has many districts reporting high incidences of corporal punishment while other districts have either abolished corporal punishment by local policy or simply do not practice it. The main conclusions drawn from this study are that corporal punishment in Georgia schools is largely a nonurban phenomenon and that its use is not evenly distributed among districts but rather concentrated in smaller districts. Although overall incidents of corporal punishment have gone down in Georgia over the last several years, its use has actually increased in some districts.</p>

<p> Louisiana is currently one of the 19 states in the United States that still allow the use of corporal punishment in public schools. The research questions that drove this study explored Louisiana-published court cases involving corporal punishment in public schools, district policies regarding the use of corporal punishment, reported instances of corporal punishment in public schools, and potential relationships between whether or not a district allows corporal punishment and its enrollment size. </p><p> As a result of this study, it was discovered that Louisiana has an unusually large body of published court cases involving corporal punishment in public schools. Of those cases, three categories were defined including: cases filed by an employee, cases filed by a parent on behalf of a student, and criminal cases regarding excessive amounts of corporal punishment. It was concluded that the courts will generally uphold a School Board's decision in regards to disciplining teachers for excessive corporal punishment. Furthermore, School Boards and teachers also won a majority of the cases that were filed by a parent on behalf of a student. </p><p> After examining Louisiana district's policy regarding the use of corporal punishment in public schools, it was concluded that the majority of Louisiana's public school students attend schools that allow the use of corporal punishment. From the number of instances recorded it was discovered that the majority of Louisiana districts that still use corporal punishment are experiencing a decline in the number of instances recorded. Finally, corporal punishment is still being practiced is some of the largest districts according to student enrollment. A chi-square test was performed and a statistical significance between a district's policy regarding corporal punishment and its size was not found. </p><p> In conclusion, this study revealed that Louisiana is still one of the 19 predominately Southern states that still allow corporal punishment in public schools. In order for Louisiana to join the other states in abolishing corporal punishment, it is important that Louisiana School Board members and others who are involved in deciding whether or not corporal punishment is allowed know where Louisiana currently stands on this issue.</p>

<p> School administrators struggle with an emerging threat to school safety-cyberbullying. When does a school administrator have authority to punish a student for off-campus, online speech? When does a student cross the line from protected speech to punishable act? The Supreme Court of the United States has yet to decide such a case that would provide school administrators with a standard to utilize when faced with cyberbullying on campus. This dissertation will examine current research, case law, state statutes, and current cyberbullying frameworks put forth by Williams (2008), and King (2010), and Willard (2011) to provide guidance to school administrators on how to approach cyberbullying incidences. In addition, an interview with Assistant United States Attorney Luke Walker will be employed in an effort to bring to light how timely research, such as this dissertation, is needed for school administrators. A repeated concept stemming from this research study is the idea that while no Supreme Court standard currently exists, school administrators should not punish students for merely content alone, but make a strong connection to the student speech causing a substantial disruption to the learning environment. School administrators should also work to promote, not stifle, student speech as they create a safe learning environment.</p>

<p> This dissertation is an <i>auto|ethnography,</i> meaning it places the author's experiences at the center of analysis. The thesis argues that educators from the dominant culture can share the burden of change placed on students of color by critically reflecting on their <i>positionality </i>&mdash;or the way they socially construct their understanding of who they are in the world and therefore their relationship to educational structures and school actors. The analysis focuses on the author's transition from suburban to urban teaching and how this experience, combined with a broadening of theoretical perspectives, increased his criticality and, therefore, ability to re-conceptualize his experience with the hidden, social and emotional, and academic curricula. The author employs a variety of theoretical perspectives including <i>critical constructivism, critical pedagogy, socio-cultural theory, critical race theory,</i> and deculturalization to examine his understanding of himself and Others. Data sources include the author's personal archive of academic writing, a semi-structured interview with the author's former students, and the academic literature. Central to the thesis is the argument that educators from the dominant culture have a tendency to subscribe to the <i>deficit model for student failure</i> and therefore use the <i>banking concept of education</i> to deposit knowledge into students from subordinated cultures. This is perpetuated by hegemony and creates a dynamic where educators from the dominant culture place added burdens on students from subordinated cultures to change, which often sparks resistance and other unintended consequences. The data demonstrate that the overuse of positivist approaches to discipline and pedagogy in the researcher's former school sparked student resistance and invalidated the knowledge and various ways students from diverse backgrounds made sense of their world. Given the insights provided by the participants in this study, the research suggests that many of the perplexing problems in urban education can be better addressed if those in power <i>radically listen</i> to students in urban schools.</p>

<p> This study examined the success of five elementary schools in their implementation of the 2011 New Jersey Harassment, Intimidation, and Bullying law (NJ HIB law). It also explored stakeholders' perceptions of school climate since the law went into effect. Fourth and fifth grade parents, students, teachers, and counselors in the district's five elementary schools were invited to participate in surveys, focus groups, and interviews. The study revealed that these stakeholders supported the spirit of the law but felt that there were unexpected obstacles in the law that impeded its effectiveness to support a positive school climate and eliminate bullying. The results of the study will aid the district's elementary schools to improve implementation of the HIB law and guide stakeholders as they move to create a positive school climate and eliminate bullying.</p>