In the face of low adolescent literacy rates (NCES, 2012), concerns about the nation’s prospects of remaining competitive in science and technology (Hill, Corbett, & St. Rose, 2010), a persistent gender gap in science (NCES, 2012; Reilly, 2012), and the continued rollout of college- and career-ready standards, there is a need to focus on adolescent girls’ science literacy. Such science literacy involves not only general knowledge about science, but also the ability to engage in the advanced reading and writing practices fundamental to doing science (Norris & Phillips, 2003). In this thesis, I present three articles with findings that respond to this need. They are the results of a multiple-case embedded (Yin, 2009) study that I conducted over the course of 7 months in four science classrooms (grades 5 through 8; 50 students) taught by a single teacher in a small all-female middle school. I collected in-depth data focused on science literacy from multiple sources, including (a) fieldnotes (Emerson, Fretz & Shaw, 2011), (b) videorecorded classroom observations (102 classes, 113 hours, recorded on 29 days), (c) a survey of all students, (d) semi-structured interviews with the subsample of 12 focal students (ranging from 18 to 37 minutes) and (e) photographs of classroom artifacts and student work. In the first article, I provide a window into standard literacy practices in science classrooms by examining the reading and writing genres to which students are exposed. In the second article, I examine how a teacher’s language and instructional practices within her classrooms, and popular images of science from the world beyond their classrooms might shape adolescent girls’ science identities. Finally, in the third article, I explore different aspects of science identity using the words of three case study students. Taken together, these studies fill gaps in the literature by investigating science literacy in an understudied context, all-female classrooms. In addition, they give voice to a group often underrepresented in studies of science (i.e., primarily nonwhite girls from working class families, many of whom speak English as a second language.) Thus this thesis provides new insights for researchers as well as teachers interested in science literacy and persistent gaps in science achievement.

In this dissertation, I examine how one college access program, Families United in Educational Leadership (FUEL), utilizes parents as a strategy to encourage college preparation among low-income students. FUEL serves 500 low-income families in seven sites around Boston by employing a savings incentive plan to help parents of high school students save up to $3,000 for their children’s college education. It also provides parents with information through monthly workshops about how they and their children can prepare for college. Research has shown that parents can play a key role in developing their children’s college aspirations, encouraging their academic preparation, providing financial resources, and accessing postsecondary supports, all of which influence college enrollment (Hossler & Gallagher, 1987; Adelman, 1999; Choy, 2002; Tierney & Auerbach, 2005; ACSFA, 2008; Hill & Tyson, 2009). Unlike FUEL, many college access initiatives do not include parents in their efforts to encourage college preparation among the students they serve (Tierney & Auerbach, 2005), and so FUEL has provided a context in which to investigate parental involvement within a college access program. In this study, I examined 1) if and how the level of parent knowledge about college preparation changes after participating in FUEL; 2) how parents make sense of their experiences with FUEL and how they use the information learned; and 3) students’ perceptions of their parents’ involvement in FUEL. The research project took place over one academic year at Chelsea High School in Chelsea, Massachusetts. My analysis of data indicate that FUEL encouraged behavior among families to prepare for college; increased college-going expectations among parents; made the college preparation process more manageable by offering extensive and organized information about college choice and financial aid, reminders about deadlines, and recommendations for other sources of guidance; positively impacted relationships between parents and children; and created an important support structure for participating families that altered their experiences with the college preparation process. These findings demonstrate the vital role that parents play in the college preparation process and describe key strategies used by FUEL that could be replicated by other college access efforts as they aim to expand college enrollment and success for low-income students and families.

Modern schools are complex organizations, tasked with wide-ranging responsibilities. Too frequently, schools have few tools and limited support to carry out those responsibilities. Much attention has been paid to instructional improvement in schools, but there has been less focus on improving administrative processes that consume substantial time and have an underestimated impact on whether students graduate from high school. In New York City, these tasks include programming students for the courses they need to graduate and registering them for required Regents exams. New Visions for Public Schools, the non-profit based in New York City where I did my residency, is a support organization for a network of 80 New York City public high schools. For the past two years, New Visions has been developing tools and resources to help schools carry out core administrative tasks. While these tasks sound straightforward, schools regularly miss routine opportunities. The accumulation of missed opportunities over the course of a student’s high school career can be the difference between graduating and dropping out. During my residency, I worked closely with a large comprehensive high school, attempting to implement New Visions’ tools and strategies as part of an organizational improvement process. I also worked on the development of these tools and strategies internally at New Visions. In my capstone, I reflect on the challenges of building infrastructure to change longstanding practices in mature schools from the position of an intermediary. I also analyze a new structure called the “strategic data check-in” (SDC) that we use as a primary strategy for capacity building and behavior change. I argue that the project of building administrative infrastructure is important, that New Visions’ progress has been hampered in part by an inability to create protected time and space for this work, but that the SDC approach is a promising approach to support learning by both New Visions and schools given these constraints. These lessons learned about creating tools to help manage schools as organizations, and the need for protected space in changing behavior, are generalizable to a wide range of challenges the education sector faces.

<p> The purpose of this study was to evaluate the extent to which secondary students, aged 14-21 with intellectual disabilities in North Dakota (ND) engage in community-based work experience (CBWE). Perceived barriers to implementing CBWE were examined and a comparison was made between rural and urban communities. A quantitative, cross-sectional design was used to survey professionals responsible for implementing CBWE in ND secondary schools. Data obtained from the study showed that 60.01% of students with ID are engaged in CBWE and there was no difference between rural and urban communities in percentage of students engaged in this practice. There was no significant difference between these communities in types of jobs in which students were engaged. Professionals were asked to agree or disagree to a list of perceived barriers to implementing CBWE and, there was little difference between rural and urban communities. Professionals identified child labor laws, parental concerns, and requirements to align instruction to academic standards as common barriers to implementing CBWE.</p><p>

The purpose of this study was to investigate and explore the challenges faced by female secondary school principals when discharging their duties. This study was done because it was not a normal practice before 1994 to have a female person as the head of a learning institution. This was specifically linked to the implementation of equity as enshrined and entrenched in the constitution no.108, of 1996 of the Republic of South Africa. It is almost 18 years since the proclamation of equity in the constitution; it was therefore of great importance to evaluate the ground covered in terms of implementation of this equity. The equity mentioned in Chapter 2, section 9 of the constitution resulted in the formulation of the Employment Equity Act no.55 of 1998 as amended. The implementation of the Employment Equity Act no.55 of 1998 was expected to have an impact on the way the female school secondary principals were received by the community. Currently all departments are compelled to employ women in managerial positions and this receives opposition in some sectors of the population. This study was conducted in Qumbu education district in the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa. It focused on secondary school principals. The study used a quantitative research design to elicit data from the respondents. Data were collected from 46 participants through the use of a questionnaire. 32 questionnaires were returned and the data were processed. The Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) was used in the analysis of the data. The findings of the study revealed several challenges confronting female secondary school principals both in the workplace and at home. In the workplace, on one hand, female principals are faced with insubordination from male educators; poor parental involvement and cultural stereotypes; and on the other hand, at home, they were confronted by minimal support from their partners/ spouses. In the light of the findings, the researcher recommended that the Department of Basic Education organize capacity-building workshops to develop leadership skills; replacement strategies for ageing principals; women‟s conferences to advocate women‟s rights; and programmes for female principals and their husbands, called Men As Partners (MAP). The study succeeded in portraying a picture of what is presently taking place in secondary schools that are headed by female principals. Some of the limitations encountered by the researcher during the study included the reluctance of the participants to take part in the research, the non-accessibility of schools in deep rural areas, the return rate of completed questionnaires; and the obtaining of permission to undertake the study.

Abstract not available.

L'abolition d'une année de scolarité au secondaire et la récente réforme scolaire en Ontario font en sorte que les élèves ont moins de cours optionnels à suivre dans leur programme. Par conséquent, certaines écoles font de grands efforts pour inciter les élèves à recevoir une formation artistique en développant des programmes spécialisés. De tels programmes permettent aux élèves inscrits de suivre des cours d'art tous les jours et tout au long de leur programme scolaire au secondaire. Cette étude cherche alors à mieux comprendre ce qui motive des élèves à s'inscrire à un programme spécialisé en musique. Dans une démarche qualitative, des entrevues semi-dirigées et des groupes de discussion ont été réalisés auprès d'élèves de 9e et 10e année inscrits dans un tel programme dans une école secondaire de langue française de l'Ontario. Cette recherche s'appuie principalement sur la théorie de l'autodétermination (Deci et Ryan, 1985; Ryan et Deci, 2000a) qui reconnaît la prédominance des besoins d'autonomie, de compétence et d'appartenance pour favoriser la motivation et le bien-être de l'élève. L'analyse des données recueillies fait ressortir des motifs, tant intrinsèques qu'extrinsèques, qui incitent des élèves à s'inscrire à un programme spécialisé en musique. Cette étude permet alors de voir comment des adolescents parlent de leurs besoins et de leur motivation dans leur formation musicale.

Mathematical manipulative materials (manipulatives) invite students to explore and represent abstract mathematical concepts in varied, concrete, tactile, and visually rich ways. Considering the prominence of the use of mathematical manipulatives in current K-12 curricula, pedagogical resources and professional development, research studies show that few secondary school teachers use them. While these studies do not examine this issue from the teachers' perspective, they posit that some teachers lack the mathematical knowledge connected to manipulatives, are uncomfortable with or uncertain how to use them, or do not believe that manipulatives have value in the teaching of secondary school mathematics. As a result there is a great need for research that provides further detail as to why and how secondary school mathematics teachers use manipulatives in their classrooms. This study, guided by the research questions: 'How do secondary school teachers view the use of manipulatives in teaching mathematics?' and 'How do secondary school teachers describe their use of manipulatives in teaching mathematics?', sought to examine these issues through semi-structured interviews with six secondary school mathematics teachers. This study supports the notion that the use of manipulatives in secondary school mathematics classrooms is influenced by teachers' views and experience with manipulatives. It highlights some of the challenges that teachers face, and supports from which they gain confidence and competence in their efforts to integrate the use of mathematical manipulatives into their teaching practice.

Although there are many how-to manuals on forming business/school partnerships, there is little valuative information on what actually takes place within them. This dissertation, a case study of a school-to-work partnership between an urban high school's business education department and the local business community, affords a practical insight into the dynamics of such a cooperative. A series of in-depth, phenomenological interviews were conducted with student workers and their workplace mentors. Their candid, powerful testimonies reflect the backgrounds, attitudes, and concerns that each brought to the workplace. Their personal voices express the relationships and interactions that defined their work experiences. Additional interviews with key figures in several similar contemporary programs confirmed that business/school partnerships are as complex and sensitive as the personalities of the individuals and the characters of the institutions that form them. Although all of the participants in this study attest to the value and importance of such partnerships, it is also evident that the demands of sustaining a successful program are daunting. This study suggests that implementing the business/school mandates as proposed in school reform legislation will be difficult, if not impossible. The evidence in this study illustrates that predominantly minority students from disadvantaged backgrounds can succeed in an initial work experience, can grow through that exposure, and can then create new personal visions for themselves. Of the twenty-five business students who participated in this cooperative program, over half entered a two or four year college upon graduation; six were offered a permanent position with a business partner. The director of the partnership that is at the core of this study, a committed teacher and a business owner, was available on a daily basis to provide students with personal guidance as they assimilated new experiences, faced unexpected challenges, or redefined new understandings. The overall findings substantiate the value of such consistent individual support for students in their first adventure into the world-of-work.

The purpose of this study was to examine how college freshmen make meaning of their secondary school physical education experiences. The study was also designed to explore the events, individuals or factors associated with their physical education experiences that influenced the ways in which students construct their meanings. Using concepts first identified in Kelly's (1955) "personal construct psychology", the study was designed to understand how college students describe their experiences in high school physical education and their current beliefs about the value and meaning of those experiences. A semi-structured, open-ended interview format was used to engage 27 college freshmen from a small private, two year college in New England in a discussion about their high school physical education experiences. This methodology allowed the students/participants to ascribe their own meaning to the experiences they had in physical education. Each audiotaped interview session lasted approximately sixty minutes and was later transcribed for analysis. Two overriding themes emerged from the data. Students recognized and have come to understand that athleticism means power and physical education has little value as a subject matter offering. Several factors contributed to these understandings. The most influential factor was student skill level. Skill level influenced interactions with and treatment by teachers and other students. In many schools it created an adolescent society where personal status and underlying self worth were accorded solely on an individual's physical ability. Curriculum content and teaching behaviors were also identified as strongly influencing student experience. Programs which had a strong team sport foundation disenfranchised many students whose talents and interests did not find avenues of expression in the activities offered. Closely aligned with participants' remarks about curriculum choices were comments regarding the lack of instruction. Participants indicated that little teaching was occurring and low-skilled students believed this put them at an even greater disadvantage. Participants believed physical education had little value as a subject matter offering. These beliefs were most directly influenced by their association with parents and peers, while indirectly influenced by grading schemes and contrasts with other more "academic" subjects.