Scholars have linked multiple background characteristics to academic achievement; among these are student SES and race/ethnicity. A largely understudied student characteristic in relation to academic achievement is student immigrant status. I contextualize this relationship by considering a macro social setting: country-level foreign-born population. To do this, I examine mathematics achievement from the 2015 PISA assessment in 41 high-income countries. Using mixed-effects modeling, I examine student- and country-level factors and their effects on mathematics achievement. I use within- and cross-level interactions to examine the relationship between 1) immigrant status and student SES and between 2) immigrant status and foreign-born population. To examine the relationship between student immigrant status and student SES and between immigrant status and foreign-born-population, I use within- and cross-level interactions. My findings indicate that immigrant students perform similarly to native-born students when considering other contextual factors at the student-, school-, and country- levels. Furthermore, SES moderates the effect of immigrant status, with second-generation immigrants exhibiting a smaller achievement gain with increased SES. Additionally, everyone – immigrants and non-immigrants alike – benefits from higher foreign-born population rates, suggesting that immigration is advantageous for all students.

The majority of city and county school systems throughout Tennessee and the United States at one time or another experience a budget crisis. In the state of Tennessee, school systems are funded through the Basic Education Program, established in 1992 as part of the Tennessee Education Improvement Act. The lawsuit of 1988, Tennessee Small School Systems v. McWherter, created the Basic Education Program. Through the years, the Basic Education Program has provided extra teaching positions, materials, and supplies and has provided the funding formula for school systems throughout the state. Many high-ranking administrators contend that the Basic Education Program has outlasted its time. School administrators from both city and county school systems indicate the program needs to be restructured to meet the current needs of the schools and students throughout the state of Tennessee. The purpose of this mixed-method study was to explore the perceptions of educational equality and the advantages/disadvantages of the Basic Education Program. Through quantitative data, city and county school systems were compared for per-pupil spending, average teacher salary, and student achievement in the advanced proficient category for math and reading/language. These data were collected from the Tennessee Department of Education website and the Tennessee Education Association website. Qualitative data were collected through interviews with high-ranking administrators from city and county school systems in Northeast Tennessee. These administrators were purposively selected from systems containing both city and county schools. The findings of this study demonstrated that city school systems have higher per-pupil spending and higher teacher salaries than county systems. City school systems have higher student achievement levels in the advanced proficient category than county school systems. Interview participants agree that educational equity does not exist between city and county school systems in the state of Tennessee. The participants in this study express that although the Basic Education Program in Tennessee was effective, at one time, it should be restructured or redefined to meet the current needs of all students in the state of Tennessee.

This thesis investigates whether luck egalitarianism can provide a cogent and coherent interpretation of educational equality. Historically, the belief that each child should receive an equally good education has exerted a strong influence on policy makers and thus on educational practice, and this despite the vagueness of the egalitarian formula. More recently however, the ideal has been undermined in practice by the rise of neoliberalism and in theory by a number of thinkers advocating other principles of educational justice. But it is vital to be clear about what each child is owed because of the profound effects of education on a person’s life prospects. The motivation for this work is therefore to determine whether educational equality can be rescued as a desirable and animating ideal of educational justice. In order to achieve this, I examine luck egalitarianism, a theory of distributive justice that has its origins in the work of John Rawls, but is now the major rival to his account of egalitarian justice. I probe at the fundamental moral intuitions underpinning luck egalitarianism and how it brings together the morally potent ideas of equality, luck and choice. I argue that these are of relevance for the education each child is owed and I propose a luck egalitarian conception of educational equality, argue that it is a cogent interpretation of egalitarian justice, and conclude that a luck egalitarian conception shows educational equality to be an ideal that is relevant, coherent and what morally matters most for justice in education. I describe luck egalitarianism as resting on three basic moral beliefs: that distributive equality is a fundamental demand of justice; that luck undermines fair equality; and that a person’s genuine choices can sometimes, under certain background conditions, render some otherwise objectionable inequalities not unjust. I then examine whether these three beliefs are compatible with each other and what, if anything, links them. Next, I consider luck egalitarianism’s status as a theory of distributive justice and argue that far from this being a weakness, as Elizabeth Anderson (1999) has notably argued, it is a strength of the position. But to appreciate this it needs to be seen that luck egalitarianism makes no claim to being all of justice and that the equalisandum of equality is complex and egalitarianism is intrinsically pluralist in nature (with a particular understanding of what is meant by pluralist). I consider too whether it is a mistake to say that inequalities that are largely due to luck can really be thought of as unjust. Thomas Nagel (1997) has argued that it is merely misfortune, unless the result of deliberate actions or social structures for which someone is responsible. I reject that position and argue that no one has to be responsible for an inequality for it to be unjust. Having interrogated luck egalitarianism and found it to be a sound account of egalitarian distributive justice, I turn to looking at whether it can illuminate our understanding of educational equality. Educational equality is often interpreted in terms of equality of educational opportunity. I look particularly at a conception of equality of educational opportunity, strongly influenced by Rawls, that has been thoughtfully and carefully articulated by Harry Brighouse and Adam Swift (2008). I find their conception powerful, but flawed, and argue that a luck egalitarian conception can account for the appeal of their conception, but is an advance on it. I end by looking at a specific question of educational justice to test the luck egalitarian conception – is there anything inegalitarian about ability grouping? I conclude that, while still needing to have its implications worked out in full, particularly as regards choice, a luck egalitarian conception provides a compelling account of educational equality and reasserts that equality matters for justice in education.

The purpose of this dissertation is to elucidate the democratic nature of American public schools in terms of democratic principles of freedom, equality, and equity through historical, sociological, conceptual, and educational examinations. Chapter 2 explores, through a salient and recurring phenomenon of segregation, how the democratic-capitalistic matrix of American public schools has been constructed in terms of both meritocratic and egalitarian policies. To scrutinize the substantive nature of democratic-capitalistic society, in Chapter 3, social theories proposed by Marx, Durkheim, Weber, Simmel, and Freud are examined in terms of the nature of human existence in the democratic-capitalistic society and then, its mode of existence is analyzed in light of the metaphors, the Möbius strip and the Klein bottle. The object of Chapter 4 is to clarify the conceptual and substantive relationship between freedom and equality based on equity as balance point. In Chapter 5, educational issues concerning the nature of democratic existence are dealt with in terms of educational quality, while clarifying the paradoxical nature of democratic-educational conceptions of excellence and knowledge in the public school system. Further, a reconsideration of the Brown decision in Chapter 6 helps penetrate how democratic existence can be substantialized in American public schools under the capitalistic-democratic society, confirming a new version of educational paradigm. / text

Esta dissertação é formada dois ensaios com temas vinculados à educação. O primeiro ensaio investiga a evolução das desigualdades de oportunidades educacionais no Brasil sob o prisma das etnias e dos gêneros, com base na concepção de John Roemer (1998) de Igualdade de Oportunidades. Para quantificar a desigualdade são utilizados os índices de dissimilaridade de Yalonetzky (2010) aplicados aos microdados da PNAD de 2011. Para a amostra estudada, os resultados apontaram para a redução da desigualdade de oportunidades educacionais na dimensão étnica e para seu aumento, no âmbito dos gêneros, ao longo dos anos. O segundo ensaio busca avaliar o impacto da universidade pública sobre o seu egresso, medido principalmente sob a forma de rendimentos do trabalho. Através de modelos baseados na Equação de Mincer (1974), buscou-se verificar os principais determinantes da renda do egresso, utilizando-se, para tanto, uma amostra de dados de egressos da UFRGS. A análise apontou para conclusões que levam a crer que o diploma da universidade pública não é suficiente para, em termos de rendimento, compensar discriminações existentes no mercado de trabalho analisado. Outra contribuição do ensaio foi apontar, para algumas áreas do conhecimento, a remuneração média, a incidência de desemprego, a relevância atribuída pelo egresso à formação recebida e seu vínculo à atividade profissional exercida. / This dissertation is composed by two essays whose subjects are linked with education. The first one investigates evolution of the inequalities of opportunities of education in Brazil, through ethnical and genre prism, using the Opportunities Equality framework proposed by Roemer (1998). To quantify inequality, the dissimilarities indexes are used on PNAD 2011 data. The results pointed to a reduction of opportunity inequality in ethnical types, while it detected an increase in inequality for the gender types. The second essay aims to assess the impact of the public university in Brazil on its graduated, understood mainly as his wage. Using econometric specifications based on Mincer (1974), the study tried to find out the main determinants of graduated earnings, using a sample of graduated from UFRGS. The analysis suggested that the public university's diploma is not enough to compensate the discrimination existing in the studied labor market. Another contribution of this essay was to point, for some knowledge areas, the mean earnings, the unemployment rates, the relevance attributed by the graduated to the received education and its links with his professional career.

Esta dissertação é formada dois ensaios com temas vinculados à educação. O primeiro ensaio investiga a evolução das desigualdades de oportunidades educacionais no Brasil sob o prisma das etnias e dos gêneros, com base na concepção de John Roemer (1998) de Igualdade de Oportunidades. Para quantificar a desigualdade são utilizados os índices de dissimilaridade de Yalonetzky (2010) aplicados aos microdados da PNAD de 2011. Para a amostra estudada, os resultados apontaram para a redução da desigualdade de oportunidades educacionais na dimensão étnica e para seu aumento, no âmbito dos gêneros, ao longo dos anos. O segundo ensaio busca avaliar o impacto da universidade pública sobre o seu egresso, medido principalmente sob a forma de rendimentos do trabalho. Através de modelos baseados na Equação de Mincer (1974), buscou-se verificar os principais determinantes da renda do egresso, utilizando-se, para tanto, uma amostra de dados de egressos da UFRGS. A análise apontou para conclusões que levam a crer que o diploma da universidade pública não é suficiente para, em termos de rendimento, compensar discriminações existentes no mercado de trabalho analisado. Outra contribuição do ensaio foi apontar, para algumas áreas do conhecimento, a remuneração média, a incidência de desemprego, a relevância atribuída pelo egresso à formação recebida e seu vínculo à atividade profissional exercida. / This dissertation is composed by two essays whose subjects are linked with education. The first one investigates evolution of the inequalities of opportunities of education in Brazil, through ethnical and genre prism, using the Opportunities Equality framework proposed by Roemer (1998). To quantify inequality, the dissimilarities indexes are used on PNAD 2011 data. The results pointed to a reduction of opportunity inequality in ethnical types, while it detected an increase in inequality for the gender types. The second essay aims to assess the impact of the public university in Brazil on its graduated, understood mainly as his wage. Using econometric specifications based on Mincer (1974), the study tried to find out the main determinants of graduated earnings, using a sample of graduated from UFRGS. The analysis suggested that the public university's diploma is not enough to compensate the discrimination existing in the studied labor market. Another contribution of this essay was to point, for some knowledge areas, the mean earnings, the unemployment rates, the relevance attributed by the graduated to the received education and its links with his professional career.

Esta dissertação é formada dois ensaios com temas vinculados à educação. O primeiro ensaio investiga a evolução das desigualdades de oportunidades educacionais no Brasil sob o prisma das etnias e dos gêneros, com base na concepção de John Roemer (1998) de Igualdade de Oportunidades. Para quantificar a desigualdade são utilizados os índices de dissimilaridade de Yalonetzky (2010) aplicados aos microdados da PNAD de 2011. Para a amostra estudada, os resultados apontaram para a redução da desigualdade de oportunidades educacionais na dimensão étnica e para seu aumento, no âmbito dos gêneros, ao longo dos anos. O segundo ensaio busca avaliar o impacto da universidade pública sobre o seu egresso, medido principalmente sob a forma de rendimentos do trabalho. Através de modelos baseados na Equação de Mincer (1974), buscou-se verificar os principais determinantes da renda do egresso, utilizando-se, para tanto, uma amostra de dados de egressos da UFRGS. A análise apontou para conclusões que levam a crer que o diploma da universidade pública não é suficiente para, em termos de rendimento, compensar discriminações existentes no mercado de trabalho analisado. Outra contribuição do ensaio foi apontar, para algumas áreas do conhecimento, a remuneração média, a incidência de desemprego, a relevância atribuída pelo egresso à formação recebida e seu vínculo à atividade profissional exercida. / This dissertation is composed by two essays whose subjects are linked with education. The first one investigates evolution of the inequalities of opportunities of education in Brazil, through ethnical and genre prism, using the Opportunities Equality framework proposed by Roemer (1998). To quantify inequality, the dissimilarities indexes are used on PNAD 2011 data. The results pointed to a reduction of opportunity inequality in ethnical types, while it detected an increase in inequality for the gender types. The second essay aims to assess the impact of the public university in Brazil on its graduated, understood mainly as his wage. Using econometric specifications based on Mincer (1974), the study tried to find out the main determinants of graduated earnings, using a sample of graduated from UFRGS. The analysis suggested that the public university's diploma is not enough to compensate the discrimination existing in the studied labor market. Another contribution of this essay was to point, for some knowledge areas, the mean earnings, the unemployment rates, the relevance attributed by the graduated to the received education and its links with his professional career.

In today’s society knowledge and economic growth are interdependent. Becauseof this, the concept of equity has gained momentum in educational debate. Thispaper have the purpose to contribute to this debate. The tensions and transitionsaround educational equity in the context of Latin America are discussed. Therelationship between equality and equity is analyzed. the complementaritybetween scholar equity and systemic equity is discussed; the concept of equity showing it as dynamic and changing in accordance with social and educational contexts is examined; it is argued on the need for equity in transit from primary education to senior high school. Finally, the passage of equity focused exclusively on coverage towards equity in educational quality is examined. / En la actual sociedad conocimiento y crecimiento económico se condicionan. En estecontexto, en educación el debate sobre el concepto de equidad ha cobrado fuerza.El presente documento tiene como propósito contribuir a dicho debate, para ellose discuten una serie de tensiones y transiciones en torno a la equidad educativa enAmérica Latina. Se discute la relación entre igualdad y equidad; se analiza la complementariedad entre equidad escolar y equidad sistémica; se examina el concepto de equidad mostrándolo como dinámico y cambiante en concordancia con los contextos sociales y educativos; se argumenta sobre la necesidad de la equidad en el tránsito de educación primaria hacia la secundaria alta, por último, se examina el paso de la equidad enfocada exclusivamente en la cobertura hacia la equidad en la calidad educativa / Na sociedade de hoje o conhecimento eo crescimento econômico são interdependentes. Devido a isso, o conceito de equidade ganhou impulso no debate educacional. Este artigo tem o propósito de contribuir para este debate. São discutidas as tensões e transições em torno da eqüidade educacional no contexto da América Latina. A relação entre igualdade e equidade é analisada. Discute-se a complementaridade entre equidade acadêmica e equidade sistêmica; O conceito de equidade mostrandoo como dinâmico e em mudança de acordo com contextos sociais e educacionais é examinado; Argumenta-se sobre a necessidade de equidade no trânsito do ensino primário para o ensino médio. Por fim, examina-se a passagem da equidade focada exclusivamente na cobertura de equidade na qualidade educacional.

South Africa is experiencing a financial skills shortage with a severe shortage of accountants and chartered accountants in particular. The aim of this study was to measure accessibility of public higher education in South Africa, in general and specifically relating to accountancy programmes with special emphasis on chartered accountancy programmes in South Africa, by making use of selected accessibility indicators. Although some of these indicators have been used to measure accessibility of higher education in general both locally and internationally, they are not often used to measure accessibility of a programme for a particular profession such as accountancy or chartered accountancy. This study aimed to fill this gap by measuring the selected accessibility indicators and providing subsequent rankings of the four public universities selected for this study. The results can be used by institutions that offer accountancy and chartered accountancy programmes as well as the South African Institute of Chartered Accountants, as the profession’s Education and Training Quality Assurance body, to evaluate the accessibility of accountancy as well as chartered accountancy programmes. / Financial Accounting / M. Compt. (Applied Accountancy)

South Africa is experiencing a financial skills shortage with a severe shortage of accountants and chartered accountants in particular. The aim of this study was to measure accessibility of public higher education in South Africa, in general and specifically relating to accountancy programmes with special emphasis on chartered accountancy programmes in South Africa, by making use of selected accessibility indicators. Although some of these indicators have been used to measure accessibility of higher education in general both locally and internationally, they are not often used to measure accessibility of a programme for a particular profession such as accountancy or chartered accountancy. This study aimed to fill this gap by measuring the selected accessibility indicators and providing subsequent rankings of the four public universities selected for this study. The results can be used by institutions that offer accountancy and chartered accountancy programmes as well as the South African Institute of Chartered Accountants, as the profession’s Education and Training Quality Assurance body, to evaluate the accessibility of accountancy as well as chartered accountancy programmes. / Financial Accounting / M. Compt. (Applied Accountancy)