<p>This study examines how families judge and choose high schools. The review of literature relating to school choice provides a theoretical framework for the study. The review includes an international perspective including both developed countries such as United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Denmark, England and Wales, the Netherlands, Scotland and Sweden, and developing countries including India, Chile, Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania, Mauritania, Senegal, Cote d'Ivoire and South Africa. The context within which school choice occurs in South Africa is examined. This context includes continued influence of Apartheid policies and current legislation including the South African Schools Act, The Admission Policy for Ordinary Schools Act and the Norms and Standards for Schools Funding. The literature review includes a critical analysis of the research, both Local and International, which addresses questions as to which factors are considered when judging and choosing schools, who makes the choice school, when the choice of school is made and which sources of information inform the choice of school. The empirical study examines the process of high school choice in urban Cape Town. The group areas Act and other Apartheid policies have created a situation where the respondents have a large number of high schools from which to chose. The selected area reflects diversity in Socio-Economic status, including both privately owned homes and council rental flats and houses. The study is limited to English medium or dual medium schools in the area. It includes both co-ed and single gender schools.</p>

<p>This study examines how families judge and choose high schools. The review of literature relating to school choice provides a theoretical framework for the study. The review includes an international perspective including both developed countries such as United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Denmark, England and Wales, the Netherlands, Scotland and Sweden, and developing countries including India, Chile, Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania, Mauritania, Senegal, Cote d'Ivoire and South Africa. The context within which school choice occurs in South Africa is examined. This context includes continued influence of Apartheid policies and current legislation including the South African Schools Act, The Admission Policy for Ordinary Schools Act and the Norms and Standards for Schools Funding. The literature review includes a critical analysis of the research, both Local and International, which addresses questions as to which factors are considered when judging and choosing schools, who makes the choice school, when the choice of school is made and which sources of information inform the choice of school. The empirical study examines the process of high school choice in urban Cape Town. The group areas Act and other Apartheid policies have created a situation where the respondents have a large number of high schools from which to chose. The selected area reflects diversity in Socio-Economic status, including both privately owned homes and council rental flats and houses. The study is limited to English medium or dual medium schools in the area. It includes both co-ed and single gender schools.</p>

Boston University. University Professors Program Senior theses. / PLEASE NOTE: Boston University Libraries did not receive an Authorization To Manage form for this thesis. It is therefore not openly accessible, though it may be available by request. If you are the author or principal advisor of this work and would like to request open access for it, please contact us at open-help@bu.edu. Thank you. / 2031-01-02

In this educational ethnography, I focused on how parents and students enrolled in a public charter high school in Sundale City (pseudonym), Arizona made the choice to attend a charter school. I also focused on educational reforms in the context of two large district high schools to further contextualize family choice-making. In contrast to the prevailing view that it is primarily parents with the requisite cultural and social capital who access school choice, participants in this study were `forced' to choose an alternative to their neighborhood district school due to the harmful effects of being marginalized and penalized in traditional district school contexts. With implications for policy and practice, this anthropological study expands the polemic surrounding school choice by considering the discursive practices inscribed in traditional school contexts that force out disenfranchised students. Understanding of family choice-making and students' experiences contributes to theorizing social inequality and educational reform in new ways that lead to the development of equitable school spaces.

Thesis advisor: Vincent Cho / Rorrer, Skrla, and Scheurich (2008) proposed a theory that district leaders enact several essential roles when engaging in systemic reform that both improves achievement and equity. Their theory identified reshaping district culture as one of these essential functions in systemic reform.  This case study explored how leaders in one Massachusetts public school district, which has demonstrated signs of improving achievement and equity, attempted to reshape district culture.   Drawing primarily upon semi-structured interviews, this study found that while these leaders reported using a variety of methods to assess the culture, the district has limited systems-level thinking about their culture.  Similarly, these leaders each made their own choices amongst shaping strategies ranging from focusing on subgroup dynamics to empowering early followers. Recommendations include the development of additional training for leaders in the small group facilitation necessary to uncover shared underlying assumptions and the creation of a district-level common language concerning culture. / Thesis (EdD) — Boston College, 2016. / Submitted to: Boston College. Lynch School of Education. / Discipline: Educational Leadership and Higher Education.

Thesis advisor: Sara Moorman / Between the years 2000 and 2010, the Hispanic population in the United States grew by 15.2 million people at a rate faster than any other racial or ethnic group. Despite this population’s increasing size and political power, past researchers find that significant and persistent gaps exist between the test scores of Hispanic and non-Hispanic students. This study examines one solution proposed to close the test score gap: the assignment of students to demographically similar teachers. Using the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study, Kindergarten Class of 1998-1999, this study explores how instruction by ethnically and/or linguistically similar teachers affects the reading, math, and general science test scores of Hispanic kindergarten students. Findings suggest that when taught by a Hispanic teacher, students reported as Hispanic are predicted to earn reading test scores higher than those of students in other student-teacher dyads. Linguistic similarities have negligible effects on student outcomes after controlling for individual-, teacher- and school-level factors. Policy implications are described. / Thesis (BA) — Boston College, 2015. / Submitted to: Boston College. College of Arts and Sciences. / Discipline: Departmental Honors. / Discipline: Sociology.

abstract: Across the globe, schools are seen as an essential context for building socio-emotional capacities in adolescents, particularly for marginalized youth, who have been systematically and historically excluded from accessing opportunities and resources typically available to members of different social groups (Gil-Kashiwabara, Hogansen, Geenen, Powers, & Powers, 2007). However, despite this ideal, education has not yet reached its potential in promoting equal outcomes for all children andadolescents (American Psychological Association Presidential Task Force on Educational Disparities, 2012; Burkham & Lee, 2002; Gurria, 2016; Hampden-Thompson & Johnston, 2006). There exists a need to identify school practices that may enhance socio- emotional development and have implications for reducing disparities in academic achievement, educational attainment, and other indicators of well-being. The aim of this dissertation, therefore, is to explore school and classroom practices that may be particularly effective in supporting the socio-emotional development of marginalized adolescents. I focus on two distinct populations: youth affected by violence in Colombia, and students of color within the United States. In Study 1, I explore whether three aspects of school climate – safety, connectedness, and services – buffer the negative implications of violence exposure for adolescent development in a Colombian sample. In Study 2, I determine how culturally responsive teaching practices in schools with high concentrations of students of color in the United States can be integrated into our current conceptualization of what constitutes high quality teaching, by examining profiles of teaching practices and associations between these profiles and teacher and classroom characteristics and student behaviors. / Dissertation/Thesis / Doctoral Dissertation Family and Human Development 2018

El propósito general del presente trabajo de investigación es contribuir con la realización de un diagnóstico de la situación de equidad educativa en Argentina, con énfasis en las tendencias registradas durante las últimas décadas. El estudio de la equidad educativa se aborda desde sus dos perspectivas o dimensiones complementarias: interna y externa. Así, se considera tanto a la influencia de los condicionantes socioeconómicos en el seno del sistema educativo, como al rol de la educación en la equidad social. La tesis parte de un análisis del concepto de equidad y su aplicación al campo educativo, estableciendo como criterio de referencia a la igualdad en los logros, los cuales deberían ser independientes de las condiciones sociales de origen. A continuación, se evalúan las transformaciones en el contexto socioeconómico y en el sector educativo acaecidas en el país desde los años noventa hasta la actualidad. Se concluye que, si bien se han registrado importantes avances en materia de equidad educativa, persisten aún desafíos relevantes. Las tendencias señaladas en el análisis empírico son representadas luego a través de un modelo teórico que permite visualizar ciertos problemas de equidad interna y externa destacados. El mismo refleja formalmente cómo la complejidad del vínculo educación-equidad puede contribuir al desarrollo de círculos viciosos para ciertos sectores de la población, así como los obstáculos que enfrentan las políticas educativas que intentan alterarlos. Gran parte del trabajo se destina a profundizar el estudio de uno de los problemas de equidad interna identificados en los primeros capítulos: la segmentación educativa en el nivel medio. Se lleva a cabo un extenso análisis empírico con la finalidad de caracterizar este fenómeno, evaluar su evolución durante los últimos años, y construir un diagnóstico de la situación actual. Los resultados confirman la vigencia e importancia del problema en el presente. Finalmente, el último capítulo de la tesis tiene como objetivo aportar evidencia empírica en favor de la noción de que el proceso de segmentación escolar atenta contra la equidad educativa. Los análisis desarrollados sugieren que efectivamente la diferenciación horizontal de los centros contribuye a incrementar la desigualdad en los logros de los alumnos. En suma, la conclusión principal del estudio es que durante los últimos años algunos cambios en el sector educativo argentino y su entorno socioeconómico han operado en favor de la equidad. No obstante, persiste la presencia de mecanismos que contribuyen a la reproducción e incluso profundización de la desigualdad social al interior del sistema educativo. Diversas circunstancias obran a su vez en detrimento de la capacidad de la educación para favorecer la equidad social en un sentido más amplio. / The general purpose of this research is to make a contribution to the diagnosis of the level of educational equity in Argentina, focusing on the developments which have taken place during the last few decades. Both dimensions of educational equity, internal and external, are studied. Thus, the influence of socioeconomic conditions on educational access and success is considered, as well as the role played by education in social equity. The dissertation begins with a discussion about the concept of equity and its application to the educational field, setting as a reference criterion that educational equity requires equality in outcomes or achievement. With this notion in mind, the changes registered in the national education and socioeconomic systems since the nineties are examined. The conclusion is that although relevant progress has been made regarding educational equity, many important challenges still persist. The main trends identified in the empirical analysis are then formally represented through a theoretical model which highlights some of the problems related to internal and external equity. This framework shows how the relationship between education and socioeconomic conditions can generate vicious cycles for some segments of the population, which are difficult to overcome through the application of educational policies. A great part of this research work is aimed at studying in depth one of the internal equity problems recognized in the first chapters: educational segmentation in the secondary school level. A comprehensive empirical analysis is performed in order to characterize this phenomenon, evaluate its evolution during the last decade, and diagnose the current situation. Results corroborate the significance of the problem at present. Finally, the last section is intended to provide empirical evidence to support the argument that views the process of educational segmentation as an obstacle to equity. The findings suggest that the horizontal differentiation of the school system raises inequalities in student achievement. In sum, the main conclusion of this study is that during the last few years some of the changes registered in the argentine education sector and its socioeconomic environment have favoured educational equity. However, there are still many mechanisms which tend to reproduce and even reinforce existing patterns of socioeconomic inequality within the education system. Different circumstances also diminish the ability of education to promote social equity.

Despite decades of research and promising strategies to ensure educational equity for all students, a significant disparity persists between the racial majority and marginalized students in the United States. Attaining educational equity is a complex problem illustrated by state-funded merit-based scholarships, including the State of Florida Bright Futures Scholarship. Since Florida's merit-based Bright Futures Scholarship Program's (BFSP) inception, the average percentage of black scholarship recipients has been minimal compared to other races. The equitable distribution of scholarship funds is critical to investigate since attaining a post-secondary education advances social mobility consequently breaking the cycle of poverty for lower socioeconomic students and closing the wealth gap for marginalized families. The Bright Futures case study utilizes a participatory policy analysis approach to help inform Legislators about policy alternatives to attain a more inclusive distribution of scholarship recipients. Data collection includes hosting four focus groups, two for Florida high school graduates and two for parents of Florida high school graduates. Additional data were collected through a facilitated conversation to identify policy alternatives to create a more racially inclusive scholarship distribution. The research concludes with a report on findings, discussion, and implications, along with recommendations to create a more inclusive Bright Futures Scholarship Program.

This research responds to the problem of minority teacher under-representation within North America’s increasingly diverse urban school systems. It weaves together what is known about educational equity, teacher education admission policy, and policy implementation to explore the research question, “How did equity-based admission policy shape candidate diversification in an urban Canadian teacher education program?” The conceptual framework grounds this study within organizational culture and describes how culture both shapes and is shaped by interactions between structure and agency. The conceptual question asks, “How did institutional norms and individual will work to support or constrain equitable candidate diversification?” Data collection occurred during private interviews with members of three organizational groups: Policymakers, policy implementers, and policy beneficiaries. Policymakers were senior administrators with several years’ experience in their respective positions. Policy implementers were admission personnel, ad hoc faculty, and field-based educators. The policy beneficiaries were candidates who self-identified as future French and Physics teachers, and as members of Aboriginal, Disabled, Gendered/Invisible, and Racialized/Visible minorities. Data analysis was an iterative process of applying demographic, thematic, and editorial coding to the interview transcripts. Discussion highlighted several themes that shaped the admission process: External admission policy context, Faculty of Education Equity Policy, admission policy instrumentation, qualification precedence and weighting, academic qualifications, non-academic identity-based and experience-based qualifications, admission policy gaps, and last-minute Policy disclosure. It also addressed admission personnel recruitment, training, and performance during candidate personal information form assessment. Significant findings emerged in the areas of preservice program partnerships, candidate support services, qualification transparency, labeling of identity-based candidate characteristics, and admission personnel training. Research applicability extends to consecutive and concurrent teacher education programs, other tertiary professional licensing programs, and multi-site qualitative research projects. Recommendations for policy and practice target teacher education admission, policy implementation, and equity policy development.