<p> The enrollment and engagement of middle-class families in historically low-income urban public schools can generate school improvements, including increased resources and expanded extracurricular programming. At the same time, prior research has highlighted the marginalization of low-income parents as one consequence of middle-class parent involvement. However, there is a limited understanding of the factors that contribute to parents&rsquo; central or peripheral positions within school-based parent networks in this context. Drawing on theoretical literature on social capital and social networks, this case study combines quantitative methods including social network analysis and regression-based analyses with ethnographic methods to examine the school-based social networks of kindergarten parents in a Philadelphia public school experiencing an increase in the engagement and enrollment of middle- and upper middle-class parents. I explore how school-based social networks matter to parents&rsquo; access to information, advice, and social opportunities and how these networks are shaped by parents&rsquo; informal participation in school-based events and formal participation in parent organizations. </p><p> Four key findings emerge. First, informal participation in school events is not associated with an increase in network centrality. Second, formal participation in parent organizations is related to network centrality. In particular, the networks of parents who participate in these organizations include other parents who are well-connected themselves and parents who participate in parent organizations also have greater access to network resources overall. Finally, consistent with prior research on parent involvement, findings indicate that middle- and upper-middle class parents are more likely to participate in parent organizations than low-income parents. Findings suggest that while race or class-based social position may influence parent networks in some ways, participation in parent organizations plays a greater role in the connectedness of parents&rsquo; ties and parents&rsquo; access to network resources. Implications for this research suggest the need examine practices for family and community engagement in schools and how parent organizations might be made more accessible to and inclusive of low-income parents, parents of color, and limited English-speaking parents. Furthermore, this research provides support to arguments made in prior research concerning the complexity and challenge of relying on middle-class parent involvement as a mechanism of school reform.</p><p>

<p> This study investigates the experiences of underrepresented minority students pursuing studies in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) who learned Koru Mindfulness Meditation. Through in-depth qualitative data analysis of participant interviews, Koru Mindfulness check-in sessions, and reflection logs, findings examined student experience prior to, during, and after having completed Koru Mindfulness as well as the impact on their personal and academic lives. While many traditional interventions designed to address the persistent underrepresentation of minorities in STEM employ a deficit model, this study was interested in understanding the socio-historical and contextual complexity of the student experience prior to and during college which included mindfulness training. Findings were discussed through the theoretical framework of critical race theory (CRT) which argues that racism is a permanent construct of society with specific implications for social institutions, including education. This study also examined how stereotype threat (ST) and student sense of belonging were affected by mindfulness training. Finally, this study discusses the findings as they relate to the significance of material space in the context of race in education.</p><p>

<p> Between the months of October, 2013 and July, 2014, United States Customs Border protection reported that an estimated 63,000 unaccompanied minors crossed the United States. border, 75% of which came from Central America, specifically Honduras, El Salvador, and Guatemala (Renwick, 2014). These Central American youth are being pushed out of their home countries due to high levels of violence and poverty that has been caused by gangs and suffering economies. At the same time, they are being pulled into the U.S. to reunite with family, especially parents, many of who migrated to the U.S. during times of war in their home countries. Upon their arrival to this country, these youth are enrolling in U.S. schools, the institution with the highest amount of interaction with these youth as they begin their newcomer journey. </p><p> This qualitative case study focuses on the schooling experiences of immigrant, newcomer youth from Central America in a single high school in a large urban district in Southern California. Conducted through the lenses of Critical Race Theory, Latina/o Critical Theory, and racist nativism, the study asks (1) How does racist nativism mediate the schooling experiences of Central American students at an urban high school in Southern California? (a) How do they negotiate/navigate being students despite the challenges that they may face?; and (2) What does success mean to these youth? (a) How do they become successful on their own terms, and how are they working to get to that? Participants consisted of first-year newcomer youth from El Salvador, Honduras, and Guatemala.</p><p>

<p> From a sociocultural point of view, this qualitative case study explored how upper-level, female undergraduate engineering students perceived the possibility of or experience with stereotype threat as shaping their experiences. The study also investigated how these students explained their reasons for choosing their engineering major, the challenges they encountered in the major, and their reasons for persevering in spite of those challenges. Using Steele and Aronson&rsquo;s (1995) stereotype threat theory as a framework, and considering the documented underrepresentation of females in engineering, the study sought to examine how stereotype threat shaped the experiences of these students and if stereotype threat could be considered a valid reason for the underrepresentation. </p><p> The study was conducted at a large, four-year public university. First, students in the College of Engineering and Engineering Technology completed the Participant Screening Survey. Based on responses from the survey, six female engineering students from the college were identified and invited to participate in the study. The participants came from the following majors: Electrical Engineering, Industrial and Systems Engineering, and Mechanical Engineering. After receiving the study consent letter and agreeing to participate, the students were involved in a 90-minute focus group meeting, a 45-minute one-on-one interview, and a 30-minute follow-up interview. </p><p> After conducting the data collection methods, the data were then transcribed, analyzed, and coded for theme development. The themes that emerged coincided with each research question. The themes highlighted the complex interactions and experiences shared by the female engineering majors. </p><p> The female students were enveloped in an environment where there existed an increased risk for activating stereotype threat. In addition, the female students described feeling pushed to prove to themselves and to others that the negative stereotype that &lsquo;females are bad at engineering&rsquo; was untrue. The findings illustrated the need for systematic changes at the university level. Intervention recommendations were provided. In regards to female underrepresentation in science fields, including engineering, stereotype threat certainly had the potential to cause the female students to question themselves, their abilities, their choice of an academic major, and subsequently remove themselves from a hostile learning or working environment. Thus, educational institutions and workplace organizations are responsible for not only educating themselves regarding stereotype threat, but also for taking steps to alleviate the pernicious effects of stereotype threat.</p><p>

<p> This study advances the premise that African-American parents are deliberately involved in their children&rsquo;s education; however, many educators may not recognize their involvement because it may not always align with dominant cultural expectations. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to explore beneficial social capital and cultural capital that low-income African-American parents use to involve themselves in their children&rsquo;s suburban school education. Data was collected for this study, in a suburb outside of a large metropolitan city, through the use of a World Caf&eacute; (a type of community discussion group) and semi-structured interviews. Using portraiture research design, the findings of the study are highlighted through six participant portraits, which narrate their involvement in their children&rsquo;s education. </p><p> In summary, all of the participants utilized both social and cultural capital to become involved in their children&rsquo;s education. Generally, each interview participant&rsquo;s family cultural capital motivated her to participate in her child&rsquo;s education, in a manner unique to her own educational experiences. In addition to understanding and utilizing valuable dominant forms of cultural capital (attending parent-teacher conferences, volunteering, and communicating with the teachers, working with children at home, and having educational expectations), participants in this study also referenced the use of culture-specific forms of capital, such as: family cultural capital, family networks and church, teaching cultural knowledge, community collective beliefs, and African-American networks. Additionally, participants used the following forms of social capital to benefit their children&rsquo;s education: relocating, hiding poverty, utilizing community service resources, and using intergenerational closure. </p><p> Suggestions are made for educators to recognize and honor these non-dominant social and cultural forms of parental involvement, so that low-income African-American parental involvement can benefit their children&rsquo;s education. Participants called for more supportive social and cultural African-American parent networks to be created within schools, to help parents feel more welcome and supported in the schools, and become more knowledgeable about the schooling process. </p><p>

<p> According to Epstein (2010), the interactions and perceptions of the community, educators, students and parents with schools determine the culture and climate of the schools. According to critical race theory, racism has become institutionalized in America&rsquo;s culture. Ogbu (2007) posited that historically, institutional racism in America, enforced by European Americans, has caused the children of enslaved Africans in America to struggle with cultural identity and self-hate. To resist self-hatred some African Americans developed social oppositional behaviors, while others sought to adopt the European American culture that seemed to be built upon social dominance. Yet, African American parental perceptions of school culture/climate have been given little to no serious consideration in education research; leading to possible skewed research outcomes when it comes to understanding African American parents&rsquo; perceptions of their children&rsquo;s schools. This research compared African American parents&rsquo;/guardians&rsquo; perceptions of the culture and climate of successful and failing urban middle schools led by male African American principals to determine if there are significant differences in perceptions between African American parents of successful schools and African American parents of failing schools. This quantitative study used the Culture of Excellence &amp; Ethnics Assessment (CEEA) Parent Survey version 4.5 (Khmelkov, Davidson, Baker, Lickona, &amp; Parisi, 2014) to answer three questions. Research question 1 asked if there were significant differences between African American parents&rsquo; and guardians&rsquo; perceptions of the culture and climate in successful and failing urban middle schools led by male African American principals. The second research question asked if there were significant differences between African American fathers&rsquo;/males&rsquo; perceptions of the culture and climate in successful and failing urban middle schools led by male African American principals. The third research question asked if there were significant differences between African American mothers&rsquo;/females&rsquo; perceptions of the culture and climate in successful and failing urban middle schools led by male African American principals. Twelve African American parents took the survey and were discovered to have significant perceptional differences in the areas of social engagement and positive behavior support at home.</p><p>

Critical thinking is a widely shared educational goal which has been granted more explicit attention than ever in recent years. Five major approaches to this area of educational concern have been influential to the development of educational practices, research programs, and conceptualization in the field. Three of these approaches (the 'process' or basic skills approach, the problem solving approach, and the logic approach) are found to be based on unfounded assumptions about the nature of reasoning and thinking, and inadequate attention to the purposes which make critical thinking such a widely accepted educational goal. A fourth (the information processing approach) is found to involve instances of reductionism which render incoherent many of the terms with which we understand and assess our own reasoning, and that of others. The fifth approach (the multi-aspect approach associated with Robert Ennis) is not so essentially flawed, but is found to contain some significant problems. Most notably there is a problem with fixing the reference of 'mental abilities' (which is essential for the issue of generalizability of critical thinking abilities) and with understanding the relationship between judgment and the other aspects of critical thinking. It is argued that writers in the field of critical thinking generally have tried to purchase objectivity for their conceptions by connecting them with the ideal of disengaged knowledge, either as exemplified by the study of formal logic or the natural sciences. It is argued that, in contrast with this approach, we ought to recognize that values and value judgments are at the heart of critical thinking. The ideal of disengagement tends to interfere with our understanding of thinking as a normative (rule-governed) activity grounded in our social practices. This thesis argues for the adoption of a realist position with regard to values, an expressivist understanding of language, an interpretive stance toward the study of rationality, and a social constructivist conception of rules. Some consequences of these positions for instruction, teacher preparation, and future research are suggested. / Education, Faculty of / Educational Studies (EDST), Department of / Graduate

<p> This multi-year ethnographic study of a K-8 school, referred to as Baker School, in a low-income neighborhood in Philadelphia investigates the ways that hidden curricula of social reproduction and inequity shape students&rsquo; schooling experiences. The study employs ethnographic methods to explore, engage with, and better understand students&rsquo; experiences and perspectives of schooling at an under-resourced, urban, public school in a high-poverty neighborhood. The dissertation also examines how direct and indirect messages of possibility at the school influence students and teachers. I approach this study from an epistemological standpoint that situates students as important knowledge generators from which practitioners and scholars have much to learn. </p><p> This study is guided by a theoretical framework that considers how the naturalization of dominant values, beliefs, and actions has important consequences for students attending schools in under-resourced communities because these dominant beliefs are manifest in schools through overt and hidden curricula. Students&rsquo; perspectives and experiences of schooling processes in under-resourced schools are not often included in empirical research, and this ethnographic study has the potential to generate a new line of inquiry that centralizes students&rsquo; perspectives. </p><p> The study&rsquo;s findings include that there is a hidden curriculum of control at Baker School in which schooling becomes primarily about controlling behavior. Relationships between students and teachers are strained as a result of the culture of control at the school, and to survive and thrive in this environment, students demonstrate <i>micro resistance strategies</i> as well as cultivate what I call a <i>habitus of fierceness.</i> The hidden curriculum of control, the systemic lack of resources, and the resulting power struggles and resistance culminate in, what I term, a <i> deficit default</i> based on deficit orientations of students, teachers, and parents. Finally, the study details the way that invisible macro structural processes impact students, teachers, and parents connected to Baker. However, instead of recognizing these invisible forces, students, teachers, and parents are blamed and blame themselves for the &ldquo;failure&rdquo; of urban, public schools like Baker. The study concludes by presenting implications for theory, practice, and future research based on the findings of this study. </p>

This study is an interdisciplinary inquiry into university student culture in the People's Republic of China with a focus on formal organizations and informal social relations. The purpose of the study is to examine the characteristics of student organizations and networks on campuses and to determine how students participate in and evaluate these organizations. Literature on college student culture and higher education in China is reviewed as a basis for the study. The author's study of Chinese society and prior experiences teaching at Chinese universities further guided the research. The research employed three major types of data collection: participant observation on three campuses in an urban area in western China in 1990, interviews in the United States with Chinese university graduates, and document research. Three types of formal organization were studied: academic divisions by department, grade, and classroom; mass organizations--the Student Association and the Communist Youth League; and a political organization--the Communist Party. Informal groups included networks based on former schoolmate and hometown ties, student societies and clubs, and male-female couples. Classroom groups were found to be the most important reference group for most students. These groups and the related dormitory groups were important both academically and socially. The Student Association and Communist Youth League were found to have limited influence on the majority of students who were passive members. The Communist Party was found to have some indirect influence on students, but only a small percentage of students were recruited as members. The dominant characteristics of the formal groups were their rigid hierarchies and the division between those who held positions and the majority of students who tended to remain uninvolved. The study found informal groups and networks to be active and the preferred mode of interaction for most students. These groups bridged the academic divisions and had fluid, loose structures with little or no hierarchy. During the 1980's, many types of informal groups developed in number and in popularity as students became more involved in extracurricular activities such as part-time work, business, and love affairs.

This dissertation is a study of a phenomenon, namely the existence of individuals who have actively committed their lives to social change. The study was designed to explore two aspects of social activism: (a) how these individuals were able to follow careers in social change work; and, (b) that aspect of consciousness through which these individuals come to know the world in a certain way. This way of knowing involves a commitment to ending oppression, an understanding that oppression is a constructed phenomena that can be changed, and a commitment to change that is based on concepts of participation and volition. The most salient theme to emerge in regard to the career paths of these individuals was its gradual, unplanned nature. Within that theme, there were a number of commonalities or patterns that acted as catalysts for their career paths. These patterns were: (a) A sense of being different; (b) experiences of cognitive dissonance; (c) being "noticed" by others; and, (d) intellectual aptitude. As to the development of consciousness, the theme that illuminated all of the choices made by these individuals was their commitment to a set of values rooted in concepts of freedom and equality. Patterns or commonalities within this theme were: (a) The sense that these values had always been with them; and, (b) these values had led them to act outside of, or beyond, their socialization experience. Finally, the researcher focuses on her own meaning making which, while rooted in the themes and patterns that emerged, is neither a clear synthesis nor a prescriptive analysis. Instead, the meaning making moves the findings into new theoretical perspectives and brings to the foreground new phenomenological issues that deal with the acausal and multi-causal nature of the themes and patterns. Those relationships included the acausal phenomena of synchronicity, and the interactive and multi-causal nature of the other themes and patterns. She then suggests that neither socialization nor educational experience can fully explain either aspect of the phenomenon. Beyond socialization and beyond educational experiences, there seem to be some transactional connections between consciousness and a specific set of values.