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My dissertation examines the unique contribution of school district boundaries – over and above municipal boundaries – in the suburban context, which can tell us more about how today’s multiracial suburbs came to be structured and stagnated in such residentially and educationally segregated ways. Specifically, this dissertation aims to provide insight into how school districts are a compelling structural force in social and spatial hierarchies and explain why we need to build a deeper understanding of their unique role in the self-perpetuating segregation we find in suburban spaces. This study focuses on Westchester County, NY at key inflection points from the 1800s to 2023, including phases of suburbanization, diversification, and legal contention over housing access. This suburb north of New York City is a study of contrasts in many ways, as it has evolved into a profoundly racially and economically stratified county with extreme differences in wealth and demographics across its highly spatially fragmented landscape. This study is informed by a theoretical framework that takes a critical spatial approach to the study of local bordering practices. This dissertation demonstrates the need to take seriously the spatial dimensions of education, which point toward systems of power that shape our understanding of “good” and “bad” schools. Utilizing GIS mapping, municipal and school demographic data, legal documents, and real estate marketing data, I analyze the unique spatial impact of school districts on housing policy in a range of spatial contexts. Focusing specifically on publicly subsidized affordable housing, this research highlights the unique history of debates over segregated housing in Westchester, making it an ideal case study for understanding the relationship between school district boundaries, affordable housing access, and social reputation. I contextualize my analysis throughout with historical archival and demographic materials demonstrating how educational spaces have shifted through time. Centering the interconnected spatial relationships of educational and residential boundaries fills the gap in our understanding of the unique contribution of educational borders as powerful spatial structures that can create, reproduce, and interrupt society through their influence on collective individual action. The findings throughout this research shed light on the complexities of the relationship between school districts and municipalities in diversifying suburban spaces and emphasize the critical need for a more spatially aware research agenda in the study of the school-housing nexus. This dissertation demonstrates that school district boundaries shape children’s educational opportunities in a number of profound ways. My findings on next-door inequality emphasize how living on one side of a school district boundary or another can mean tens of thousands of dollars in difference in per-student spending and vastly different demographics in student populations. The racial and economic separation that is happening between school district neighbors in Westchester is only exacerbated by the extensive fragmentation of small districts that have been treated as sacrosanct for decades without consideration of any broader benefit to their reorganization.

This research examines two possible influences of student achievement at the middle school level: school culture and parental involvement. The study investigates Kentucky Scholastic Audits of 90 middle schools from 2001 through 2005. The purpose of the study is to identify whether school culture and parental involvement affect student performance. The results of this study suggest that demographic variables account for most of the variance in the Academic Index. Controlling for demographics, parental involvement does not affect the school Academic Index, while school culture does add significantly to the variance explained.

<p>Labelling Theory stipulates that once an individual exhibits deviant behaviour, such as acting outside of the norm, the public and even close relatives will react to this behaviour by labelling it. Some of these labels result in social and psychological consequences for the individual, and Labelling theorists argue that, at the very extreme, they culminate in a self-fulfilling prophecy wherein the labelled individual fulfills the expectations others have placed upon him/her. Labelling Theory has been questioned for its lack of consistent supporting empirical evidence and still faces much scrutiny by leaving many unanswered questions, particularly within educational contexts. Several societal changes have created a profoundly different climate for labelling in the domains of mental health and education and beg the re-evaluation of labelling theory’s original arguments.</p> <p>This dissertation empirically tests the main tenets of Labelling Theory within an educational setting by exploring the experiences of children identified as having symptoms of Developmental Coordination Disorder in aNorthern Ontariocity. This study finds that children who are yet undiagnosed with DCD are often stigmatized not only by their peers, but also by educators, public, and even close relatives. However, those children who were formally labelled were granted more opportunities and were often more accommodated within the educational context. It also finds that formally labelled children often had varying degrees of self-confidence; conversely, those who were not labelled or awaiting diagnosis were often more critical of their abilities and were frequently socially isolated. Finally, this study found that parents played an active role in acquiring formal labels and services for their children throughout the diagnostic process and afterwards. These findings have implications for educational and health care related policies and future research for Labelling Theory.</p> / Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

published_or_final_version / Education / Master / Master of Philosophy

This qualitative study examined Internet usage by Guatemalan English teachers in the rural, indigenous community of San Lucas Toliman, to improve enrollments and persistence in online teacher professional development programs promoted by the Fundacion Rigoberta Menchu Tum. Woolcock's concepts of bonding, bridging and linking social capital were united with Rogers's theory of perceived attributes to ascertain why only 5 of 34 teachers completed free online coursework. Research questions addressed teacher concerns about using the Internet, teacher satisfaction with Internet resources, and social influences upon Internet usage. The participatory rural appraisal (PRA) method was employed using a culturally-sensitive native speaker to interview 20 teachers selected in a purposive sample. In accordance with PRA analysis procedures, representative interview statements were sorted, prioritized and discussed by a team of 42 community educators to generate findings. Findings indicated that interest in engaging the Internet and receiving specialized introductory support (bridging social capital) in groups (bonding social capital) was high. Findings also indicated that salary level (linking social capital) and family time demands (bonding social capital) were barriers to attending a community technology center or Internet cafe. Findings reinforced the community's support for the design of online coursework leading to salary points and college credits. This study has positive social change implications by demonstrating how organizations can promote community-driven research collaborations to facilitate teacher Internet usage in San Lucas Toliman, and could be replicated in other remote sectors of the developing world.

本研究的主題包含了兩組重要的詞語：「重現」和「鄉土」。前者是一個歷史教師的教學行動，而後者則為本研究的重要概念。在過去十三年的教學經驗中，我發現香港歷史課程千篇一律是「小漁村到大都市」的經濟發展論述，戰後南移新界的農村社群一直消失在歷史課程之中，縱使新界農村是香港的重要構成部份，有其自身的發展模式。於是，「重現」作為一種教學行動，是要填補農村社群的歷史故事。本研究的另一組重要詞語是「鄉土」。本研究要重現的「鄉土」，並不單指農村，而是指一個與居住者有親密關係、並充滿意義的地方（place）。「鄉土」是中國文化之中人與土地、並土地上其他社群親密關係的代名詞。要有這種親密的關係，牽涉兩個重要概念：鄉土意識和鄉土感情。鄉土意識指人識覺到自身與生活地和周遭社群彼此依存，甚至將生活地和在其上生活的人視為命運的共同體。由於人對生活地與周遭的社群有充份的認知，並識覺到自身、土地與社群有密切的關係，對生活地產生了主觀的情感投射，關懷生活地的地景和生態、社群生活、文化傳統，這種對地方的愛，便是鄉土感情。 / 本研究的教學行動集中在粉嶺馬屎埔村，在一段尋找本地史教學的嘗試之中，我在馬屎埔農村中感受到和城市不一樣的社群關係，那種異地為鄉、落地生根的情感充滿在馬屎埔村民的生命故事中，那些回憶喚起我曾經與生活地有過的親密感。身為歷史教師，我也希望學生能在村民的生命故事中反思鄉土價值，並思考「發展主義」導致的社會疏離。我相信本地史教學能夠恢復人與生活地、人與社群的密切關係，歷史教育能夠重現香港的「鄉土」故事，學生亦能在社群的生命故事中札根在生活地，從而建立一種植根於香港的「鄉土意識」和「鄉土感情」。 / 口述歷史教學是不斷互動的歷程，所以口述歷史課程必須保持靈活動，讓教師、學生和敘事者共同建構本地史圖像。此外，口述歷史教學讓學生走入地方和社群，發掘社群成員的生命故事，建構多元的小歷史圖像，並對大歷史保持批判意識。口述歷史教學始終將「人」放在學習的中心，除了理性的思維能力外，也強調歷史學習的情感向度。當歷史扣連生活，充滿回憶的地景及社群就是鄉土意識和感情的搖籃。 / The theme of this research includes two terms: ‘representation’ and ‘homeland’. Over the past 13 years of my teaching experience, I have noticed that the ‘fishing village─metropolis’ discourse has predominated the Hong Kong history curriculum. Though post-war migrant farmers made a great contribution to the development of the New Territories, their histories have long been absent in the school history curriculum. Thus, the purpose of ‘representation’ is to fill the missing puzzles and to construct different historical images with students. The term ‘homeland’ in this research not only means a village, but also a place filled with meanings and intimacy by its inhabitants. In order for these intimate relationships to exist, two other concepts are involved, namely ‘the sense of place’ and ‘place attachment’. ‘Sense of place’ means one’s awareness of the intradependence between community members on the same place. ‘Place attachment’ refers to one’s projection of emotion towards a place, involving a care for its environment and ecology, community life and traditional culture. / This action research is conducted mainly on Masipo Village in Fanling, where community relationship distinct from that in the urban area is identified. The stories told by the post-war migrant villagers reveal their senseof rootedness. As a history teacher, I hope students can appreciatethe value of ‘homeland’ and reflect upon the influence of developmentalism through the life stories of villagers. I believe that teaching local history can constructa distinct ‘sense of place’ and ‘place attachment’, under which Hong Kong will become a homeland for those who live in this place. / Oral history is the interplay between teachers, students and narrators, so oral history curriculum should be subject to the construction of multiple local images. When students walk through their communities and discover local stories, they might be more critical to the grand narrative of school history. Human values are the center of oral history teaching. Students not only think about historical events but also feel towards the actors in histories. When a place filled with memories, it becomes our homeland. / Detailed summary in vernacular field only. / Detailed summary in vernacular field only. / Detailed summary in vernacular field only. / 朱耀光. / Parallel title from added title page. / Thesis (Ed.D.) Chinese University of Hong Kong, 2015. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 270-286). / Abstracts also in English. / Zhu Yaoguang.

University of Macau / Faculty of Education

The preset study was undertaken to collect data which would help to identify any changes that have occurred concerning the attitudes and perceptions to be found between the identified generations. The study will specifically attempt to find out whether the change has in any way given the female the opportunity to strive for greater educational accomplishment and potential than was true of previous generations. Although some research has been conducted on the China-born Chinese and their American-born children whose birth dates fall between 1940 and 1949, few studies have been reported concerning the children of the China-born Chinese who are attending schools in San Francisco in 1966. Increasing assimilation and the fact that many families are moving away from Chinatown has brought about a period of transition during which it becomes necessary to know that specific changes have occurred in attitudes toward educational goals, in order to provide a basis for more effective guidance and counseling services.

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