The purpose of this research was to explore how Nunavut Educational Leadership (ELP), a school principal preparation program in Nunavut Territory, Canada, fulfills Inuit (the indigenous people of the territory) educational aspirations. In accordance with this purpose, the study focuses on answering four specific questions: (1) what are Inuit educational aspirations? (2) What is the context for Inuit education? (3) How is the Nunavut Educational Leadership Program organized to meet its objectives? (4) How do the activities of the Nunavut Educational Leadership Program (ELP) fulfill Inuit educational aspirations? Adopting an exploratory case study design grounded in qualitative approaches and undergirded by critical interpretative perspective, the research triangulates both primary and secondary sources of data. The primary data sources come from individual semi-structured interviews of 35 respondents (18 community members, 3 program development members, 3 presenters/facilitators, 7 program participants, and 4 educational officials) selected across Nunavut Territory. These sources are complemented with relevant secondary documents from 1987 to 2010. Using constant comparative and word-in-context as the main data analysis methods, concepts and themes were delineated from the data sources to form categories, with the research questions and conceptual framework guiding the process. The research results revealed, among many other things, that the Nunavut ELP partially fulfills Inuit educational aspirations as defined in the research. Issues arising from the data analysis and interpretation are also discussed under (1) Inuit culturally appropriate education/ self-determination in education, (2) Issues associated with Inuit and mainstream relationship, (3) The relationship between context and principal preparation and development programs, (4) Preparation programs for fulfilling local educational aspirations, (5) Framework for principal leadership practice, (6) Educational Governance Related-Issues, (7) University contribution to principal leadership preparation and development programs, (8) Nunavut ELP goals, and (9) Leadership Conceptualizations. Along with these are recommendations, theoretical implications and directions for future or further research. Though the research does not purport to design an educational leadership program for Nunavut school leaders, its evidence-based analysis and results may assist in any conversations toward the restructuring, improvement or enhancement of the Nunavut ELP as well as any educational leadership development programs in post-colonial societies.

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This study explored the factors that influence public high school students' advanced math course-taking. The factors investigated were parental involvement, peers' educational aspirations, students' own educational aspirations, and math self-concept. These factors were further examined for students in different settings as defined by school demographic variables of urbanicity, minority concentration, and poverty concentration. The study analyzed longitudinal data from the National Education Longitudinal Study of 1988 (NELS: 88), using structural equation modeling. Results indicated that parental involvement was much more important than peer influence for students' educational aspirations, and in turn, for their advanced level mathematics course-taking. Parental involvement had a larger effect for students in high-minority, high-poverty urban schools, who, on the average, had taken the smallest number of advanced mathematics courses, compared to students in other settings. Results from the study indicated that African-American students' math self-concepts were not affected by their previous math achievement, suggesting the lack of feedback about their mathematics performance. Recommendations based on the findings included improving parental involvement for all students, especially for students in high-minority, high-poverty urban schools, and providing more feedback to African-American students about their level of performance in mathematics and its consequences in terms of advanced math course-taking. / Ph. D.

Cette étude porte sur le rôle des attitudes et des comportements parentaux dans le processus de décrochage scolaire au travers de deux objectifs. Le premier consiste à vérifier le rôle médiateur des aspirations scolaires de l’adolescent sur le lien entre les aspirations scolaires parentales pour leur enfant et le décrochage scolaire. Le second objectif vise à valider le rôle protecteur du soutien scolaire parental vis-à-vis du décrochage lorsque les aspirations scolaires des parents pour leur adolescent sont peu élevées. Les résultats ont été obtenus à partir de données longitudinales recueillies auprès de 4630 élèves québécois de secondaire pendant cinq ans. Ils mettent en évidence par l’emploi de régressions logistiques que les aspirations scolaires de l’adolescent médiatisent partiellement le lien entre les aspirations scolaires des parents et le décrochage scolaire. Comme attendu, le nombre de décrocheurs s’avère moins important dans la situation où les parents aux aspirations scolaires peu élevées soutiennent scolairement leur enfant. En revanche, les résultats n’ont pas permis de démontrer statistiquement le rôle protecteur du soutien scolaire parental car, contre toute attente, le nombre de décrocheurs s’est avéré également plus important lorsque des parents aux aspirations scolaires élevées soutiennent scolairement leur enfant. Quelques hypothèses sont avancées pour expliquer ce résultat contre intuitif. Les conclusions de cette étude laissent penser qu’accompagner les parents et leur enfant sur le niveau de leurs aspirations scolaires, permettrait de réduire le risque de décrochage scolaire. Elles ouvrent également sur de nouvelles perspectives quant au rôle modérateur du style parental et des difficultés scolaires de l’adolescent sur l’influence du soutien scolaire parental dans le processus de décrochage scolaire. / This study focuses on the role of parental attitudes and behaviours in the process of school dropout through addressing two objectives. The first objective consists in verifying the mediator role of educational aspirations of the adolescent on the relationship between parental educational aspirations for their child and school dropout. The second objective aims at validating the protective role of parental support against school dropout when parental educational aspirations for their adolescent are low. The results were derived from data gathered annually among 4630 Quebec high school students from 7th to 11th grade. The results demonstrate through the use of logistic regressions that educational aspirations of the adolescent mediate partially the relationship between the parental educational aspirations and school dropout. As observed, dropout were less frequent when the parents with low educational aspirations supported their child in its education. Nonetheless the results could not prove the protective role of parental educational support. Indeed, the number of dropouts appeared surprisingly also higher when parents expressed high educational aspirations and high support. Several explanations are proposed to explain those results. This study suggests that working with both parents and their child on their educational aspirations may help decrease the risk of school dropout. They also bring new perspectives on the moderating role of parenting style and academic difficulties of the adolescent on the influence of parental educational support in the school dropout process.

Cette étude porte sur le rôle des attitudes et des comportements parentaux dans le processus de décrochage scolaire au travers de deux objectifs. Le premier consiste à vérifier le rôle médiateur des aspirations scolaires de l’adolescent sur le lien entre les aspirations scolaires parentales pour leur enfant et le décrochage scolaire. Le second objectif vise à valider le rôle protecteur du soutien scolaire parental vis-à-vis du décrochage lorsque les aspirations scolaires des parents pour leur adolescent sont peu élevées. Les résultats ont été obtenus à partir de données longitudinales recueillies auprès de 4630 élèves québécois de secondaire pendant cinq ans. Ils mettent en évidence par l’emploi de régressions logistiques que les aspirations scolaires de l’adolescent médiatisent partiellement le lien entre les aspirations scolaires des parents et le décrochage scolaire. Comme attendu, le nombre de décrocheurs s’avère moins important dans la situation où les parents aux aspirations scolaires peu élevées soutiennent scolairement leur enfant. En revanche, les résultats n’ont pas permis de démontrer statistiquement le rôle protecteur du soutien scolaire parental car, contre toute attente, le nombre de décrocheurs s’est avéré également plus important lorsque des parents aux aspirations scolaires élevées soutiennent scolairement leur enfant. Quelques hypothèses sont avancées pour expliquer ce résultat contre intuitif. Les conclusions de cette étude laissent penser qu’accompagner les parents et leur enfant sur le niveau de leurs aspirations scolaires, permettrait de réduire le risque de décrochage scolaire. Elles ouvrent également sur de nouvelles perspectives quant au rôle modérateur du style parental et des difficultés scolaires de l’adolescent sur l’influence du soutien scolaire parental dans le processus de décrochage scolaire. / This study focuses on the role of parental attitudes and behaviours in the process of school dropout through addressing two objectives. The first objective consists in verifying the mediator role of educational aspirations of the adolescent on the relationship between parental educational aspirations for their child and school dropout. The second objective aims at validating the protective role of parental support against school dropout when parental educational aspirations for their adolescent are low. The results were derived from data gathered annually among 4630 Quebec high school students from 7th to 11th grade. The results demonstrate through the use of logistic regressions that educational aspirations of the adolescent mediate partially the relationship between the parental educational aspirations and school dropout. As observed, dropout were less frequent when the parents with low educational aspirations supported their child in its education. Nonetheless the results could not prove the protective role of parental educational support. Indeed, the number of dropouts appeared surprisingly also higher when parents expressed high educational aspirations and high support. Several explanations are proposed to explain those results. This study suggests that working with both parents and their child on their educational aspirations may help decrease the risk of school dropout. They also bring new perspectives on the moderating role of parenting style and academic difficulties of the adolescent on the influence of parental educational support in the school dropout process.

Parental involvement has been found to be a significant influence in determining whether adolescents are more likely to succeed academically (Georgiou & Tourva, 2007). Amongst other influences, parental involvement has been shown to impact the ability to resist negative peer influence. Additionally, having a sense of belongingness influences the probability that an adolescent will aspire to achieve higher educational aspirations (Bouchard & Berg, 2017). However, researchers have yet to examine the combination of the importance of belongingness and the impact of positive peer influence on adolescents' educational aspirations. The present study aimed to investigate whether parental involvement had a significant effect on peer influence and belongingness on adolescents’ educational aspirations after controlling for gender and socioeconomic status. This study analyzed data collected as part of the NICHD-SECCYD comprehensive longitudinal study. Specifically, the effects of peer influence and belongingness on educational aspirations were analyzed in AMOS27, using a path analysis model with parental involvement as a predictor variable. Although, the results did not support that sense of belongingness has a significant influence on educational aspirations for self-concept in English and math, it did have a significant influence on self-concept. Furthermore, positive peer influence did not have a significant influence on educational aspirations for self-concept in English, math and sports. Additionally, results did not support sense of belongingness and peer influence as a mediator between parental involvement and educational aspiration. Nevertheless, findings supported that positive parental involvement does have a significant influence on educational aspirations.

Barbora Votavová ISS FSV UK Diploma thesis abstract University career without a degree - drop-out phenomenon in the context of university education massification The thesis focuses on the phenomenon of not finishing university in the context of masification of tertiary education and changign character of labour market. Unlike educational reproduction and mobility, that is often studied in Czech context, only a couple of texts focus on the phenomenon of not finishing. This text therefore tries to open this topic by analyzing experiences and narration of those who leave university before getting a degree. Based on interviews with drop-outs, it searches for the specific aspects of their educational trajectories. It attempts to reconstruct the meanings that they ascribe various parts, moments and characteristics of their own educational trajectories. The thesis searches answers to basic questions about the significance and meaning of education, trajectories and aspects influencing the specific shape of the trajectory and identify areas that are relevant for the drop-out topic. Original data are analyzed in the broader context in which the trajectories take place - the context of dynamic and changing labour market and changing character of universities, and interpreted in the context of existing drop-out...

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Higher education is considered significant in economic development of a country. In light of Bronfenbrenner's bio-ecological system model, this study is designed to study the factors that might influence higher education aspiration for the students living in Bazhou Prefecture, Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region (XUAR) of China. The results of this study find that the senior high school students living in this region have extraordinarily high aspiration, even when taking into account their Confucian culture. Not only do 95% of the participants aspire to college education after high school, but also 62% of them plan to attend graduate schools in addition to college education. The majority of the participants consider it important to obtain a foreign graduate degree from universities in America or Canada. The results report parents' expectations are the predominant influences on education aspiration along with factors such as parental education level, age, GPA, and family financial support. It is also notable that influential factors in previous studies like SES, peer advice, relatives, school advice, are not supported by the results from this study. Factors like favorite subject, least-liked subject, living location, and location of the available college are explored in this study for the first time in relation to education aspiration, and are found to not be important. The findings of this study add knowledge to understanding higher education aspiration in the context of China. The researcher highly recommends that China continue to expand its higher education access, especially in poorer or remote areas, to balance government control and market force, and to extend counseling to high schools. It implicates that US higher education institutions should take an active part in the process of China's higher education development for mutual benefit.