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M.Ed. (Multiculturalism And Education) / Please refer to full text to view abstract

Knowledge is often tacit and under researched in educational fields. In order for student access to knowledge and its related academic discourses to be facilitated, a deep understanding needs to be gained of the form that this knowledge takes. This study interrogates the ways in which knowledge is constituted in the first year of a Public Management Diploma and a Public Administration Degree at a comprehensive university in South Africa. The study takes a social realist approach that understands reality as fact but sees our knowledge thereof as a social phenomenon. The study was concerned with knowledge structures and knower structures as it argues that these have not been adequately accounted for in the sociology of education research. But this study comes to this concern from a strongly ideological view of student reading and writing. This study calls on a social practices approach that sees literacy as embedded within specific academic discourses, which vary from context to context. It uses this ideological understanding of literacy as the orienting framework for the study of knowledge. The study takes place in a Higher Education mileu that has begun to transform from its divisive past. The transformation brought about new institutional formations such as the comprehensive university, with its mix of vocational, professional and formative programmes and varied emphasis on contextual and conceptual curriculum coherence. Increasingly, the transformation agenda also shifts concern from simply providing physical access to a previously disenfranchised majority to ensuring full participation in the context of high attrition rates in first year and low retention rates. The data was analysed using the Specialisation Codes of Legitimation Code Theory to see what was being specialised in the Diploma and Degree curricula of the Public Management and Administration fields. These fields are characterised in the literature by ongoing tensions about focus, and perceptions of there being a theoretical vacuum and an inability to deal adequately with challenges in the South African public sector. Analysis of lecturer interviews and first-year curriculum documentation showed that both the Public Management Diploma and Public Administration Degree have stronger epistemic relations (ER), with an emphasis on claims to knowledge of the world. The data showed relatively weak social relations (SR), in that there was not the valuing of a particular lens on the world or a specific disposition required for legitimation within this field. The combination of ER+ and SR- indicates that these curricula are Knowledge Codes, where legitimation is through the acquisition of a set of skills and procedures. The programmes were characterised by fairly low-level procedural knowledge, which may point to a workplace-oriented direction that is dominant in the comprehensive university. In keeping with concerns raised in the literature about this field, there was little evidence of theoretical or propositional knowledge in the Public Management Diploma and while the Public Administration Degree had some evidence of this, it was arguably not to the extent expected of a degree as described in the National Qualifications Framework. This study was limited to the first-year of the Diploma and Degree and subsequent years could present different findings. Lecturers showed awareness of student challenges with literacy practices and made concerned attempts through various interventions to address this but they were found to value the surface features of writing practices over personal engagement with the knowledge. Though the expectations of student literacy practices in tests and assignments were aligned to the ways in which knowledge was constructed in the curriculum, there was little evidence of student induction into disciplinary discourses of the field as knowledge was presented as being neutral and student writing primarily took the form of retelling objective facts. The implications of these findings could include student exclusion from higher-level academic discourse, more powerful knowledge in the workplace and, finally, constrain them from becoming producers of knowledge.

This thesis examines the equality of physical education, health, and recreation for middle school boys in Amarillo, Texas. Data gathered at three schools in the city informed the author's conclusions.

Submitted to the Faculty of Education in fufilment of the requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Education in the Department Foundations of Education at the University of Zululand, 2005. / This research has been conducted during the period when South Africa has undergone numerous changes as a result of social, political and economic developments in the country. The aim of the study was to find out the role that can be played by the educators in promoting the African indigenous culture in schools under Umgungundlovu region. Qualitative research in the form of ideograms, as well as unstructured interviews with educators was used to elicit educators1 views concerning how they perceive their roles in the promotion of African indigenous culture in schools. Interviews conducted enabled the researcher to gain deeper understanding of an insight into the problem under investigation. Results revealed among other issues that; (i) there is a problem of time for African indigenous cultural activities in schools. (ii) not all educators engage themselves in the promotion of African indigenous culture in schools. (iii) the South African curriculum is not doing enough to promote African indigenous culture in schools. (iv) not all parents and School Governing Bodies support the promotion of African indigenous culture in schools. (v) there is a conflict between African indigenous culture and Western culture. (vi) there is a lack of experience in managing diversity in schools. (vii) cultural aspects accommodated in schools are not the same. (viii) sometimes people's right to culture is infringed. These findings presuppose that the South African education department needs to review its policy with regard to the promotion of African indigenous culture in schools. Finally the research recommends that: (i) training of educators on African indigenous culture should be done.. (ii) there should be an improvement of the school curriculum. (iii) consultation to acquire knowledge should be done by educators. (iv) there is a need for an increased support by the SGB and parents. (v) there is a need for educators to be the role models of African indigenous culture. (vi) educators should organise cultural days in their schools. (vii) there is a need for maintenance and elaboration of cultural values. (viii) there should be a development of innovative and adaptive abilities of learners. (ix) there should be a promotion of educational tours to places of cultural importance. (x) promotion of indigenous languages should be done. (xi) there is a need for paradigm shift among Africans. (xii) educators should manage cultural diversity in schools. Promotion of African indigenous culture in schools will amongst other things help the learners to know their history i.e. where they come from and ultimately to regain their identity.

Fifty years after Brown v. Board of Education, there remain large gaps in academic achievement between children of color and White students (Darling-Hammond, 2007). It is estimated that by 2050, the population of the United States will increase by 50%; 90% of which will be accounted for by minorities (Vanneman, Hamilton, Anderson, & Rahman, 2009). In less than 50 years, our citizenry will be comprised of "groups that are over represented among low achievers, and under represented among high achievers" (Ferguson, 2005, p. 4). Nationwide, districts are addressing the issue of the achievement gap through implementing formal equity professional development opportunities at their school sites. While formal equity training leaves participants transformed, they leave with little to no support in how to change their practice in order to teach more equitably. Therefore, based on Bridges' and Hallinger's (1995) problem based learning approach, the handbook, Keeping Equity in Mind, was developed, field tested and revised using Borg and Gall's (2003) research and development cycle. The purpose of this qualitative study was to determine the usefulness of the handbook, Keeping Equity in Mind, in supporting teacher leaders in continued equity work in their classrooms once formal equity training had ended at their school sites. Participants implemented the strategies presented in the handbook in order to determine its usefulness in supporting teacher leaders in continued equity work in their classrooms. The findings of this study determined Keeping Equity in Mind is a useful tool for teachers attempting to close the achievement gap in their classrooms and the administrators who support them.

The problem of this thesis is to make a comparative analysis of the educational opportunities of the two elementary schools in Sinton, Texas, one of which is composed of Anglo-Americans and the other of Latin-Americans.

The purpose of this research was to explore how the personal and professional experiences of school leaders strengthened or hindered their ability to engage in social justice leadership to advance educational equity and encourage culturally proficient practices in their schools. I employed a descriptive multi-case study and the research was viewed through a conceptual framework that included social justice, equity, and the five elements of cultural proficiency. Five principals from three different school districts were selected as participants. They represented elementary, middle and high schools. Interviews consisted of semi-structured face to face interviews with each principal participant and one focus group interview with five participants. Each participant also provided a cultural autobiography. Findings revealed while principals may care deeply about providing equitable opportunities for students, the interest does not supplement knowledge, skills, experience, and support. The information gained from this study can inform the practice of school leaders, and the way in which districts and programs of educational leadership prepare school leaders to serve and address the needs of all students as public schools become more culturally diverse.

This study was designed to provide an overall estimate of proprietary schools' contribution to the equality of educational opportunity in the postsecondary educational system. Two compatible databases, the National Longitudinal Study of the High School Class of 1972 (NLS) and High School and Beyond (HSB), were used to draw two parallel proprietary samples. Each proprietary sample was compared with its counterparts in the community college and the four-year institution sectors. Gender, race, socioeconomic status, aptitude, and Students' and their mothers' educational aspiration were the factors tested in the study to determine the extent to which they contribute to students' choice of proprietary schools and their educational attainment in a given period of time. Discriminant analysis was utilized to differentiate the characteristics of proprietary school enrollees from the characteristics of those who entered community colleges and four-year institutions. Multiple regression was conducted on each group of students to identify the major factors associated with students' educational attainment by the type of institution of first enrollment. The major findings of this study include: (1) Proprietary schools enrolled a considerable number of "disadvantaged" students: women, minorities, people from low socioeconomic background, and those with low aptitude scores. (2) Students’ and their mothers’ educational aspirations were the most influential factors affecting students’ choice among the three types of postsecondary institutions, and proprietary students’ aspirations were lower than that of community college and four-year institution students. (3) Most proprietary Students did not reach the level of a two-year degree or beyond, and those who eventually attained a two-year degree or beyond were very likely to be students with high aptitude. (4) Study of the delayed entrants into proprietary schools confirmed the major findings derived from the initial entrants, except the aspiration variable played a less significant role in determining the educational attainment of delayed entrants than that for the initial entrants. / Ed. D.

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the impact of implementing a school counselor-led intervention, a culturally translated version of the Student Success Skills (SSS) program, on student academic achievement in Hispanic students. The research question investigated in this study was: Does Hispanic student participation in the culturally translated Student Success Skills classroom guidance program increase academic achievement as measured by state mandated standardized reading and math tests? Based on the fact that Hispanic students are at a very high risk of academic failure, there is an urgent need to address the lack of academic success. The cultural translation of the Student Success Skills (SSS) program focuses on student outcomes and helps to provide a link between school counselors and improved outcomes for Hispanic students.The sample for this study included 103 treatment and 98 comparison fourth and fifth grade students from three schools in South Florida. Participating students were selected from all Hispanic students at four schools in South Florida, by selecting the students who spoke mainly Spanish at home and came from Hispanic backgrounds. Academic achievement was measured using a standardized, objective, state-wide assessment instrument, the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test (FCAT). The procedure used to analyze the results for this study was a Multivariate analysis of covariance (MANCOVA). The statistical analysis showed that the treatment group scored significantly higher than the comparison group in reading. There was not a significant difference in math for the treatment group. When fidelity of treatment was investigated a post hoc analysis found that groups with full implementation of the program scored significantly higher in math and in reading than the comparison group. / The results of this study show that a cultural translation of the Student Success Skills program is helpful for the fourth and fifth grade Hispanic students improving achievement in reading. / by Ana Maria Leon. / Vita. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2009. / Includes bibliography. / Electronic reproduction. Boca Raton, Fla., 2009. Mode of access: World Wide Web.