<p> Continued wars and conflicts around the world have forced many people to migrate in search of safety and protection through resettlement programs. These people are considered refugees. Unfortunately, these refugees initially resettle in countries that are not able to provide them with necessary human services. Therefore, the United Nations Higher Commissioner for Refugees works with other countries who are willing to take and provide permanent resettlement opportunities to these refugees. </p><p> The purpose of this research was to gather and analyze refugees&rsquo; stories of their resettlement experiences in Illinois. I used qualitative methods, with a focus on narrative inquiry. I conducted in-depth interviews with four male refugee participants who had at least seven years of resettlement experiences in the U.S. Two participants were from DRC Congo, Africa, one from Iraq, and one from Vietnam. Based on these interviews, the study&rsquo;s findings were: (a) government and non-governmental agencies provided participants with civic education, language acquisition, and technical training that enabled them to gain access to education and employment opportunities; (b) the lack of English language oral communication and writing skills slowed down agency services acquisition; and (c) negative political rhetoric, migration policies, religious and ethnic discrimination, and prejudice created fear among participants that threatened to overshadow their aspirations to integrate and acculturate. To conclude, I recommend involving former refugees in resettlement programs, especially in acquiring government services, because deeper knowledge based on their experiences would improve resettlement policy and practice.</p><p>

The prescriptive characteristics that have been assigned to the entire Millennial generation, suggest that the student population inhabiting college campuses today is neither demographically or experientially diverse. Current generation theory ignores specific environmental and regional influences, like those acknowledged in Bronfenbrenner's ecological paradigm and Mannheim's generation theory, and places a greater emphasis on the impact social movements and historical events have on generational development. to evaluate the accuracy of this Millennial characterization and to learn if immediate environment and region of the country influence trait development, 21 traditional aged college students from three different geographic regions of the country were interviewed. The results demonstrate that immediate environment does impact character development and that while historical and social events may create a generational consciousness, clusters of personality traits are discernible and create unique regional personas. These regional traits and the ecological paradigm in which students are raised should inform and direct Student Services on college campuses. If specialized needs based on environment and demographics can be identified, student affairs practitioners can provide more targeted and relevant services and programs thereby increasing the likelihood for student satisfaction and academic success.;Key words: Ecological paradigm, Generation, Millennial, Regionalism, Student Services.

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Purpose: Distance education has become an increasingly common mode of instruction in U.S. higher education, and today more than a quarter of students are enrolled in distance courses or programs that are fully online. This dissertation asks two fundamental questions related to the growing presence of distance-based instruction in U.S. higher education. First, does increased college access in the form of distance enrollments contribute to horizontal postsecondary stratification? Second, is the adoption of distance education indicative of academic capitalism? I make use of two broad theoretical perspectives to frame my analysis and develop a set of hypotheses concerning the types of colleges and universities that enroll greater percentages of undergraduates in at least one distance course or completely online degree programs. Drawing on the “effectively maintained inequality” (EMI) perspective, I hypothesize that enrollment in distance courses and programs will be higher at less selective colleges and universities and will vary by institutional sector. Regarding sector, I hypothesize that distance enrollments are highest at for-profit institutions, and higher at public institutions than at private. Based on the “academic capitalism” perspective, I hypothesize that institutions with lower levels of financial resources will rely more heavily on distance education as a revenue source and a means of reducing costs. Methods: I test these hypotheses using the NCES Integrated Postsecondary Education Data Set for 2015-16. The sample of consists of 2,180 four-year postsecondary institutions. Hypotheses are tested using one-way and two-way ANOVA models and bivariate correlation analyses. Results: Enrollment in distance education varies significantly by level of selectivity, sector, and financial resources. As hypothesized, less selective institutions have significantly higher percentages of distance enrollment, but interesting subtleties emerge between sectors. Within public institutions distance course and program enrollment are fairly steady across selectivity levels, while enrollment differs substantially among private colleges and universities. Additional analyses of student composition by sector and selectivity confirm that social inequalities by race and class are not likely diminished by distance education. Institutions with fewer resources and expenditures have higher levels of distance education, as expected. Specifically, private institutions with fewer financial resources have greater distance course and program enrollment, and for-profits with fewer resources have greater distance program enrollment. However, overall revenue and expenses are not related to distance enrollment among public universities. Exploratory analysis of detailed revenue and expenditures paint a more nuanced picture of the financial resources that vary with greater reliance on distance courses and programs. Conclusion: The growth of distance enrollments does not reduce social stratification in higher education because distance enrollment growth is occurring disproportionately at less selective private and for-profit colleges and universities—institutions that are costlier to attend, have lower economic payoffs, and disproportionately enroll students of color and lower income college students. The growth of distance enrollment is also consistent with depiction of higher education as an academic capitalist regime, in that distance enrollment appears to function as a revenue source for colleges and universities, particularly for those outside the public sector. / A Dissertation submitted to the Department of Sociology in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. / Spring Semester 2019. / March 27, 2019. / education, financial, postsecondary, sector, selectivity, sociology / Includes bibliographical references. / John Reynolds, Professor Directing Dissertation; Robert A. Schwartz, University Representative; Irene Padavic, Committee Member; Karen Brewster, Committee Member.

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Thesis (M.Ed.)--York University, 2004. Graduate Programme in Education. / Typescript. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 475-488). Also available on the Internet. MODE OF ACCESS via web browser by entering the following URL:http://gateway.proquest.com/openurl?url%5Fver=Z39.88-2004&res%5Fdat=xri:pqdiss&rft%5Fval%5Ffmt=info:ofi/fmt:kev:mtx:dissertation&rft%5Fdat=xri:pqdiss:MQ99374