This study is an investigation of Dr. Laura Jane Harper's tenure, achievements, and contributions to Virginia Tech from 1949-1980. Throughout Virginia Tech's history, examples of leadership, scholarship, and service have been recorded about students, faculty, and administrators; however, female administrators are overlooked in these collections. Using archival and interview data collection techniques and historical biographical methods, we will examine Harper's influences to the profession, significant contributions in the areas of scholarship, administration, and as a mentor for minorities and women. Harper was born on August 18, 1914 in Jackson, Mississippi. She attended and graduated from Belhaven College in 1934 with a bachelor degree, a master of science degree in 1948 from the University of Tennessee, and a doctorate in 1956 from Michigan State University. From 1960 until 1964, she served as dean of the School of Home Economics for both Radford College (now known as Radford University) and VPI (now know as Virginia Tech). After 1964, Harper continued to serve as the Dean of the Home Economics College at VPI with additional responsibilities until her retirement in 1980. During Harper's tenure she touched the lives of many and made several contributions to the institution in which she was employed. Harper worked at Virginia Tech as a professor, researcher, department head, and dean for over 31 years in the home economics discipline; however, the legacy she left continues. / Master of Arts

This study provides a historical-educational evaluation of the teaching of vocational subjects at the Indian secondary school. The Indian secondary school curriculum is examined and evaluated and recommendations are made based on these findings for the vocational Africa. education future development of in contemporary South The study is structured in the following manner: * Chapter One Examines the concept of vocational education. * Chapter Two Traces the development of Indian education since 1860. * Chapter Three Retrospective look at the development of vocational education in the Indian education system. * Chapter Four Provides an exposition of the vocational education curriculum at the Indian secondary school. * Chapter Five Evaluates the vocational education curriculum. * Chapter Six Recommendations for the future of vocational education in South Africa. / Educational Studies / M. Ed. (History of Education)

This study provides a historical-educational evaluation of the teaching of vocational subjects at the Indian secondary school. The Indian secondary school curriculum is examined and evaluated and recommendations are made based on these findings for the vocational Africa. education future development of in contemporary South The study is structured in the following manner: * Chapter One Examines the concept of vocational education. * Chapter Two Traces the development of Indian education since 1860. * Chapter Three Retrospective look at the development of vocational education in the Indian education system. * Chapter Four Provides an exposition of the vocational education curriculum at the Indian secondary school. * Chapter Five Evaluates the vocational education curriculum. * Chapter Six Recommendations for the future of vocational education in South Africa. / Educational Studies / M. Ed. (History of Education)

This research report focuses on the origin and development of the Medingen Mission Station, near Ga-Kgapane in the Limpopo Province, and the provision of education at this station since its establishment in 1881. After an account of missionary endeavours in South Africa during the second half of the nineteenth century (with the emphasis on the activities of the Berlin Missionary Society), an explanation is provided of how missionaries became involved in the weal and woes of the Balobedu tribe. This is followed by an indication of how Reverend Fritz Reuter took the initiative to provide basic education to the inhabitants of Ga-Kgapane and how education provision developed at Medingen since then. Reasons are advanced for the prominence Medingen Primary School currently enjoys and the study concludes with the assertion that Medingen Mission Station can be regarded as an important, though not exclusive source of the Balobedu’s present-day identity. / Educational Foundations / M.Ed. (History of Education)

This study entails a critical investigation into the issue and trends that shaped Black perspectives on education in South Africa in the period between 1652 and 1993. A theoretical-philosophical exposition is presented to establish the fundamental characteristics of education and therefore characteristics valid for every human being under any circumstances at any time. These characteristics were used to eventually appraise the issues and trends underlying the shaping of Black perspectives on education in South Africa. This study has revealed that the shaping of Black perspectives on education in South Africa goes hand in hand with the growing realization among Blacks that education is not merely a political issue but also deeply imbedded in the interconnectedness and/or differences between social realities such as the church, the school itself, teachers' associations, the news media et cetera. This should be accounted for by every citizen in a responsible way. / Educational Studies / M. Ed. (History of Education)

This research report focuses on the origin and development of the Medingen Mission Station, near Ga-Kgapane in the Limpopo Province, and the provision of education at this station since its establishment in 1881. After an account of missionary endeavours in South Africa during the second half of the nineteenth century (with the emphasis on the activities of the Berlin Missionary Society), an explanation is provided of how missionaries became involved in the weal and woes of the Balobedu tribe. This is followed by an indication of how Reverend Fritz Reuter took the initiative to provide basic education to the inhabitants of Ga-Kgapane and how education provision developed at Medingen since then. Reasons are advanced for the prominence Medingen Primary School currently enjoys and the study concludes with the assertion that Medingen Mission Station can be regarded as an important, though not exclusive source of the Balobedu’s present-day identity. / Educational Foundations / M.Ed. (History of Education)

This study entails a critical investigation into the issue and trends that shaped Black perspectives on education in South Africa in the period between 1652 and 1993. A theoretical-philosophical exposition is presented to establish the fundamental characteristics of education and therefore characteristics valid for every human being under any circumstances at any time. These characteristics were used to eventually appraise the issues and trends underlying the shaping of Black perspectives on education in South Africa. This study has revealed that the shaping of Black perspectives on education in South Africa goes hand in hand with the growing realization among Blacks that education is not merely a political issue but also deeply imbedded in the interconnectedness and/or differences between social realities such as the church, the school itself, teachers' associations, the news media et cetera. This should be accounted for by every citizen in a responsible way. / Educational Studies / M. Ed. (History of Education)

Cette thèse reconstruit la participation des jeunes et les articulations culturelles des jeunes dans les écoles ouest-allemandes à travers une collection de plus de 7 500 journaux scolaires archivés à la Bibliothek für Bildungsgeschichtliche Forschung (BBF) de Berlin. Afin d'aider à façonner la communauté scolaire et d'apprendre à agir de manière démocratique, les journaux scolaires ont été introduits après 1945 par les Alliés en collaboration avec le conseil des élèves, en particulier dans les écoles secondaires. Ce faisant, certaines préformes réussies du passé ont été poursuivies. Pour la première fois, cet ouvrage retrace l'évolution des journaux scolaires dans la première moitié du XXe siècle, puis se concentre sur les développements des années 1950 et 1960. A partir du milieu des années 1950, les rédacteurs en chef des journaux de l'école ont revendiqué avec succès leur indépendance vis-à-vis du conseil des élèves, dont les possibilités de codécision ont été désillusionnées à un stade précoce. Contrairement au conseil des élèves, les journaux scolaires ont témoigné de possibilités de co-design et d'articulation à établir nettement moins problématiques et plus fructueuses et ont ainsi contribué au développement de cultures scolaires plus fortement influencées par la libéralisation et la participation. Il est présenté dans le présent document pour les thèmes de formation au cours de la période couverte : en vue (1) de la discussion sur la technologie et les développements scientifiques et techniques pendant la Guerre froide, (2) de l'occupation avec les Etats-Unis et son influence culturelle, et (3) des confrontations avec les développements culturels des jeunes. L'ouverture croissante de l'école aux expressions culturelles des jeunes est examinée tant au niveau de la thématisation que sur le plan matériel sous la forme d'une analyse des artefacts. A cet effet, la communication symbolique sur les pages de titre des journaux scolaires sera analysée. Les efforts productifs présentés pour la liberté d'opinion dans les écoles illustrent également l'importance des journaux étudiants pour la relation enseignant-élève et le développement de structures participatives dans les écoles. Les travaux confirment la pertinence des journaux scolaires pour la reconstruction des cultures des jeunes ou des cultures des pairs dans les écoles et en tant que source productive pour les jeunes et la recherche scolaire. Les journaux scolaires sont également un phénomène international et transnational. Pour des recherches plus approfondies, ce document fournit un premier rapport de recherche complet pour l'Europe occidentale ainsi qu'une présentation pour la RDA et les Etats-Unis. / Die Arbeit rekonstruiert jugendliche Mitgestaltung und jugendkulturelle Artikulationen in westdeutschen Schulen entlang eines umfassenden Bestandes an Schülerzeitungen. Zur Mitgestaltung der Schulgemeinschaft und zum Erlernen demokratischer Handlungsweisen wurden Schülerzeitungen von den Alliierten zusammen mit der Schülermitverantwortung (SMV) insbesondere an Gymnasien eingeführt. Erstmals wird hier auch die Entwicklung der Schülerzeitungen in der ersten Hälfte des 20. Jahrhunderts nachgezeichnet. Schülerzeitungen zeugten gegenüber der Schülermitverantwortung (SMV) von deutlich unproblematischer und erfolgreicher zu etablierenden Mitgestaltungs- und Artikulationsmöglichkeiten und trugen zur Entwicklung von stärker durch Liberalisierung und Partizipation geprägte Schulkulturen bei. Dies wird für prägende Themen in der behandelten Zeit dargestellt: mit Blick auf (1) die Diskussion von Technik und naturwissenschaftlich-technischen Entwicklungen während des Kalten Krieges, (2) auf die Beschäftigung mit den USA und ihrem kulturellen Einfluss sowie (3) auf die Auseinandersetzungen mit jugendkulturellen Entwicklungen. Die zunehmende Öffnung der Schule für jugendkulturelle Ausdrucksweisen wird sowohl thematisch als auch auf materieller Ebene untersucht. Dazu wird u. a. die symbolische Kommunikation auf Titelblättern von Schülerzeitungen analysiert. Die dargestellten produktiven Bemühungen um Meinungsfreiheit in der Schule verdeutlichen auch die Bedeutung von Schülerzeitungen für das Lehrer-Schüler-Verhältnis. Die Arbeit bekräftigt die Relevanz von Schülerzeitungen für die Rekonstruktion von Jugendkulturen bzw. peer cultures im schulischen Raum sowie als ertragreiche Quelle für die Jugend- und Schulforschung. Schülerzeitungen sind darüber hinaus ein internationales und auch transnationales Phänomen. Für weitere Forschungen wird daher zudem ein erster umfassender Forschungsbericht zu Schülerzeitungen in Westeuropa, in der DDR und in den USA gegeben. / This doctoral thesis reconstructs youth participation and youth-cultural articulations at West German secondary schools. After 1945, the Allies introduced student newspapers along with student councils in order to foster the acquisition of democratic behaviors and codetermination of the school community. This project first offers a thorough documentation of the development of student newspapers in the first half of the 20th century, and then focuses on their development in the 1950s and 1960s. By the mid-1950s, the editors of the student newspapers had claimed independence vis-a-vis student councils. Student newspapers, meanwhile, bespoke far less problematic, and more successful, potentials for participation and youth-cultural articulation. They thereby contributed to school cultures more strongly influenced by liberalization and participation. The following defining themes from the era are presented in these articles: (1) the discussion of technology and natural science/technical developments during the cold war, (2) engagement with the USA and its cultural influence, and (3) involvement with youth-cultural developments. The increasing opening of schools for youth-cultural forms of expression is examined on both thematic and material levels. In addition, newspaper elements such as the symbolic communication in title pages will be analyzed. The productive efforts toward freedom of opinion in schools show the importance of school newspapers in terms of the teacher-student relationship and the development of participatory structures in schools. This project underlines the relevance of school newspapers for the reconstruction of youth cultures and peer cultures in schools in addition to being sources for youth research and school research. Moreover, school newspapers are an international and transnational phenomenon. Areas for further research are indicated in a literature review for Western Europe a consideration of the GDR and the USA.