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The provision of environmental education towards sustainability with reference to the Inner City Enviro Centre in Tshwane is a comprehensive research project that describes the establishment and development of the Inner City Environmental Centre over a six-year period. This research focuses on the informal education sector and the methods used by centres, both locally and internationally to provide environmental education and / or education for sustainability. The Inner City Enviro Centre is used as a case study. The development of the ICEC is investigated in terms of the objectives it was to fulfil. The achievements and difficulties that the ICEC experienced are examined. This was done using document analysis and by interviewing those involved. This information was then assimilated and helped the researcher to make informed, objective judgements concerning the ICEC. Educators working on a project with the ICEC were given questionnaires which asked questions relating to environmental education and excursions. The data collected from findings is used to provide guidelines for future development of the ICEC and for others who might want to embark on similar projects. / Further Teacher Education / M.Ed. (Environmental Education)

The Grandview Woodland local area of Vancouver, British Columbia, is an area in transition. Retail, demographic, residential occupancy, and changes to built structures indicate that gentrification has escalated in the past seven years. Long standing impediments to gentrification, including industrial manufacturing, social housing, and crime, are not deterring change in this area to the extent they once did. This thesis examines how public policy has affected these changes in Grandview Woodland. Public policies embodied in laws and regulations have the capacity to either encourage or dissuade gentrification; however, other variables also influence gentrification making it difficult to determine the importance and influence of public policy in the process. This thesis uses semi-structured interviews and a document review in a case study of Grandview Woodland, to gain a better understanding of how public policies can influence gentrification in a local area where gentrification was previously impeded. The findings from this study suggest that public policies can have a substantial, but not autonomous, effect on gentrification in such an area. In Grandview Woodland, policy makers facilitate gentrification through city-wide and province-wide policies, including zoning changes, the Strata Title Act, and the Residential Tenancy Act. While these public policies have streamlined the advance of gentrification in Grandview Woodland, the catalysts for gentrification are the wider national trend of increased popularity of inner-city living, and the middle class moving eastwards in search of affordable homes in response to the massive property value increases in Vancouver’s West Side. / Graduate / 0617 / 0615 / 0999 / p.b.kasman@gmail.com

EVERYDAY LIFE OF MOTHERS WITH CHILDREN IN SUBURBS AND IN THE INNER CITY Abstract The aim of this thesis is to investigate the everyday life of mothers with children in the suburban zone and in the inner city, capture differences in the time-space mobility of mothers, depending on their place of residence and find out how these activities and habits differ in different types of residential enviroments. This monitoring and evaluation was based on the method of semi-structured interviews. For the research there were chosen localities Jesenice as a representative of new housing in the suburban area and Nova Harfa as a representative of new residential areas in the inner city.

MA, Forced Migration Studies, Faculty of Humanities, University of the Witwatersrand, 2011. / Rationale: Urbanization is rapidly taking place in Africa: fifty percent of the continent‘s population is expected to be living in urban areas by 2030 (Kok and Collinson in Vearey 2010b). Both internal1 and cross-border migrants2 are moving into South Africa’s urban centers at a faster rate than her neighboring countries; approximately 60 percent of the population is estimated to be urban (ibid). The worldwide increase in urbanization requires that research recognize the trajectories of people moving into these urban spaces, as well as the experiences that people encounter as they navigate urban centers (Kihato, 2010, Landau 2006a, 2006b, Vearey 2010a, 2010b, Venables, 2010). Many migrants in inner-city Johannesburg engage in unconventional survival strategies, including sex work (e.g. Richter 2010). Although sex work is considered an informal livelihood strategy, it is currently illegal in South Africa (UNAIDS, 2009). Research on sex work in South Africa is limited; however, there is significant evidence that sex workers in inner-city Johannesburg experience unsafe, unhealthy- often times violent- working and living conditions (e.g. Nyangairi, 2010, Richeter, 2010). This research is primarily interested in exploring the ways in which “marginalized” urban migrant groups choose to represent themselves versus the incomplete (re) presentation that is often relegated to them. A focus on representation will provide an opportunity for policy makers, programmers and academics to gain insight and better comprehend the experiences of migrant urban populations. In this case, the researcher is looking specifically at migrant women who sell sex as an entry point into the larger issues of (re) presentation among individuals and communities who are often described as “vulnerable” and/or “marginal”. Aim: The aim of this research project is to explore how migrant women who sell sex in Hillbrow, Johannesburg (re) present themselves, and how (or not) urban space affects these self- (re) presentations. Methods: The epistemological framework for the methodologies used in this study was Participatory Action Research (PAR), and the primary data collection methodology used consisted of an eleven-day participatory photo project where the research participants were given digital cameras and asked to photograph the “story” that they would like to share. Upon completion of the participatory photo workshop, five research participants were randomly selected to participate in 2-3 sessions of in-depth, semi-structured narrative interviews where the researcher explored the choice of photos taken, as well as the reasons why the photos were selected to (re) present themselves. Conclusion: This study has shown that use of Participatory Action Research as an epistemological framework is both conducive and appropriate when researching ‘hard to reach’ groups of people residing in complex urban areas. Furthermore, this research signals the need for greater inclusion of participants in studies aimed at understanding individual/group experience, especially when working with marginalized communities. This study also reveals a host of future research opportunities for those interested in exploring: (1) identity in urban space/urban health, (2) livelihood experiences/strategies of people living in densely populated urban spaces, (3) issues of belonging and access to health care, (4) impacts of structural violence on the lives of migrant women sex workers, (6) ways that perceptions and representations are impacted in group settings, and (5) the use of ‘innovative methodologies’ as a viable tool in social science research.

This study investigates the influence of inner-city and suburban student teaching upon adjustment and effectiveness of first-year elementary teachers, with secondary attention to their personal and professional problems of adjustment to their initial teaching location. The fifty-five subjects of this study were first-year, inner-city and suburban teachers in the Dallas area. Except for two Black females and three Anglo males, all were Anglo females. The findings of this study support the following conclusions 1. Student-teaching locale should not be the determining factor in deciding the type of school for first-year teachers. 2. Effective inner-city student teachers may be expected to be highly effective teachers in both inner-city schools and those in other locales. 3. Successful student-teaching experiences, regardless of location, can be expected to produce well-adjusted, effective teachers. 4. It can be anticipated that inner-city teachers will experience a negative change in optimism, attitudes toward teaching, general adjustment and mental health during their initial year of teaching. 5. Both suburban and inner-city teachers who enjoyed successful student-teaching experiences can be expected to have good self-perception, empathy, a favorable view of children, confidence regarding classroom discipline, and effectiveness as a teacher.

The purpose of this investigation was to describe the behavior of effective teachers working within the context of an effective school. The study focused on both the content and techniques of instruction utilized by the teachers. In addition, the research examined teacher behaviors that were external to the classroom setting, including teacher-to-teacher relationships, teacher-to-parent relationships, and teacher-to-principal relationships. A qualitative research design was selected for this study. The site was an inner city elementary campus. Data were collected from eleven K-3 teachers using participant observation and interviews over a seven-month period. Documents were also used as a source of data. The analysis of data was ongoing and cyclical based on the constant comparative method. The final analysis of data resulted in nine themes based on recurring patterns of teacher behavior. The findings suggest that a caring school culture plays an important role in a school's success and the effectiveness of its teachers. Furthermore, there does not appear to be a universal description that fits all effective teachers. Instead, effective teachers in an effective school function as autonomous decision makers in their classrooms, choosing the curriculum and techniques that work best for them and their students. They tend to focus on basic skills, especially reading and mathematics, using explicit direct instruction methods. However, these teachers frequently digress from their planned lessons to teach life skills and test-taking strategies. Findings for this study also support the creation of structured school and classroom environments for low-income inner city students. Student self-esteem and parental support are not negatively impacted when firm discipline is administered fairly in a caring, supportive school climate. The conclusions of this investigation have implications for teacher staff development and campus administrator training. The findings also suggest further research in the areas of school culture, direct instruction, student discipline, and classroom management.

The purpose of this study was to examine the perceptions of music teachers in urban elementary schools. Title-I public elementary schools (N = 135) in Miami-Dade County were surveyed for demographic information, and fifty-six of the music teachers from those schools participated in the survey designed for this study. The survey was intended to accumulate data regarding the independent variables of student demographics, teacher demographics, student/teacher demographic differences, teacher training, and teacher support; the dependent variables examined were teacher attitudes about urban elementary music teaching and teacher expectations of their urban elementary music students. Results demonstrated that demographic factors were correlated, and most of the teachers mismatched demographically with their students. Professional support and the percentage of students receiving free or reduced lunch correlated with attitudes. The variables did not correlate with expectations, but because of a strong correlation with attitudes, expectations may have been indirectly affected by support and the percentage of students receiving free/reduced lunch. Support was the single predictor for attitudes, and when computed as an independent variable, attitudes were the sole predictor for expectations. No significant main effects or interactions between the variables were found.

This narrative inquiry explores how the �Songs of the Spirit� Native American Flute curriculum, a culturally-responsive curriculum which involves learning to make and play a PVC version of the Native American Flute while learning the cultures and histories of this First Nations instrument, impacted spiritual and emotional aspects of the learning and lives of Aboriginal students, their families, their parents, and their school community. My research took place at an urban Aboriginal high school in Saskatchewan from January to March, 2006. I conducted recorded conversations with three students, two parents, two teachers, two administrators, two Elders, a former principal, a former school caretaker, an artistic director, and the young woman who inspired the Heart of the City Piano Program, a volunteer driven community piano program, in the fall of 1995. Aboriginal individuals, who have too often been silenced in education and in society (Giroux, 1997; Freire, 1989; Fine, 1987; Greene, 1995 & 1998; Grumet, 1999), were provided with a voice in this research.<p>Because of the voices of my research participants, I chose to use the Medicine Wheel and Tipi Teachings (Lee, 2006; Kind, Irwin, Grauer, & de Cosson, 2005) as a lens (Greene, 1995) rather than situating my research in a traditional Eurocentric body of literature. Along this journey, I reflected inwards and outwards, backwards and forwards on how my past storied experiences (Clandinin & Connelly, 2000) shaped my teaching practices and way of being in the world today. To better understand the hurt I observed and which was described by research participants as present in the lived lives and circumstances of many Aboriginal people, I moved backward in time as I reviewed the literature on the Residential School experience and gained a deeper sense of the impact of colonialism on generations of Aboriginal people. This inquiry foregrounded how hearing and playing the Northern Spirit Flute impacted the emotional and spiritual aspects of students� being, and contributed to a process of healing. When participants heard the music, �it [sounded] so eloquent and so spiritual. It [was] almost like the flute [was] weeping,� (Onawa Gaho, Recorded conversation, March 17, 2006, p. 5) bringing about �a calmness to the anger that some [Aboriginal students] have� (Sakima Qaletaqa, Recorded conversation, March 15, 2006, pp. 25-26). <p>The research findings indicate that the �Songs of the Spirit� curriculum, in honoring the holistic nature of traditional First Nations cultures and teachings, invites Aboriginal students functioning in �vigilance mode� to attend to their emotional and spiritual needs. They speak to a need for rethinking curricula in culturally-responsive ways, for attending to the importance of the arts in education, and for reforming teacher education. Sound files of the Northern Spirit Flute and selected research conversations have been embedded within the electronic version of this thesis to allow the reader to walk alongside me and share in my research journey.

This narrative inquiry explores how the �Songs of the Spirit� Native American Flute curriculum, a culturally-responsive curriculum which involves learning to make and play a PVC version of the Native American Flute while learning the cultures and histories of this First Nations instrument, impacted spiritual and emotional aspects of the learning and lives of Aboriginal students, their families, their parents, and their school community. My research took place at an urban Aboriginal high school in Saskatchewan from January to March, 2006. I conducted recorded conversations with three students, two parents, two teachers, two administrators, two Elders, a former principal, a former school caretaker, an artistic director, and the young woman who inspired the Heart of the City Piano Program, a volunteer driven community piano program, in the fall of 1995. Aboriginal individuals, who have too often been silenced in education and in society (Giroux, 1997; Freire, 1989; Fine, 1987; Greene, 1995 & 1998; Grumet, 1999), were provided with a voice in this research.<p>Because of the voices of my research participants, I chose to use the Medicine Wheel and Tipi Teachings (Lee, 2006; Kind, Irwin, Grauer, & de Cosson, 2005) as a lens (Greene, 1995) rather than situating my research in a traditional Eurocentric body of literature. Along this journey, I reflected inwards and outwards, backwards and forwards on how my past storied experiences (Clandinin & Connelly, 2000) shaped my teaching practices and way of being in the world today. To better understand the hurt I observed and which was described by research participants as present in the lived lives and circumstances of many Aboriginal people, I moved backward in time as I reviewed the literature on the Residential School experience and gained a deeper sense of the impact of colonialism on generations of Aboriginal people. This inquiry foregrounded how hearing and playing the Northern Spirit Flute impacted the emotional and spiritual aspects of students� being, and contributed to a process of healing. When participants heard the music, �it [sounded] so eloquent and so spiritual. It [was] almost like the flute [was] weeping,� (Onawa Gaho, Recorded conversation, March 17, 2006, p. 5) bringing about �a calmness to the anger that some [Aboriginal students] have� (Sakima Qaletaqa, Recorded conversation, March 15, 2006, pp. 25-26). <p>The research findings indicate that the �Songs of the Spirit� curriculum, in honoring the holistic nature of traditional First Nations cultures and teachings, invites Aboriginal students functioning in �vigilance mode� to attend to their emotional and spiritual needs. They speak to a need for rethinking curricula in culturally-responsive ways, for attending to the importance of the arts in education, and for reforming teacher education. Sound files of the Northern Spirit Flute and selected research conversations have been embedded within the electronic version of this thesis to allow the reader to walk alongside me and share in my research journey.