The purpose of this study was to determine international students satisfaction with regards to the education, services, and facilities at an institution of higher education. Results showed that most of the students were satisfied with the quality of programs at their institution.

This study analyzed hypothetical would-clauses presented in Korean high school English textbooks from two perspectives: real language use and Focus on Form approach. Initiated by an interest in the results of a corpus study, this study discussed hypothetical would-clauses in terms of how their descriptions in Korean EFL textbooks matched real language use. This study additionally investigated whether the textbooks presented the target language features in ways recommended by the Focus on Form approach. In the past few decades, authentic language use and the Focus on Form approach have received a great amount of attention in the SLA field. Recognizing the trend in SLA as well as necessities in Korean EFL education, the Korean government has incorporated these two into the current 7th curriculum. Such condition provided the momentum for the evaluation of the textbooks in these respects. The findings show that the language features were hardly supplemented by the information drawn from real language data. In addition, there were very few attempts to draw learner attention to language forms while keeping them focused on communication as recommended by Focus on Form approach. With increasing use of the English language, it is becoming more necessary for Korean EFL learners to use English in real life contexts where understanding correct nuances and delivering appropriate expressions may be important. Also, in EFL contexts like Korea, the students may have limited access to the target language input and little opportunities to produce outputs in extracurricular settings, so the integrated methodology of Focus on Form approach, rather than just using either one of structure-centered or meaning-oriented approach, would be of greater benefit to the students. However, the results strongly indicate that the textbooks neither incorporate the language features as they occur in naturally occurring language nor present them as to facilitate the learning of both form and meaning. This study suggests that greater use of real language data and more thorough application of Focus on Form methods in the textbook writing process should be seriously considered. Thus, this study could be useful for curriculum developers and textbook writers in creating curriculum and language materials concerning the incorporation of grammar patterns based on actual language use as well as in improving textbooks with respect to the Focus on Form approach.

This study used the capability approach as a lens to understand teacher quality from both the perspective of educational leaders and practicing teachers in a rural community in central Malawi. The overarching question of this research study was “How can the capability approach inform our understanding of teacher quality from both the perspective of educational leaders and practicing teachers?” The focus questions to guide this research were: What do national educational leaders value in a quality teacher? What do rural, Malawian, female teachers value in teaching? How do these teachers pursue and achieve what they value in teaching? This study included qualitative data collection and analysis of two specific contexts: the official context of educational leadership and educational policy in Malawi and the teacher context of daily life working in a rural school in Malawi. The official context was concerned with the larger field of educational policy that impacts education in rural Malawian communities. These data were collected through document review and semi-structured interviews with educational leaders at primary schools, secondary schools, school zone leaders, and teacher training college staff. Additional data about the official context were collected via review of documents regarding the official definition of quality teaching. The research site for investigating the teacher context was a rural community in the central region of Malawi. Data were collected through interviews and observation of female, primary school teachers from four school sites within a single school zone. The discussion and analysis of the data collected in both research contexts include the values of teacher participants, the ability of the teachers to achieve their valued functionings, common constraints experienced by teachers, as well as comparison of the valued functions of teachers to the valued teacher functions defined by official documents and educational leaders. The discussion and conclusions from this research include policy recommendations regarding teacher quality and thoughts on the further application of the capability approach to understanding teacher quality.

Studies of the publishing practices in mathematics education have situated sets of journals in tiers of quality. These reports document the rankings and prestige of only a subset of the wealth of journals available for publishing in mathematics education. We posit that there is value, quality, and purpose to be found in journals that present studies that are of value on a regional level, and that the studies are extremely important to the field. This is particularly important for journals published in languages other than English, and the studies referenced above are almost entirely English-language journals. In this paper we seek to demonstrate that we as a field of researchers cannot discount the value and role of these regional and small-country journals. Using a case study of one small European country, we quantitatively present the areas of strength and weakness in the publishing practices in mathematics education journals that are unlikely to be seen beyond the region of their publication. We conclude with recommendations to publish in areas where research is lacking as well as recommendations to the community at large to recognize the value of such outlets.

The general problem of this study was to investigate and analyze selected social, political, and economic factors in Ethiopia that affect the continuation and development of education by the Seventh-Day Adventist Church. The specific purpose of this research was to develop from this analysis of Ethiopia those alternatives and recommendations which would aid Seventh-Day Adventist leaders in the development of plans for educational work in that country. The basic question was: Can the Seventh-Day Adventists system of education plan for the social, political, and economic changes taking place in Ethiopia?

When selecting a study abroad program, some students undertake a semester or academic-year study abroad program, while other students undertake a two-to eight-week study abroad program. Both study abroad opportunities allow students to become immersed in a culture different from their own. This research project is an exploratory study that looks at the impact of short-term study abroad programs on undergraduates at a public institution. This study examines how participants change in regards to their understanding of the host culture, explores what students learn about their host cultures, and looks at the intercultural development that the students gain from spending a short time abroad on an academic program. The people who participated in this research project are students from the University of Utah who spent time on a short-term (two to eight weeks) study abroad program. The literature reviewed in this study looks at number of articles that have been written about both short-term study abroad programs as well as long-term study abroad programs. The participants in this study came from a variety of academic backgrounds and class standings. A list was compiled of participants who indicated on their study abroad application that they did not have any previous international experience prior to their short-term study abroad experience. From this list, students were randomly emailed asking if they would like to participate on this study. This study revealed that individuals who participate in a short-term study abroad program do have transformative experiences. This study concluded that individuals who participate on short-term study abroad programs experienced personal growth as a result of studying abroad.

How do teachers’ attitudes and beliefs impact how HIV/AIDS education is implemented in Kenyan schools for the deaf? How do these attitudes and beliefs reflect how teachers think about Deafness? While there is extensive literature exploring in-school HIV/AIDS-related education in East Africa, there are few studies focusing on segregated schools for the deaf. There are also few studies exploring how educators think about Deafness as culture in this region. Western Kenya offers a useful site for the exploration of these topics with mandated, in-school HIV/AIDS curriculum and a high density of schools for the deaf. Related research also argues that teachers’ attitudes and beliefs and the politics of schooling are useful in exploring socio-cultural constructions of Deafness. While previous studies have argued that “Deaf-friendly” HIV/AIDS education is not occurring in this region, this study found examples in these schools. Data from this study also revealed that this education was shaped by the beliefs and attitudes teachers held about sexuality, and Deafness and sign language. Furthermore, this study found that these attitudes and beliefs revealed underlying beliefs about Deafness that illustrate a range of constructions within this group of teachers. This study spanned 15 weeks of fieldwork gathering data through interviews, questionnaires and observations with 81 participants. Data focused primarily on interviews and questionnaires with 43 teachers in three segregated schools for the deaf in the Nyanza and Western provinces. There were 8 Deaf teachers who participated from these school sites supplemented by an additional 24 Deaf participants working in schools across Kenya to balance data. This study found that while the nationally-mandated HIV/AIDS course curriculum was not implemented in these schools, there was a significant presence of “embedded” and informal HIV/AIDS education. Teachers had a range of feelings about this education, some of which were unique to teaching Deaf children and children using sign language. They also reported how “Deaf stereotypes” shaped how they approached and implemented this education. In some cases these beliefs and attitudes simply heightened preexisting concerns about HIV/AIDS education in similar ways to parallel studies of “regular” schools in this region. However the most striking conclusion from this research was that the presence of “Deaf culture” and the use of sign language among the student population changed the way teachers approached, implemented and reflected upon this education in unique ways not seen in “regular” schools. Interviews also showed that some teachers rationalized their approach to this education because they felt that the Deaf were “different” in certain ways, especially in terms of sexuality. These conclusions are helpful for those in HIV/AIDS education, Comparative and International Education, Disability Studies, Deaf Studies and Medical Anthropology.

Sub-Saharan Africa continues to fall behind other developing regions regarding educational attainment, despite recent progress in enrollment. This thesis examines a variety of external conditional factors that could contribute to a country’s relative success, in terms of years spent in school using a prediction model that compares years enrolled in secondary education as a foundation to determine over- and under-performing countries in sub-Saharan Africa. By exploring various educational policies, historical patterns, and projects executed in Rwanda, South Africa, Ghana, and Botswana, this thesis sheds light on four main challenges that can impact educational attainment: ethnic and racial tensions, an acute shortage of learning materials and trained teachers, inappropriate curricula, and high costs of education. Some of these challenges have been met with an array of policies, with mixed results in terms of the soundness and fairness of policies as well as the effectiveness of implementation. This thesis argues that to facilitate the creation of an effective school system, education policies must focus on more appropriate reallocations of funding, improved teacher-training quality throughout rural regions, applicable and localized curricula, conditional cash transfer programs, and long-term improvements in the job market.

The United States has attempted to improve access to quality education for students. While the United States has seen access to higher quality of education as a solution to improving schools, this has not worked. The purpose of this paper is to analyze the methods created to improve access to quality education and their effectiveness. Methods that will be analyzed are acts passed by the United States and the charter school movement. In this paper I will look at the methods used in Germany and Colombia to help develop a new method of improving the quality of education in the United States through the use of nonprofit organizations. Nonprofit organizations have played a role in improving the education of Germany and Colombia. Nonprofit organizations could be a solution in improving the quality of education students receive through hands on experience, a standardized test, providing resources for students, and improving the quality of teaching in each school. The use of nonprofit organizations can help under-resourced districts improve, help create a test to accurately measure student success, and help districts understand how they can improve.

This qualitative case study examines the perspectives of leaders of five intensive English programs (IEPs) about their departments’ positions at U.S. public universities as well as their perceptions of the directors’ roles in developing visibility on campuses. The data was collected through interviewing and analyzed using the Constant Comparative Method which produced five distinctive themes: planned happenstance; belonging; funding; work with university; director’s role. The cross-case findings presented similar ideas from all of the participants – intensive English program legitimacy and visibility on campuses have still not been achieved. The findings from the study can aid IEP directors, and especially their supervisors, in understanding the need to create belongingness for those programs and to provide better involvement of members into university communities.