<p> This research aimed to understand, explore, and find meaning in the participants&rsquo; experiences with the phenomenon of overcoming adversity to pursue higher education. The structure and methodology employed in this qualitative research endeavor were guided by hermeneutic phenomenology. Data collection was conducted over the course of five weeks with partner organizations in the cities of Yangon and Mandalay in Myanmar. Interviews were conducted with Myanmar students who were in the process of seeking higher education in the U.S. Observation and informal interviews with professional staff were also important data collection methods that were used to build an understanding of the situational context for the participants&rsquo; experiences. The analysis procedure followed a phenomenological reduction procedure and sought to illuminate the essence of the phenomenon by producing narrative descriptions of the participants&rsquo; experiences, as well as identifying and reflecting upon shared experiences among the participant group.</p><p> The topic of this research had particularly timely importance because Myanmar&rsquo;s government and society were going through a period of significant transition, moving from decades of military rule to a parliamentary republic. This research examined ways in which this change and other situational factors impacted students&rsquo; abilities to access higher education abroad. This study also addressed a gap in the existing research, specifically the need for qualitative research concerning Myanmar students&rsquo; experiences in education and access to higher education abroad. The research approached this need by collecting and sharing the voices of individuals who had direct, personal experience with the changes and challenges in the education system and access to higher education in Myanmar. </p><p> The findings of this study indicated that Myanmar students experienced systemic adversity and individual challenges that negatively impacted their access to opportunities for higher education abroad. For the participants, these challenges began at the primary education level and followed them through the college application and enrollment process. For many of the students, the instructional methods and curriculum content they experienced in local primary and secondary schools was inadequate and left them ill-prepared for higher education abroad. For the participants in this study, their educational aspirations led them to seek additional advising and support to help them reach their goals in higher education. Despite finding help from advisors and educators, it was clear that these students were struggling in a flawed system, which included many barriers that impeded students&rsquo; access to higher education abroad. For most of the students, their families were unable to pay the full cost of tuition for college in the U.S., so they needed to apply for scholarships or to colleges that provide need-based assistance to international students. The international reaction to violence in their home country and the election of U.S. President Trump added to the students&rsquo; feelings of anxiety in an already complicated process. Despite the individual challenges and systemic adversity that they faced, the student participants maintained a sense of hope for themselves and their country. They believed that they would each be able to continue to overcome the difficulties they faced and be able to achieve their dreams of studying at a U.S. college or university. They also knew that if they could better their own lives with higher education, then they would be in a position to have a greater positive impact on the lives of others and the situation in their home country of Myanmar.</p><p>

<p> There is an extreme underrepresentation of indigenous peoples within American study abroad programs, and student participants rarely gain an authentic experience, awareness, and intercultural sensitivity towards such groups. This case study seeks to address this disparity through the creation of a new geography short-term study abroad program titled, &ldquo;Resources and Indigenous Peoples of Oceania&rdquo;, at the University of Missouri. This program is based on providing geographic opportunities for students to experience the diverse physical landscapes of New Zealand and interact with the local Maori indigenous people and their culture. The Developmental Model of Intercultural Sensitivity (DMIS) is used both before and after the study abroad program to measure changes in student participants&rsquo; indigenous intercultural sensitivity, as well as student program journal entries and final papers. The goal of this case study is to discover whether or not a study abroad program with a focus on elements of indigenous culture can actually improve students&rsquo; intercultural sensitivity towards such groups.</p><p>

<p> International assignment experiences assist personnel over time by helping them acquire new business skill sets, global perspectives, and essential intermediate- and advanced-level cross-cultural competencies, which collectively benefit all stakeholders. The purpose of this study was to explore the impact of organizational culture, compensation practices, and job designations during the American expatriate&rsquo;s career process to maximize retention rates within the Saudi nonacademic local-clientele training sector. The cultural dimensions theory, the model for expatriate selection, and the model for expatriate training framed this study. A qualitative multiple-case research methodology featured a 10-question survey and a 10-question interview with 15 American expatriates representing 11 Saudi organizations. Themes were developed for each research question. Findings for less experienced expatriates showed more career development opportunities and leadership from experienced section managers were needed. Findings for more experienced expatriates showed more active employment policy adaptations were needed. The findings of this study suggested retention is impacted significantly when American expatriates are valued, encouraged to grow career prospects, and inspired to recruit additional personnel to accept foreign mission assignments. A ten-phase career process (TPCP) was developed to identify the exact phase expatriates considered departure. The results of this research will assist organizational decision makers and support level personnel in understanding the most urgent requirements and provide insight into techniques to properly support expatriates most efficiently and cost-effectively. </p><p>

The focus of this thesis is \(resistance\) \(to\) \(peace\) \(education\) in the conflict-ridden island of Cyprus. Departing from the premise that education, and in particular antagonistic historical narratives immersed in demonised articulations of the Other, have obstructed the transformation of the conflict, I attempt to uncover what is crippling constructive dialogue and critical thinking when it comes to peace education in the Greek-Cypriot community and bring forward ways to improve this. In particular, I analyse negative hegemonic discourses over potential changes to history textbooks that not only distort the objectives of peace education, but also exacerbate existing fears and insecurities. These nationalist discourses present changes associated with peace education as a betrayal and threat to the nationalist struggle, a process I argue constitutes the \(securitization\) of peace education. Through the ‘politics of peace education’ framework, I show how within a particular community, institutions and discourses both constitute and are constitutive of, asymmetric power relationships that act as impediments to peace education. I expose and interrogate the conditions of possibility that ensure resistance to peace education is not only reproduced, but is also successful through the exercise of asymmetrical power relations.

This thesis presents a case study of Microsoft Corporation’s Partners in Learning (PiL) program, an example of transnational policy authority in education, with two embedded case studies of PiL in Jordan and South Africa. The constructivist and rationalist approaches highlight the changing nature of governance through the cultural and strategic shifts that led to Microsoft’s policy role in education. Microsoft’s strategic profit interests and its corporate-social-responsibility aspiration to play a policy role in education influenced its educational footprint. From a top-down perspective, Microsoft used supranational forms of power by implementing its global PiL blueprint through similar PiL programs worldwide. From a bottom-up perspective, Microsoft used “localization practices” by engaging different subnational agents and used different strategies to gain footholds in two very different political and policy contexts. Microsoft’s top-down and bottom-up approaches link the supranational policy arena to the subnational or subgovernmental. Microsoft’s economic power and strategic engagement gave it entry into education. It gained expert authority from its extensive history and experience in education. Its expert authority was experessed through strategic relationship building through diplomacy and partnerships, policy networks, and the sharing of best practices. The company was however not able to claim absolute legitimacy because of resistance in both countries. This thesis highlights that at the governmental level, sovereignty does not disappear when transnational corporations become involved in education at the national level. Instead, nation- states become strategic sites for the restructuring of global policy roles. The Jordanian government became a public facilitator, by working with Microsoft to implement a stand-alone PiL program. The South African government became a public integrator, by implementing the PiL program within government policies and programs. Power was also redistributed within both countries, moving away from government education officials towards the monarchy in Jordan and the presidency in South Africa. The findings of the study highlight the need for corporations engaged in public education to be governed within instituted accountability measures, for appropriate partnership frameworks, and for governance tools that can both effectively engage companies in education and ensure that they work within common goals and values set out by international education organizations.

This thesis presents a case study of Microsoft Corporation’s Partners in Learning (PiL) program, an example of transnational policy authority in education, with two embedded case studies of PiL in Jordan and South Africa. The constructivist and rationalist approaches highlight the changing nature of governance through the cultural and strategic shifts that led to Microsoft’s policy role in education. Microsoft’s strategic profit interests and its corporate-social-responsibility aspiration to play a policy role in education influenced its educational footprint. From a top-down perspective, Microsoft used supranational forms of power by implementing its global PiL blueprint through similar PiL programs worldwide. From a bottom-up perspective, Microsoft used “localization practices” by engaging different subnational agents and used different strategies to gain footholds in two very different political and policy contexts. Microsoft’s top-down and bottom-up approaches link the supranational policy arena to the subnational or subgovernmental. Microsoft’s economic power and strategic engagement gave it entry into education. It gained expert authority from its extensive history and experience in education. Its expert authority was experessed through strategic relationship building through diplomacy and partnerships, policy networks, and the sharing of best practices. The company was however not able to claim absolute legitimacy because of resistance in both countries. This thesis highlights that at the governmental level, sovereignty does not disappear when transnational corporations become involved in education at the national level. Instead, nation- states become strategic sites for the restructuring of global policy roles. The Jordanian government became a public facilitator, by working with Microsoft to implement a stand-alone PiL program. The South African government became a public integrator, by implementing the PiL program within government policies and programs. Power was also redistributed within both countries, moving away from government education officials towards the monarchy in Jordan and the presidency in South Africa. The findings of the study highlight the need for corporations engaged in public education to be governed within instituted accountability measures, for appropriate partnership frameworks, and for governance tools that can both effectively engage companies in education and ensure that they work within common goals and values set out by international education organizations.