Philosophiae Doctor - PhD / The major objective of this study was to investigate the nature of the relationship between achievement motivation, autonomous and social achievement values, study habits and attitudes, locus of control and socio-economic status (SES) as independent variables on the one hand and the level of achievement as dependent variable on the other. The subjects were 548 second and third year social science students who were studying in seven different directions at the University of the Western Cape during 1990. The following measuring instruments were used in the investigation: The Ray-Lynn (1980) Achievement Orientation questionnaire; Strumpfer's (1975) questionnaire for the measuring of autonomous and social achievement values; Rotter's (1966) internal/external locus of control scale, as adapted by Collins (1974); The study habits and attitudes subscales of the Brown and Holtzman (1955) Survey of Study Habits and Attitudes (SSHA) questionnaire, as adapted for South African conditions; A brief biographical questionnaire The achievement criterion consisted of the average achievement point, which is constituted of a proportion of achievement obtained in continuous evaluation, and a proportion of achievement obtained in the final examination. The following findings were made: Achievement motivation plays a much smaller role in achievement than can be expected and its influence is gender specific. It explains only about 5% of the variance in the achievement of males, and non in the case of females. Academically successful and unsuccessful students could also not be distinguished from each other in terms of level of achievement motivation. The measuring instrument for achievement motivation, although valid and reliable, probably does not succeed in measuring aspects of achievement motivation which are related to a specific situation such as the academic. While social achievement value is not related to achievement, autonomous achievement value explains 4,8% of the variance in achievement of males but none in the case of females. Successful and unsuccessful students also do not differ from each other with regard to their achievement value orientation. Study habit and attitude do not differ in their ability to predict the achievement criterion and explain 4,1% and 5,3% of the variance in achievement of males respectively, but none in the case of females. Successful and unsuccessful students can be distinguished in terms of their study habits and attitudes. Socio-economic status has a differential influence on achievement. While higher SES females achieve at a higher level than low SES females, males do not differ in this regard. The subjects are predominantly internally orientated as far as locus of control characteristic is concerned. Although internal individuals display more "positive" characteristics compared to external individuals, the two groups do not, however, differ as far as level of achievement is concerned, irrespective of gender or socio-economic status. African students have a more positive attitude towards study compared to English and Afrikaans speaking, as well as bilingual (English and Afrikaans speaking) students. Females in this study are generally more homogenous than males. It is recommended that: The suitability of the average achievement point as a criterion of achievement be studied; A broad investigation be launched into practices and problems which might centre around the system of continuous evaluation at uwc, with specific reference to possible problems that students, lecturers and big departments may experience; The nature of differences which might exist between higher and low SES female, and low SES female and low SES male students be investigated; The nature of debilitating factors which affect the achievement of low SES female students be investigated; The tendency towards greater homogeneity among female influence thereof on university study; The adjustment of African students at uwc be studied with the objective of identifying factors that obstruct their academic progress

This study addressed the academic, cultural, and social expectations and experiences of 20 Black students at 2 predominantly White high schools in the Southern Appalachian region of the United States. The participants' experiences revealed how institutional practices promoted or obstructed their successful experiences at high school. Qualitative ethnographic methodology guided the study. The data collected included the stories of the Black students based on individual interviews, focus groups, and document reviews. The data showed the positive and negative experiences of the Black students in predominantly White high schools and the negative impacts of racism and racist behaviors on Black students' experiences at their high schools. Findings indicate a difference between the students' academic, cultural, and social expectations and experiences. Many of these differences in expectations and actual experiences were caused by the racist experiences of the Black students. Social networks were shown to contribute to the students' need for a place of safety. Recommendations based on the results of the study are provided for school administration, teachers, and other staff members.

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This dissertation examined the experiences of Black middle school girls who attend predominantly white, elite, independent schools in the Greater Los Angeles area. Using Critical Race Theory, Black Identity Theory, and Black Feminism Theory as a conceptual framework, this qualitative research explored the role of race, class, gender, and parental support as contributing factors to the development of participants’ racial consciousness. Utilizing timeline interviews and critical narratives to explore the lived histories of each student and parent participant, data analysis included content coding based on themes that emerged throughout the narrative examination. An analysis of the narratives of student participants revealed the absence of a Black faculty advocate, the burden of microaggressions, and the tension to define what it meant to be Black as important factors in the development of a racial consciousness. Additional findings based on data from the participants’ mothers revealed their reasons for choosing independent schools for their daughters and an emphasis on nurturing Black identity and friendships to help guide them through critical racial experiences. Findings led to important recommendations to improve the educational experiences of Black girls in predominantly white, elite independent schools. These findings also indicated a need for further study of the experiences of the Black girl middle school experience in predominantly white, elite, independent schools.

Historically Black Colleges and Universities are institutions that contribute to the higher education of people of African descent. The archives of enslaved and freed people describe their systematic approach to education, highlighting the ways that Black communities in America engaged in teaching and learning. Despite enslavement and forced labor, legalized segregation, race-based economic disenfranchisement, and rampant anti-Black violence, people of African descent curated spaces for learning in their literary societies, fraternal organizations, religious institutions, and schools. Rooted in the Africana ways of knowing that came with them from Africa to the western hemisphere, people of African descent used education to resist the prevailing ideologies of antebellum America. HBCUs emerged as collaborations between existing, Black-led educational efforts, investment from non-Black donors and organizations, and financial support from government entities. Historical records describe the complicated relationship between Black-led educational initiatives and the American infrastructure; the timeline of Black education is saturated with systemic and state-supported racism. Thus, HBCUs served as unique institutional spaces in the landscape of 19th-Century America. This qualitative study uses interviews and open-ended survey responses to investigate how HBCU alumni interpret the pedagogical practices they experienced at predominantly Black institutions. It examines historical documents to uncover the relationship between the Africana intellectual genealogy accumulated in communities of African descent—before the formulation of HBCUs—and the subsequent founding of these institutions. Through a comprehensive exploration of the academic journeys of HBCU alumni of African descent, this study articulates and defines academic success within the context of predominantly Black institutions. Following an Unbroken Genealogy Approach, this investigation uses the Africana Studies Conceptual Categories as a framework to explore academic success at Historically Black Colleges and Universities. The findings suggest that students of African descent who matriculate at HBCUs benefit from the intellectual genealogy of these institutions. The accumulated ways of knowing that impact teaching and learning at HBCUs contribute to an evolving intellectual genealogy that precedes the formation of these institutions. This research establishes the need for detailed historical examinations of every HBCU to explore their earliest foundations, chart their intellectual genealogy through previous and contemporary faculty, investigate the academic experiences of their alumni and current students, and establish how the institutional ways of knowing contribute to the collective narrative of people of African descent. / Policy, Organizational and Leadership Studies

Uma família de esquemas upwind denominada FUS-RF (Family of Upwind Scheme via Rational Functions), que é derivada via funções racionais e dependentes de parâmetros, é proposta para o cálculo de soluções aproximadas de equações de conservação. A fim de ilustrar a capacidade dos novos esquemas, vários resultados computacionais para sistemas hiperbólicos de leis de conservação são apresentados. Esses testes mostram a inflluência dos parâmetros escolidos sobre a qualidade dos resultados numéricos. Fazendo o uso de alguns testes de padrões, comparação dos novos limitadores de fluxo correspondentes com o esquema bem estabelecido van Albada e esquema atual EPUS (Eight-degree Polynomial Upwind Scheme) é também realizada. Os testes numéricos realizados em transporte de escalares e problemas de dinâmica dos gases confirmam que alguns esquemas da família FUS-RF são não oscilatórios e fornecem resultados confiáveis quando perfis descontínuos são transportados. Um esquema particular dessa nova família de esquemas upwind é então selecionado e utilizado para resolver escoamentos complexos com superfícies livres móveis / A family of upwind schemes named as FUS-RF (Family of Upwind Scheme via Rational Functions), which is derived via rational functions and dependent of parameters, is proposed for computing approximated solutions of conservation equations. In order to illustrate the capability of the new schemes, several computational results for system of hyperbolic conservation laws are presented. These results clarify the influence of the chosen parameters on the quality of the numerical calculations. Using some standard test cases, comparison of the new corresponding limiters with the well established van Albada and the recently introduced EPUS (Eight-degree Polynomial Upwind Scheme) limiters is also done. Numerical tests on both scalar and gas dynamics problems confirm that some schemes of the FUS-RF family are non-oscillatory and yield sharp results when solving profiles with discontinuities. A particular upwind scheme of this new family is then slected and used for solving complex incompressible moving free surface flows

This study of African-American seniors at East Tennessee State University, Middle Tennessee State University, and the University of Tennessee at Knoxville was conducted to solicit student responses about the perceptions of their schools, university services, and experiences at those institutions. The study employed quantitative data and descriptive analysis was performed. Data collected in this study described the demographic characteristics of the students and their perceptions, attitudes, experiences and level of involvement in the campus environment for African-American seniors. Data in this study indicated perceptions that Tennessee must be committed to increasing financial support to the universities. Universities must be committed to increase faculty and student involvement, create a culturally diverse environment and expand existing recruitment and retention programs.

While Black women have etched a place for themselves as leaders within colleges and universities, few have advanced to the most senior levels of postsecondary administration and they remain underrepresented in those type of roles (Gamble & Turner, 2015; Jackson & Harris, 2007; West, 2015). Scholarly research has explored Black women’s experiences as institutional leaders (Davis & Maldonado, 2015; Smith & Crawford, 2007; Waring, 2003); yet the phenomenon of executive-level higher education administration, specifically as it relates to Black women’s perspectives, is not well known (Enke, 2014; Jean-Marie, Williams, & Sherman, 2009). Moreover, research that directs attention to Black women’s unique leadership experiences as executive-level leaders within a Predominantly White Institution (PWI) is scarce (Gamble & Turner, 2015; Mosley, 1980; West, 2015). This transcendental phenomenological study examined the perceptions of Black women’s leadership experiences in their roles as executive-level higher education administrators at a PWI and strategies they used to cope with their experiences. Black Feminist Theory, which centers the narratives of Black women and explores how intersecting oppressions impact their everyday lives, was used to frame the study. Semi-structured, face-to-face interviews and a review of relevant documents were used to collect the voices of four Black women executive-level leaders. Data collected were analyzed using Moustakas’ (1994) phenomenological method of analysis and synthesized to reveal an essence of the experience of an executive-level higher education administrator at a PWI from the Black woman’s vantage point. Results indicated the meaning ascribed to the experience of being an executive-level higher education administrator were rooted in: Knowing Who You Are, Developing as a Leader, Engaging in the Rules of the Game, Building Relationships, and Navigating Bias and Conflict. Further, Finding Strength through Spirituality, Relying on Family and Friends, Pursuing Enjoyable Activities emerged as strategies used to manage the phenomenon. This study offers a unique view into Black women’s lived experiences and their perspective on leading at a PWI as an executive-level higher education administrator. Findings contribute to building transformative change at colleges and universities by providing insight and knowledge about the experiences of Black women in higher education administration.

This essay is about what considerations foster home secretary may face in their profession and how they use themselves as a tool. We were interested in the family home secretaries as a profession and we found that this area is relatively unexplored. The essay is based on semi-structured interviews with ten family home secretaries from seven different municipalities. To interpret our results, we used Mead's theory of "Mind, Self and Society". Our paper shows that family secretaries are faced with a variety of considerations in the selection of foster homes. We have also presented several different criteria that foster secretaries put on families to enable them to become current foster home. All the family home secretary saw themselves as tools in the process to match children with foster homes, but it proved to be difficult for them to put this into words and describe how they used themselves. One of our research questions concern how experience affects their work. It turned out that the experience also gave answers to our other questions.

The literature on Latino college students, particularly at Predominantly White Universities, suggests that they are enrolling at higher rates at the beginning of the first year in college than prior years, but dropping out at higher rates than any other racial/ethnic group. For students whom are the first in their family to attend college, attrition rates are even more pronounced. In the present study, based on Bourdieu’s Social Capital Theory, group differences based on race/ethnicity and college-generational status were examined for reported anxiety, depression, and academic problems at the beginning and end of the first semester of students’ first year at a university. The results indicated that differences in reported outcome measures were greater when examined between college-generation Mexican American groups, rather than between racial/ethnic groups more generally. Additionally, it was hypothesized that for Mexican American first-generation college students, perceived family support at the beginning of the semester would mediate the relationship between academic self-efficacy and academic problems at the end of the semester. The results of the study provided support for this hypothesis, suggesting that perceived support from family, even when it is not entirely instrumental, offers benefits for first-generation Mexican American college students. Implications for future interventions, both pre and post-college entry are discussed. / text