The purposes of this research were to understand the views of the teachers on the area of social studies in junior high school in Kaohsiung City about the present status and influence factors on textbook selection, and to offer feasible suggestions according to the results. This research adopted questionnaire method to collect information about the present status and influence factors on textbook selection from 381 teachers of 41 junior high schools .The major instrument , i.e. The Questionnaire for Investigation the View about Present Status and Influence Factors on textbooks selection from the teachers on social studies area in junior high school in Kaohsiung City ,was designed to collect quantitative data ,which was later analyzed by means of percentage frequently distribution ,standard deviation ,one-way ANOVA ,Scheff¡¦e method ,and t-test ,etc .Otherwise ,the questionnaires can also offered the teachers to state other opinions about the present status and influence factors on textbook selection .The qualitative data can be used to support the statistic results or to offer other opinions about the present status and influence factors on textbook selection to this research. The major results were summarized as follows¡G 1.Teachers were mainly people selecting textbook. Parents, students, and scholars weren¡¦t average people to select textbook . 2.The average teachers have positive comments on the textbooks selecting procedure .But studies and professional evaluations on textbook selection were lacking. 3.A majority of the teachers agree that textbook selection criterions were important, but the most important criterions were content criterions. 4.The problems of textbooks selection were not serious, but it¡¦s difficult for the teachers who teach different kinds of subjects to choose the best textbooks. 5.The main correct factors for teachers and students textbook using have more influence on textbook selection than second correct factors for teachers and students textbook using. 6.The teachers with different school and individual backgrounds have significantly different views about textbook selection on people, procedure, and criterions, but haven¡¦t significantly different views about textbook selection on problems. 7.The teachers with different school backgrounds have significantly different views on main and second textbook using factors. The teachers with different individual backgrounds haven¡¦t significantly different views on second textbook using factors, but the teachers with different titles have significantly different views on main textbook using factors. In accordance with the results of this research, suggest concerning aspects of the education administrative, school¡¦s administrative staff, teachers and publishers, respectively. Follow-up studies were also proposed.

During the past two centuries, the inclusion of religious content in social studies textbooks has dramatically changed. In the late 1800s, the progressive education movement ushered in new forms of religious content in social studies textbooks (Nord, 1999). Contemporary researchers have addressed the inclusion of religious content in the United States through various textbook studies (Bellito, 1996; Sewall, 1995). Very few studies, however, have been conducted that gauge social studies teachers’ perceptions of and beliefs about the manner in which religion should be included in the textbooks (Stone & Zam, 2006). The purpose of this mixed method research study is to examine social studies educators’ perceptions of and beliefs about the inclusion of religion in their textbooks. The theoretical framework guiding this study is John Dewey’s theory of the democratic ideal. The democratic ideal focuses on recognizing the importance of mutual interest and diverse interaction that leads to a democratically constituted society (Dewey, 1944). Quantitative and qualitative methods were employed in this research study. Participants included 193 members of a professional social studies education association located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Data collection occurred during the third week in January of 2008 via a web-survey. The survey included closed and open-ended questions. The closed-ended questions were statistically analyzed through the use of descriptive statistics and Pearson’s chi-square test. The open-ended questions were qualitatively examined through the use of the NVivo software program. The quantitative results revealed the vast majority of educators (97%) believed that religion should be included in the textbooks. Statistically significant associations between race, teaching position, and level of education revealed that these groups were not satisfied with the current inclusion of religion and that future textbooks should include more religious content. The qualitative analysis further showed educators’ dissatisfaction with the current inclusion of religion and demonstrated a need to provide more in-depth inclusion of religion in the textbooks. Very few educators stated they were satisfied with the inclusion of religion in the textbooks. These research findings suggest that future social studies textbooks should include more religious content pertaining to historical and contemporary events.

This study explores the meanings that older people attach to their participation in group arts activities throughout their lives. Existing literature on arts engagement and ageing is limited, especially in the UK context, and does little to reveal the complex factors that shape people’s participation. Much existing research approaches the subject from an arts and health perspective, meaning that issues for older people who are actively engaged in their communities are largely unexplored, and their voices are absent. Reflecting a narrative approach, and the need to adopt a life-course perspective, this study involves qualitative interviews with 24 participants who have connections with a case-study town in the English Midlands. Participants were recruited through a range of groups, including choirs, dancing, amateur dramatics, and arts and crafts groups. The study’s findings highlight the key roles played by people’s childhood experiences at home, school and church, in shaping arts engagement. There are important gender and class differences in participants’ experiences, and these in turn are significantly influenced by historical context. In challenging a common ‘deficit’ approach to research with older people, this study uses the concept of social capital as a basis for analysis. This emphasises the critical importance of people’s relationships and communities in shaping participation. Findings offer qualitative understandings of the ways in which older people experience and invest social capital through their group arts engagement, and of the dynamics of mutual support and reciprocity that can thus be seen in the lives of older people. The study concludes that social capital and people’s group arts engagement can be linked to the wider concept of ‘resourceful ageing’ which, in turn, contributes to a better understanding of the impact of life-course experiences on later life opportunities and challenges.

Thesis (Ed.D.)--University of West Florida, 2008. / Title from title page of source document. Document formatted into pages; contains 154 pages. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (M.Ed.)--Regis University, Denver, Colo., 2006. / Title from PDF title page (viewed on Sept. 14, 2006). Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (Ed.D.)--Boston University. / Then immediate problem in this study is to ascertain the vocabulary needed by fourth, fifth, and sixth grade children in order to get meaning from printed material and spoken ideas basic to understanding in the social studies. A further purpose is to construct and evaluate a test which will measure the understandings of this social studies vocabulary of intermediate grade children. A companion study by Earley has the same purposes but employs a different technique. A diagnostic test of social studies vocabulary should enable teachers to discover the knowledge children have, thus providing a basis for teaching the specific vocabulary necessary for the understanding of social studies textbooks. The investigation merits attention in that much of the information that children acquire in social studies, at the intermediate grade level, comes from printed material. [TRUNCATED]

Refuges have been central to UK domestic violence service provision since the 1970s. Early studies focused on the needs of adult women but increasingly, children and teenagers have also become the business of refuges. Much of the existing research regarding users’ experiences of refuges has, however, failed to distinguish the needs of teenagers (aged 13 to 18 years) from those of adult women and younger children. This study aims to redress this balance by examining the current service response provided by refuges for teenagers. Teenagers aged 16 and 17 are now incorporated within the Government definition of domestic violence and abuse in England and Wales (Home Office, 2013). This policy shift requires refuges to ensure appropriate provision for under-18s. The research investigates how teenagers experience refuges and whether refuge provision responds effectively to the needs and rights of teenagers. The findings can be used to inform policy and service development. This study is influenced by elements of feminist theory and the sociology of childhood which prioritise subjective understandings of experience and children’s agency. Data collection took place in refuges across the North West, East and West Midlands of England. It involved telephone interviews with 25 members of staff and face to face repeat interviews using participatory methods with 20 teenagers, resulting in 89 interviews. Originality resides in the detailed exploration of teenagers’ experiences across the length of their refuge stay and, in some cases, into their new homes. Interviews revealed an absence of educational, emotional and social support throughout the period of a teenager’s stay, and the picture was similar upon resettlement from the refuge. Difficulties experienced by teenagers during their refuge residence related to specific features of adolescence; refuges’ focus on safety and protectionism was particularly problematic for adolescent development. Refuge life was found to have severe negative effects on teenagers’ education. This study found that refuges are currently missing opportunities to reduce harm and promote prevention of future domestic violence and abuse by building teenagers’ resilience. This thesis argues for attitudinal change as well as relevant resources. The research highlights the shortcomings of refuges and links them to conceptions of victimhood in refuge policy and the changing nature and reduction of services. These conditions are restricting refuges’ ability to respect, protect and meet the rights of teenagers. This thesis advocates for teenagers to have greater visibility and recognition as service users in their own right.

This dissertation demonstrates the findings and implications of a study inquiring into the existence and range of models equipped to integrate new telecommunications technology in the classroom. The research methods employed included: (1) a discourse analysis of the socio-cultural narratives and quasi-solutions addressing the appropriateness and filtering of Internet content, (2) a content analysis of the print or online marketing strategies used to validate and promote the purchase of Internet rating systems and blocking software devices, and (3) a content analysis of various technology-based curricular programs funded across schools in Massachusetts. By adjoining bodies of research in media theory, cultural studies, and critical pedagogy, this study articulates a vision of critical learning directed at providing teachers with student-centered lessons in online communication content, grammar, medium literacy, and institutional analysis. Through the analysis of mainstream print and online media sources, my findings suggest that “inappropriate content” constitutes a cultural currency through which concerns and responses to the Internet have been articulated within the mainstream. Although government regulation has been decried as undercutting free speech, the control of Internet content through capitalist gateways—namely profit-driven software companies—has gone largely uncriticized. I argue that this discursive trend manufactures consent through a hegemonic force neglecting to confront the invasion of online advertising or marketing strategies directed at children. By examining the rhetorical and financial investments of the telecommunications business sector, I contend that the rhetorical elements creating cyber-paranoia within the mainstream attempt to reach the consent of parents and educators by asking them to see some Internet content as value-ladden (i.e. nudity, sexuality, trigger words, or adult content), while disguising the interests and authority of profitable computer software and hardware industries (i.e. advertising and marketing). The next component of my research describes the results of my analysis and assessment of 74 technology initiatives in Massachusetts' schools sponsored during the 1998–1999 school year through the Lighthouse Technology Grants. With few models offering higher levels of critical learning with and about technology, the final segment of my research outlines a model of educational empowerment over censorship through the theoretical and practical considerations of media literacy in cyberspace.

After the events of September 11th 2001, the Commonwealth of Massachusetts revised their curriculum frameworks to include extensive coverage of Islam and Muslim society. As a result, K-12 teachers had to seek out professional development courses to increase their knowledge on this vast subject. In the summer of 2004, with funding from Fulbright, the University of Massachusetts Amherst together with Boston University offered Massachusetts teachers a cultural immersion program into Islam and Muslim communities in East Africa. The purpose of this qualitative case study was to understand not just what teachers learned as a result of this four and a half week immersion experience into the lives of Muslims in Kenya and Tanzania, but more importantly how it was learned. I sought to understand and examine what conditions were critical to learning, and subsequently how teachers utilized that learning in their classrooms upon their return, particularly within the contexts of multicultural and global education. This study was situated within the contextual frameworks of experiential education and study abroad. Participants included 10 K-12 teachers from across Massachusetts representing all grade levels and most subjects. Data gathered through direct observation, participant observation, primary documents, and interviews were analyzed and resulted in conclusions that teachers benefit greatly from a study abroad opportunity. Experiences identified as important to their learning included: (1) Actually being in Kenya and Tanzania. (2) Immersion into the lives of East Africans through homestays and other face-to-face encounters, and; (3) Engaging in reflective activities with the group and individually. The study revealed that the teachers applied their experience and learning in a variety of ways. Some teachers were hampered in their attempts to bring their experience into the classrooms due to circumstances beyond their control. All teachers faced obstacles to putting their experience into action, however many developed new and creative lessons based on their learning abroad. In addition, they bolstered and expanded existing lessons by utilizing a variety of materials from East Africa. Many created and implemented professional development workshops for their peers for the first time, reflecting an increase in confidence typical of a study abroad experience. From the work these teachers did, both in the classroom and with their peers, it is clear that their skills, attitudes, knowledge, and understanding concerning Islam and Muslim communities as well as global and multicultural education were enhanced.

This is a linear review of the education statutes of each state for the purpose of identifying those statutes which require the state's history to be taught in its K-12 schools, with further analysis for trends and outliers. The intent is to first serve as a benchmark as to where both each state and the nation as a whole is at this point in time. A related second point reflects upon the fact that three generations of Maine educators mistakenly believed the existence of a law which never existed. This research thus serves as a comprehensive guide to parties either interested in knowing what their own state's statutes already require and/or what statutes exist in other states and hence how their own state's statutes might be amended. Third, in the event that a national history curriculum is adopted, this research is intended to serve as a guide as to what local content would need to be included in these national standards in order to satisfy local interests; the presumption being both that the statutes reflect the will of the populace and that we are a federal republic of quite diverse semi-sovereign states which are not going to be identical. An incidental interesting aspect of this research was the redundancy of laws: in one state, no fewer than five different laws, arguably six, require the teaching of the exact same curricula. Regional distinctions were found, but they were neither as clear nor as consistent as anticipated. Likewise, there was no clear correlation between a state's generally perceived political climate and the number of relevant laws which it had. Finally, this dissertation includes a discussion of how the teaching of state history might be improved in three New England states (i.e. Massachusetts, Connecticut and Maine).