<p>Denna studie frågar efter, vad det är som påverkar elevers val av gymnasieskola i Stockholmstrakten. Ansatsen är empirisk och enkäter har samlats in av 276 elever i åtta skolor och tolv klasser. De tillfrågade har fått svara på fjorton frågor om hur pass viktigt eller oviktigt de tycker att: föräldrar, kompisar, utbildning, skola med mera, har varit i samband med deras gymnasieval. Beskeden varierar, men likartade tendenser går ofta att utläsa, där exempelvis elevers bakgrund eller intressen sammanfaller. Svaret som ges är beroende av elevens förutsättningar inför valet, d v s betyget, närheten, det geografiska läget, ryktet, utbildningen, skolan, miljön, lärarna, föräldrarna, studie- och yrkesvägledaren och socialisationen med mera. Delarna fungerar inte utan helheten och vice versa.</p> / <p>This study asks after, what it is that influences students choices of upper secondary school in the area of Stockholm. The run-up is empirical and questionnaires have been gathered out of 276 students in eight schools and twelve classes. The respondents has replied fourteen questions about how important or unimportant they think that: parents, buddies, education, teachers etcetera, has been in connection with their upper secondary school choice. The really vary, but similar tendencies can often be inferred, where for example students background or their interest coincide. The reply that is given is depending on the students conditions before the choice, i.e. the grade, the vicinity, the geographic situation, the rumour, the education, the school, the environment, the teachers, the parents, study - and trade weighs, and the socialization etcetera. The parts do not function without the whole and vice versa.</p>

<p>The thesis is an ethnographic study of children’s identity work and social geographies in the schools and neighbourhoods of a Swedish suburb. The aim of the reported research is to study children’s agency and their narratives of different places. The findings show how identity work can be understood from the viewpoint of children as social agents taking part in reconstructing their own social geographies. It is the social aspect of the identity work that is the focus here and how it is a relational process constructed in interaction in different contexts. In the analyses, the children’s agency and narratives, such as interviews, maps and photographs, are seen as identity performances.</p><p>The findings show how identity work is situated. Identity work takes place in places that invite participation in various activities but these places are also constructed by the children and their identity work. The construction of <i>us</i> and <i>them</i> is a continuous process whereby the children (re)construct both structural conditions and conditions of a more local character. The children construct both shared and segregated places in the school yard, while performing as “us-in-the-school class”, “best friends” or “football player”, as well as more traditional categories such as age, ethnicity, gender and social class. The results also show the close relation between school and neighbourhood, and how segregation between two neighbourhoods in the suburb increased because of school choice. Children from middle-class areas took part in reconstructing the multiethnic neighbourhood as a no-go area and one of the schools as a no-go school. In the narratives of their neighbourhood, the children used community discourses when making identity claims such as “rich Swedish kids from Tallvik”. Thus, segregation and identity work are intimately connected when children construct an <i>us, </i>in close relation with some and distanced to others at the same time. </p>

The thesis is an ethnographic study of children’s identity work and social geographies in the schools and neighbourhoods of a Swedish suburb. The aim of the reported research is to study children’s agency and their narratives of different places. The findings show how identity work can be understood from the viewpoint of children as social agents taking part in reconstructing their own social geographies. It is the social aspect of the identity work that is the focus here and how it is a relational process constructed in interaction in different contexts. In the analyses, the children’s agency and narratives, such as interviews, maps and photographs, are seen as identity performances. The findings show how identity work is situated. Identity work takes place in places that invite participation in various activities but these places are also constructed by the children and their identity work. The construction of us and them is a continuous process whereby the children (re)construct both structural conditions and conditions of a more local character. The children construct both shared and segregated places in the school yard, while performing as “us-in-the-school class”, “best friends” or “football player”, as well as more traditional categories such as age, ethnicity, gender and social class. The results also show the close relation between school and neighbourhood, and how segregation between two neighbourhoods in the suburb increased because of school choice. Children from middle-class areas took part in reconstructing the multiethnic neighbourhood as a no-go area and one of the schools as a no-go school. In the narratives of their neighbourhood, the children used community discourses when making identity claims such as “rich Swedish kids from Tallvik”. Thus, segregation and identity work are intimately connected when children construct an us, in close relation with some and distanced to others at the same time.

Denna studie frågar efter, vad det är som påverkar elevers val av gymnasieskola i Stockholmstrakten. Ansatsen är empirisk och enkäter har samlats in av 276 elever i åtta skolor och tolv klasser. De tillfrågade har fått svara på fjorton frågor om hur pass viktigt eller oviktigt de tycker att: föräldrar, kompisar, utbildning, skola med mera, har varit i samband med deras gymnasieval. Beskeden varierar, men likartade tendenser går ofta att utläsa, där exempelvis elevers bakgrund eller intressen sammanfaller. Svaret som ges är beroende av elevens förutsättningar inför valet, d v s betyget, närheten, det geografiska läget, ryktet, utbildningen, skolan, miljön, lärarna, föräldrarna, studie- och yrkesvägledaren och socialisationen med mera. Delarna fungerar inte utan helheten och vice versa. / This study asks after, what it is that influences students choices of upper secondary school in the area of Stockholm. The run-up is empirical and questionnaires have been gathered out of 276 students in eight schools and twelve classes. The respondents has replied fourteen questions about how important or unimportant they think that: parents, buddies, education, teachers etcetera, has been in connection with their upper secondary school choice. The really vary, but similar tendencies can often be inferred, where for example students background or their interest coincide. The reply that is given is depending on the students conditions before the choice, i.e. the grade, the vicinity, the geographic situation, the rumour, the education, the school, the environment, the teachers, the parents, study - and trade weighs, and the socialization etcetera. The parts do not function without the whole and vice versa.

As charter schools continue to proliferate across United States, their impact on the public education system is becoming an increasingly important public policy question. Charter school proponents argue that combined pressures of consumer choice and market competition will induce traditional public schools to respond by providing higher quality education and promoting innovation and equity. Skeptics worry that charter schools pose risks of segregating students by race and economic level, and reducing per-pupil resources available to traditional public schools. This dissertation provides a comprehensive evaluation of the effects of charter schools on regular public schools by addressing the following questions: 1) How do the charter schools affect the racial, ethnic and cosio-economic distribution, student-teacher ratios and achievement of traditional public schools? 2) How do the size and scope of competitive effects vary according to different measures of competition? Using two-period panel data from the National Center of Education Statistics (NCES) Common Core Data (CCD) for traditional public schools in Florida, New Jersey, Texas and Ohio, I compare changes in racial and ethnic distribution, student-teacher ratios and achievement in public schools that do and do not face competition. I use a variation of the difference-in-differences (DD) estimation strategy to study the effect of charter schools on the outcome measures. The findings from the study suggest that introduction of charter schools in the educational landscape has affected student distributions, and at least in some cases, student-teacher ratios and the performance of traditional public schools. Charter schools seem to contribute to declines in the share of non-Hispanic white students in traditional public schools in all four states. The results show variation in other outcome areas across states and competition measures. The findings highlight the importance of monitoring what will happen to non-choosers in traditional schools as well as the role of considering state context and empirical measures while generalizing from charter school studies.

This study examined the attitudes of elementary school teachers and parents on school choice for parents within the system, and suggestions and feasibility on the implementation of alternative education in Tainan City. The findings were as follows: the attitude of elementary educators and parents on the "school choice for parents" and "the alternative education school management" hold a positive perception; alternative education school management within the system, "financial resources" is the first level of concern, second "performance evaluation"¡Fmost of principals can adapt to the times and realize that the school choice for parents is the trend of the times, but teachers are worried about the expansion of school choice will affect the teachers¡¦ professional autonomy; the problems encountered and focused with the implementation of "alternative education school within the system" in Tainan City are "the retention for excellent teachers", "the communication and the marketing of alternative education school management within the system", and "decree amendments and deregulation. " Based on the findings, this study offered following suggestions: 1. The suggestions for alternative education school management within the system: (1) Financial resources: The integration of resources and funding from local community and parents association, and in conjunction with the "school-based financial management" concept in planning and prioritizing school resources and funding. (2)Performance evaluation: The establishment of sound professional supervision and performance evaluation systems, and in collaboration with professors from university education departments to develop effective evaluation systems for individual students and effective systems for learning assessment. (3)Personnel organization: The development of the school-based teacher training credit certification and the independent selection process for teachers based on the needs of the school curriculum; the development of the appropriate, flexible, dynamic and open organizational structure. (4)Curriculum and instruction: The development of the school-based curriculum for instantaneous research and discussion within the organization; the group instruction based on major and minor areas of study in accordance with students¡¦ preference. 2. The suggestions for general school management : (1)Focus on school reforms and performances to expedite the improvement on school features and brand name in order to carve out a niche during the time of low birthrate and rising awareness of parents. (2)Curriculum and instruction are the essence of school management, principals should exhibit leadership and influence in incorporating school teachers¡¦ professional competence and integrate the programs of study to enliven teaching contents and methods in order to develop the school-based curriculum. (3)Teacher training and professional growth are the focus of attention and therefore only with the contemporaneous teacher training and learning can there be creative and effective teachings. (4)Schools and communities are now closely connected with each other, and school management is closely related to community development. Schools should integrate the databases and resources network of the community to expand the efficiency of community resources in order to assist in school management, teacher¡¦s professional growth and student learning. (5)Schools should implement and carry out complete teacher evaluation for professional development, instructional evaluation, school evaluation and other evaluation systems and mechanisms in order to bring about the effectiveness of school management.

The direction of high school choice policy has been one of the notable commitments every time the candidates of the superintendent of Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education makes since the policy was repeatedly repealed and decided to be maintained. During the implementation of the policy, conflicts among policy related groups, such as teachers and parents, affected the decisions of the superintendent of the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education to alternately repeal and maintain the policy. The purpose of this study was to investigate the perspective gap, roles and influence among two different types of policy actors: teachers, and parents. Through this approach, the study examines the goals and outcomes of the policy, and addresses the success and failure of the policy through the different perceptions of practitioners, and consumers. In order to achieve these goals, this study used a qualitative research method involving thirty-nine teachers and parents. The findings revealed that teachers and parents viewed that there are chronic policy making problems in Korea, which influence the frequent changes made to the high school choice policy. The absence of communication between a policy maker, policy practitioners, and policy consumers, a product of the top down decision making structure in Korea, has led to inefficiency and inflexibility the policy’s implementation and practice. Teachers and parents suggested that they should be able to contribute to policy consistency and successful implementation through early involvement in policy design and development. Understanding each role and exploring the perceptions of policy relevant actors in high school choice policy in Seoul provides a as well as providing for the further related policies. / text

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This dissertation breaks new ground in qualitative educational research by looking closely at the community and curricula of a well-resourced seven-year-old public high school in a New York City borough, which I call the Legal Studies Academy (LSA). This school created its own nonprofit organization in order to accrue private donations. Its most important “funder and founder” is an elite Manhattan law firm. The relationship between the firm and the school is emblematic of the direction that many urban public schools in the United States are moving: toward increased dependence on private funds to secure the resources deemed necessary for quality twenty-first century education (Anyon 1997; Lipman 2004; 2005). My project explores how the privatization of public institutions affects definitions of social justice and good education in the United States. I document the ways that students and teachers in the LSA community both reproduce and contest school norms. My methods in this two-year study included: teacher-research, participant observation of teachers and students, extensive interviews with teachers, students and parents, conduct of a summer book club / cultural circle, and analysis of data from a schoolwide student questionnaire. I also examine materials the school uses to solicit donations from its funders in relation to cultural constructions of urban students and their teachers in literature and the media. I explore what students’ and teachers’ daily practices of resistance or conformity to these cultural constructions might reveal about the place of democracy, humanization, character education, and critical pedagogy in U.S. public schools that depend on private or corporate philanthropists for resources. This ethnography nuances the often polarized debate around issues of achievement in education in the context of the demands of a global economy by documenting how the daily practices of students, families and teachers reflect on a social structure of education and achievement that, in the United States, ever more unequivocally aligns one’s identity and success with marketability. On a larger scale, it inspires critical questions about the place of democracy and citizenship as juxtaposed with inequities furthered by global racial capitalism. / text