This study examined the contextual factors that led to the success of Mexican Americans who overcame extraordinary obstacles in obtaining post-secondary educations. Mexican Americans continue to experience great challenges to postsecondary success. An in-depth case study was performed on ten subjects who managed to not only survive, but also do well in school and life. The purpose of the study was to identify obstacles these men and women had to overcome, the means they used to overcome them, and the salience of their ethnicity to their experience. Utilizing a worldview construct and the concept of familism, findings are presented that demonstrate how these men and women were able to succeed educationally. First, their families placed a high value for and exposure to literacy, English and Spanish, in the participants’ homes. Contrary to the fact that these participants’ homes were characterized by low levels of parental education, they were exposed to high levels of literacy. A second important commonality among these high achievers was that all of them at some point in their schooling attended desegregated schools where they were exposed to Anglo peers with much greater social capital than themselves. Finally, and perhaps the most important, is the profound value for hard work that characterized almost all of these households and was channeled into dedication to studies and a strong belief that effort, perseverance, and courage were important in achieving academic goals. Rather than just focusing on the barriers, the problems common to low-income, first-generation college students as do most studies on student access and success, this study focuses on the creative solutions its subjects found and the kinds of support that made differences for them. The study records the perceptions of the successful graduates of the causes of their school success and tapped into their insights. The findings and recommendations of the study may enable educators to re-examine their own attitudes toward the schooling of Mexican origin students and its unanticipated negative consequences and help institutions of higher education identify policy changes that will facilitate the recruitment and retention of Hispanic and other minority students.

The purpose of the current study was to investigate the role of transformational leadership in well performing schools in two rural secondary schools in the Eastern Cape. The poor performance of the Eastern Cape in National Senior Certificate examinations is well documented in media press and in academic publications. Yet, there are schools that, although they share much of the context and culture of other schools within the Province, perform surprisingly well. Little is known about whether such successes could be attributed to transformational leadership. As such, this study investigated the practice of transformational leadership behaviours, challenges faced by transformational leaders, strategies they engaged in to overcome challenges and successes of such transformational leadership on increased learner achievement. Case study research design was used involving semi-structured interviews to collect data from a sample of two principals and three members of the Senior Management Team. The selection of the two secondary schools was based on their rural context, poor quintile category, evidence of improvement and continued high levels of learner achievement in the National Senior Certificate examinations in the past five years. The findings have shown that the principal of the first school, after engaging in transformative strategies aimed at improvement, managed to turn itself around. On the other hand, for the second principal, no findings showed that the school had, in the past experienced poor performance, despite being rural and servicing learners coming from poor socio-economic conditions. Rather, it has a history of being a well- performing school and it was shown that the principal has managed to sustain such successes in the period under study. For future research, quantitative studies and observations could provide results for generalization to the entire region. It is time for principals committed to turning around a low-performing school to give priority to teacher growth and professional development. / Dissertation (MEd)--University of Pretoria, 2019. / Education Management and Policy Studies / MEd / Unrestricted

No description available.

The purpose of this study was to identify the ways government schools in the Kimberley Education District of Western Australia attempted to engender success for their students. Schools in these communities are considered to be in poverty, they are largely populated by indigenous Australians, and situated in geographically isolated locations. It was important to establish the levels of student academic achievement and identify best school and classroom practices that centred on developing students' progress and achievement at school. The study was guided by the general research question: What are the effective ways school communities in the Kimberley work to improve student outcomes? Generating descriptions of best practices that make a geographical isolated school successful for students marginalised in the schooling process, and upon what criteria the success should be measured, were central to this research endeavour. It was critical to distinguish those dimensions of schooling in isolated areas that were malleable in improving the life chances of students. The study relied on an interpretive research methodology using both qualitative data and quantitative approaches to data collection, such as inquiry through conversations, informal and structured interviews, participant and non-participant observations, and the examination of material such as documents and students' work samples, complemented by a confirmatory survey and case studies. Participants in the study included school administration teams, teachers, students and their parents. The study was iterative and followed three distinct phases of development. In the first phase a general picture was gained about the ways in which schools in the Kimberley worked by observing four schools. / The second phase involved developing and administering a study-specific questionnaire to personnel in 14 different schools in the District. This part of the study sought to confirm the interpretive aspects of phase one. In the third phase of the study, a more detailed picture of schools was drawn through a case study approach in five selected schools. Of particular importance in the case study schools was the tracking of a purposive sample of 150 students to assess their reading and writing (including spelling) progress. The results of the student assessments were analysed in terms of the progress students made and interpreted according to the amount of time students attended school. Making judgments about the success of Kimberley schools was an evaluation process in terms of how students performed. The students' performance was linked to the best practices in schools and classrooms that best supported students' learning to ascertain areas where schools could improve their operations. The study has identified challenges associated with school-home relationships, the ways schools and classrooms operate, the ways school plan and implement curriculum, how teachers develop their pedagogies, and the ways students are assessed. In response to teachers who do not fully understand these challenges, many Aboriginal children will choose to continue avoiding school or actively resist engaging in the learning process. / Importantly, at the school level it was found that teachers were best supported in their work when school leaders worked to make everyone's day-to-day classroom work easier, engendered a congenial workplace environment which alleviated some of the personal stresses teachers experienced, ensured school plans went into operation in all classrooms across the school, and created a close link between the school, parents, and the community. At the classroom level in the Kimberley context, calm, stable, and orderly classroom environments are essential to establish. Consistent pedagogy is required across all classrooms within a school but a variety of activities within classrooms is important to accommodate Aboriginal styles of learning. Monitoring the continuity in students' progress as they moved from one year level to the next is imperative. The study showed that there are ways that schools can work for the betterment of students' progress at school but these ways are not universally adopted or implemented. Teachers in the Kimberley schools can learn to understand how to create a good school, how schools can be described as effective and improving, and how they can be termed schools that meet equality and quality ideals. The recommendations made from the study are intended to enable administration teams, teachers, and policy decision makers to make more informed decisions about schooling for geographically isolated students in government schools in the Kimberley region.

Abstract Computer hobbyists as a new, technology-based subculture constitute a challenging and nuanced educational research area. The goals of this particular research are the following: a) to describe computer hobbyist in general, b) to examine the self-image of computer enthusiasts and its connection to Hacker's Ethic (Himanen 2001), c) to analyze the interconnection between computing as a hobby and school success of computer enthusiasts, and d) to explore possible differences among identity groups of computers enthusiasts in general level and/or in school success. Information society, youth culture, and social psychological self-theories make up the theoretical framework for the research problem. The main theoretical starting points for this research arise from Manuel Castell's theory of informational society. Furthermore, juvenile-subculture analysis made by Heiskanen & Mitchell, as well as Mead and other sociopsychological interpretations of origin and development of self are important elements of the theoretical frame. Hackers Ethic will build synthesis for triangulation of views. This research can be described as an multimethodical combination of quantitative and qualitative research. A sample of 274 participants emerged from 4500 computer enthusiasts during a four-day Assembly 2002 -computer party in Helsinki. Data collection was performed by using questionnaire, interviews and observation. Statistical information was analyzed with SPSS-software, and interview transcripts were subjected to content analysis. Also included in the data were observation diaries of main personal remarks made by researcher. Findings evidence that the typical computer enthusiast in the study was a 19-year old male who had been involved in computing more than 10 years. Among the hobbyists, males spend weekly circa 33 hours with computers, and females about 25 hours. Five self-image models of computer enthusiasts were discovered. In seven values included to Hacker's Ethic, passion and activity comes true in high level among computer devotees. With regard to computer hobbyists in school, a positive correlation between activeness in computing and school success was discovered. Those who spend more than 40 hours weekly with computers get significally (p < 0.01) better grades in english language (second language) and computing, compared to others. Almost significally (p < 0.05) better results among hobbyists were achieved in mean value of all school subjects, in mathematics and in shop and significally (p < 0.001) weaker results in sports. Results derived from this sample may be generalized in select populations only. Results do open some new and interesting views in computing as a hobby, as well as in the development of an information society, youth culture and research of self-image. Results are meaningful in theoretical practice, as well as in practical implementations and offer implications regarding student individuality, the self-knowledge of computer devotees, general leisure activities of young adults and parenting. / Tiivistelmä Teknologian käyttöön perustuvana alakulttuurina tietokoneharrastajat muodostavat haastavan ja monivivahteisen kasvatustieteellisen tutkimusalueen. Tämän tutkimuksen tehtävänä on a) kuvailla tietokoneharrastajaa yleisellä tasolla, b) tarkastella tietokoneharrastajan minäkuvaa ja sen yhteyttä Himasen (2001) laatimaan hakkerietiikkaan, c) analysoida tietokoneharrastuksen ja koulumenestyksen välistä yhteyttä, sekä d) tutkia eroavatko tietokoneharrastajien identiteettiryhmät toisistaan yleisten ominaisuuksien ja/tai koulumenestyksen suhteen. Teoreettisessa viitekehyksessä tutkimusongelmia tarkastellaan informaatioyhteiskunnan, nuorisokulttuurin sekä sosiaalipsykologisten minäteorioiden näkökulmista. Tutkimuksen keskeisiä teoreettisia lähtökohtia ovat Manuel Castellsin teoria informaatioyhteiskunnasta sekä hänen näkemyksensä 'identiteetin' käsitteestä, Heiskasen ja Mitchellin analyysi nuorten alakulttuureista sekä Meadin ja muiden sosiaalipsykologien tulkinta minän synnystä ja kehityksestä. Synteesi eri tarkastelukulmille muodostuu Himasen laatimasta hakkerietiikasta. Käsillä olevan tutkimuksen tutkimusstrategia on monimenetelmällinen kvantitatiivisen ja kvalitatiivisen tutkimusstrategian yhdistelmä. Noin 4500 tietokoneharrastajan perusjoukosta kerättiin otos (N = 274) neljä vuorokautta kestäneen Assembly 2002 -tapahtuman aikana Helsingissä. Tiedonhankintamenetelmiä olivat kyselylomake, haastattelut sekä observointi. Tilastoaineisto analysoitiin SPSS-ohjelmistolla ja litteroidut haastattelut analysoitiin sisällönanalyysin keinoin. Observointipäiväkirjaan kirjattiin tutkijan keskeiset omakohtaiset havainnot. Tulosten perusteella tyypillinen tietokoneharrastaja on noin 19-vuotias poika, joka on harrastanut tietokoneita yli 10 vuoden ajan. Tietokoneen parissa pojat viettivät viikoittain noin 33 tuntia ja tytöt 25 tuntia. Tutkimuksessa voitiin erottaa pääkomponenttianalyysin avulla viisi tietokoneharrastajia kuvaavaa minäkuvamallia. Hakkerietiikan seitsemästä arvosta intohimo ja aktiivisuus toteutuvat tietokoneharrastajien keskuudessa erittäin hyvin. Tietokoneharrastajat menestyvät yleensä koulussa hyvin. Harrastusaktiivisuus on yhteydessä koulumenestykseen siten, että yli 40 t viikossa tietotekniikkaa harrastavien koulumenestys englannin kielessä sekä tietotekniikassa oli tilastollisesti merkitsevästi (p < 0,01) parempi kuin vähemmän harrastavien. Tilastollisesti melkein merkitsevästi (p < 0,05) parempia tuloksia he saavuttivat kaikkien aineiden sekä lukuaineiden keskiarvoissa, matematiikassa sekä teknisessä / tekstiilityössä. Tilastollisesti erittäin merkitsevästi (p < 0,001) heikompia he olivat liikunnassa. Otoksen tuottamat tulokset ovat yleistettävissä ainoastaan valikoituneeseen populaatioon. Tutkimustulokset avaavat mielenkiintoisia uusia näkökulmia tietokoneharrastukseen, informaatioyhteiskunnan ja nuorisokulttuurin kehittymiseen sekä minäkuvatutkimukseen. Tutkimustuloksilla voidaan nähdä olevan niin teoreettista merkitystä kuin käytännön implikaatioita opettajan oppilaantuntemuksen, oppilaiden yksilöllisyyden huomioinnin, tietokoneharrastajan itsetuntemuksen sekä harrastustoiminnan ja kotikasvatuksen kehittämisen kannalta.

Public education is a cornerstone of our democracy and social advancement. However, current Vermont graduation rates would indicate that public education at the high school level does not address the needs of all twenty-first century learners. Research has revealed that personalization and creating a connected environment are promising innovations for improving education for all students. One structure that supports personalization, high school advisory, provides each student with an adult advisor that knows them well through their high school years. This research on high school advisory in Vermont was divided in two phases: 1) an assessment of the current state of advisory in all Vermont public high schools, and 2) a qualitative study that focused on the perceptions of students, advisors and administrators in 4 Vermont high schools with established advisory programs. In the second phase, a phenomenological framework was used to examine the perceptions of how advisory impacted academics, connectedness and the personalization of the high school experience. Document review, focus forum groups and interviews with the sixteen students, eight advisors and four administrators were conducted over a six-month period. Findings demonstrated that 53 out of 62 high schools in Vermont had some form of advisory program. In the study of four schools, over two-thirds of the students perceived that their high school advisory positively impacted their academic achievement. Advisors and administrators were less clear about the impact, however. Furthermore student-to-student connectedness was described positively by three-quarters of the students. The connection between advisory and personalization of education was the least clear both among students and advisors. All administrators and three-quarters of the advisors felt that in the future, personalization would become an integral part of the advisory program with the advent of Vermont Act 77, the 2013 legislation that mandates personalized learning plans and multiple pathways to graduation. Finally, there was considerable agreement in three schools that a significant roadblock to implementing effective advisories was a lack of support for advisory in the following areas: purpose, time, training and materials.

O presente trabalho, inscrito na interseção entre a psicanálise e a educação, investiga aspectos relacionados ao sucesso escolar na aquisição da escrita ocorrido num contexto em que, na visão da comunidade escolar, tudo apontava para o fracasso. Relata como uma trajetória de fracasso pôde ser superada por meio de uma experiência pedagógica significativa para o aluno. Parte dela ocorreu no contexto de uma pesquisa-ação: o Brincando com Palavras, conjunto de atividades proposto pela pesquisadora na tentativa de colaborar com a reversão do quadro de fracasso. Usa como metodologia o estudo de caso, tomando como objeto de análise o percurso do aluno Jackson, o único dos aprovados em uma sala de aceleração na qual vinte e dois alunos que concluíram o Ciclo I do Ensino Fundamental sem saber ler e escrever, ou fazendo-o de forma precária foram matriculados. No final do ano, contrariando todas as expectativas negativas que havia em torno de sua vida escolar e de sua condição sociocultural, Jackson conseguiu obter sucesso na escola. A dissertação tem por principal objetivo construir uma hipótese explicativa para compreender as causas que levaram Jackson a realizar um trajeto diferenciado em direção à aquisição da escrita. A partir do conceito de metáfora paterna em Lacan, afastamo-nos de uma concepção de aquisição da escrita como uma técnica a ser repassada em contexto escolar. Caminhamos em favor de uma perspectiva segundo a qual o fracasso escolar surge, para o aluno, como consequência da não relação que é estabelecida entre o sujeito e o saber. Concluiu-se que, quando atos educativos vivenciados entre professor e aluno produzem efeitos simbólicos, a transformação de um histórico de fracasso em uma história de sucesso escolar torna-se possível. / The present work, inscribed at the intersection between psychoanalysis and education investigates aspects related to school success in the acquisition of writing in a context where, in the school communitys vision, everything pointed towards failure. The study shows how failure can be overcome by an educational experience that is meaningful for the student. Part of the study was carried out as a research-action project: Playing with Words; a group of activities proposed by the researcher in an attempt to revert a situation of failure. The methodology used is that of a case study where the object of analysis is the trajectory of the student Jackson, the only student to graduate from an acceleration class catering to twenty-two students who had completed the first cycle of the Brazilian fundamental level without being able to read or write or only able to do so precariously. At the end of the year despite all the negative expectations associated with his school life and socio-cultural context, Jackson managed to obtain school success. The main aim of the dissertation is to construct a hypothesis to explain and understand the causes that enabled Jackson to make his specific way towards the acquisition of writing. Taking Lacans concept of the paternal metaphor as a starting point, the study distances itself from the idea that writing is a technique to be transmitted in a school context. The study tends to favour a different perspective where, for the student, school failure arises as a consequence of the non-relationship established between the subject and knowledge. The conclusion reached is that when educative acts, experienced together by the teacher and student, produce symbolic effects then it is possible to transform school failure into school success.

Os estudos da Sociologia expõem a existência de uma correlação estatística entre o pertencimento a uma classe social desfavorecida, a ruptura familiar e o fracasso escolar, lançando uma interrogação sobre as crianças que desafiam esse destino e estabelecem uma forte relação com o saber. Essas crianças, bem como as razões que as levam a sustentar o desejo frente ao conhecimento em que pesem condições adversas, são o objeto da presente pesquisa. A investigação recai sobre a dimensão de identidade da relação com o saber e suas relações com as demais dimensões, especialmente com aquela que diz respeito a uma determinada figura do aprender em seu aspecto epistêmico: a relação com um saber objeto. Destaca-se como objetivo principal do estudo identificar relações existentes entre as dimensões identitária e epistêmica da relação com o saber de três crianças em acolhimento institucional e com êxito escolar. Tendo como referência a Teoria da Relação com o Saber e a metodologia empregada por Bernard Charlot, estudioso do tema, foram utilizados os instrumentos inventário de saber e entrevistas semiestruturadas. Os resultados indicam que as crianças institucionalizadas e com êxito escolar estabelecem uma relação do tipo identitária com o saber encontrando apoio em figuras institucionais. Concluímos que esse vínculo possibilita-lhes nutrir uma forte relação com os conteúdos epistêmicos oferecidos na instituição escolar / Sociology exposes the existence of a statistic correlation among belonging in a disadvantaged social class, absence family and school failure, launching an inquiry into children who defy this fate and establish a strong relation with knowledge. These children, as well as the reasons that lead them to sustain the desire to know despite adverse conditions, are the object of the present research. The investigation is on the dimension of the identity of the relationship with knowledge and its relations to other dimensions, especially that one related to a specific learning figure in its epistemic aspect: the relation with a knowledge object. It can also be outlined as the main objective of the study the identification of relations between identity and epistemic dimensions of the relation with knowledge of three sheltered children and presenting good school performance. Referring to the Theory of Relation to Knowledge and methodology employed by Bernard Charlot, a scholar of the subject, we used the instruments inventory to know\" and semi-structured interviews. The results indicate that institutionalized children with successful performance in school establish an identity relation with knowledge, finding support in institutional figures. We conclude that this kind of bond enables them to create a strong relation with the epistemic content provided in schools

The purpose of this qualitative study was to investigate perceptions and experiences of four Latino male students who obtained their high school diploma despite considerable adversity. An in-depth examination of the participants' academic experiences, familial impact on their education, and societal acculturation were explored to elucidate Latino male academic achievement in public high school. The dropout conundrum has serious economic and societal implications for the United States. In addition, the explosion of the Latino population in the southwestern portion of the U.S. adds another dimension to this dilemma since Latinos have a greater dropout rate than their white counterparts. However, there has been minimal qualitative literature that has given voice to students and their perceptions of academic success. Therefore, this study was conducted with individual, semi-structured interviews to give the students' voice to their story and create rich, thick descriptions for educators to understand the reasons these students were successful in school. Participants were selected from a randomized purposeful sample from the same high school. In addition, each student was interviewed three times to ensure prolonged engagement. Interviews were audio-taped and then transcribed by the researcher. Member checking, peer debriefing, artifact collection, and reflexive journaling were utilized to establish trustworthiness. The transcribed interviews were categorized to establish patterns and themes in the data. Even though the four participants were very different from each other in generational status, family environment, and personal interests, they were all able to obtain their high school diploma despite the hardships that have played a role in the failure in school of others much like these four. The students clearly articulated that treatment by the staff at school was a major factor in their academic achievement, and, even though they all came from non-traditional families, education was valued and encouraged in their homes. Recommendations for future studies include research on Latino college achievement and the role of Latino parents in their children's education.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Auburn University. / Abstract. Vita. Includes bibliographical references (p. 148-159).