The purpose of this study is to create an understanding of how parents and preschool teachers experience induction at preschool. The induction creates collaboration between preschool teachers and parents where the interaction and socio-cultural factors have been key theories for the work task. The method used has been of qualitative nature where interviews were made with parents and preschool teachers. In these interviews, they shared their insights of how they experienced the interaction and communication during induction. I asked the parents what they felt was good communication and interaction during the induction. The same question was given to preschool teachers to respond to and also if there was something that worked less good during induction. The results show that parents and preschool teachers feel that induction works well satisfactory and that it is important that the interaction work well between both parts. A good start encourages cooperation and communication between parents and preschool teachers,and everyone is keen on that the child should be in focus.

The purpose of the study was to ascertain and report current attitudes of public school superintendents in Indiana regarding the problems associated with home schooling, and, to recommend solutions to the problems identified. To facilitate reporting the data the study was written in five chapters. Chapter I included an overview that delineated the purpose for the study and organization for subsequent chapters.Chapter II presented a review of related research and literature directly pertaining to the study. Constitutional issues related to the First, Ninth, and Fourteenth Amendments to the United States Constitution were reviewed. The issue of individual rights versus the police power of the state was found to be a balancing act which required careful scrutinization in the courts to protect the rights of individuals and the rights of the state to an educated citizenry.Chapter III contained an explanation of the methods and procedures employed to derive the necessary data. The chapter contained a description of the population, sources of data, methods used in the development of the questionnaire, procedures for collection of the data, and, methods for analysis of the data.Chapter IV presented an analysis of the data collected. The superintendents indicated a 64.83 percent increase from 1982-1985 in home schoolers and future growth was probable. The respondents indicated all home schoolers should be required to register with the Department of Education with hours of attendance, curriculum, and proof of learning monitored by the state.Chapter V provided a summary of the study, findings, conclusions, and recommendations. The findings support the following conclusions:1. Public school superintendents need to recognize the legitimacy of home schools as a legal alternative to public schooling.2. Courts will not support public school superintendents in Indiana when prosecuting home schooling parents for violation of compulsory attendance statutes unless definitive proof exists that no structured education has been provided.3. Compulsory attendance statutes as stated provide for a wide variation of interpretations and may lead to unnecessary litigation.4. Requiring parents to prove teaching competency and establishing minimum state guidelines for home schools would assist in meeting the legislative intent of the compulsory attendance statute.

The purpose of this research is to shed light on the formation of historical myths in Post-Soviet secondary school history classrooms from 1991 to 2010. Specifically, this thesis provides insight into how Russian high school teachers and textbook authors shaped historical interpretations of the perestroika era under the leadership of Mikhail S. Gorbachev and the dissolution of the Soviet Union. This case study of the teaching of the historical time period of 1985 to 1991 illuminates the ways in which Russians reinterpreted the final years of communist rule, as well as the dominant factors influencing those assessments, including memory and the state. The historical narratives taught in post-Soviet Russian classrooms, serve as an indicator of the evolution of democratic processes, national identity and historical consciousness in Russia.<p> In addition to a survey of secondary source literature, my methodology includes the evaluation of interviews and surveys I conducted in 2009 and 2010 from over thirty secondary school history teachers in six Russian localities (in the Novosibirsk region, Moscow and St. Petersburg). I also assess the chapter contents of 15 widely-used high school history textbooks from the period of 1988 to 2009.<p> In the newly democratic Russian state, the government (including the Ministry of Education) played a central role in the reform agenda of schools. During these formative decades, the process took a revolutionary pattern, with a radical, more liberal, stage of reform occurring in the early 1990s and a more conservative, traditional retreat taking place from the mid-1990s onwards. In response to societys widespread discontent over the changes which took place in Russian schools in the 1990s, President Vladimir V. Putin took a more active role in education reform than his predecessor, Boris N. Yeltsin, especially in the realm of history education. Putins more centralized approach resulted in stricter controls on curriculum and textbook publication. Accordingly, history education was employed as a tool of the state to shape patriotic citizens through the restricting of various historical interpretations.<p> Gorbachev as leader, perestroika and the end of the Soviet Union are controversial historical topics in Russia due to the social and economic upheaval that took place during and after these years. Textbook analysis of this period often reflected dominant political discourses in Russia. In the 1990s the interpretations were quite varied as Russians were unsure of how to assess such recent history. In the 2000s the textbook interpretations became more streamlined, and Gorbachev became a scapegoat for many subsequent state problems. In contrast, history teachers opinions about the Gorbachev era did not appear to change as markedly. Many factors weigh in on an individuals interpretation of this historical period, but memory plays an especially prominent role in the teaching of the topic. Nevertheless, history teachers and textbook authors, reflecting Russian society at large, used historical myths in the teaching of the Gorbachev era, and this thesis documents these myths and sheds light on which were most prevalent and which lost favour.

This dissertation addresses the question of how teenagers are educated for success in Chinese schools. Drawing upon 16 months of fieldwork in a county-level town located in northwest China (Shaanxi Province), this study focuses on teenagers' lived experiences of schooling and the complex process by which schools forge character and create "adults" in the context of state discourse and local practices. I show that while students are increasingly emerging as self-fulfilling individuals, who seek personal advancement, traditional ideas regarding filial piety and self-cultivation have remained as vital components of an ideal person in China's school system. In practice, local teenagers, who are the focus of my work, are encouraged to concentrate primarily on schoolwork and defer immediate gratification for the chance of future success. This study further explores the recent transformation of the local school into an institution reliant on collective discipline, paternalistic pedagogical practices, and management-oriented goals in the emerging neoliberal global economy. Driven to succeed in a society increasingly dominated by economic competition and social anxiety, local teenagers are also forced to confront the structural frustrations of the life on the margins of Chinese modernization. By examining the effects of success-driven culture on the subject formation among teenagers living in county-level towns, this study also provides insight into the dynamics of the ongoing social reproduction and stratification in the rapidly changing political economy of late-Socialist China. / Anthropology

Optimal investment in human capital through effective K-12 schooling is critical for building a productive work force. This investment is particularly important for minority and low income students. My dissertation uses econometric techniques to analyze the effects of different educational programs on the academic achievement of elementary and middle school students in Arizona. The first essay evaluates the effect of Arizona's new English program, the 4-hour ELD block, on the achievement of students. In the 2008-2009 academic year, Arizona law required that English Language Learner (ELL) students to be separated from their native English-speaking peers and interact in the same classroom for 4-hour per day with other ELL students. In this study dynamic panel data methods and regression discontinuity design are employed to analyze the effect of the 4-hour ELD block program on the academic achievement of students. Using data from one school district during the school years 2006 to 2010, this study shows that this new program did not have a notable effect on the state-wide test scores of ELL students. The second essay assesses the long-run and short-run effects of Teacher Incentive Fund (TIF) program in Arizona. The TIF program is a nationwide performance-based compensation plan that provides incentives to teachers based on the student performance. The TIF program started in Arizona in the 2007-2008 school year and targets high need schools. Using a panel data set from 2006-2007 to 2010-11 school year, the effect of the TIF program on the achievement of students is estimated using the difference-in-difference method. Comparing the short-run and long run effect of this program indicates that the long-run effect is greater than that of the short-run. Finally, by utilizing a rich set of panel data from 2006-2007 to 2010-2011 school years, the third essay studies the raw and value-added achievement gap between first and second-generation students with native students. This study shows that native students outperform both groups of immigrant students in reading and math tests. Within immigrant students, second-generation students outperform first-generation students in reading but not in math, while the achievement growth of the second-generation students has a slower pace.

This dissertation research showcases six ethnographic case studies that focus on the experiences of Puerto Rican transnational youths and their families upon returning from the US to Puerto Rico. Puerto Rico is a remarkable setting to study transnationalism because of its particular historical and sociopolitical relationship with the US, which grants Puerto Ricans citizenship and thus ease of movement, while retaining a strong attachment to the Island. It can be argued that Puerto Ricans define transnationalism, being simultaneously insiders and outsiders to the US national scene. The youths involved in these dynamics learn to navigate different educational and social settings on the Island and the US. Factors like language and the educational contexts are highly influential in the students' lives and their educational outcomes. The study was conducted over a period of seven months in two public schools in Puerto Rico. The data were collected through interviews, classroom observations, and home visits with return migrant students, their parents, and their teachers and school staff. The combination of these data collection methods and the variety of participants, provided a nuanced portrayal of the nature of their transnationalism and the social and educational experiences of the families in and out of the school context.

The purpose with my examination is to make a contribution to how, as a pedagogue, you can work to make it easier for pupils with Aspergers syndrome that are integrated in an “average” class. I will concentrate my work to these questions: how pedagogues can work to make it easier for pupils with Asperger syndrome that are integrated in an “average” class. If it affects the other pupils in the class when pupils with Asperger syndrome is integrated in the class and also if it affects the pedagogues work having these children integrated in their “average” class.I have decided to study research and other literature and also to do two interviews to find out how pedagogues can make it easier for children with the diagnosis Asperger syndrome. The pedagogues that I´ve interviewed has in different ways worked with pupils with Asperger syndrome. The first person works as a pedagogical instructor and the other one works as a teacher in a preschool-class. I compare the facts that I´ve found in research, literature and in the interviews to later be able to draw my own conclusions.The result of my examination shows that the facts that I got from the research and the literature broadly agree with the facts that I got from the interviews that I´ve done. The general conclusion of my work shows that pupils with Asperger syndrome need a clear and structured schooling. It´s important that the pedagogues proceed from the actual pupil when planning the schooling otherwise the pedagogue won´t be able to create the right opportunities for the pupil.

Despite the controversy over environmental sustainability, salmon aquaculture in British Columbia is economically important for many coastal communities and is reported as being the largest agricultural export product for the province. This thesis examined the welfare status of commercially produced Atlantic salmon smolts during transport from freshwater farms to the saltwater net pens using physiology and behaviour to assess transport stress. Smolts were transported first by truck from the freshwater farm to the dock, and then in the flow-through cargo holds of a live-haul vessel to the saltwater net pens. Fish and water were sampled before and after truck transport, and several times aboard the vessel. Assessment of stress was based on measurement of plasma cortisol, glucose, lactate, potassium, sodium and chloride concentrations, as well as behavioural observations made on underwater video footage. Seven transports of fish originating from two different hatcheries were sampled; one was a land-based tank hatchery that required a 30-min drive to the dock, and the other a lake net pen facility that was 90 min to the dock. Analysis of plasma constituents supported previous studies that recovery from the stress accumulated during loading and truck transport can be quite rapid in a live-haul vessel. Underwater video footage, recorded at the freshwater farms and in the cargo holds of the Sterling Carrier, also suggested recovery onboard in that for the most part, behaviour onboard was similar to behaviour at the freshwater farms. There were some significant differences between fish from the two types of hatcheries, particularly in the original hatchery conditions and in their behavioural responses to transport conditions; however, post-transport growth and mortality rates reported by the saltwater farms showed no significant difference. Although fish were subjected to moderately stressful conditions during part of the process, smolt transport as currently carried out by our industry partners reflects good husbandry practices and fish welfare.

Eight home economics teachers and I took up the invitation of Coulter (1993) to explore the work of Mikhail Bakhtin as a way of making us more "wide awake" (Greene, 1978) and "answerable" (Clark & Holquist, 1984) for our teaching and researching practices. The study involved learning from our own experiences inquiring into global home economics education. We met as a group once a month, and I met periodically with each teacher, for one semester. Using action research, conceptualized as grounded ethical practice, the research methods were primarily dialogues as conversational inquiry, whereby greater emphasis was given to listening and hearing than ocularcentric methods of gathering data. The three research questions that guided the study related to learning from experience in: the substantive area, in this case developing curriculum for a global perspective in home economics; the action research process, in this case as a process to effect a specific educational change; and the self or personal growth, in this case primarily professional development (Reinharz, 1992). This research report includes narrative and reflective accounts from three forms of action research within the study: teachers cooperating with an outside researcher where the researcher defines the topic and purpose of the research; teachers collaborating with a researcher where the research is seen as mutually beneficial and the topics and purposes are jointly defined; and teachers defining and conducting their own research independently or in collaboration with one another. It captures the diversity and complexity of the teachers' and the researcher's experiences and explores some of the struggles, the tensions, and the inner turmoil associated with action research for educational change. As a result of this research, we have become more consciously intentional in our practices and more thoughtful and reflective of their consequences. The phrase theorizing practice/practicing theorizing captures this notion as the teachers and I turned/retumed to the ethical questions that hold us in education.

I have written an experiential essay about my role as a preschool director and the important work decisions that I face. What is best for the child? That is something that I think is important to take into consideration. In the narrative, I describe how an induction occurs at my preschool. We use an "old" tried and true method which spans two to three weeks, which I believe is best for children under the age of two. They need to first connect with one educator who they are comfortable with before they are secure enough to play and explore the environment of the preschool. In recent years, another method has emerged which is shorter and which has quickly became popular in many preschools. Parents speak favorably of it. Is it because they do not have the time to spend on acclimatization before returning to work? Teachers are also positive, is it to avoid having parents that come and go for several weeks? This affects me and has made me feel pressured to reconsider my decision on which method we should use for acclimatization. The question is whether the short version really is the best seen from a child's perspective?