<p> This dissertation examines the identities of "marginalized" adolescents as they engage in literacy-based activities. Using ethnographic and qualitative research methods (including surveys/questionnaires, audio recorded interviews, video recorded observations, classroom artifacts, and observational notes), a multi-case study occurred over six months. The study took place at South Bay High, a small public charter school, located in a poor and working class neighborhood of major city in Northern California, serving non-dominant youth. Twenty two juniors, and of these, six focal participants, elected to participate in the study, which took place in their English 11 class. The study utilizes socio-cultural theories of learning and identity, transactional theories of pedagogy, and applies figured worlds and positional identity theory in its analysis. This work is in conversation with a growing genre of scholarship referred to as literacy and identity studies (Moje, 2009). </p><p> The relative fragility and durability of a student's academic identity is considered. In addition to examining individual identities, this work also takes up the collective classroom identity as a site for examination. By taking into account local histories of cultural and social contextual matters, and by examining classroom culture (i.e., norms, discourses, routines), the classroom studied offers the first case studied. Specifically, I consider the effect of ideologically divergent approaches to literacy instruction on the academic identities of the collective. </p><p> Adolescence is a time when young people are in search of narratives and discourses to offer understandings of the past, security in the present, and imagined trajectories towards the future. How one comes to see oneself (and one's future) is often determined by the narratives made available &ndash; from peers, media, families, schools, and other institutions. Non-dominant youth have less access to identity resources imbued with social and academic capital from which to construct identities or imagined futures. The second findings chapter follows the focal participants as they take up literacy-based resources as they engage in processes of authoring the self. </p><p> The figured world of the high school classroom has a limited amount of roles for students to occupy. Often students are labeled and treated in ways that position them on a relative scale of academic potential and social behavior. Once students become positioned in particular ways (i.e., as the class clown, teacher's pet, slacker) they often accept these positionings and come to define themselves in relatively fixed terms. However, in an ELA class, literacy can serve as a medium for students to "try on" identities not always available to them in other spaces. The third findings chapter looks at how focal participants were positioned and at the <i>positioning events</i> that serves to either solidify or disrupt seemingly fixed identities. </p><p> Implications of the study include: Instructional practices that treat ELA classrooms as spaces for interpretations not only of texts but also in ways that provide insights into students own lives. An examination of the multiple competing forces present in classrooms, from federal and state-mandated testing to the teacher's pedagogical stance, illustrates the complexity of classroom spaces, particularly in classrooms for students who have traditionally been underserved by schooling as an institution. The need to examine the spectrum of diversity among non-dominant youth so that young people are not further reduced or essentialized by progressive instructional methods is also considered.</p>

<p> The purpose of this qualitative multiple-case study was to explore academic leaders&rsquo; experiences with the organizational elements of their own high school&ndash;college writing center collaborations. Conjoining theories framed this study: collaborative leadership theory, Kenneth Bruffee&rsquo;s notion of social constructionism and collaborative learning theory at the heart of writing center work&mdash;the craft of human interdependence, Lave and Wenger&rsquo;s concept of communities of practice, and writing curriculum theory. Based on purposeful sampling criteria, the researcher selected 6 cases involving 22 academic leaders from 11 institutions for the study and applied a manual data analysis process to primary data involving in-depth interview transcripts, followed by secondary data involving collaboration documents and the reflective journal. Themes and patterns emerged in participants&rsquo; descriptions of their experiences with the organizational elements of the Burke-Litwin model: (a) external environment, (b) mission and strategy, (c) leadership, (d) organization culture, (e) structure, (f) management practices, (g) systems (policies and procedures), (h) climate, (i) task requirements and individual skills and abilities, (j) individual needs and values, (k) motivation, and (l) individual and organizational performance. The results of the study provided an in-depth understanding of the organizational elements in each case and a convergence of organizational elements across cases as experienced by academic leaders. This study contributes to institutional administrators, writing center directors, teachers, and professional and peer tutors in developing and leading high school&ndash;college writing center collaborations, sharing secondary&ndash;postsecondary responsibility for bringing attention to the practice and value of writing, and fostering writing skills that might ease students&rsquo; transition to college writing.</p>

<p> This teacher research study documents the processes used to help students in an all-female, religious-based high school create science fair projects that are personally meaningful, scientifically sophisticated and up-to date in terms of science content. One-hundred sixteen young women in an honors chemistry class were introduced by their teacher to the methods used by science journalists when researching and crafting articles. The students then integrated these strategies into their science fair research through collaborative classroom activities designed by their teacher. Data collected during the process included audio and video tapes of classroom activities, student interviews, process work, finished projects, email conversations and the reflective journaling, annotated lesson plans, and memories of the lived experience by the teacher. </p><p> The pedagogical changes which resulted from this project included the use of Read Aloud-Think Alouds (RATA) to introduce content and provide relevance, a discussion based topic selection process, the encouragement of relevant topic choices, the increased use of technology for learning activities and for sharing research, and an experimental design process driven by the student's personally relevant, topic choice. Built in feedback loops, provided by the teacher, peer editors and an outside editor, resulted in multiple revisions and expanded opportunities for communicating results to the community-at-large. </p><p> Greater student engagement in science fair projects was evident: questioning for understanding, active involvement in decision making, collaboration within the classroom community, experience and expertise with reading, writing and the use of technology, sense of agency and interest in science related activities and careers all increased. Students communicated their evolving practices within the school community and became leaders who promoted the increased use of technology in all of their classes. </p><p> Integrating journalistic practices into the research projects of these honors chemistry students also brought about positive changes in the attitude of the students toward science. The pedagogy implemented was successful at increasing the engagement of the participants in their own learning processes as well as increased interest in science. Moreover, the teacher researcher has expanded her skill set and is transitioning toward a more student-centered classroom. While this study focused on 116 honors chemistry students over the course of three years, it identified changes in practices that can be taken up and examined more broadly by science teachers who include science fairs as part of their curriculum.</p>

<p> Adolescents use literacies in order to build identities in a variety of figured worlds. Some identities become more powerful than others as adolescents attempt to understand and successfully utilize the valuations and literacies of the diverse figured worlds in which they participate. The goals of this study were to describe the figured worlds of football and the classroom of a highly recognized high school football program and school. My study involved four participants from the varsity football squad and the coaches and teachers who guided and shaped both figured worlds.</p><p> I used a qualitative case study design to explore each figured world and the literacies demanded from my participants. Data were gathered from observations in both the football and classroom figured worlds, interviews with my participants, their coaches, and teachers. I also studied various artifacts from both figured worlds in order to describe the valuations and literacies endemic to both. </p><p> Findings show that both figured worlds demanded key beliefs and valuations from my participants in order to gain power and positionality in each one. My study also shows that the football figured world expects players to comprehend key literacies in order to gain recognition and esteem. For some of my participants, connecting the valuations and literacies between the worlds allowed them to build strong identities in both. However, one participant was unable to take on the expected valuations and literacies in recognizable ways in the classroom figured world, and as a result, was unable to build a strong identity there. </p>

<p> The purpose of this study was to analyze the relationship between bullying others, perceived school connectedness, academic achievement, and selected demographics among female high school athletes. A purposive sample of all in-season (Fall 2012) female athletes enrolled in three schools located in an urban school district in Northeast Ohio was recruited to participate in this study. Subjects completed a 54-item instrument designed to assess their self-reported involvement in bullying others. Further, subjects were asked to provide responses about the construct of school connectedness. Data were obtained using a one-time anonymous paper/pencil instrument. Data were analyzed using the one-way and two-way Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) techniques and Correlation analysis. </p><p> Findings revealed a statistically significant relationship between bullying others and race, and bullying others and current achievement. Also, the data revealed a statistically significant correlation between bullying others and perceived school connectedness. The results from this study support the current body of literature dedicated to this relationship between bullying others and perceived school connectedness. Interestingly, much less is known about the relationship between the independent and dependent variables used in this study as it occurs among female high school athletes. More research with athletes is recommended to better elucidate the effects of sports participation on these variables.</p>

<p> This study addresses how my freshman world history students come to understand controversial issues as provocative within the secondary social studies classroom, and in what ways does their engagement with provocative issues influence their understanding of the content and the world around them. In addition, this research study seeks to discover in what ways does the teaching of these provocative materials inform and influence my curricular decisions, my pedagogy, and my relationship with my students. The three research questions were established to guide this study. </p><p> 1. How do my world history freshman students come to understand provocative materials in regards to the historical content? </p><p> 2. How does my students' engagement with these provocative materials influence their understanding of historical events and the world around them? </p><p> 3. In what ways does the teaching of these provocative materials inform and influence my curricular decisions, my pedagogy, and my relationship with my students? </p><p> Self-Study methodology was selected as a way to personally explore and examine my students understanding of provocative issues as well as my instruction. Grounded theory was utilized exclusively as a coding and analyzing device. To address these questions, thirteen student participants were selected for this study based on the criteria assumed by the questions. Data was collected from individual interviews, group interviews, student blog posts, and my own journal. </p><p> As the data was analyzed and coded, nuanced constructs of the students' thinking began to coalesce on three distinct perceptions of provocative issues which evolved into the findings of this study. The first finding involved students who advocated for the inclusion of provocative issues. Their rationales for this inclusion were; <i>Real World Phenomenon, Provocative for Grade Sake, Provocative for Interest Sake.</i> A second finding involved a student who opposed the inclusion of provocative issues. This student's rationales were labeled <i>Oppositional.</i> The first two findings were partnered with the six students' rationales. The third finding involved the other seven students who had a varying range of nuanced articulation, varied their opinion across time, or lacked a clear robust rationale. This finding was labeled developing rationales. These students' perspectives were labeled <i> other voices.</i> </p><p> In addition to the student data, journaling was utilized to explore my own rationale for using provocative issues within my world history classroom. These journals provided a space for reflection on my practice in regards to the teaching of provocative issues, thus addressing my third research question. The journals, like the other data sources, were coded using grounded theory as the main analytical device. Upon completion of the data analysis of my journals, themes began to emerge that progressed into findings. The self-study findings were categorized as; <i>The Closed Space of Sexuality, The Banality of Violence,</i> and <i>Anti-Americanism Linked to Racism to Foster Critical Thinking. </i> </p>

In the Preface, the focus is on the word 'standards' itself: the ineradicable human element in marking and the degree to which all marks and grades, particularly in the subject of English, are dependent upon a subjective evaluation of the quality of response - an essential component in the establishment and maintenance of standards. The various implications of the word 'standards' and the ease with with resultant ambiguities can lead the unwary commentator into wholly misleading statements are considered, and a definition is offered to serve as a touchstone for the thesis as a whole. The main body of the thesis is divided into two sections and a conclusion. Section One (containing Chapters 1-3) is largely based upon published writings about education: books, reports and papers issued by Government-appointed Committees and Councils, and officially ratified educational statistics; illustrated where appropriate by my own experience and research into the unpublished archives of Examination Boards. Section Two (containing Chapters 4-6) deals specifically with the development of GCE '0' and 'A' level examinations in English, and is very largely dependent upon my interpretation of evidence derived from examination papers, marking schemes, examiners' reports and candidates' scripts ... The Conclusion is an attempt to provide an answer to the obvious question as to why, if evidence of a widely-alleged decline in standards is as difficult to establish as the previous six chapters suggest, the charge is so widely accepted as proved. To do this it is necessary to see the matter of standards from a broader perspective than a factual focus on examination papers, candidates' scripts, examiners' reports, comparability studies and educational statistics. From the inception of the concept of a state education system there has inevitably been a political dimension to any discussion of standards, and political dimensions equally inevitably tend toward expediency and subjective reaction rather than objective assessment of perceived shortcomings. This is certainly true of the last two decades during which the political dimension has become more overt than ever before, and the gulf between political interpretation of educational achievements and that of the professionals involved has never been wider. It is the contention of the Conclusion that a key to this disparity lies in the history of the development of the National Curriculum, the nature of the political interventions therein, and the indications that these are based upon a consistent philosophy – which elevates knowledge above understanding, 'pencil-and-paper' testing above carefully weighted assessments, results above performance, and which supposes that the reintroduction of selective schools would be an automatic panacea. The Conclusion therefore looks forward beyond the stated 1988 terminal point of the study to examine the developments of the 1990s, and backward beyond the stated starting point of the 1944 Act to examine the reality of grammar school achievement. It is the final contention of this thesis that it is the fallacy and self-deception of the nostalgia for the grammar school tradition which underlies and accounts for the falsity of the claims, about declining standards.

<p> This qualitative case study utilized Swail's Integrated Model of Student Success to discover how the structures, practices, and discourses at an urban charter high school affected the college aspirations and decisions of students of color from low-income households who matriculated to four-year institutions immediately after high school. This discovery took place by exploring the influence of educational and familial resources and support on students' college choice process and how students experienced and used these resources and support to successfully navigate the transition to college. Data for this study included pre- and post-matriculation interviews with eight low-income students of color who graduated from an urban charter high school after four years of attendance and immediately enrolled in a four-year institution. Data also included interview transcripts from students' parents, six of their teachers, and their counselor and principal. </p><p> Findings from this study revealed that, for the most part, educational and familial resources and support were complementary and facilitated students' progression through the college choice continuum. The school's college-going culture reinforced students' predispositions toward postsecondary education. High quality instruction in rigorous college-preparatory classes and caring, supportive relationships with teachers and other school personnel helped students remain on track for four-year admissions. Students who were on track for four-year admissions were provided more extensive college planning resources that facilitated their college searches and choices. Parents encouraged their children to pursue postsecondary education at four-year institutions because of the financial benefits. The majority of parents were not high school graduates, but all were willing to provide whatever financial and emotional support they could to ensure that their children fulfilled their educational goals. These findings suggest the need for a national policy mandating a college preparatory curriculum for all students and for schools to provide college planning resources that complement those provided in the home so all students have an equal opportunity to reap the benefits of a four-year postsecondary education.</p>

Various skills have been considered quintessential to the scientific method. The need for these skills was highlighted by Armstrong at the beginning of the century and continues to be re-iterated to the present day within the criteria of the National Curriculum. Pupils as scientists are expected to make accurate and meaningful observations; record results from experiments formulated to test hypotheses, controlling all the relevant variables except the one under investigation; identify patterns within the results and recognise anomalies; draw valid conclusions from the data collected and extrapolate from the data to predict further results. These criteria were included in the list of thirty-two teacher assessed skills in domains five and six of the Northern Examination Association, NEA, GCSE Biology Syllabus. This research project endeavoured to test the acquisition of these skills in a large sample of students drawn from a variety of schools in an effort to establish the relative difficulty of the individual skills. The corollation of performance of the skills with a range of factors, including IQ, the influence of gender, school type, and associated subjects they studied was explored. In particular the effect of an exposure to the Warwick Process Science Scheme was investigated to establish whether a transferable long term enhancement resulted. The main body of the research was undertaken on Year ten (4th Year) pupils, the sample being drawn from ten schools of varying types. The work was extended to include both younger and older age groups, to identify the progress made with age in skill acquisition and to investigate whether success in the skills is of predictive value for the final GCSE grades of future 'A'Level achievement. The results indicated a wide variability in degrees of difficulty of the individual skills and a wide range of performance by individual candidates. Success in the skills corollated very closely with IQ, so to eliminate this effect samples cross-matched for IQ were investigated to establish the effect of other variables. Only the study of the three separate sciences and tuition within a selective school proved to have a significant effect on the outcome. Only skill 30 devising three separate hypotheses to explain a complex set of results, had predictive value for GCSE and none were of value for predicting capital 'A'Level success.

The learning of second language vocabulary in lists of word-pairs is a widespread practice despite the disapproval of many in the second language learning domain. There is an acknowledged mismatch between psychological theories on the one hand and techniques of vocabulary learning on the other. Psychology does not address the relevant issues directly and second language learning practice is often atheoretical and unprincipled. This thesis reviews aspects of psychology which appear to be relevant to second language vocabulary learning and their applicability. A series of experiments is conducted with comprehensive school students learning French, aged 11-13. The first part of the study deals with the presentation of vocabulary items to be learned. Presenting items in the order First Language - Second Language is the more versatile form of presentation if both generation and comprehension are required on the part of the learner. The transferability of list learning to testing in a sentential context depends on the ability of the learner and the task involved. Higher-ability list learners are inhibited in a generation task but not in a comprehension task; the opposite is true for lower-ability learners. Learning in a context improves the performance of higher-ability learners in generation but makes little difference to lower-ability learners. An explanation is suggested in terms of transfer-appropriate processing. The position of items in the list is not a reliable indicator of learnability. Primacy, recency, and serial effects may be obtained but none of them is consistent. The same conclusion applies to different ways of presenting wordpairs. The second part of the study examines aspects of word learnability. Objective word frequency is not a reliable indicator of learnability in this context. Word category and the presence of an English word embedded in a French word are promising indicators of leamability.