This study addressed the problem of the lack of Career and Technical Educational (CTE) courses offered at 3 high schools located in a rural Alabama county. Guided by Bourdieu's cultural capital theory, this study examined cultural capital in reference to the transference of knowledge that each high school in this study provides its students throughout their high school education. The research questions explored the stakeholders' perceptions of the factors that prevent the schools from offering more CTE programs and how CTE programs should be expanded in each school. A collective case study design was used for this study, with the data collected through transcribed interviews of 9 educators from the study schools and the examination of archival documents. The data were coded and categorized into a case study spreadsheet. According to the stakeholders, the major factors that prevented the schools from offering more CTE programs were lack of funding, proximity, and conflicts within the schedule. The stakeholders believed that the school system needed to create regional CTE centers that offered more courses with hands-on learning experiences that matched the students' interests. These findings led to a policy recommendation to the Board of Education to create a section under the current CTE policy which addresses program expansion. The policy recommendation and results from this study may effect positive social change by informing the creation and implementation of CTE courses that match students' interests, which may aid in those students being more college-and-career-ready upon graduation. The results from this study are also of interest to researchers examining problems in other school districts with similar deficits.

The implementation of professional learning communities (PLCs) in schools has been shown to serve as a catalyst in transforming school culture and increasing the academic performance of students. Our school district mandated that PLCs were established at the research site, an urban Louisiana school, for the primary purpose of closing the achievement gap. Yet, recent data from the local district indicate that these PLCs have not resulted in capacity building for sustainable improvement. Ineffective implementation of the current PLCs may have contributed to the poor outcomes. One purpose of this qualitative case study was to examine teachers' perceptions of the implementation of PLCs. Another was to gauge teachers' views on PLCs as a means of promoting a positive school culture and increasing academic achievement among students. A social constructivist framework was used for this qualitative case study. Research questions centered on teachers' perceptions regarding refinement of the currently implemented PLCs. Purposeful sampling was used to select 13 seventh through ninth grade teachers as participants. Qualitative data were collected through questionnaires and telephone interviews and then analyzed for emergent themes. Findings revealed that the current PLCs were beneficial but needed refinement related to relevance, intent, and planning. The following four themes emerged: time, collaboration, shared responsibility, and a focus on learning for all students. Study findings provide insight about PLCs from the perspectives of the teachers who work within them. The implications for social change include enhanced knowledge and understanding that may help educators in better implementing PLCs with intent and transparency and by positively contributing to school improvement and student achievement.

LD2668 .T4 1954 P65 / Master of Science

The purpose of this dissertation was to explore the experiences of sixteen Sub-Saharan African post-secondary students, and how they were able to succeed in spite of tremendous odds. The study was also designed to investigate ways to enhance educational attainment among recent immigrant students in Canadian schools and universities. The study was dedicated to advancing the understanding of recent immigrant students, from Sub-Saharan Africa, who had faced life challenges and multiple traumas. With a focus on their well-being, the development of this new knowledge will help policymakers and educators to develop strategies to enable culturally, linguistically, and socio-economically diverse students to reach their potential in their new country. The students selected for the study were resilient individuals who were seen as successful. Success stories of immigrant students from Sub-Saharan Africa who had overcome turmoil in their lives were investigated. These were newcomers to Canada who had succeeded against all odds both in Africa and Canada. This study was based on the premise that in a community all individuals may have access to the same resources, but unlike others, some individuals manage to overcome the problems that confront others (Pascale et al., 2010). These individuals are unique in their communities and their outcomes have deviated in a positive way from the norm (Pascale et al., 2010). The practices and insights of sixteen Sub-Saharan African students that had proven to be the key to their resilience and success were described from in-depth interviews. Further understandings were derived from structured narrative analysis. Using a qualitative research approach, this study developed insights into: the factors that hinder or enhance educational attainment and well-being among students; the perceptions of those students and the practices used by those who influence, support and educate them; and understanding of the practices that stimulate interests and contribute positively toward enhancing the education attainment and well-being of Sub-Saharan African students. The factors that enhance educational attainment and well-being among students were investigated through the use of support structures. These identified support structures were parental support, the social support they received from friends and social networks, religious/spiritual support, the support they received from their communities, physical support, financial support, the motivations or inspirations they received from teachers, school/university support, and career support. The findings of this study expand and enrich both local and international literature on issues relating to youth or students who have experienced turmoil in their lives, and some of the factors that contribute to their resilience and well-being. These findings further shed light on the topic of enhancing education attainment and the subject of well-being of ethnic minorities and, in particular, Sub-Saharan African immigrant students who have experienced turmoil in their lives. While this topic has been gaining interest in recent years, the formulation and implementation of strategic educational practices to promote educational attainment and well-being for African or Sub-Saharan African students is in its infancy in Canadian. Hence, the new knowledge and insights presented within this study will help policymakers, support persons, and educators to develop strategies that will enable and encourage such students to thrive and flourish.

This thesis comprises a critical appraisal and a collection of published works drawn largely from extensive qualitative data generated by a five-year longitudinal study of forty-four Gypsy Traveller students. Gypsy Traveller children’s disengagement and underachievement in the secondary phase of education has exercised educationalists and policy makers for over forty years. Historically, deficit theory associated with an impoverished and disadvantaged nomadic lifestyle prevailed but this is no longer sustainable. The vast majority of Gypsy Travellers in Britain today are housed or settled on established sites and the situation has barely improved. Other ‘pathological’ explanations such as the Traveller community’s determination to preserve a separate identity from the dominant population by defending cultural boundaries have also featured prominently in the literature and in professional discourses. The thesis is grounded in a social constructionist approach, which critically analyses psychosociocultural forces and their impact on relationships and human behaviour. From this analysis, a new perspective is proffered as to why Gypsy Traveller children so often find themselves out of the secondary education system. Social exclusion and cultural dissonance are identified as significant push factors that trigger certain coping responses, some of which are maladaptive

With an introduction to the Sustainability Challenge and Sustainable Development this paper discusses the role of education as an important strategy in the transition towards sustainability. It argues that Sustainability Education (SE) should be infused into the curricula, especially at the adolescence stage. The research uses the Framework for Strategic Sustainable Development as an approach for backcasting from the envisioned future: the ideal secondary school graduate equipped to meet the Sustainability Challenge.By conducting a meta-analysis of literature, the research develops the Criteria for Analysing Sustainability Education (CASE). In terms of Knowledge, it advises developing awareness of Sustainable Development, Economy, Environment and Society. With regard to Skills, it includes Cognitive Thinking Skills, Practical and Functional Skills, and Interpersonal Skills. In relation to Attitudes, it comprises Attitudes about Self and Attitudes about People and Planet.The paper then evaluates the International Baccalaureate (IB) Programme, using the CASE and interviews with practitioners, with focus on curriculum design of the Middle Years Programme, Diploma Programme, and Learner Profile. It concludes that the IB generally aligns with the criteria for quality SE, but some gaps exist. The paper suggests recommendations that can further improve the IB with regard to SE.

National statistics on school exclusions published annually by the Scottish Executive indicate the over-representation of particular groups within the whole group of those excluded. Official and policy accounts of school exclusion were explored and tensions found between social policy constructions of exclusion and school policy. The latter was rooted in understandings of challenging behaviour as an additional support need or as a problem of school functioning. Not only were these discourses in tension with each other, resulting in inconsistencies in practice, but both ignored the social and cultural factors structuring school exclusion statistics. In the first empirical phase of the research, key informant interviews were used to probe professional and personal experience of exclusion, to contrast these with official views, and to inform the main phase of the investigation. The second, main phase of the research used a case-study sample of twenty excluded pupils, in four secondary schools, to investigate inequitable patterns of exclusion. Data was gathered from classroom observation, from school documentation and from interviews with pupils, parents and school staff. The main focus of the enquiry was the social identities of excluded pupils. Gender was a main category of analysis in this research, and especially masculine identities since boys were so predominant in exclusion statistics. The thesis argues that school exclusions are not just an indicator of wider social exclusion but an effect of policy which pursues social justice without fair distribution of social and economic benefits. Structural inequality has ensured that children and families are differently positioned to schooling and has limited the scope of schools in fostering engagement with schooling. Increased participation particularly in curriculum planning, is nevertheless a worthwhile and realistic aim for schools seeking to minimize school exclusion.

Despite the increasing prevalence and diagnosis of Autism Spectrum Conditions (ASC) and the increasing number of children and young people (CYP) with ASC in mainstream schools, there is little qualitative research exploring a common element of the condition, anxiety. This study adopts a qualitative research paradigm and attempts to develop understanding of and insight into the lives of CYP with ASC by giving a voice to these pupils, their parents/carers and members of staff who support them. Adapted, semi-structured interviews using a cognitive-behavioural framework were used to elicit participants’ views. The data were triangulated and analysed using thematic analysis to ensure detailed analysis of the topic. The themes highlighted a number of school scenarios that cause anxiety and distress for pupils, as well as the negative thoughts, feelings and behaviours associated with such situations. Psychological explanations for these findings were examined. Pupils found talking about their anxieties and using distraction techniques to be helpful anxiety-management strategies. For school to be ‘anxiety free’ participants alluded to a setting in which the CYP would be understood and accepted. The environment would be calm and predictable. Implications of the study, its relevance to the EP profession and further areas for research are discussed.

This action research study, which is composed of three cycles, aims at understanding and helping Portuguese students in an EFL context to improve their writing skills in English through a blended-learning (b-learning) writing module, using Moodle. This research contributes towards a better understanding of a research practitioner’s perspectives of an action research study. A narrative inquiry approach is used to convey the action research process through the practitioner’s eyes. It also contributes to the framework of Communities of Inquiry (CoI). This thesis looks at b-learning, its affordances and challenges and the function of CoI within a b-learning environment and how the different components of a Community of Inquiry framework, namely Social, Cognitive and Teaching Presences, contribute, influence and enrich the learning and teaching experience. The methodology behind the learning and teaching of writing as well as the theoretical and practical development of the research methods are described within the afore-mentioned framework. Communities of Inquiry will be seen as emerging from the data, as this research initially was not designed to include them. However, during analysis of the first action research cycle, data began to show evidence of the Community of Inquiry and it thus became part of the research and an integral part of the remaining two cycles. A Community of Inquiry’s sustenance relies on students’ engagement and interaction with the learning platform and with the people who make up the learning community and this data provides evidence for the framework in this research, which exemplifies and justifies the community of inquiry framework. Data for this thesis has been gathered using a mixed methods approach and thus the sources are varied. Interviews, questionnaires, focus groups, a research diary, class recordings and field notes and online interaction through forums, emails and messages compose the sources of the data for this research.

<p> This quantitative study analyzed archival data to determine whether a significant difference existed in the reading comprehension scores and student success (enrollment in honors and or advanced placement classes and college after graduation) of at-risk African American male students who received Advancement via Individual Determination/African American Male Initiative (AVID/AAMI) learning modalities and those who did not. The sample consisted of 134 at-risk African American male students from a California school district. A descriptive comparative research design provided effectiveness in gathering and analyzing data to find the differences between the two groups. The results of an ANCOVA test and chi-square goodness-of-fit tests indicated no significant difference (<i>F</i> = .054, <i>P</i> = .817) between the mean gain reading comprehension scores of 11th grade at-risk African American male students who received AAMI/AVID learning methodologies and those who did not. However, a significant difference did exist (<i>P</i> = .000, chi-square = 24.605) between the two instructional approaches (AAMI/AVID learning methodologies and non-AAMI/AVID learning methodologies), which indicated a high association between AAMI/AVID learning methodologies and enrollment into more rigorous courses such as advanced placement and or honors classes: X²(1) = 7.410^a, <i>p</i> (.006) &le; .05. Although a final research question (Is there a difference in the number of students enrolled in college after graduation of at-risk African American male students who received CRP and those who did not during 2010-2013?) could not be answered due to lack of available data, teachers and or administrators of the AAMI/AVID program in the district recorded that 90% of the at-risk African American male students who received AAMI/AVID learning methodologies enrolled in college after graduation. Practical implications for this study suggested that professional development (PD) of AAMI/AVID learning methodologies is an essential factor in effective implementation of AAMI/AVID learning methodologies, and these methodologies can yield positive results for at-risk African American male students.</p>