College choice is often described as a three-stage developmental process where students progress through the following phases: predisposition, search and choice (Cabrera & La Nasa, 2000; Hossler & Gallagher, 1987). Existing research, however, suggests this model does not account for all aspects of Latina/os’ college choice experience (Hurtado, Kurotsuchi, Briggs, & Rhee, 1996; Perna, 2000), warranting further investigation. As such, in-depth phenomenological interviews (Seidman, 2006) were conducted with 20 Mexican American high school seniors from the South Texas Border, an area with postsecondary attainment rates below the state and national average (U.S. Census Bureau, 2008f), to gain a deeper understanding of their college choice experience. Guided by an integrated social capital and Chicana feminist conceptual framework, this study sought to uncover how the intersectionality of students’ social identities shaped their college choice process. Specifically, this study explored how students’ identities influenced their college aspirations and their access to college information, support and assistance via their social networks. Findings revealed that students negotiated among several social identities (generational college status, sibling identity, academic identity, class identity, racial/ethnic identity, co-curricular identity, regional identity) which influenced the development of their college aspirations and their ability to access college knowledge and support from their social networks in both positive and negative ways within the four main spaces (cultural/familial space, community space, school space, and cyberspace) they occupied on a daily basis. Students’ narratives further indicated that the individuals or entities in their social networks that were influential and/or considered sources of college knowledge and support included immediate and extended family members, various community members such as neighbors or members of students’ religious congregations, school personnel (counselors, teachers, co-curricular sponsors), higher education representatives and institutions, peers, and various college oriented websites found on the Internet. Students also noted, however, various challenges in navigating their college choice process that centered around: 1) parents’ limited college knowledge, 2) attending a local/regional institution or one outside the region, 3) combating negative educational stereotypes of Mexican Americans in general and those in the South Texas Border in particular, and 4) accessing adequate college information and assistance at school. / text

This study explored the contexts that immigrant Taiwanese mothers provided for their American born children concerning heritage language learning. Five immigrant Taiwanese mothers in central Texas participated in this study. To collect data, a qualitative approach was used including in-depth interviews, follow up interviews, supplemental interviews with other family members, and observations of the mothers and their children in different environments. The data was analyzed to answer two research questions: (1) What meanings do immigrant Taiwanese mothers attribute to their American-born children's heritage language? (2) What are the strategies that immigrant Taiwanese mothers describe themselves as using in relation to their American-born children's heritage language learning? This study demonstrated that because of the relative lack of heritage language teaching resources independent of the family, the mothers played an important role in teaching their children a wide variety of languages including Mandarin Chinese, Taiwanese, Spanish, Japanese, and Cantonese. Furthermore, the meanings that the mothers placed on heritage language could be categorized into cultural relationships, family bonds, social status within the immigrant community, relationship with American and global societies, and academic achievement and social success. The strategies the Taiwanese immigrant mothers used to teach heritage and home languages were diverse but could be analyzed by the concept of social capital and the theories of Lev Vygotsky. The mothers with more economic capital were able to use their social capital to allow one parent to stay at home teaching their children heritage language full-time. They were also able to purchase other people's time in the form of services and effectively use resources such as the Chinese school or travel to promote heritage language learning. Thus, they could actively pursue and establish goals for their children's heritage language learning. Mothers with less social capital were less able to provide an environment promoting early language learning and instead hoped for other resources in the future. The result was that mothers with more social capital were able to have their children excel in many languages including English, while mothers with less social capital not only had difficulty creating proficiency in heritage language but also in English. / text

Nicaragua has undergone several major upheavals in the last three decades that have fundamentally shaped and reshaped society. The Sandinista government (1979-1990) ended with the election of Violeta Chamorro in 1990 that ushered in 16 years of neoliberal government. In 2006 former president and leader of the current Sandinista Party, Daniel Ortega, was reelected to the presidency. At every step, education has been an essential component of the struggle to shape the state according to certain ideological precepts. Each administration has produced its own educational reforms that are ostensibly in the name of improving quality, but more precisely about developing schools consistent with the philosophy of the ruling classes. In this study, I seek to examine the Nicaraguan educational system as a site of multiple global and local processes that interact to produce lived experiences for teachers and students in and out of the classroom. In examining the most recent iteration of educational reforms and their effects in the communities of San Marcos, Estelí and Bluefields, I ask the questions: What role or function does education play in society? How does it “work” to (in most cases) normalize certain values, ideas and beliefs? And what forms do resistance and acquiescence to these processes take in an educational system like that of Nicaragua that has numerous internal and external forces attempting to condition it in contrasting ways? Major themes that emerge from the research include the prominence of social, historical and geographical factors that people use to fashion their language and perceptions of the world and the dominant influence of local power relations in conditioning people’s behaviors and actions. Analysis of responses to the current educational reform efforts demonstrates that local social connections and networks are paramount to studies of ideology and hegemony. The overriding message from Nicaragua is that chronic underfunding and constant reform have weakened the ability of the educational system to disseminate ideas, beliefs and values, particularly when they run counter to those of other powerful institutions in society. / text

Research on high school dropouts has largely focused on dropout prevention and the identification of risk factors that contribute to leaving school early. While the long-term prognosis of dropouts is often very poor, some individuals manage to change course and return for additional education later in life. In this exploratory qualitative study, five individuals who successfully returned for additional education and continued on to higher education were interviewed. Self-Determination Theory was used to analyze the data, which were examined for the decision-making processes that led to the changes in direction, and the factors that contributed most to facilitating their transitions. Overall, the participants followed similar stages of growth, and ultimately arrived at a turning point that resulted in their new directions. Several themes emerged from their stories, including the need for sufficient social capital, the significance of family and friends, the importance of taking responsibility, and overcoming previous negative experiences.

Current school reforms under No Child Left Behind (NCLB, 2001) call for effective leadership from federal and state levels and across the school district from the superintendent to the school level to improve student learning. Part of the complexity of NCLB is greater superintendent accountability for increased student learning, which necessitates new conceptions of superintendent leadership behaviors.An unexplored area of educational research involves elementary principals' and superintendents' perceptions of superintendents' leadership behaviors and perceptions of superintendents' leadership behaviors for Dynamic Indicators of Basic Early Literacy Skills (DIBELS) implementation. Additionally, an unexplored area of educational research is the comparison of elementary principals' perceptions of superintendent leadership behaviors with superintendents' self-reported leadership behaviors. The purpose of this study was to examine principals' and superintendents' perceptions of superintendents' leadership behaviors for DIBELS implementation.This mixed methods comparative case study used Q-methodology, and principals' and superintendents' interviews. Field observations and document analysis enriched the descriptions and understandings of superintendent leadership in this study.Findings indicated superintendents set defensible directions and influenced principals to implement DIBELS. Superintendents provided a leadership support network for principals comprised of mid-level district administrators. The relationships in this network, coupled with supports and resources in the network, gave principals access to social capital for DIBELS implementation.

A qualitative study using an action research methodology was conducted to observe what value a national community of practice (CoP) had for the resiliency of Canada's geographically dispersed, non-profit, environmental education (EE) network leaders. Research suggests that North America's non-profit sector faces a looming leadership crisis as its executive leaders are subjected to escalating anxiety, burnout, and feelings of isolation (Cornelius, Moyers, & Bell, 2011). Peer support networks, alternately known as a CoP, have been proposed as a potential means of sustaining such beleaguered executives. This research reveals that Canadian EE leaders found value in a CoP as a forum for networking and relationship building, as a medium for professional development, and as a source of support and inspiration. This thesis recommends the establishment of a national CoP for Canada's EE network leaders and outlines recommendations to inform the creation of such a community.

Investing in cluster formation or encouraging companies to network in regional strategic networks is a common strategy used by municipalities to promote regional growth in peripheral regions. Previous research has investigated the significance of creating regional advantages by building clusters and regional networks, but researchers have not provided much insight into the problems facing the project management trying to implement such collaboration. In my thesis I describe and analyze a network project in order to shed light upon some of the complications that such a collaboration project might entail. My theoretical framework of analysis rests upon the concept of social capital, a concept that investigates the value that social contacts might incur. I have studied a designed network situated in the Swedish municipality of Söderhamn called Firsam. After the closure of the telecommunications factory of Ericsson/Emerson and the military airbase F15 Söderhamn lost 10 % of its local employment in 2004.The need for regional growth programmes therefore became dire. The companies that prior to the closure worked in close collaboration with the Ericsson/Emerson factory were also looking for new revenue streams to compensate for their loss of business. Collaboration with the local manufacturing companies to create innovative projects and to take on joint tenders seemed to be a perfect solution to the problems facing them and the municipality. In this spirit a regional strategic network called Firsam (Företag i regional samverkan) was initiated. I analyze the Firsam project using two different aspects of the concept social capital:”bonding” and”bridging”. The bonding form of social capital is associated with small and homogeneous groups that build prerequisites for long-term collaboration by forming close contacts and building trust. The bridging form of social capital creates an open stance towards social relations that enables new contacts to be formed outside one’s own socially established context. The bonding form of social capital provides prerequisites for close collaboration but can also result in close-mindedness and over-embeddedness in one’s own social context. Building bridging connections outside one’s own social context might encourage innovative thinking and spur entrepreneurship. The somewhat fleeting connections that are associated with the bridging form of social capital might on the other hand make it difficult to cultivate a common sense of trust within an existing group. These different manifestations of social capital create a paradox that might be hard to handle in the design of a regional strategic network. Is it best to support already existing network structures and impose the risk of creating a less innovative environment, or should members from outside the established social context be included in the network design to encourage innovative thinking? There are both positive and negative effects associated with either strategy. I shed light upon this paradox by analyzing the regional strategic network of Firsam.

The health of children and immigrants has been paramount to the economics literature in recent years. A strong relationship between parents’ socioeconomic status and children’s health has been well established. The vast short- and long-term consequences of children’s health outcomes, like low birth weight, have been emphasized. Similarly, empirical studies have attributed considerable importance to immigrants’ health. The healthy immigrant effect (HIE), a phenomenon where immigrants are healthier upon arrival but their health diminishes through time, has been evidenced in Canada. However, the link between children’s health and the HIE has not been made. Using birth weight as a health measure, the intergenerational transmission of the HIE through social capital is examined. With the National Longitudinal Survey of Children and Youth this study provides robust evidence of the perpetuation of the HIE. However, social capital does not appear to be a determinant of birth weight for immigrants’ children in Canada.

Participatory design is often linked to community development, but studies seldom explore the ongoing effects the built design can have on a community. This study examined whether a participatory design process and the resulting public space acted as catalysts of community development. A case study was conducted in Barrio Grenada, Nicaragua, where a park was designed and built with community participation in 2010. The study explored participation in the design process, use of the park, and perceptions of subsequent development in Barrio Grenada. Data was gathered through semi-structured interviews of external agents and local residents who participated in the park design and construction. Results suggest the design process and park each catalyzed development in distinct ways. Contacts made through the design process aided infrastructure development through financial and logistical support, while use of the park enabled social development through increased communication among neighbours, and recreation opportunities for children and youth. / Estate of Richard and Sophia Hungerford

Greater public participation has been recognized in the socio-political sphere as a growing imperative and a recent phenomenon is a shift in governance towards the "politics of inclusion" at the local and in some cases, the provincial level. Democracy is fundamental to sustainable development because when people participate in the decisions that affect their lives, they are more committed to their implementation. Once community buy-in is garnered, people are empowered to engage in organized action and advocate for the causes they stand for which can affect the necessary changes in moving towards a sustainable community. Our Street London is a grassroots collective that supports alternatives to mainstream modalities of transportation such as biking, walking, and public transportation, as well sustainable urban form. My objective is to understand the richness and detail of the social constructions of the actors in the lived environment. My research explores successful community engagement strategies and how the knowledge generated through the inquiry process can benefit Our Street London members to mobilize group capacity, hence affecting the future directions of the group. My main method of data collection consisted of semi-structured, open-ended interviews with experts on community engagement. Participants consisted of academics, long-time practitioners, and employees of small to medium-sized sustainability/environmental and social justice organizations. This research does have an action-oriented intent to work with Our Street London beyond the scope of this project in translating recommendations into action.