This thesis examines how, in a rural New Zealand ‘area school’, successful democratic parental and community voice was able to bring about the creation of an education alternative. While the parental initiative was in line with the rhetoric of Tomorrow' s Schools (1988) the contention in this thesis is that initiatives such as this were not intended by the legislation. Despite the fact that the initiative was stimulated by and explicitly invoked the rhetoric, the spirit of the legislation was philosophically opposed to this particular kind of innovation. The ‘Kiwi’ initiative emerged in 1993, five years after the legislation. The initiative centred around a request for an alternative education programme to be set up within ‘Takiwa School’. This alternative was modelled on Playcentre, a New Zealand Early Childhood Education model, which encompasses aspects of progressivism. Kiwi parents and Takiwa School personnel achieved a ‘school within the school’ for a segment of Takiwa community. Parents became fully involved in all aspects of their children's curriculum, from planning, through to delivery and assessment. This thesis examines the politics of the change process within Takiwa School. Three questions are central to this case study examination of change. These are: What were the parents asking for? How were the parents able to achieve what they were asking for? and What were the effects of the process on what it was that the initiative ultimately became? These three questions are examined in a sociological manner, from a critical realist approach. A range of theoretical tools are utilised; the central theoretical windows are a combination of Exit, Voice and Loyalty-which is provided by Hirschman (1970)-and the theories which are encompassed in the New Institutionalist approach. The central argument of the thesis is that it was a particular combination of conditions and motivations which made the Kiwi innovation possible. The possible replicability of the initiative is discussed. A key concern of the thesis as a whole is whether the set of circumstances in which the innovation transpired was unique. / Subscription resource available via Digital Dissertations only.

This thesis examines the ways in which women assess and seek resources in their urban contexts. I argue that the struggles of daily life in local communities and institutional groups can produce ideological spaces into which new practices, arising from increased consciousness of issues, can be developed. My aim has been to uncover women's experiences in a way that not only interprets meanings from their practices, but also encourages such practices to be seen as valid renderings of women's understandings. I examine women's initiatives through the analysis of varying contexts. While I acknowledge the historical importance of the domestic situation as a threshold for much historic activism, women's proactivity requires a broader situational analysis. I therefore present cases of proactivity within the domestic, public and business spheres, within the two cities of Waitakere and North Shore of Auckland, New Zealand. Through the search for new progressive social identities, women's activities at the inter-personal level are a prime source of social change. It is through the recursive relationship between women as agents and the social structure, that changing interpretations of social expectations are produced, allowing for creative activism. While women's initiatives may aim to transform particular social environments, they become part of the incremental process of change that alters the experience and structure of women's lives. The thesis has four parts. The first outlines the scope, objectives and theoretical framework, while the second conceptualises women's agency and its positioning within social gendered structures. Part Three presents the investigative processes linking the theoretical framework and the empirical analysis. Part Four submits the thematic interpretations of the thesis, concluding that women can be agents of social change in a diversity of ways. I acknowledge my feminist stance, one with layerings of objectives and motivations. I view women's circumstances as resulting from the interweaving of structural forces and personal capacities. The resulting awareness of women's experiences can challenge the values and concepts of masculine discourses. This is viewed through the concept of multiplicity. On a political level this means creating a resistance to hierarchies and a commitment to a plurality of voice, style and structure. / Subscription resource available via Digital Dissertations only.

This thesis examines how, in a rural New Zealand ‘area school’, successful democratic parental and community voice was able to bring about the creation of an education alternative. While the parental initiative was in line with the rhetoric of Tomorrow' s Schools (1988) the contention in this thesis is that initiatives such as this were not intended by the legislation. Despite the fact that the initiative was stimulated by and explicitly invoked the rhetoric, the spirit of the legislation was philosophically opposed to this particular kind of innovation. The ‘Kiwi’ initiative emerged in 1993, five years after the legislation. The initiative centred around a request for an alternative education programme to be set up within ‘Takiwa School’. This alternative was modelled on Playcentre, a New Zealand Early Childhood Education model, which encompasses aspects of progressivism. Kiwi parents and Takiwa School personnel achieved a ‘school within the school’ for a segment of Takiwa community. Parents became fully involved in all aspects of their children's curriculum, from planning, through to delivery and assessment. This thesis examines the politics of the change process within Takiwa School. Three questions are central to this case study examination of change. These are: What were the parents asking for? How were the parents able to achieve what they were asking for? and What were the effects of the process on what it was that the initiative ultimately became? These three questions are examined in a sociological manner, from a critical realist approach. A range of theoretical tools are utilised; the central theoretical windows are a combination of Exit, Voice and Loyalty-which is provided by Hirschman (1970)-and the theories which are encompassed in the New Institutionalist approach. The central argument of the thesis is that it was a particular combination of conditions and motivations which made the Kiwi innovation possible. The possible replicability of the initiative is discussed. A key concern of the thesis as a whole is whether the set of circumstances in which the innovation transpired was unique. / Subscription resource available via Digital Dissertations only.

This thesis examines the ways in which women assess and seek resources in their urban contexts. I argue that the struggles of daily life in local communities and institutional groups can produce ideological spaces into which new practices, arising from increased consciousness of issues, can be developed. My aim has been to uncover women's experiences in a way that not only interprets meanings from their practices, but also encourages such practices to be seen as valid renderings of women's understandings. I examine women's initiatives through the analysis of varying contexts. While I acknowledge the historical importance of the domestic situation as a threshold for much historic activism, women's proactivity requires a broader situational analysis. I therefore present cases of proactivity within the domestic, public and business spheres, within the two cities of Waitakere and North Shore of Auckland, New Zealand. Through the search for new progressive social identities, women's activities at the inter-personal level are a prime source of social change. It is through the recursive relationship between women as agents and the social structure, that changing interpretations of social expectations are produced, allowing for creative activism. While women's initiatives may aim to transform particular social environments, they become part of the incremental process of change that alters the experience and structure of women's lives. The thesis has four parts. The first outlines the scope, objectives and theoretical framework, while the second conceptualises women's agency and its positioning within social gendered structures. Part Three presents the investigative processes linking the theoretical framework and the empirical analysis. Part Four submits the thematic interpretations of the thesis, concluding that women can be agents of social change in a diversity of ways. I acknowledge my feminist stance, one with layerings of objectives and motivations. I view women's circumstances as resulting from the interweaving of structural forces and personal capacities. The resulting awareness of women's experiences can challenge the values and concepts of masculine discourses. This is viewed through the concept of multiplicity. On a political level this means creating a resistance to hierarchies and a commitment to a plurality of voice, style and structure. / Subscription resource available via Digital Dissertations only.

This thesis examines how, in a rural New Zealand ‘area school’, successful democratic parental and community voice was able to bring about the creation of an education alternative. While the parental initiative was in line with the rhetoric of Tomorrow' s Schools (1988) the contention in this thesis is that initiatives such as this were not intended by the legislation. Despite the fact that the initiative was stimulated by and explicitly invoked the rhetoric, the spirit of the legislation was philosophically opposed to this particular kind of innovation. The ‘Kiwi’ initiative emerged in 1993, five years after the legislation. The initiative centred around a request for an alternative education programme to be set up within ‘Takiwa School’. This alternative was modelled on Playcentre, a New Zealand Early Childhood Education model, which encompasses aspects of progressivism. Kiwi parents and Takiwa School personnel achieved a ‘school within the school’ for a segment of Takiwa community. Parents became fully involved in all aspects of their children's curriculum, from planning, through to delivery and assessment. This thesis examines the politics of the change process within Takiwa School. Three questions are central to this case study examination of change. These are: What were the parents asking for? How were the parents able to achieve what they were asking for? and What were the effects of the process on what it was that the initiative ultimately became? These three questions are examined in a sociological manner, from a critical realist approach. A range of theoretical tools are utilised; the central theoretical windows are a combination of Exit, Voice and Loyalty-which is provided by Hirschman (1970)-and the theories which are encompassed in the New Institutionalist approach. The central argument of the thesis is that it was a particular combination of conditions and motivations which made the Kiwi innovation possible. The possible replicability of the initiative is discussed. A key concern of the thesis as a whole is whether the set of circumstances in which the innovation transpired was unique. / Subscription resource available via Digital Dissertations only.

This thesis examines the ways in which women assess and seek resources in their urban contexts. I argue that the struggles of daily life in local communities and institutional groups can produce ideological spaces into which new practices, arising from increased consciousness of issues, can be developed. My aim has been to uncover women's experiences in a way that not only interprets meanings from their practices, but also encourages such practices to be seen as valid renderings of women's understandings. I examine women's initiatives through the analysis of varying contexts. While I acknowledge the historical importance of the domestic situation as a threshold for much historic activism, women's proactivity requires a broader situational analysis. I therefore present cases of proactivity within the domestic, public and business spheres, within the two cities of Waitakere and North Shore of Auckland, New Zealand. Through the search for new progressive social identities, women's activities at the inter-personal level are a prime source of social change. It is through the recursive relationship between women as agents and the social structure, that changing interpretations of social expectations are produced, allowing for creative activism. While women's initiatives may aim to transform particular social environments, they become part of the incremental process of change that alters the experience and structure of women's lives. The thesis has four parts. The first outlines the scope, objectives and theoretical framework, while the second conceptualises women's agency and its positioning within social gendered structures. Part Three presents the investigative processes linking the theoretical framework and the empirical analysis. Part Four submits the thematic interpretations of the thesis, concluding that women can be agents of social change in a diversity of ways. I acknowledge my feminist stance, one with layerings of objectives and motivations. I view women's circumstances as resulting from the interweaving of structural forces and personal capacities. The resulting awareness of women's experiences can challenge the values and concepts of masculine discourses. This is viewed through the concept of multiplicity. On a political level this means creating a resistance to hierarchies and a commitment to a plurality of voice, style and structure. / Subscription resource available via Digital Dissertations only.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Indiana University, Dept. of Sociology, 2007. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 68-09, Section: A, page: 4100. Adviser: Bernice A. Pescosolido. Title from dissertation home page (viewed May 8, 2008).

Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of California, Irvine, 2005. / (UnM)AAI3198395. Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 66-12, Section: A, page: 4548. Chair: Belinda Robnett.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of California, San Francisco, 2006. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 67-05, Section: A, page: 1940. Adviser: Gay Becker.

Thèse (M.Serv.Soc.)--Université de Sherbrooke (Canada), 2008. / Titre de l'écran-titre (visionné le 1 février 2007). In ProQuest dissertations and theses. Publié aussi en version papier.