The purpose of this research was to examine the issues pertaining to the change to a credit based system (CBS) in its first academic year of implementation 1997/98. Through the use of a longitudinal study, interviews were administered to academic and management staff at the beginning and end of the first CBS academic year, to evaluate the expectations and the reality of the implementation of a CBS at The Hong Kong Polytechnic University. The findings disclosed that the faculty and its staff were prepared and reacted well to the introduction of a CBS. However, the development of this new system tended to be an amalgamation of pre-existing programmes. The overall expectations of CBS had to do more with the operational aspects of the new scheme than with the anticipated results of CBS itself. Final examinations were reintroduced to coursework-only subjects. The elective selection process was moved closer to the semester they were offered. A relationship was established between the extent of participants' previous CBS experience and ease of introduction. This finding was further significant as previous CBS knowledge resulted in frustration over the slow pace and the extent of the scheme being introduced. To ease the phasing-in process, it is recommended that staff be involved in the early stages of establishing CBS. There also appears to be a clear need for further advice, explanation and guidelines on the new grading system. The university may need to secure a centralised examination system, including an examination timetable. More training for management and staff on how to advise students is needed. A task group is suggested to standardise CBS administrative procedures university-wide. Furthermore, the university needs to encourage departments to open up their subjects and, at the same time, give their students real opportunities to take up the choices offered.

The purpose of this study was to identify students' reasons for choosing to participate in the San Joaquin County Office of Education's Alternative Programs. The major areas studied were (a) curricula, (b) teacher instruction, (c) teacher and student relationship, (d) school climate, and (e) teacher and student ratio. The study also examined the relationship between these areas and their importance in contributing to students attending and remaining in school. Data were gathered from two different sources: (a) student surveys of 104 randomly selected students who have been enrolled in the alternative program for a period of six months and had the opportunity to return to their school district of residence; (b) interviews with 20 randomly selected students who participated in the student survey. Analysis of the data suggested that factors such as subject matter, teacher instruction, teacher and student relationship, school climate, and class size are influential in students choosing to attend and participate in the alternative education program. Evidence supported the notion that many of these factors are interrelated. Data supports the research regarding factors within the classroom that influence students, decisions to attend and participate in school. In addition, data supports the need to provide options to a diverse school population. The study provides recommendations for administrators and teachers of the alternative education program to continue promotion of a positive school culture which may result in positive student outcomes.

This research aims to identify the process by which students form images of universities, the extent to which students’ favourable evaluations of image attractiveness lead to student-university identification, and the extent to which perceived image attractiveness and student-university identification determine planned behaviour, i.e., supportive intentions, including student choice of institution. Full-service international branch campuses offering complete degree programmes are a fairly new phenomenon on the higher education landscape and potential students have limited knowledge about them and the institutions that own them. It is interesting therefore to discover whether these students do in fact hold images of international branch campuses. The research was conducted in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), the country that hosts more international branch campuses than any other worldwide. The study adopted a deductive, quantitative method, which involved a survey questionnaire completed by potential university students (year 12 and 13 high school students). This research stands out from earlier work on organisational identification, as earlier studies focused on existing consumers or employees while this study considers potential consumers (students). The research included a pilot study that involved individual interviews with members of the target population, which ensured research design validity. Data were analysed using a variety of techniques including exploratory factor analysis, multiple regression and structural equation modelling. The findings of this study provide support for the proposition that individuals can identify with universities in the absence of formal membership – with no or minimal previous interaction between the individual and the university – and that student-university identification can lead to supportive intentions among prospective students. These findings suggest that institutions would benefit from articulating and communicating their identities clearly, coherently and in a persuasive manner, and emphasising those aspects of the university’s identity that prospective students will perceive as prestigious, distinctive and similar to their own identities.

The aim of this research was to undertake cross-county comparisons within the UK in relation to cross-border HE study mobility in order to inform understanding of, and raise issues in relation to, social inequalities between students, and the role and effect in this of policy and sectoral conditions associated with where they live. The research examined whether cross-border mobility for study within the UK reinforces inequalities in higher education (HE) participation, in relation to students’ social origin, educational background and ethnicity. It contributes new knowledge on this form of HE participation, to wider research on social inequalities in HE, and on issues of social citizenship in post-devolution UK. Sectoral and policy differences within the UK provided context for the study, which also drew on research evidence on student choice and participation, and theoretically on the concept of situated rationality in both rational action theory, specifically relative risk aversion, and cultural reproduction theory as applied to HE participation. Student and country/region differences in mobility to geographical and institution destinations were analysed using Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) data, principally of young full-time undergraduate entrants in 2012 (N=290510; N movers=22155). Key variables were social characteristics, attainment, field of study and tariff level of the institution entered; and additionally field of study supply, average earnings and professional employment rates. Descriptive, logistic regression, marginal effects and average marginal effects analyses provided findings on student differences and inequalities in outward mobility. The findings suggest that cross-border mobility serves different purposes by country of domicile. Established paths in relation to social and geographical origin appeared important in the high outward mobility from Northern Ireland and Wales, as did HE supply within Northern Ireland, and to a lesser extent within Wales. From Scotland, there was less concentration of destinations in relation to place, with patterns of mobility explained better by institution type entered; and from England mobility was defined more strongly by place of domicile for movement to Wales and by institution type entered for movement to Scotland. Mobility was associated with entering an institution with a higher average entry tariff compared to staying in the home country. An overall relationship was found between socio-economic advantage and mobility, but there were important findings that could not be interpreted as simply reproducing wider inequalities in HE participation which sectoral and policy contextual factors helped to explain. Although social class effect on mobility from England was limited, and being ‘first generation’ was positively associated with mobility from Northern Ireland. Despite the extent of mobility from Northern Ireland and Wales of students from a range of backgrounds, social class effects were strong for students from both. Shorter compared to longer distance cross-border mobility appeared less strongly associated with socio-economic advantage and more strongly with movement to lower tariff institutions. Relative field of study under-supply within the home country was associated more with mobility to lower than higher tariff institutions. Some Black and Minority Ethnic students may be mobile to enter an HEI or location with greater ethnic mix than their home area. Inflows from the rest of the UK had the strongest impact on Welsh and Scottish institutions. Cross-border mobility can be conceptualised as reasoned action based on a cost-benefit evaluation influenced both by the students’ cultural and financial resources, and external constraints and opportunities. It reinforces social inequalities in HE participation, but there is under-recognised social diversity in this mobility, as enabling policy conditions also benefit those from less socio-economically advantaged backgrounds. Such students are least likely to have the resources to mitigate any policy changes that increase the cost of or create barriers to cross-border mobility; and would be least likely to have the resources to be mobile to overcome any reduction in the availability and accessibility of HE in the home country. These groups of students that should be the main focus of concern and attention both in further policy development and in future research.

This thesis explores educative ideas such as student choice, student autonomy and student directed learning in an educational environment dominated by a top-down, provincially legislated curriculum. Qualitative data was obtained from the professional stories of two experienced educators teaching in public alternative schools in Toronto, Ontario. Using the theoretical lenses of autonomy, relatedness and competency to filter the collected data reveals that offering students authentic choice in their school day has many benefits. Despite this, our globally entrenched educational paradigm dominates our educational world usurping many alternative models.

This thesis explores educative ideas such as student choice, student autonomy and student directed learning in an educational environment dominated by a top-down, provincially legislated curriculum. Qualitative data was obtained from the professional stories of two experienced educators teaching in public alternative schools in Toronto, Ontario. Using the theoretical lenses of autonomy, relatedness and competency to filter the collected data reveals that offering students authentic choice in their school day has many benefits. Despite this, our globally entrenched educational paradigm dominates our educational world usurping many alternative models.

The Caught Being Good Game (CBGG), a variation of Good Behavior Game, is an interdependent group contingency, which focuses on giving students points for engaging in appropriate, rule-following behavior. The present study aimed to expand the literature on CBGG by targeting students in general education classrooms and comparing the impact of student-chosen versus teacher-chosen contingency criteria on disruptive behavior and academic engagement. Four students who were at-risk for developing emotional disorders in two general elementary classrooms were targeted in the study. A multiple-baseline across participants design with an embedded alternating treatments design was used to evaluate the outcomes of the CBGG. Results indicated that the CBGG intervention resulted in decreasing disruptive behavior and increasing academic engagement for all four students although data demonstrated limited experimental control. Moderate differences in improvement in classroom behavior were observed when comparing teacher-chosen and student-chosen contingency criteria; however, the teacher-chosen criteria condition led to overall lower levels of disruptive behavior and higher levels of academic engagement. Social validity assessments indicated that both the teachers and the students found the intervention to be acceptable.

This thesis explores current research on autonomy. Autonomy is defined in three categories: freedom to pose questions and encouraging student choice, trust in students to solve problems posed by those questions, and allowing student reflection on progress. Autonomy is one solution to promote intrinsic motivation in students. Autonomy supportive classrooms feature mainly language learning atmospheres in research. However, it is also pertinent to contemporary art education as it promotes an environment for student creativity. Student performance and the modes of measurement for this research project are based on common formative and summative assessment measures. Will autonomy in the classroom combat issues of poor performance? While there is significant research occurring in the field of language learning regarding student autonomy in the classroom, very little is found in the Basic Digital Photography area. This study employed an action research project in order to determine if student autonomy is an effective tool in the basic digital photography classroom. Data collected include survey results, student journals, homework completion rates, and test scores to compare the results of student performance from a teacher directed unit to a more autonomous one. A new plan of action for incorporating findings into another unit is proposed as the autonomous unit as it currently stands revealed that autonomy is not an effective tool in the manner it was utilized in this Basic Digital Photography classroom.

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The funding of community and technical colleges has been a major topic of discussion in many states because community and technical colleges are critical for states' economic development and talent development strategies. The purpose of this study was to identify the relationship between the type of funding at community and technical colleges in southeastern states and their nontraditional student enrollment trends. The researcher investigated the growth of community and technical college enrollment by analyzing southeastern United States community and technical colleges' part-time 25 to 44 year-old undergraduate enrollment rates for the years of 1995, 2000 and 2005, and how the funding of these schools was associated with the states' enrollment of nontraditional students. It was found that community and technical colleges that received local appropriation revenue for the years of 1995, 2000, and 2005 had higher percentages of nontraditional students enrolled in their systems than community and technical colleges that did not receive local appropriation. Community and technical college administrators and their governing boards can use these findings as additional justification to policy makers for support options to include the use of local appropriation revenues or maintain local appropriation revenues for community and technical colleges as an alternative to increasing tuition and fees.