This study investigated public school administrator perception of the extent to which federal civil rights, equal employment opportunity, and affirmative action legislation have affected the personnel policies and practices of Virginia public schools since 1972. Another purpose of this study was to determine if there is a correlation between administrator perceptions of EED/AA impact and the characteristics of school divisions.;It was hypothesized that school officials would perceive that the imposition of EED/AA regulations has greatly altered the personnel function in Virginia public school divisions. It was also hypothesized that school officials would perceive that (1) EED/AA regulations caused an increase in both costs and staff requirements; (2) EED/AA necessitated the codification of selection, promotion and transfer criteria and procedure as well as strict adherence to them; (3) EED/AA necessitated modification of causes and procedures for non-selection and dismissal of personnel. Finally, it was hypothesized that the perceived degree of impact would be related to the type of division--that officials of high black concentration divisions, urban divisions and large divisions would perceive greater impact than those of low black concentration, non-urban or small divisions.;A survey instrument was designed, tested and sent to school personnel officials in all 135 Virginia Public School Divisions. Ninety-four responded.;Analysis was accomplished by comparison of responses to questions through analysis of variance using division size, ethnic concentration level and urban, suburban, non-urban nature of the division as the independent variable and response category as the dependent variable.;It was concluded that there was no significant relationship between the three background variables and school officials' responses. It was further concluded that school officials viewed the impact of EED/AA uniformly and that these officials perceived little or no change in staff workload cost or effort due to EED/AA compliance over the period of most vigorous enforcement.

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This study reviews concepts and the mechanism of empathy, and the relationship between empathy and language proficiency, focusing on the aspect of cognitive empathy. It also discusses whether empathy levels could be developed by learning language to a highly proficient level. I compared the empathy levels between high and low proficiency second-language learners to determine if there was correlation between empathy and other factors such as gender, studying abroad, education background, and usage of a second language. I found that there was no relationship between empathy level and language proficiency level; however, there was one between empathy and gender. For further research, I suggest continuing studies in executive function in adults, especially adult bilinguals (including highly proficient second language learners), and to investigate how executive function in adults influences behavior and empathy development.

This qualitative case study of eight veteran Texas Regional Education Service Center Multicultural/Diversity Trainers examined their perceptions of structural barriers and teacher resistance to a voluntary program of Multicultural/Diversity Training (MDT). It also explored how they made sense of their roles in light of their social locations. Data were collected through in-depth semi-structured interviews of the trainers, observations of MDT sessions, and examination of relevant documents. Data were analyzed using the constant comparative method. Three themes associated with structural barriers emerged: contextual factors, lack of administrative support, and the Texas system of accountability, particularly high stakes testing. The contextual factors were differences in regional cultures, the autonomy of the Education Service Centers, and the voluntary nature of MDT. Lack of administrative support for MDT is crucial because teachers often take administrative response to school reform as their cue for action or inaction. In Texas, high stakes testing exerts influence at every educational level, particularly on teachers in relation to curriculum, instruction, student placement and professional development choices. Teacher resistance to MDT occurred in the training sessions and in the classroom setting. During the training sessions teachers resisted MDT because it challenged deeply held beliefs and encouraged self-examination, personal disclosure, and discussions of race/ethnicity and culture. Resistance in the educational setting was manifested in maintenance of a Eurocentric perspective, and in school practices such as negative attitudes toward multicultural education and MDT, placement of students of color in special education and lower tracks, and negative attitudes toward all people of color. Ultimately, trainers suggest that they are enmeshed in a system that seeks to maintain the status quo, and that too many teachers have low expectations for students who are different from themselves and conform to a deficit model when dealing with those students.

Thesis (Ed. D.)--West Virginia University, 2002. / Title from document title page. Document formatted into pages; contains vii, 115 p. : ill. (some col.). Includes abstract. Includes bibliographical references (p. 96-102).

Thesis (Ph.D.). / Written for the Dept. of Integrated Studies in Education. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (M.M.)--Cleveland State University, 2009. / Abstract. Title from PDF t.p. (viewed on Dec. 15, 2009). Includes bibliographical references (p. 52-55). Available online via the OhioLINK ETD Center and also available in print.

Thesis (Ed. D.)--West Virginia University, 2003. / Title from document title page. Document formatted into pages; contains ix, 240, [6] p. Vita. Includes abstract. Includes bibliographical references (p. 185-191).

The purpose of this study was to explore reading instruction within the two consecutive classrooms of one teacher oriented towards culturally relevant teaching. This study used qualitative methods and sought to document the nature of the classroom interactions and texts within these upper elementary classrooms. Data sources included participant observation, videorecording, interviews and archival data. Constantcomparative analysis as described by Strauss and Corbin (1990) and discourse analysis, informed by Erickson (2004) and Goffman (1981/2001) were used to investigate how this teacher navigated teaching and learning in this situated context. Study findings suggest that the teacher modified curricular structures, revoiced the words of cultural insiders, and maximized use of strategic instruction within classroom discussions to navigate multiple, competing goals. / text

The purpose of this study was to identify the knowledge and successful strategies utilized by intercollegiate team sport coaches who have worked with a large number of international athletes. Six head coaches were selected to participate in a semi-structured open-ended interview. At the time of data collection, each participant was coaching a Division I NCAA university female soccer team and had coached at least two international athletes per season in the last five years or at least 10 international student athletes throughout their head coaching careers. An interview guide was created exclusively for this study. The analysis of the data was based on the tenets of grounded theory and followed an inductive process of theory development (Strauss & Corbin, 1990). Using the CM and the MML as frameworks, a modified model was designed to portray the cultural perspective of the coaching process. Seven categories indicated the coaches' knowledge of cultural diversity on both athlete development and team success. The categories were called International Athlete Development and International Athlete Performance and Satisfaction, which revealed the coaches' perceptions on international athlete and personal development; (3) Environmental Context, which discussed the American dimension of coaching intercollegiate female soccer athletes; (4) Social and Team Structure, which was the implementation of cultural coaching knowledge, and the following categories; (5) Coach Philosophies and Experiences; (6) International Athlete Individual Aspects and (7) Game Preparation and Game Day, which defined coaches cultural understanding as it relates to aspects of training and competition. This study provided a deeper understanding of cultural coaching competence, leading to the recommendation of effective strategies and interventions for coaching culturally diverse teams and athletes.