Le sujet principal de ce texte est une forme très ciblée de ségrégation démographique : la ségrégation selon le type de famille. Cependant, puisque la répartition spatiale des familles mariées, des familles en union libre, des familles monoparentales à chef féminin et de celles à chef masculin ne dépend pas uniquement de leur structure, il faut aussi considérer d'autres facettes de leur identité, notamment leurs caractéristiques socio-économiques et ethnoculturelles. La combinaison de ces facteurs engendre une ségrégation croisée que nous explorons avec les données du recensement de 2006 pour la région métropolitaine de Montréal. Nous utilisons d'abord des indices de ségrégation pour mettre en évidence une ségrégation familiale "brute", puis nous avons recours à des modèles de locational attainment pour déterminer l'effet "net" du type de famille sur le revenu médian du quartier de résidence et sur la distance qui sépare ce quartier du centre-ville. Nous trouvons qu'il existe une interaction importante entre l'appartenance ethnoculturelle, le revenu familial et le type de famille ce qui nous conduit à relativiser les résultats de recherches qui ne prennent pas en compte l'hétérogénéité interne des types de famille. / The main topic of this text is a narrowly defined form of demographic segregation: segregation by family type. However, since the spatial distribution of married, cohabiting, lone-mother, or lone-father families does not depend solely on their structure, we must also consider other aspects of their identity, including their socio-economic and ethno-cultural characteristics. The combination of these factors produces a cross-segregation that we investigate using 2006 census data for the Montreal metropolitan area. We first use segregation indices to highlight a "raw" family type segregation and we then use locational attainment models to determine its "net" effect on the median household income of the neighborhood and on the distance between the neighborhood and the city core. We find a significant interaction between ethnicity, family income and family type which leads us to put in perspective the findings of studies that do not take into account the internal heterogeneity of family types.

Community colleges are an increasingly important component of the higher education systems in the United States. Community college as a pathway toward a better educated workforce has been emphasized at a national and state level. Virginia’s policy makers set a goal of producing 100,000 new baccalaureate degrees in the Commonwealth by 2025. Critical to meeting this goal is Virginia’s Community College System. In 2005, Virginia passed the Higher Education Restructuring Act which granted students graduating from Virginia’s community colleges with an associate’s guaranteed admission into any state-funded, four-year institution. Building on this earlier policy, Virginia passed The Higher Education Opportunity Act of 2011. This act expanded the role of the community college and placed a greater emphasis on articulation policies and baccalaureate attainment. The effectiveness of articulation policies on community college transfer and baccalaureate attainment has been debated in the academic literature. Some have suggested to measure policy effectiveness, academic outcomes and not transfer rates, must be compared before and after policy implementation. To gauge the effectiveness of Virginia’s guaranteed admission policy, this study examined archival student data for native and transfer students who achieved a junior standing at a single four-year state-funded institution. Furthermore, transfer student baccalaureate attainment rates and time to degree baccalaureate completion were compared before and after policy implementation. The study results showed native students graduated in greater percentages and have lower mean time to baccalaureate completion than transfer students; high school and college GPA are predictors of baccalaureate attainment for transfer and native students; transfer student baccalaureate attainment rates and mean time to baccalaureate completions were lower following policy implementation, or simply, fewer bachelor’s degrees were awarded but those completing a baccalaureate did so in less time after policy implementation. The findings of this study suggest transfer students with baccalaureate aspiration are negatively impacted for attending community college prior to transfer and Virginia’s articulation policy at the study institution had little impact on academic outcomes for transfer students following policy implementation. These single institutional results may suggest modification to Virginia’s articulation policy is necessary to improve academic outcomes for community college transfer students.

This thesis entitled "Teachers and their possibilities of building pupils' self- realization" is both, theoretical and empirical. Its objective is to map the problems of pupils' self-realization in school environment. It pays close attention to the self-realization of pupils and the possibilities of its shaping by people participating on the educational process. The thesis attempts to define the likely causes of pupils' failure to succeed and do well at school. It also provides possible solutions which might help shape pupils' personality and build their self-realization. The solutions might be of great use to teachers in their classes. The objective of the empirical part in the first place is to analyze the connection between pupils' self- realization, teachers' assessment of pupils' self-realization and pupils' attainment. Key words: selfhood, personality, self-realization, teacher, pupil, school success and failure, self-esteem, self-assessment, pedagogical and psychological diagnostics, pupils' (school) self- realization level, attainment

This thesis presents three empirical analyses in the economics of Higher Education within the United Kingdom. The first analysis evaluates the impact of student funding reforms on participation and course choice, through the use of a difference-in-differences strategy with heterogeneous treatment effects. The results show that students who received the largest increase in study costs were less likely to move further away and also more likely to study a subject with lower graduate wage premia due to the significant reduction in the risk of investing in higher education. Students who received the largest increase in up-front financial support were more likely to attend a university further away. The second question addresses whether undergraduate subject choice is affected by changes in the expected benefits and opportunity costs of investing in HE through variation in the labour market. Students who reside in areas of high unemployment are found to be less likely to choose subjects with the largest graduate wage and employment premia. This suggests that students may be afraid of failure in challenging labour markets and instead choose to study subjects with a greater chance of success. However, lower socioeconomic status students are more likely to study subjects with the highest graduate wage and employment premia. This suggests that the students who may be the most aware of the costs, are also the most aware of the benefits. Finally, the third analysis investigates whether students who are socioeconomically disadvantaged incur a further penalty in terms of degree attainment. The results show that the most disadvantaged students outperform their advantaged counterparts. This may be due to pre-university attainment being an imperfect measure of ability in the most disadvantaged students, or that students who have had to overcome the most challenges to attend university are better-equipped and more determined to succeed.

A tese de doutorado Formação Continuada de Professores: da abstração reflexionante à tomada de consciência tem como objetivo analisar o processo de tomada de consciência de professores, em formação continuada, e as possíveis transformações que ocorrem, a partir dele, no fazer pedagógico. O referencial metodológico utilizado é o da pesquisa qualitativa e participante. A coleta de dados ocorreu a partir de um grupo de estudos organizado especialmente para este fim, com professores de uma escola estadual de uma cidade do interior do Rio Grande do Sul. O estudo desse fenômeno grupal organizou-se a partir de três dimensões de análise: Processo de abstração: possibilidades de compreensão, criação e recriação de novas coordenações de ações na formação continuada de professores; Da ação à conceituação e da conceituação à ação: os caminhos percorridos na formação continuada de professores rumo ao processo de tomada de consciência; Teoria, questionamentos, trocas de experiências e de idéias. A principal fonte teórica desse trabalho foram os estudos de Jean Piaget sobre os processos de tomada de consciência e de abstração reflexionante. Os resultados dessa pesquisa apontam para a tomada de consciência que acontece, na formação continuada de professores, devido a alguns aspectos que se inter-relacionam: Primeiro, o planejamento dos estudos embasou-se na discussão das dificuldades, necessidades e experiências dos professores participantes; segundo, o indispensável estudo teórico num processo de formação continuada; terceiro, o trabalho coletivo dos participantes como desencadeador do processo de tomada de consciência. Constatou-se ao final da pesquisa que a transformação do fazer pedagógico acontece processual e lentamente na estrita dependência da tomada de consciência. / The doctorate thesis The continued formation of teachers: from reflecting abstraction to attainment of consciousness has as objective to analyze the teachers’ process of attainment of consciousness, in continued formation and the possible transformations that occur, starting from it, in the pedagogical realization. In this research it is used, as methodological reference the qualitative and participating research. The data collecting occurred with a study group specially organized for this purpose with teachers of a state school from Rio Grande do Sul countryside. The study of this group phenomenon was structured through three analyses dimensions: Abstraction Process: possibilities of comprehension, creation and re-creation of new coordination of actions in the continued formation of teachers; From action to conception and from conception to action: the way gone trough in the continued formation of teachers in the direction of the process of becoming conscious; Theory, questioning and exchange of experience and ideas. The main theoretical source of this work was Jean Piaget’s studies about attainment of consciousness and reflecting abstraction. The results of this research indicate that the attainment of consciousness, in the continued formation of teachers, occurs because of some aspects that are interrelated: First, the studies planning had as basis the discussion of the difficulties, necessities and experiences of the participating teachers: second, the essential theoretical studies in a process of continued formation; third, the participants collective work as an activator the process of attainment of consciousness. By the end of this research, it was verified that the transformation of the pedagogical realization occurs through procedures and slowly and in straight dependency of the attainment of consciousness. / La tesis doctoral Formación Continuada de Profesores: de la abstracción reflexionante a la toma de conciencia tiene como objetivo analizar el proceso de toma de conciencia de profesores, en formación continuada, y las posibles transformaciones que ocurren, a partir de él, en el hacer pedagógico. En este trabajo el referencial metodológico utilizado es la investigación cualitativa y participante. La recolección de los datos ocurrió a partir de un grupo de estudios organizado especialmente para esta finalidad, con profesores de una escuela estatal de una ciudad del interior de Rio Grande do Sul. El estudio de ese fenómeno grupal fue organizado a partir de tres dimensiones de análisis - Proceso de abstracción: posibilidades de comprensión, creación y recreación de nuevas coordinaciones de acciones en la formación continuada de profesores; De la acción a la conceptualización y de la conceptualización a la acción: los caminos recorridos en la formación continuada de profesores rumbo al proceso de toma de conciencia; Teoría, cuestionamientos e intercambio de experiencias e ideas. La principal fuente teórica de este trabajo fueron los estudios de Jean Piaget sobre los procesos de toma de conciencia y de abstracción reflexionante. Los resultados de esta investigación apuntan para la toma de conciencia que se dá en la formación continuada de profesores, debido a algunos aspectos que se interrelacionan: Primero, la planificación de los estudios tuvo como base las dificultades, necesidades y experiencias de los profesores participantes; segundo, el indispensable estudio teórico en un proceso de formación continuada; tercero, el trabajo colectivo de los participantes como factor desencadenante del proceso de toma de conciencia. Se constató al término de la investigación que la transformación del hacer pedagógico acontece de manera procesal y lenta en la estricta dependencia de la toma de conciencia.

The aim of this thesis was to explore the key care factors that influence the educational achievement of children looked after at home and away from home in Scotland. Traditionally there has been less research conducted in Scotland than in the rest of the United Kingdom. The research analysed a large new sample - one fifth of the care leaving population in Scotland - and spans a five year period. The thesis makes an original research contribution. A unique features of the research is that it investigates the experiences of children looked after at home, alongside those looked after away from home. In addition, the research involved two large local authority areas in Scotland that had not previously participated in such research on looked after children. What emerged from the research was that the Corporate Parent (local authorities and partner agencies) had not yet successfully prioritised the educational achievement of looked after children in policy and practice, despite education being identified by the government as a mechanism for combating social exclusion. The key findings of the research demonstrated that looked after children perform less well academically than the general school population. In particular, placement type, the reason for becoming looked after and the age on becoming looked after were significant factors in determining educational achievement. Other factors such as gender and number of placements were also found to be associated with educational achievement. Empirical results further indicated that looked after children suffered from discrimination and social exclusion in all aspects of their lives, including school and where they lived. This was a significant finding as the disadvantage experienced by many looked after children continues to impact on their lives into adulthood, making them some of the most socially excluded adults in Scotland and the United Kingdom today.

Le sujet principal de ce texte est une forme très ciblée de ségrégation démographique : la ségrégation selon le type de famille. Cependant, puisque la répartition spatiale des familles mariées, des familles en union libre, des familles monoparentales à chef féminin et de celles à chef masculin ne dépend pas uniquement de leur structure, il faut aussi considérer d'autres facettes de leur identité, notamment leurs caractéristiques socio-économiques et ethnoculturelles. La combinaison de ces facteurs engendre une ségrégation croisée que nous explorons avec les données du recensement de 2006 pour la région métropolitaine de Montréal. Nous utilisons d'abord des indices de ségrégation pour mettre en évidence une ségrégation familiale "brute", puis nous avons recours à des modèles de locational attainment pour déterminer l'effet "net" du type de famille sur le revenu médian du quartier de résidence et sur la distance qui sépare ce quartier du centre-ville. Nous trouvons qu'il existe une interaction importante entre l'appartenance ethnoculturelle, le revenu familial et le type de famille ce qui nous conduit à relativiser les résultats de recherches qui ne prennent pas en compte l'hétérogénéité interne des types de famille. / The main topic of this text is a narrowly defined form of demographic segregation: segregation by family type. However, since the spatial distribution of married, cohabiting, lone-mother, or lone-father families does not depend solely on their structure, we must also consider other aspects of their identity, including their socio-economic and ethno-cultural characteristics. The combination of these factors produces a cross-segregation that we investigate using 2006 census data for the Montreal metropolitan area. We first use segregation indices to highlight a "raw" family type segregation and we then use locational attainment models to determine its "net" effect on the median household income of the neighborhood and on the distance between the neighborhood and the city core. We find a significant interaction between ethnicity, family income and family type which leads us to put in perspective the findings of studies that do not take into account the internal heterogeneity of family types.

Young men of Portuguese heritage in Toronto continue to demonstrate lower levels of educational attainment. American and Canadian research increasingly points to gender and masculinity to address boys’ academic underachievement, yet studies have not focused a gender lens on Portuguese male youth in Toronto to interrogate educational achievement. This qualitative exploratory study explores gender through constructions of masculinity to better understand young Portuguese-Canadian men and their choices concerning education. Through their narratives, participants revealed that masculinity does inform their attitudes and choices concerning education and school. Bourdieu’s concepts of habitus and field are used to explore how masculinity and educational mobility generate considerable struggle and tension in participants’ lived experiences. This study ultimately surfaced more questions surrounding resistance to help-related educational resources, effects of educational mobility on ethnic identity and cultural cohesiveness, and how and when young men of Portuguese ancestry arrive at decisions to de-select education.

Young men of Portuguese heritage in Toronto continue to demonstrate lower levels of educational attainment. American and Canadian research increasingly points to gender and masculinity to address boys’ academic underachievement, yet studies have not focused a gender lens on Portuguese male youth in Toronto to interrogate educational achievement. This qualitative exploratory study explores gender through constructions of masculinity to better understand young Portuguese-Canadian men and their choices concerning education. Through their narratives, participants revealed that masculinity does inform their attitudes and choices concerning education and school. Bourdieu’s concepts of habitus and field are used to explore how masculinity and educational mobility generate considerable struggle and tension in participants’ lived experiences. This study ultimately surfaced more questions surrounding resistance to help-related educational resources, effects of educational mobility on ethnic identity and cultural cohesiveness, and how and when young men of Portuguese ancestry arrive at decisions to de-select education.

Latinos are the largest and most rapidly growing ethnic minority in the United States, and they have the highest dropout rates of any major ethnic group in the country (U.S. Department of Labor, 2003). Latinos' educational attainment is consistently lower than that of other students (Gandara, 2008). The majority of Latino college students in the state of Oregon are of Mexican origin and have parents with low income and low levels of education, which ultimately influences the students' decisions in whether or not to pursue higher education. This study examines these and other factors which motivate Latino students to pursue higher education in selected colleges in the state of Oregon. Quantitative data was gathered and evaluated to determine their academic self-efficacy, an idea grounded in Social Cognitive Theory (Bandura 1997). Accordingly, this dissertation analyzed personal, environmental, and demographic factors as determinants of the academic self-efficacy of Latino college students. The results indicated that mothers (family being one of the environmental factors) were the most motivating persons for Latino college students pursuing higher education, followed by the influence of friends. The results also revealed that another influencing factor in academic self-efficacy of Latino college students was their own self-efficacy and their personal goal orientation. Female students reported the highest scores of self-efficacy for a four-year institution, followed by students of both genders aged between 18 and 22 years old. Latino college students' choice of agriculture as a program to pursue in higher education was also analyzed, despite the fact that the majority (92 %) of Latino college students did not choose an agriculture-related career. / Graduation date: 2012