Census information indicates that Latinos are the largest minority school-age population, yet they represent a very small percentage of the students earning post-secondary degrees. Some contend that institutional discrimination, intertwined with racial ideologies are preventing Hispanics from achieving higher levels of education. The purpose of this study was to determine whether Latinos are less likely to complete at least a bachelor's degree than their non-Latino peers, and to determine if there are variations in educational attainment among the different Latino subgroups. This study aims to discover if these propositions are true by analyzing the High School and Beyond data set available through the Inter-University Consortium of Political and Social Research. Findings show that the aggregate, Hispanics, are indeed less likely to complete at least a bachelor's degree in comparison to their White and Asian peers. However, the differences between Hispanics and Blacks or Native American is not significant. Additionally, in terms of the subgroup analysis, Mexicans and Puerto Ricans are less likely to go to college then their Cuban peers. Finally, Cubans do not differ significantly from their Asian or White peers. These preliminary findings begin to illustrate the dangers in using a pan-ethnic label. / Master of Science

Vietnamese refugee children resettled in the West seem doomed to inevitable failure at school. The profound psychological, sociocultural and educational adjustments required of such children in their country of asylum have encouraged many writers to view the 'chances of survival' of such children from a largely pathological perspective of 'doom and gloom'. In examining the 'educational coping' and 'social adjustment' of a group of Vietnamese refugee children resettled in three counties in Southern England, this Study found that somewhat contrary to expectations, the majority of the Sample showed not only 'good' Social Adjustment, but also Reading and Mathematics attainment that did not differ significantly from 'national norms' for the ordinary school population in the U.K. In attempting to account for these main findings of the Study, a number of factors in the home, school and individual circumstances of these children were explored. Of these, four factors were seen as particularly crucial to the early transition and overall school adjustment of these children. These are: the strong sense of security and family solidarity enjoyed by the majority of these refugee children within the context of their generally stable and supportive homes; the practical interest and concern shown by most of these parents in the academic progress of their children; the initial special language help received by the older refugee children; and the effective liaison-service maintained between these refugee homes and the school. The wider issue• of the British host society's response to these incoming Vietnamese refugee-immigrants is considered in the last Chapter. The inadequacy of an 'assimilationist' approach to the education of ethnic minorities is examined, along with the need for a complete reappraisal and reorientation of the existing educational system to meet the changing needs of a multicultural British society.

Thesis (M.A.) -- Central Connecticut State University, 1998. / Thesis advisor: Dr. Marc Goldstein. "...in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in Psychology." Includes bibliographical references (leaves 28-31).

Thesis (M.A.)--Rowan University, 2007. / Typescript. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (M.A.)--West Virginia University, 2005. / Title from document title page. Document formatted into pages; contains iv, 60 p. : map (part col.). Includes abstract. Includes bibliographical references (p. 54-56).

Magister Economicae - MEcon / From 1947-1994, South Africans were ruled under apartheid – a racially discriminatory political and economic system. As the name itself implies, apartheid is an Afrikaans name meaning “apartness”. The provision of education in South Africa during this regime was poor, particularly for the African (black) population and most especially those living in homelands. This led to under-investment in human capital development particularly in the rural areas which resulted in, low levels of skills that have persisted till today. This has hindered those lacking the required skills to obtain lucrative employment and earning prospects. This study aims at investigating the impact of a household head’s educational attainment level on the poverty status of the household in South Africa with case study of Limpopo province. This study sought to establish if education has an effect on the poverty status of households in Limpopo Province. The Income and Expenditure Survey (IES) data conducted by Statistics South Africa, for the period 1995, 2000, 2005/06 and 2010/11 were used to carry out this investigation. The official absolute income poverty lines of R3864 (lower bound) and R7116 (upper bound) per capita per annum in 2000 prices were used. In order to establish the relationship between education and the poverty status of an individual or a household, a probit regression model has been used. The results obtained revealed that, there is a strong tendency for lower educational attainment to be associated with a higher prevalence of household poverty. That is, households headed by someone with primary or no education are more likely to be poorer than those headed by someone with tertiary education. Rural and Black households are the most vulnerable in Limpopo Province. Although there is large allocation of resources towards education, educational outcomes have not improved. This raises questions regarding the lack of association between educational outcomes and resource allocation.

This dissertation utilized cross-national and cross-sectional micro-data, internationally comparable macro-data, and hierarchical methodology to model variability in status attainment by religious factors, gender traditionalism, and contextual features of the fifty-seven countries included in the sample. The broad research goals were to ascertain gender differences in attainment outcomes, and to extend the scope of existing knowledge on the religion-attainment intersections, the bulk of which is based upon single-country and single-religion data. Cross-national findings validate that individuals' attainment outcomes are greatly shaped by contextual circumstances in terms of human development levels, public outlays on education, urbanization trends, and gross domestic product per capita. The random factors substantially reduce the fixed effects. Attainment variations exist within each religious group and religiosity level. This work illuminates the efficacy of adding `contexts' among the principal predictors in all research endeavors on attainment outcomes, stratification trends, social class mobility, and gender disparities with the purposes to discern individual-and country-level effects. In so doing, this dissertation in Sociology provides multidisciplinary analysis that may have implications for comparable research in Public Policy, Economics, and Gender Studies.

In the last 30 years the Jamaican government has invested substantially in education at the primary and secondary levels by providing a large number of inputs, including trained teachers. Still, many children are illiterate after completing primary school, and a large number of teenagers leave secondary school without acquiring a skill. The educational attainment of Jamaican children is low in absolute terms, and in comparison to other Caribbean nations. This breakdown in the uptake of education cannot be explained by lack of physical inputs. This dissertation focuses on the dynamics of the household by posing the question: Is the educational achievement of children with unmarried mothers different than that of children with married mothers? This is a potentially important question for Jamaica, since 80% of children are born out of wedlock and the probability of having married parents at age 15 is just 50 percent. It was found that children whose mothers are unmarried had lower cognitive achievement than children with married mothers, that in certain cases the disparity accentuates over time, and that children with unmarried mothers are also less likely to be attending high school. A large number of women in Jamaica complete most or all of their fertility out of wedlock. Yet, many of these women enter marriages at a late age (between 35 and 50 years old). These marriages sometimes evolve from current domiciliary relationships, but quite often they do not. In this study, one possible motivation for these late marriages is explored. It is proposed that women with smart children enter late marriages as a way of securing funds to invest in the education of these children. They are motivated to do so because, in the absence of old-age protection in Jamaica, smart children are a good way to store consumption for one's old age. This hypothesis was supported by the data. / Ph. D.

Building on sociological studies regarding college choice and persistence, this qualitative study investigates the college and post college experiences of 15 current students with NFL aspirations and 13 former students who held NFL aspirations, all from Division I Football Bowl Series (FBS) programs. A phenomenological design is implemented to explore participants' lived experiences, and awareness of their educational and occupational options. Deil-Amen and Tevis' (2010) Circumscribed Agency frames this study and provides a lens for examining the college choice and departure process. The role of the student exerting agency as circumscribed by context, habitus, and self-efficacy is emphasized with self-perceptions being essential in the process of enacting individual behavior and decisions. Perna's (2006) conceptual college choice model is made up of four contextual layers and is used to further explain students' college choice behaviors. Findings are consistent with Bowen and Schulman (2001) in that students' college decisions are driven by their athletic pursuits. This study also addresses persistence for this group of students. Tinto's (1993) theory on departure is used as a platform from which to examine commitment and social integration. Traditionally, degree commitment has been measured as strong or which severely limits our understanding of persistence. Findings reveal degree commitment to be fluid and contingent upon perceived occupational options, health status, and year in college. The majority of current students express commitment to degree attainment as a priority. However, further investigation reveals degree commitment to exist without a specific time frame set by students. This adds a time dimension to our understanding of degree commitment. This study further extends Tinto's concept of commitment with evidence of two competing goal commitments: degree and occupational. Decisions to leave college early for the NFL are driven by participants' self-perception of their athletic abilities despite where they are on the team's talent roster. This decision is further shaped by their college community integration consisting of teammates, coaches, and the NFL. Former students who stopped out of college reveal unanticipated challenges with re-entry into college. However, in contemplating a return to complete their bachelor’s degree, stop outs articulate a renewed sense of energy and degree commitment given a change in their occupational trajectory and situated context.

Doctor of Philosophy / Department of Sociology, Anthropology, and Social Work / Matthew R. Sanderson / This study investigates the role of second-generation Hmong in South Oroville in order to better understand broader questions of racial and ethnic integration among immigrants in rural areas of the U.S., the role of education in rural community viability, and the sustainability of rural communities with population growth derived mainly from immigration. I focus on two fundamental questions: Why are second-generation Hmong in South Oroville exceeding expectations for educational attainment, despite high levels of poverty and low levels of first generation educational attainment? How do second generation Hmong in South Oroville use their education? I draw on 16 qualitative interviews with second generation Hmong Americans in South Oroville to explore these questions. There are two key findings. First, the high college attainment rate was due to a high level of social integration with strong social ties within their networks, unique bridging through Upward Bound between the dominant society and the Hmong population, high parental expectations and high sibling expectations of educational attainment, and high amounts of financial support from grants and work study facilitated a 70% college attainment rate in 18-24 year olds in the population. Second, the Carr-Kefalas brain drain theory did not fully explain the post-education pathways for this population. An alternative theory of post-education pathways called the Hmong Typology explains post-education as dependent on gender expectations and sibling obligation.