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African American and Hispanic students and students from families with lower income are particularly at-risk for differential academic achievement and dropout. When students underachieve at school or dropout, they often face severe consequences such as increased risk of incarceration and unemployment. School social workers strive to prevent poor academic achievement and the associated negative outcomes. In recent years, federal and state education policy has focused on reducing disparities in academic achievement through the creation of policies that use high-stakes testing requirements to hold schools accountable for student learning. Research studies on teacher perceptions of high-stakes testing indicate that it is having a negative impact on their job tasks and on school systems. However, there are few studies that examine school social worker perceptions about the impact of high-stakes testing. This study examines school social workers’ perceptions about high-stakes testing. Specifically, it assesses school social worker perceptions about the impact of high-stakes testing on school systems and how school ratings and student performance might influence these perceptions. It also examines school social workers’ perceptions about the impact of high-stakes testing on their abilities to perform their work tasks. The study sample is drawn from respondents to the Texas School Social Work Survey (n=177). Data were analyzed through secondary data analysis using factor analysis and structural equation modeling (SEM). Findings indicate that school social workers perceive high-stakes testing as having a largely negative impact on school systems and their job tasks. School social workers who predominantly worked with students from ethnic minority backgrounds were more likely to have negative opinions about the impact of high-stakes testing on their job tasks. School social workers from schools with lower school ratings and those who felt that the students on their caseload tended to struggle on high-stakes tests had more negative perceptions about the impact of high-stakes testing on school systems. Results indicate the need for school social workers to become more involved in education policy and macro practice, to connect their services to improved academic outcomes for students, and to find new ways to provide school social work services in the “age of accountability.” / text

Federal legislation, No Child Left Behind (NCLB, 2001), has brought the call for high quality and excellence into every aspect of education, including professional development. The links between teacher learning and student learning are well documented. teacher skill is one aspect influencing student growth; hence, professional development provides a path to the goal of NCLB - increased student achievement. However, it is a long way from policy decisions to implementation in local districts; hence, the professional development requirements of NCLB face challenges to implementation. One of the factors affecting NCLB policy implementation at all levels is the capacity of schools and districts to implement policies as they are intended (Cooper, Fusarelli, & Randall, 2004; Heck, 2004; Odden, 1991). Especially in rural districts, factors of isolation, poverty, and size may restrict the implementation of policy requirements (Jimerson, 2004; Reeves, 2003). This policy impact study used qualitative methods to look at the question, "How Do Factors of Arizona's Rural Districts Impact the Implementation of Models of Professional Development Required by NCLB?" Information was gathered through the use of document analysis, site-visits, and semi-structured interviews.

Thesis (M.A..)--Marshall University, 2009. / Title from document title page. Includes abstract. Document formatted into pages: contains vi, 71 p. Includes bibliographical references p. 57-60.

Thesis (M.A.)--Miami University, Dept. of Comparative Religion, 2004. / Title from second page of PDF document. Includes bibliographical references (p. 64-77).

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abstract: Despite the extensive research on the consequences of migration, little is known about the effects of seasonal migration on fertility, contraception and sexually transmitted diseases in the countries of former Soviet Union, that have undergone vast demographic changes in the last two decades. Using cross-sectional data from two surveys conducted in Armenia in 2005 and 2007, this dissertation is exploring the effects of seasonal migration on reproductive behavior and outcomes, as well as sexual health among women left-behind. The dissertation is constructed of three independent studies that combined draw the broad picture of the consequences of seasonal migration in this part of the world. The first study, "Seasonal migration and fertility in low-fertility areas of origin" looks at the effect of seasonal migration on yearly pregnancy rates, lifetime fertility, and fertility preferences among women and their husbands. The models are fitted using discrete-time logistic regression, and random-intercept logistic regression for negative binomial and binary outcomes, correspondingly. The findings show that seasonal migration in low-fertility settings does not further disrupt fertility levels in a short-, or long-run, contradicting to the findings from high-fertility settings. However, the study provides some evidence that seasonal migration is associated with increased fertility preferences among migrant men. The second study, "Seasonal migration and contraception among women left-behind", examines the associations between migration and modern contraceptive use, by looking at current contraceptive use and the history of abortions. A series of random-intercept logistic regression models reveal that women with migrant partners are significantly less likely to use modern contraceptives, than women married to non-migrants. They also have higher rates of abortions; however this effect is moderated by the socioeconomic status of the household. The third study, "Seasonal migration and risks of sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) among women left-behind", looks at the effects of seasonal migration on the diagnosed STDs in the last three years, and self reported STD-like symptoms in the last twelve months. The results of random-intercept logistic regression for negative binomial and binary outcomes provide strong evidence of increased STD risks among migrants' wives; however, this effect is also moderated by the household income. / Dissertation/Thesis / Ph.D. Sociology 2011

abstract: ABSTRACT The aim of the study is to examine the impact of international male labor migration on the sexual and reproductive health of women who stay back home in Tajikistan. The data for this study was gathered as a result of ethnographic field works conducted on several occasions from 2011 to 2013. The results of the study suggest that male migration does not have an impact on fertility levels of the left-behind women. Although similarly to previous studies this study shows that wives of migrants are less likely to use contraception, it nevertheless demonstrates changes in contraceptive behaviors of wives of migrants such as seasonal removal and insertion of an intrauterine device (IUD) and shift from long-term to short-term contraception use. However, despite the availability of numerous forms of contraception in the country, the pattern of contraceptive use such as the reliance on IUDs dominant during the Soviet period continues to exist among wives of non-migrants. One of the most important findings of this study is women’s ability to use condoms for a short term with husbands after their return and asking spouses to have an HIV test. This finding challenges the dominant discourses in HIV and migration literature focusing on the inability, impossibility and failure on the part of the wives to negotiate HIV prevention due to various factors impeding the promotion of HIV prevention skills and measures among women. Moreover, the study demonstrates that, on the one hand, male migration worsens reproductive health of the left-behind women, but, on the other hand, it improves/increases their access to reproductive health institutions thanks to remittances. Although self-reported symptoms of women show a slight difference in reproductive morbidity, including STIs of wives of migrants and non-migrants, health care providers believe that this difference is significant and wives of migrants are more likely to have complications during pregnancy, delivery and post-delivery periods. The study also shows that the majority of HIV prevention and family planning programs target only wives of migrants and non-migrants, however it is crucial that migrant men should also be targets of these programs. / Dissertation/Thesis / Doctoral Dissertation Gender Studies 2015

abstract: ABSTRACT When you have more students who are eligible for tutoring than those who are successfully meeting the academic requirements, then there is a problem. This study examined the impact that NCLB's federal mandates of providing Supplemental Educational tutoring services had on New Mexico’s Standards Based Assessment results for eligible elementary students in one district who participated in tutoring for three school years from 2008 to 2011. The quantitative study examined the archived Standards Based Assessment data for each tutored participant leading to the total average means scaled scores per year for four elementary schools in comparison to non-tutored students within the same schools. Research Question 1 asked if Supplemental Educational Services tutoring increased Standards Based Assessment scores. To generalize the results and state whether there was an increase in SBA test scores due to participation in the SES tutoring was not valid. Research Question 2 asked if the number of years tutored increased Standard Based Assessment scores. There were only three students who were tutored for two years consecutively. Research Question 3 asked if one group of providers were more effective than others. One provider was used from 44% to 88% of the time; however, there were no clear findings as to which SES provider was more effective as to SBA gains. Research Question 4 asked as to what services offered from SES providers was the parent choice for tutoring. The researcher found descriptions from the other SES providers to be similar to Club Z! Interviews were not part of the study and contacts made with the providers were not successful, pre- and posttest results of participating students were not available. The recommendation primarily was build internal monitoring and evaluation, collaborations with tutors, and continued study in area of tutoring. / Dissertation/Thesis / Doctoral Dissertation Educational Administration and Supervision 2015

abstract: Assessment practices in U.S. schools have become a greatly debated topic since the passage of the No Child Left Behind Act of 2002. In response to these new guidelines, schools and teachers have made adjustments in the ways they implement assessment practice and utilize assessment data -- ultimately impacting the lives of students and their educational outcomes. Using elements of Bourdieu's Theory of Practice as a lens to consider both context and implications of assessment practices within this new legislative era, a case study is focused on the lives of teachers and students within a single U.S. middle school. This study synthesizes secondary data in the form of standardized test scores, teacher grades in math and reading, a student grit survey, along with student narratives and teacher observations to reveal the ways in which assessment practice structures the classroom field. Findings reveal the conflicting ways in which teachers and students navigate a system framed by bureaucratic legitimacy. For teachers, issues of assessment rules and time constraints lead to frustrations and bureaucratic slippage. Conversely, students implement strategies to resist and manage the routine assessment practices of teachers. / Dissertation/Thesis / Doctoral Dissertation Justice Studies 2015