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published_or_final_version / abstract / toc / Education / Master / Master of Education

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The constitutional division of powers in Canada assigns no authority to the federal state in the area of education. In spite of this, the Canadian state has used its constitutional authority to act in the national interest to justify substantial activity in public education at all levels. One area of particular interest to the state is the education of Canadian citizens. This thesis examines state policy in citizenship education between 1947 and 1982. It focuses on the Department of the Secretary of State, particularly the Canadian Citizenship Branch, and addresses three questions: 1) What conception of citizenship formed the basis for state policy in citizenship education? 2) How did the state formulate citizenship education policy? and 3) What means did the federal state use to implement citizenship education policy given that education is an area of provincial jurisdiction? Throughout this period the state was preoccupied with questions of national unity and therefore the focus of its policy in citizenship education was the construction and propagation of a national ideal in which all Canadians could find their identity as citizens. The policy was consistent with an elitist conception of citizenship in that it excluded most Canadians from the process of constructing the national identity and relegated citizen participation to largely apolitical voluntary activities. Although the Department of the Secretary of State was rhetorically committed to scientific policy making, the process was driven not by social science research but by attempts to secure and extend bureaucratic territory in relation to both other government departments and voluntary organizations working in the citizenship sector. In the complex interplay among the interested parties the Department was sometimes a leader and sometimes a follower in the policy making process. State citizenship education policy was implemented through official agreements with the provinces as well as more direct means which bypassed provincial authorities. Bilingualism in Education programs are the best example of the former, while training programs for teachers, the production and dissemination of materials, and attempts to use voluntary organizations as surrogates for the state are examples of the latter.

The discussion over whether arts education has an impact on social responsibility has been an interesting field of investigation in the educational realm. Although there still remains a dearth of information surrounding this issue, past research in the field has shed light on the importance of art and aesthetic education. Building upon prior research, this study offers a critical investigation into issues linking social responsibility and arts and aesthetic education. At the core of this study, through the use of a phenomenological framework, insight was offered into whether students' perceptions of a dance program in one British Columbia school assisted them in constructing a more advanced notion of their role in social responsibility. The overall results suggest that the participants believe that the dance program has assisted them in understanding and fulfilling their role in being socially responsible.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Ohio State University, 2008. / Title from first page of PDF file. Includes bibliographical references (p. 289-298).

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Murdoch University, 2009. / Thesis submitted to the Faculty of Arts and Education. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 281-302)

Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Maryland at College Park, 1996. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 196-201).

Thesis (Ph.D.)--York University, 2004. Graduate Programme in / Typescript. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 272-313). Also available on the Internet. MODE OF ACCESS via web browser by entering the following URL: http://wwwlib.umi.com/cr/yorku/fullcit?pNQ99186

This study assessed the civic knowledge, skills, and attitudes of Hispanic eighth grade students in Miami-Dade County Public Schools (M-DCPS), Florida. Three hundred sixty one Hispanic students of Cuban (253), Colombian (57), and Nicaraguan (51) ancestry from 10 middle schools participated in the study. Two hundred twenty eight students were from low socio-economic status (SES) background, and 133 were of middle SES background. There were 136 boys and 225 girls. The International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement Civic Education Student Questionnaire was used to collect data. The instrument assessed the students’ civic knowledge, skills, and attitudes. Multivariate analysis of variance was used to test for differences in the civic knowledge, skills, and attitudes of participants based on ancestry, SES, and gender. The findings indicated that there was no significant difference in the civic knowledge, skills, and attitudes of Hispanic eighth grade students that were of Cuban, Colombian, and Nicaraguan ancestry. There was no significant difference in the civic vi ii skills and in five of the civic attitude scales for students from low SES families compared to those from middle SES families. However, there was a significant difference in the civic knowledge and in the civic attitude concerning classroom discussions and participation based on SES. The civic knowledge of middle SES students was higher than that of low SES students. Furthermore, middle SES Hispanic students displayed a higher mean score for the civic attitude of classroom discussions and participation than low SES students. There was no significant difference in the civic knowledge and in five of the civic attitude scales between boys and girls. However, there was a significant difference in the civic skills and the civic attitude of support for women’s rights between boys and girls. Hispanic girls displayed a higher mean score in civic skills than Hispanic boys. Furthermore, the mean score of civic attitude of support for women’s rights for Hispanic girls was higher than that of Hispanic boys. It was concluded that Cuban, Colombian, or Nicaraguan participants did not demonstrate differences in civic attitudes and levels of civic knowledge and skills that eighth grade students possessed. In addition, when compared to boys, girls demonstrated a higher level of civic skills and a greater support for women’s rights and participation in politics and their roles in politics. Moreover, SES was demonstrated to be a key factor in the acquisition of civic knowledge, regardless of ancestry.