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In the „coloured‟ community of Scottsville in the Western Cape, the historical legacy of political violence and abuse, combined with the current social hierarchies of violence, control and abuse, have serious consequences for Scottsville‟s young people. These traumas and the associated discourses create a culture of fear, distrust, hopelessness, humiliation and silence amongst the majority of the young people. I have employed feminist-poststructuralist analyses in order to grasp the complex nature of the challenges of „coloured‟ poverty. Foucault‟s analyses of power relations also offered this research ways to critique pastoral power. Because of Foucault‟s analyses, I became aware that „coloured‟ people‟s experience of poverty and invisibility could not be separated from my own experience of the power of privilege and visibility. The operation of unjust power relations in the „coloured‟ community therefore compelled me to use my education and privileges to work for the restitution of the voices and of relational and physical possibilities in the lives of „coloured‟ young people. What started out as a research project became a cross-cultural journey of reparation and of my own humanisation. I argue that the praxis of embodied solidarity with the „other‟ is the challenge that poverty ultimately poses to people of privilege and to the ways in which theology defines itself. In doing the work of reparation I was supported by the relational theme of solidarity with the marginalised provided by a feminist theology of praxis. The knowledges of the women in the community in particular served as resources of faith. The research methodologies I used in this research combined the practices of narrative therapy, creative writing, mentoring and drama. The purpose of these methodologies was to invite young people into various meaning-making processes which enabled them to become the agents of their own lives and of a culture of possibility. Derrida‟s work on deconstruction and the aporia provided this research with a framework for the theory of possibility. Through the methodologies of networking and advocacy, other people have joined us in going beyond the physical and relational limitations of poverty to create possibilities for the young people and their schools. / Practical theology / D. Th. (Practical Theology)

Denna studies syfte är att kartlägga förekomsten av fysiska besvär hos tvärflöjtlärare på Sveriges kommunala musik- och kulturskolor samt deras kunskap om, användning av och undervisning om ergonomi och förebyggande av skador. De frågeställningar som tas upp i arbetet är hur vanligt förekommande det är med fysiska besvär bland tvärflöjtlärare, huruvida de har fått adekvat ergonomikunskap för den profession de utövar, om de arbetar med förebyggande åtgärder mot fysiska besvär och i vilken utsträckning de inkluderar ergonomi i sin undervisning. Studien är en kvantitativ surveyundersökning och den genomfördes i form av en webb-enkät. Resultatet visar att 49 % av de tillfrågade tvärflöjtlärarna lider av fysiska besvär som de kopplar till tvärflöjtspelet. Besvären sitter framförallt i axlar, nacke/hals och rygg. 60 % av tvärflöjtlärarna arbetar med förebyggande åtgärder mot fysiska besvär, varav de vanligaste vardagliga åtgärderna handlar om att ta regelbundna pauser under tvärflöjtspelet och att regelbundet utöva någon fysisk träningsform. De vanligaste ergonomiska momenten som lärare tar upp med sina elever är övningsrutiner, kropps- och instrumenthållning, stretch- och avslappningsövningar samt vikten av fysisk träning. Resultatet visar även att många tvärflöjtlärare skulle vilja eller behöva bättre kunskaper om ergonomi eftersom musikutbildningar generellt förbereder musiker dåligt på de kroppsliga utmaningar som yrkeslivet innebär. I slutdiskussionen poängteras även att sjukvården behöver få bättre kunskap om musikerskador för att dessa ska kunna förhindras och botas, och att musiklärares arbetsvillkor måste uppmärksammas för att antalet skador ska kunna minimeras. / The purpose of this study is to map the occurrence of physical ailments among flute teachers in Swedish community schools of music and art, as well as their knowledge of, their use of and their teaching in ergonomics and injury prevention. The questions raised are how commonly occurring physical ailments are among flute teachers, whether or not they have received adequate knowledge in ergonomics for the profession they practice, if they work with preventive measures against physical ailments and to what extent they include ergonomics in their teaching. The study is a quantitative survey in the form of a web questionnaire. The results show that 49 % of the surveyed flute teachers suffer from physical ailments, which they connect to flute playing. The problems are mainly located in the shoulders, the neck and the back. 60 % of the flute teachers work with preventive measures against physical ailments, of which the most common everyday actions are regular breaks during flute practice and physical exercise on a regular basis. The most common ergonomic factors that teachers communicate to their pupils are practice routines, body posture, instrumental grip, stretching and relaxation exercises and the importance of physical training. The results also show that many flute teachers would want or need better knowledge of ergonomics, because music education generally prepares musicians poorly for the physical challenges of the professional life. In the concluding discussion is emphasized that healthcare needs to be better informed of musicians’ injuries for these to be prevented and cured, and music teachers’ working conditions require attention to minimize the number of injuries.

A free and appropriate public education is promised to every child in the United States. However, zero tolerance school discipline policies have broken that promise, pushing students out of the classroom and into the school-to-prison pipeline. Despite the growing body of research demonstrating negative social and economic impacts of exclusionary discipline, public school administrators have been slow to adopt innovative policies that provide rehabilitative alternatives. The purpose of this study was to compare, using the consequences of innovations application of Rogers's diffusion of innovations theory, the impact of various school district approaches to school discipline on suspension rates while controlling for race and socioeconomic status. This study used a quantitative, nonexperimental, nonequivalent groups, posttest-only research design using secondary analysis of data reported by 218 school districts in a New England state for the 2016-17 school year. Analysis of covariance indicated that there is a significant relationship between approaches to school discipline and suspension rates when controlling for racial and socioeconomic composition (p < .05). Race and economic disadvantage significantly influenced suspension rates (p < .001), and districts implementing alternatives differed significantly in their racial and socioeconomic compositions (p < .001). Policy implications include the promotion of alternative approaches to school discipline. Implications for social change include evidence to support the work of those addressing the needs underlying student behavior rather than crime and punishment models to produce safe and supportive schools and dismantle the school-to-prison pipeline.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Tennessee, Knoxville, 2009. / Title from title page screen (viewed on Mar. 10, 2010). Thesis advisor: Priscilla Blanton. Vita. Includes bibliographical references.

ABSTRACT The primary purpose of this study was to explore teachers’ perceptions of Aboriginal student achievement in six Saskatchewan public community schools in urban, rural, and Northern settings. Three of the schools were elementary schools, and three were high schools. Data for the study were obtained by means of teacher semi-structured interviews, and a teacher survey designed expressly for this research. The research opportunity sought to “explore in the context of selected Saskatchewan community schools, teachers’ perceptions of Aboriginal achievement, the unique and contextualized features that govern Aboriginal learning, and the efforts of teachers to enhance Aboriginal student learning.” Historically, Aboriginal student achievement has been viewed through a deficit lens. To gain a positive perspective of this phenomenon, a constructivist paradigm, a social justice theory of change governed by an ethos of appreciative inquiry were employed using a Mixed Methods Research design. Specifically, a two phase exploratory methodology where a qualitative phase followed by a quantitative one was used to best inform the research perspective. A multi-case study approach for each school and division was deemed the most effective means of exploring teacher conceptualizations of the manner and conditions under which Aboriginal students best learn. A total of nine teachers were interviewed and 28 responded to the teacher survey instrument. Member checks of the interview data were undertaken and statistical data using both Excel for Windows as well as SPSS statistical programs were employed for survey data analysis. Owing to the small survey sample, the author advises that caution be used when considering the survey results. However, it is hoped that refinement of the survey tool and its use in later research will prove to be of benefit in understanding the phenomenon of Aboriginal student achievement. A peer data analysis panel was convened to thematically analyse the four open-ended questions contained in the survey. Findings for this study indicated teachers valued the work of collaborative teams, supportive school learning environments, differentiated instruction, assessment for learning, professional development, and culturally responsive instruction and curriculum and school/division alignment to enhance Aboriginal student achievement. The study found that perceptions of Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal teachers differed where Aboriginal student achievement was concerned. As well, participants felt that heightened Aboriginal student achievement could be fashioned by determined student engagement in their academic work. Finally, participants believed that parent and community engagement in schools and the academic life of their children would also enhance Aboriginal student learning outcomes. It is hoped that this study will serve as a point of initiation for more research into the phenomenon on a wider basis in order to generate greater understanding of the means by which Aboriginal students may flourish within public schools in Saskatchewan and potentially elsewhere.

This thesis uses an historical lens to understand the political development of desegregation law since Brown, which demonstrates that local policies are produced by Supreme Court precedent. However, school districts and community members also create conditions in which the Supreme Court rules on integration law. Examining the history of segregation in Seattle and the efforts of integration (or efforts against it) illuminates the trajectory of civil rights. Claims once used to integrate black school children became a defense for white children to attend, inevitably, white neighborhood schools, due to the lingering effects of housing segregation. Seattle’s desegregation policies depended upon the city’s local conditions and the Board’s strategy reflected national trends dictated by the Supreme Court’s decisions. In turn, Seattle’s local policies affected the Supreme Court’s decision regarding school integration in 2007. The local conditions surrounding many of Seattle parents’ fight against mandatory school assignment plans based on race in 2007 could not have been accomplished without the historical precedent against busing established by liberal, anti-busing groups during the 1970s and 1980s.

In the „coloured‟ community of Scottsville in the Western Cape, the historical legacy of political violence and abuse, combined with the current social hierarchies of violence, control and abuse, have serious consequences for Scottsville‟s young people. These traumas and the associated discourses create a culture of fear, distrust, hopelessness, humiliation and silence amongst the majority of the young people. I have employed feminist-poststructuralist analyses in order to grasp the complex nature of the challenges of „coloured‟ poverty. Foucault‟s analyses of power relations also offered this research ways to critique pastoral power. Because of Foucault‟s analyses, I became aware that „coloured‟ people‟s experience of poverty and invisibility could not be separated from my own experience of the power of privilege and visibility. The operation of unjust power relations in the „coloured‟ community therefore compelled me to use my education and privileges to work for the restitution of the voices and of relational and physical possibilities in the lives of „coloured‟ young people. What started out as a research project became a cross-cultural journey of reparation and of my own humanisation. I argue that the praxis of embodied solidarity with the „other‟ is the challenge that poverty ultimately poses to people of privilege and to the ways in which theology defines itself. In doing the work of reparation I was supported by the relational theme of solidarity with the marginalised provided by a feminist theology of praxis. The knowledges of the women in the community in particular served as resources of faith. The research methodologies I used in this research combined the practices of narrative therapy, creative writing, mentoring and drama. The purpose of these methodologies was to invite young people into various meaning-making processes which enabled them to become the agents of their own lives and of a culture of possibility. Derrida‟s work on deconstruction and the aporia provided this research with a framework for the theory of possibility. Through the methodologies of networking and advocacy, other people have joined us in going beyond the physical and relational limitations of poverty to create possibilities for the young people and their schools. / Practical theology / D. Th. (Practical Theology)

The provision of low cost housing has become one of the current South African government‟s top priorities. With the establishment of these new housing developments comes the need for accompanying social infrastructure. This includes the provisioning of schools, police stations, clinics and sports fields. In this study, I attempted to identify and explore the key basic elements that needed to be present when opening a new community school in one of these low income housing developments. The study gives voice to what key stakeholders thought these elements should be. The stakeholders were the teachers and community volunteers, which included parents of the learners. They actively participated in this study through the methodology of participatory action learning and action research (PALAR). The participants identified strong, compassionate and visionary leadership as an essential element that need to be present when opening up a new school. The study further shows that this leadership must have some knowledge of effective management systems in order to support the establishment of a new school. The findings also show that leadership and the effective implementation of these management systems rely heavily on the support of a variety of internal and external stakeholders, especially when support was lacking from the Department of Basic Education. The study further shows that the roles of the various stakeholders should be clearly defined and managed, so as to avoid tensions that might arise by having a large number of people involved in a confined space like a school. Teachers and community volunteers emerged as the key stakeholders who contributed to the effective functioning of the new school. Their continued involvement in the school requires on-going professional development and support.

La investigación propone un local educativo público, equipado con una mediateca, programas educativos de inclusión social para la comunidad en su entorno y un espacio público abierto, dicho programa nace a partir de las necesidades existentes de la zona. / Tesis