The main question of this study is the insufficient developed character of sociology in Turkey. In this study it is assumed that there are few factors that lead to this situation. Official ideology and its effects on sociology and university, the problems arisen from the discipline itself, the developing character of Turkey, and the conflict among sociologist academicians can be accepted as the factors that affect the sociology in Turkey. Related to this problem, in this study the opinions of academics sociologists in Turkey are examined. By using the techniques such as questionnaire and depth-interview, academicians&rsquo / evaluations are gathered.

The city Umeå in northern Sweden was elected to become the European culture capital for 2014. This was a result of the city’s desire to lead the way in the new culture-driven growth that we have seen since the start of the millennium. Umeå has big plans to expand, and cultural development is the central strategy they have decided on to reach the city’s goals. Because Umeå is such a prominent music-city it is interesting to study how the music scene has been affected by this. The aim of this study is to analyse how the local music scene, both the physical and the cultural, has been affected by the way the city has used culture to advertise the city and to fuel the population growth. This has been done through mapping of the active music scenes, with interviews and through information gathered by local newspapers. When analysing this material, it became clear that after this strategy had been implemented there have been a change in the local music scene, but maybe not the one the city would have thought.

Research Doctorate - Doctor of Philosphy (PhD) / This research applies Bourdieu’s theorising of habitus and cultural capital to understand how class mediates young people’s reflexivity and perceptions of risk. It engages with the theories of reflexive modernity, primarily with the work of Beck and Giddens, who both describe recent processes of individualization, detraditionalization and the increasing importance of the concept of risk. The study seeks to critically engage with Bourdieu’s project, reworking some of his key theoretical ideas such as the possibility of ‘reflexivity’ itself being a new form of embodied cultural capital. It also engages with works that see discourses of risk as central to neo-liberal governmentality. The research entails 380 surveys and nine focus groups at three distinct secondary schools in a large regional Australian city – a public high school in an outer suburb low socio-economic area of the city which offers a specialist sports program; an inner suburb academically-selective public high school where pupils gain an offer of enrolment only through rigorous academic testing; and an expensive private college in the middle of the central business district. Year Eleven and Twelve students (16-18 years) at the three schools were asked about their ambitions; the obstacles they think may stand in the way of achieving their ambitions; and about their perceptions and experiences of inequality and risk. The risks discussed include the problems involved in the day-to-day life of young people as well as their engagement with larger risk discourses about technology and the environment. The data highlights how inequality is experienced or denied by some, and analysed from a distance by others. Reflexivity is present regardless of class position, but is expressed in a variety of ways. There are clear and subtle distinctions in engagement with micro and macro level risks. Overall, the data highlights how class continues to shape practice, perceptions and emotions.

Research Doctorate - Doctor of Philoshpy (PhD) / This thesis re-examines the Australian literary field of the 1890s by focussing on the life and times of the novelist Joseph Furphy. He had only one book, Such is Life, published during his lifetime but in addition produced a small volume of literary work. All of his works have been published or re-published since his death in 1912. To better appreciate why Furphy struggled to secure publication of his writing requires understanding not only of the author himself but also of Australian society and culture at the time he was writing. To this end this thesis considers the ideas of French sociologist Pierre Bourdieu and his concepts of capital, habitus and field as a useful frame of reference. The ensuing analysis uses this framework for the interrelated dynamics within a social space – a literary field – to explain the production of literary works. Using Bourdieu’s idea that the social space in which works were produced is the proper starting point for interpreting literary works, the first section of the thesis defines a relevant literary field. The next section analyses Furphy’s confrontations within this literary field as he proceeded in his life as an author. An essential part of a Bourdieuan analysis depends upon recognising that a literary field is a microcosm of society where outside events are mediated through the particular autonomy of the field. In considering this, the remainder of the thesis analyses Furphy’s writing as he engaged with the topics of education, religion, language and identity as they were retranslated through the specific logic operating within an Australian literary field of the 1890s.

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) / Abstract This thesis examines the experiences of Korean migrant women (KMW) in the Australian labour market. A review of the extant literature leads to two propositions, both of which assert that KMW are likely to experience labour market disadvantage or barriers to entry. These propositions take into account two significant theories of the labour market: segmentation theory and human capital theory. Segmentation theory argues that unchangeable gender and racial / cultural differences have the greatest impact upon labour market value, human capital theory describes the labour market value of individuals as based upon apparently objective and attainable skills (here English language skills). Using narrative analysis and, more specifically, antenarrative analysis, the study examines the life stories of 33 Australian KMW. In so doing, it identifies hitherto unheard discourses concerning the experiences of KMW in relation to the Australian labour market — discourses that challenge established academic thinking regarding this issue. Identification and analysis of these new discourses generates a number of alternative understandings of the labour market experiences of KMW. These alternative understandings both demonstrate the limitations of, and go beyond, the existing two propositions. In particular, the research shows that the impacts of gender and culture (segmentation theory) vary over time for KMW, do not always prevent labour market participation, and are experienced in terms of identity within a gendered Australian labour market. The research also demonstrates that while many KMW are in fact sufficiently skilled in the English language (human capital theory) to enter the Australian labour market, they nevertheless experience a sense of inferiority about their English language capacity that discourages them from entering, and limits their opportunities to participate in, the labour market. This in turn contributes to their social isolation. The thesis concludes that within the Australian academic literature, KMW have either been given little space and voice or have been misrepresented, reflecting and contributing to an ongoing ignorance of the experiences of Asian women in Australian workplaces. The KMW examined in this study are subject to numerous forms of subordination in Australian workplaces and society that cannot be adequately explained in terms of their human capital or their gender and cultural differences. The covert nature of the politics of difference within the work place makes exclusionary practices more difficult to identify and discuss. The thesis argues that in order to overcome these problems new policies of multiculturalism and productive diversity need to be developed. It asserts that narrative analytic techniques are an important means by which to inform such policy development. Abstract This thesis examines the experiences of Korean migrant women (KMW) in the Australian labour market. A review of the extant literature leads to two propositions, both of which assert that KMW are likely to experience labour market disadvantage or barriers to entry. These propositions take into account two significant theories of the labour market: segmentation theory and human capital theory. Segmentation theory argues that unchangeable gender and racial / cultural differences have the greatest impact upon labour market value, human capital theory describes the labour market value of individuals as based upon apparently objective and attainable skills (here English language skills). Using narrative analysis and, more specifically, antenarrative analysis, the study examines the life stories of 33 Australian KMW. In so doing, it identifies hitherto unheard discourses concerning the experiences of KMW in relation to the Australian labour market — discourses that challenge established academic thinking regarding this issue. Identification and analysis of these new discourses generates a number of alternative understandings of the labour market experiences of KMW. These alternative understandings both demonstrate the limitations of, and go beyond, the existing two propositions. In particular, the research shows that the impacts of gender and culture (segmentation theory) vary over time for KMW, do not always prevent labour market participation, and are experienced in terms of identity within a gendered Australian labour market. The research also demonstrates that while many KMW are in fact sufficiently skilled in the English language (human capital theory) to enter the Australian labour market, they nevertheless experience a sense of inferiority about their English language capacity that discourages them from entering, and limits their opportunities to participate in, the labour market. This in turn contributes to their social isolation. The thesis concludes that within the Australian academic literature, KMW have either been given little space and voice or have been misrepresented, reflecting and contributing to an ongoing ignorance of the experiences of Asian women in Australian workplaces. The KMW examined in this study are subject to numerous forms of subordination in Australian workplaces and society that cannot be adequately explained in terms of their human capital or their gender and cultural differences. The covert nature of the politics of difference within the work place makes exclusionary practices more difficult to identify and discuss. The thesis argues that in order to overcome these problems new policies of multiculturalism and productive diversity need to be developed. It asserts that narrative analytic techniques are an important means by which to inform such policy development.

Στην παρούσα εργασία επιχειρείται η μελέτη της πρακτικής των εκπαιδευτικών πρωτοβάθμιας εκπαίδευσης που υπηρετούν στο Ν. Αχαΐας και που ασχολούνται συστηματικά με τη θεατρική τους εκπαίδευση, καθώς και η διερεύνηση των μεταβολών που υφίσταται το πολιτισμικό τους κεφάλαιο, μετά την εισαγωγή τους στο καλλιτεχνικό πεδίο. Συγκεκριμένα, η έρευνα επικεντρώνεται στη θεατρική ομάδα «ΡΩΓΜΗ», στην Πάτρα, και εξετάζονται οι απόψεις και οι εμπειρίες των εκπαιδευτικών που συμμετέχουν σε αυτή. Η έρευνα, βασισμένη στο θεωρητικό πλαίσιο του Pierre Bourdieu, υλοποιείται μέσα από ημιδομημένες συνεντεύξεις και συμμετοχική παρατήρηση στο καλλιτεχνικό πεδίο δράσεων της συγκεκριμένης θεατρικής ομάδας. Οι παράμετροι που διερευνώνται είναι το πολιτισμικό κεφάλαιο των εκπαιδευτικών πριν μπουν στη συγκεκριμένη διαδικασία της θεατρικής εκπαίδευσης - και αν αυτό επηρεάζεται μέσα από αυτή τη διαδικασία- καθώς η πρακτική τους μέσα στο πεδίο του σχολείου. Έννοιες όπως το πολιτισμικό κεφάλαιο, το habitus, η hexis corporelle, το πεδίο και η πρακτική χρησιμοποιούνται για την ανάλυση των δεδομένων. Βασικά ευρήματα αποτελούν τα εξής: α) το πολιτισμικό κεφάλαιο ενισχύεται μέσω της θεατρικής εκπαίδευσης και στις τρεις μορφές του και β) οι αλλαγές ως προς την πρακτική των εκπαιδευτικών εστιάζονται στη διδασκαλία του μαθήματος της Γλώσσας, της Αισθητικής Αγωγής, στην προετοιμασία και την παρουσίαση των σχολικών γιορτών και στη σωματική τους πρακτική στο εκπαιδευτικό πεδίο. Τέλος, η καλλιτεχνική εκπαίδευση των εκπαιδευτικών αναδεικνύεται ως ζήτημα που μπορεί να συμβάλλει θετικά στην ανανέωση της πρακτικής των εκπαιδευτικών στο σχολικό πεδίο. / This study attempts to examine the practice of the teachers who work in the Primary Education of the Achaia Perfecture and are trained to drama education-and the investigation of the changes of their cultural capital, after their entrance to the art field. Specifically, this study focuses on the theatrical team «ROGMI», in Patras, and it examines the views and experiences of the teachers that participate in it. The research has the form of qualitative case study in which the research subjects are fifteen teachers of the Primary Education. The research –based on the theoritical framework of Pierre Bourdieu, uses as methods of collecting data the semi structured interview, the participant observation in the art field of the theatrical team, and as the method of analysis the qualitative content analysis. The examined parameters are the cultural capital of the teachers before they enter the drama education field –and if it was influenced- and their practice in the educational field of their school. The selection of Bourdieu's theoretical concepts underlying this study are those of cultural capital, habitus, hexis corporelle, field, art field, practice. Main findings are a) the way the cultural capital is enhanced due to the art (drama) education in its three forms and b) the changes, as far as the teachers’ practice is concerned, located to the teaching of the linguistic lesson, the aesthetic aducation, the preparing and the presentation of the school drama performances and the corpus practice in the educational field. Finally, the teachers’ art education is emerged as an issue that can contribute to an innovative and refreshed practice of the teachers within the field of the school.

Many Thai scholars are skeptical that Thai medical doctors can utilize knowledge and skills in Thailand from experience acquired when they study abroad, due to cultural differences, including a hierarchical culture that places importance on seniority and can prevent medical doctors seeking to actualize those new skills when they return to work in Thailand. Despite growing interest in and study of globalization, there are few existing studies that explore the relationship between social and individual consequences of formal study abroad programs. Nor are there many studies that apply sociological theory on the professions to less developed countries, or that focus on the relationship between power and culture in medical education in Thailand. This thesis will explore these topics by first reviewing and discussing three main bodies of sociological literature on medical professionalization, educational institutions, and study abroad. Given the gaps in the literature, it proposes a comparative study that relies on in-depth interviews with two groups of Thai medical doctors: those who have studied abroad and those who have not. The comparative design will allow the researcher to gain leverage on the consequences of study abroad to individual career trajectories, as well as the broader healthcare system, and contributes to the building of new sociological theory. Despite the many challenges that Thai doctors who go abroad face in adapting and actualizing new skills, I hypothesize that study abroad alters Thailand’s social hierarchy through the creation of a new class of “international doctors,” endowed with new skills, knowledge and cultural capital. While the benefits of belonging to this elite class may not be manifested immediately, due to the seniority system, they become apparent over time.

abstract: The purpose of this study was to answer the question, "What are the experiences of students who have completed the Achievement Academy program?" In collecting data to answer this question, a series of clarifying questions also emerged: "What are the cultural, academic, and personal costs and benefits associated with being a part of Achievement Academy?"; "How have students defined or redefined their cultural, social, academic, and personal identities because of Achievement Academy?"; and "In what ways have the students used their surroundings and experiences to overcome preconceived notions of either what they were capable of or general expectations of those around them?" While there have been studies undertaken to examine students' experiences in both public school and private school academic programs, there is currently no research on the unique academic program and partnership of Achievement Academy with both public and private schools. This study provides direct insight from a participant focus group and individual participant interviews of students that attended Achievement Academy. A phenomenology research methodology was used to collect the data and Critical Race Theory (CRT) was used as the lens through which the data from the focus group and interviews were analyzed. This analysis resulted in three distinct findings in the research data: peers, program environment, and the presence of a mentor or positive role model are the major influencing factors for their success both in Achievement Academy and afterwards. First, the Achievement Academy students' peers in the program had a strong positive influence on how they viewed and defined themselves. These interactions allowed some students an opportunity to re-evaluate and recreate their identities and allowed validation of identity for others. Second, the Achievement Academy program, and more specifically its stated mission and practices, also provided a strong positive influence on their success. Third, the presence of a mentor or role model was instrumental to their success. The program's emphasis on empowerment and enrichment also created opportunities for students to stretch themselves academically, socially, and culturally. / Dissertation/Thesis / Ed.D. Educational Administration and Supervision 2012

This thesis has focussed on the International Baccalaureate’s Diploma Programme (IBDP). This focus arose from the author having worked in three centres which had subsequently gone on to adopt the IBDP, and which had thus given the author access to an initial purposive sample. This sample was later extended to include another five schools/colleges, as the author found that the initial interviewing sample had yielded inconclusive findings. The extended sample, however, provided a significantly rich source of qualitative data. This thesis examines leadership, and how leaders choose to implement non-mandatory curricula choices in schools and colleges. It also addresses whether leaders believe that these choices make differences to their students’ life chances through social mobility. This thesis investigates what happens when leaders can no longer afford to offer such choices to their students: how this makes them ‘feel’, and what they have ‘experienced’, through the removal of a curriculum option for educationalists and learners alike. It also addresses how leaders ‘feel’ when their students maintain access to curricula choices that other post-16 students are unable to access. The thesis also considers the development and extension of ‘a globally mobile transnational elite’ group (Savage et al, 2015: 244), and the leaders in education who deliver and extend this position. There have been eight phases to this research process, including four strands of data collection, with post-16 students, middle tier staff, HEI students, and Senior Leadership Teams in providing institutions, but the determining focus is with the SLTs interviews (N=28), conducted in 2014 and 2015. These were the individuals who had taken the decisions on the implementation of this non-mandatory curriculum area. The thesis analyzes some of the current areas of ‘distinction’ (Bourdieu, 1986) on independent schooling, and the research process demonstrates the significant gaps that are opening up between more traditional upper middle class groups in contrast with more adept transnational students and their parents. The thesis confirms that a global transnational elite exists inside the English education system, and that it uses the IBDP extensively to establish its separate cultural identity. It identifies ways of access to HEIs that are now a critical part of that cultural entity, as discussed by Savage et al (2015). This thesis is therefore an indicator of new and emerging forms of social differentiation, and examines how this is created using the IBDP. At a time of decreasing social mobility for the mainstream population, the thesis explores whether education environments are able to influence either their students or the wider education policy agenda, in order to actively achieve social justice.

Foster care youth face significant challenges to postsecondary educational success, especially while enrolled at four-year institutions. Foster care youth are absent of family support that their non-foster peers receive throughout the college experience. Without family support, foster care youth encounter greater challenges to persevere through college and reach graduation. Postsecondary education provides a fundamental opportunity for foster care youth to achieve positive life outcomes. Policy makers, social welfare agents and educators continue to advocate on behalf of foster care youth and have made it possible for them to attend college; however, lack of preparedness and support prevent foster care youth from staying in college. Skills necessary for college success are often gained in early stages of life. For many foster care youth it is in this early stage of life that they have been separated from biological family and placed in the foster care system. This research sought to answer the question: how does the family milieu influence postsecondary educational success for foster care youth? According to research, parents play a significant role in the accrual of educational, social and cultural skills needed for children to have success in later stages of life. Additionally, research supports that schooling becomes increasingly complex as life success becomes increasingly dependent on college success.