This work investigates teachers' perspectives on their responsibilities and conditions for conducting crime prevention work in Swedish schools located in socio-economically disadvantaged areas. Due to unclear guidelines regarding the teachers' role in crime prevention, the study focuses on how teachers perceive and approach these tasks. Using a qualitative research approach based on semi-structured interviews with five teachers, in three different school, the study explores the challenges and opportunities teachers face in this work. The collected empirical material was analyzed through thematic analysis and interpreted using relevant theories, such as Social band theory. The study's findings show that despite uncertainty about their defined responsibilities, teachers take an active role and see crime prevention work as an integral part of their professional role. The conclusions emphasize that teachers' ability to work crime-preventively is strongly influenced by challenges at both the individual and societal level, including high crime rates, limited future prospects, social traumas, and stigmatization. Furthermore, the study highlights that effective crime prevention strategies largely involve building strong relationships with students and creating motivation and meaningfulness in their studies to reduce the risk of deviant behaviors.

Successful recruitment and engagement of participants is essential for large-scale dissemination and implementation efforts, yet it is especially challenging in socioeconomically disadvantaged communities. This mixed-methods study is a secondary analysis of a behavioral intervention targeting Appalachian adults, and examines the effect of enrolling with others versus enrolling alone in regards to reach, engagement, retention, and behavior change, as well as perceived barriers to program participation. Further, this study explores how engagement, retention, and behavior change are influenced by social networks. Contrary to our hypothesis, using an 'enrolling with others' recruitment strategy did not improve reach, engagement, retention, or behavior change; rather, enrolling alone was associated with greater significant differences in engagement in classes (p=.042), missed class calls (p=.005), total activities (p=.001), and retention (p<.001). Qualitative responses reveal barriers to engagement by both groups of participants. Network density scores had a significant impact on participant engagement in classes (p=.001), total activities (p=.024), and retention (p<.001), and qualitative responses identified the participant's relationship to other participants had a positive impact on their enrollment and behavior change in SIPsmartER. However, these findings are limited by the small sample size and high enrollment of a worksite with a high network density and high engagement. The findings and limitations paired with the enrolling with others and social network literature suggest the need for exploration with a larger study population to better understand the impact on reach, engagement, retention, and behavior change in behavioral interventions targeting individuals from socioeconomically disadvantaged communities. / Master of Science

This study was designed to examine student support services and dropout prevention approaches utilized by guidance personnel to prevent at-risk youth from dropping out of school. The effectiveness of the counselor when dealing with the problems of at-risk, disadvantaged youth can be directly attributed to the counselor's knowledge of a students relationship with academics and the school environment. Data were gathered by means of a questionnaire which was developed and mailed to randomly selected vocational and school guidance counselors within Virginia. The results of the study reveal that some differences in the use of dropout prevention approaches and community resources utilized exist between vocational and school guidance counselors. / Master of Science

The purpose of this study was to identify which school divisions in the Commonwealth of Virginia have equitable representation of Culturally Linguistically Economically Diverse (CLED) students in gifted programs within their schools. Existing literature on CLED students was reviewed. Three years of data (school years 2016-2017, 2017-2018, and 2018-2019) obtained from the Virginia Department of Education (VDOE) were analyzed to determine whether equitable representation exists within gifted education programs in each of the 132 Virginia school divisions. Furthermore, the researcher used the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) to acquire longitudinal gifted data from each school division 2016-2019. The Relative Difference Composition Index (RDCI), Equity Allowance Formula (EAF), and Representation Index (RI) formulas were used to determine, which schools have equitable representation within their gifted programs. This study sought to answer the following questions: 1. What school divisions have proportional representation of economically disadvantaged students? 2. What school divisions have proportional representation of Black or African American students? 3. What school divisions have a proportional representation of Hispanic or Latinx students? At the conclusion of the data collection process, the researcher examined (1) which school divisions have equitable representation of gifted students in their gifted programs in schools using the EAF, and (2) What schools have equitable representation utilizing the RI. The analysis revealed the majority of the school divisions in the Commonwealth of Virginia had equitable representation when the EAF was applied to the economically disadvantaged students. When the EAF was applied to the 2016-2019 school years data for the Black or African American students and Hispanic or Latinx students the range of 33%- 42% were proportionately represented. The English Language Learner students were not proportionately represented when the EAF was applied. When the RI formula was applied to the data, none of the school divisions had perfect proportion in the Commonwealth of Virginia. In 2016-2017, Halifax school division had a score of .86 which translates to proportionate representation when the EAF and RI formula were applied to the data. The findings of this study provide educational leaders with relevant research toward equitable representation for CLED students in the Commonwealth of Virginia. The VDOE and school leaders could offer professional development regarding equitable representation for teachers and staff that work with CLED students to resolve disproportionality. School divisions could benefit from the implementation of equity allowance goals to help reduce inequitable representation of CLED gifted students. / Doctor of Education / The underrepresentation of students with low incomes in gifted education is a persistent problem (Ford, 2013a; Hamilton, McCoach, Tutwiler, Siegle, Gubbins, Callahan, Brodersen, and Mun, 2018). In recent times, researchers have started to discuss educational access and outcomes for low socioeconomic students (Goings and Ford, 2018). According to VanTassel-Baska and Stambaugh (2018), there is a need to address economically disadvantaged for students who attend public schools in the United States. In particular, there are problems formally identifying economically disadvantaged students for gifted services (VanTassel-Baska and Stambaugh, 2018). Researchers seldom focus on gifted students that live in low-income households. The purpose of this study was to identify which school divisions in the Commonwealth of Virginia have equitable representation of Culturally Linguistically Economically Diverse (CLED) students in gifted programs within their schools. Existing literature on CLED students was reviewed. Three years of data (school years 2016-2017, 2017-2018, and 2018-2019) obtained from the Virginia Department of Education (VDOE) were analyzed to determine whether equitable representation exists within gifted education programs in each of the 132 Virginia school divisions. Furthermore, the researcher used the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) to acquire longitudinal gifted data from each school division 2016-2019. The RDCI, Ford Equity (EAF), and RI formulas were used to determine, which schools have equitable representation within their gifted programs. At the conclusion of the data collection process, the researcher examined (1) which school divisions have equitable representation of gifted students in their gifted programs in schools using the EAF, and (2) What schools have equitable representation utilizing the RI. The analysis will reveal which school divisions have equitable representation within the Commonwealth of Virginia.

Independent Living Transition Assistance for Young Adults Who Have Special Needs. Rhonda L. Russell, 2016: Applied Dissertation, Nova Southeastern University, Abraham S. Fischler College of Education. Keywords: special education, disadvantaged youth, economically disadvantaged This research focused on young adults who have disabilities and their transition and career planning for post-secondary life. The study sought to identify best practices in transition planning, transition planning services, and to determine the types of resources and support needed by young adults who have disabilities. For youth who have disabilities, the transition to adulthood is extremely challenging. Policies, systems, and services tend to be uncoordinated or fragmented, and youth who have disabilities and their families lack the information needed to navigate the transition successfully, which limits opportunities for full participation in adult life. It was concluded from the study results that transitioning from secondary education programs to post-secondary education or training programs and employment is most aided by (a) positive support from family, (b) the introduction of transition services early in the young adults’ secondary education experience, and (c) young adults availing themselves of services provided by disability service agencies such as job skill development, self-advocacy training, independent living, etc. Additionally, it was concluded from the study results that maintaining employment is as equally challenging as is obtaining employment. Interview respondents reported facing challenges such as discrimination and compromised privacy. Impediments to transition included low self- esteem, independence discouraged by family members, limited transportation, access to services, and limited knowledge about available services. Recommendations to expand the use of rehabilitation and employment services included interagency collaboration and innovative marketing approaches.

The purpose of this qualitative study was to assess teacher perception of how economically disadvantaged students at White Pine School were being served. The results of this study may help educators at White Pine School determine how to support and improve learning conditions for economically disadvantaged students. Data collection techniques included individual interviews, focus group interviews, and document review. The following conditions were discovered in relation to economically disadvantaged students: positive home-school relationships; desire to become a full-service school; limited parent-training opportunities with limited participation; limited professional development opportunities; limited poverty discussion in professional learning communities; underuse of college partnerships; need for a mentoring program; need for programming to combat absenteeism; demand for additional early intervention programs; positive student-teacher relationships; a variety of opportunities for students of poverty to build confidence; teachers high expectations from teachers; importance given to enrichment opportunities; teaching strategies focused on active learning; assignment of small, meaningful doses of homework; limited tutoring opportunities; and use of multiple data-collection methods. Recommendations for improving how students of poverty are served include continuing to expand efforts concerning positive home-school relationships, investigating the possibility of becoming a full-service school, designing a powerful parent-training program, offering additional professional development training for teachers, developing poverty-related topics for professional learning communities, finding ways to improve partnerships with local colleges and universities, designing a quality mentoring program, finding creative ways to address absenteeism, finding additional means of providing early intervention, continuing to develop positive student-teacher relationships, finding additional ways to build confidence, maintaining high expectations of students of poverty, creating additional meaningful enrichment opportunities, searching for the best teaching strategies to improve learning, continuing to assign meaningful homework with assistance as needed, creating a comprehensive tutoring program, and collecting meaningful and useful data to help teachers increase students' achievement.

For the past few decades researchers, development agencies and government have focussed on the use of Information and Communication Technologies to improve the socio-economic status of people in underdeveloped rural communities. In recent years there has been remarkable recognition of the importance of developing systems that address the specific needs of rural communities. Education, health, commerce, government and agriculture are amongst the needs of rural communities that could well be addressed by these systems. System development is a complex process and studies have shown that if poorly conducted, the process could lead to the failure of the system being developed. Due to differences in context and application, the processes followed in the development of the rural community systems need to differ from those of commercial applications. One such difference is the choice of the Information System Development Methodology (SDM) used. Following a methodical approach to Information Systems development is important as it improves discipline, standardization and monitoring of a quality system. There are hundreds of SDM available for use during development and choosing the wrong SDM has been linked to problems such as systems being delivered late, being over budget or not meeting the needs of the users. Developing systems for disadvantaged communities is different from developing system for organisations or even affluent communities. Some of the challenges that developers encounter include lack of structure, poor computer literacy, and poor infrastructure. Lack of user involvement during system development has been linked to system failures. A Living Labs approach to socio-economic development is aimed at involving multiple stakeholders towards improving the living standards. Developing Community Information Systems aimed at solving varying community problems is one of the objectives of the Living Labs. There are only few CISs that are fully operational from South African Living Labs, and a number of systems developed are not in use. Poor user involvement and lack of use of system development are some of the reasons for system failures. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the use and effectiveness of System Development Methodologies when developing community information systems aimed at socio-economic development of disadvantaged communities. To achieve the objectives of this study, an interpretive, multiple case study research was conducted in three Living Labs around South Africa. To improve the chances for success during the development of Community Information Systems for use by disadvantage communities, this study proposes a framework for evaluating use and effectiveness of SDMs. The second output of the Study is an SDM framework that could be adopted specifically for Living Labs which adopts an agile approach and prototyping. These frameworks takes into account the social attributes of people in disadvantaged communities, the nature of the living lab, the nature of the systems being developed and the role of the users in the systems being developed. / PhD (Computer Science), North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2014

For the past few decades researchers, development agencies and government have focussed on the use of Information and Communication Technologies to improve the socio-economic status of people in underdeveloped rural communities. In recent years there has been remarkable recognition of the importance of developing systems that address the specific needs of rural communities. Education, health, commerce, government and agriculture are amongst the needs of rural communities that could well be addressed by these systems. System development is a complex process and studies have shown that if poorly conducted, the process could lead to the failure of the system being developed. Due to differences in context and application, the processes followed in the development of the rural community systems need to differ from those of commercial applications. One such difference is the choice of the Information System Development Methodology (SDM) used. Following a methodical approach to Information Systems development is important as it improves discipline, standardization and monitoring of a quality system. There are hundreds of SDM available for use during development and choosing the wrong SDM has been linked to problems such as systems being delivered late, being over budget or not meeting the needs of the users. Developing systems for disadvantaged communities is different from developing system for organisations or even affluent communities. Some of the challenges that developers encounter include lack of structure, poor computer literacy, and poor infrastructure. Lack of user involvement during system development has been linked to system failures. A Living Labs approach to socio-economic development is aimed at involving multiple stakeholders towards improving the living standards. Developing Community Information Systems aimed at solving varying community problems is one of the objectives of the Living Labs. There are only few CISs that are fully operational from South African Living Labs, and a number of systems developed are not in use. Poor user involvement and lack of use of system development are some of the reasons for system failures. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the use and effectiveness of System Development Methodologies when developing community information systems aimed at socio-economic development of disadvantaged communities. To achieve the objectives of this study, an interpretive, multiple case study research was conducted in three Living Labs around South Africa. To improve the chances for success during the development of Community Information Systems for use by disadvantage communities, this study proposes a framework for evaluating use and effectiveness of SDMs. The second output of the Study is an SDM framework that could be adopted specifically for Living Labs which adopts an agile approach and prototyping. These frameworks takes into account the social attributes of people in disadvantaged communities, the nature of the living lab, the nature of the systems being developed and the role of the users in the systems being developed. / PhD (Computer Science), North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2014

Published Article / South Africa underwent political reform in 1994 from an apartheid government to a democratic state. Former white universities, known for their high standards and academic excellence, experienced an influx of black students who previously were excluded from these institutions. This article reports on a study which investigated the extent of learning barriers that previously disadvantaged black students at a renowned higher education institution experience, and endeavours to determine the learning support they need in order to succeed academically. A qualitative approach was followed and data were gathered by means of focus group interviews and participants' photo portfolios. The data were interpreted with reference to recent perceptions on adult learning, particularly in the African context. Implications for higher education in general are indicated.

Thesis (PhD)--Stellenbosch University, 2012. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: We live in a time of unprecedented wealth and ease, taking airplanes to exotic locales and enjoying a variety of foods from across the globe. Significant improvements in healthcare have increased life expectancy to three times that of Ancient Egypt, once considered the most advanced civilization of its time. Yet despite these advances, millions of children continue to suffer. Ninety-nine percent of the millions of child deaths before the age of five each year are preventable through low cost treatments. Poor children who live past age five usually experience a lifetime of intellectual, physical, and emotional setbacks because of their disadvantaged circumstances. What, if anything, is to be done? This dissertation argues we have strong moral obligations to help children by providing a substantive equality of opportunity so that any differences in socioeconomic or life circumstance result from individual choice, not poor moral luck. These obligations are grounded in the common morality, arise from cosmopolitan applications of beneficence, and include the provision of nutritious food, safe drinking water, adequate sanitation, shelter, certain levels of healthcare and education, and love and guidance. Although the task before us is large, it is not impossible and thus incumbent upon us to fulfill it. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Ons lewe in ‘n tyd van ongekende rykdom en gemak, waar ons vlieg na eksotiese bestemmings en ‘n verskeidenheid van kos en ontspanning van regoor die wêreld geniet. Groot verbeterings in mediese sorg het ons lewensverwagting opgestoot tot drie keer die van Antieke Egipte, wat eens op ‘n tyd beskou is as die mees gevorderde samelewing op aarde. Ten spyte van hierdie vooruitgang is daar steeds miljoene kinders wat hulself in ellendige toestande bevind. Nege-en-negentig persent van die kinders onder vyf jaar oud wat jaarliks sterf kon gered word deur laekoste mediese sorg. Arm kinders wat wel langer as ouderdom vyf leef, ervaar gewoonlik ‘n leeftyd van intellektuele, fisiese en emosionele terugslae as gevolg van hulle benadeelde omstandighede. Wat, indien enigiets, kan gedoen word? Hierdie proefskrif argumenteer dat ons ‘n sterk morele plig het om kinders te help deur substantiewe gelykheid van geleenthede te skep sodat verskille in sosio-ekonomiese of lewensomstandighede die resultaat sal wees van individuele keuses, en nie morele geluk nie. Hierdie pligte word begrond deur ons gemeenskaplike moraliteit, spruit voort uit ‘n kosmopolitaanse toepassing van goedwilligheid (‘beneficence’), en sluit die voorsiening van veilige drinkwater, voldoende sanitasie, skuiling, sekere vlakke van mediese sorg en opvoeding, en liefde en voorligting in. Alhoewel die taak wat wat voor ons staan ‘n groot een is, is dit nie onmoontlik nie en dus is dit ons plig om dit te vervul.