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Description of students as at-risk became a trend in educational policy and programming in the late 1980s. The term at risk was originally part of the specialized discourse of medicine and psychology, and related subfields of education such as special education and educational psychology. Due to the influence of national reform reports, the term at risk became more common in the discourse of policymakers and practitioners. It was used as a descriptor of students, often low-income and/or minority students, likely to fail or drop out of school. This study employed methods from sociolinguistics, discourse analysis and policy analysis to trace the uses and meanings of at risk through national reports, state education policies in Arizona, and district policies in a medium-sized Arizona school district with both rural and suburban schools. Analysis of reports and recorded interviews with state policymakers, district administrators, principals, and teachers identified differences in the meanings of at risk at different levels of the educational system. Groups at each level had particular interests in students, as reflected in their definitions of the problems of at-risk students and their policy recommendations. The most common consequences for students of being labelled at-risk were to be removed from the mainstream for special treatment, despite arguments of some researchers and theorists that educators need to rethink such approaches.

Undergraduate physical education major programs in the United States and Japan were compared in terms of reform during the period 1972-74 to 1988-90. Two kinds of reform were studied: (1) change from single-track professional preparation to multiple-track preparation and (2) change from a nonacademic discipline-based program to an entirely academic discipline-based program. Data on 52 major programs in the United States were gathered from college catalogs. Data on 53 programs in Japan were gained from college catalogs and documents published by the Ministry of Education. Four programs in the United States sample had multiple tracks during the 1972-74 period, and 34 had multiple tracks during the 1988-90 period. Reform to multiple tracks had occurred in 30 (62.5%) of the 48 programs that were single-track in 1972-74. Two programs in the Japanese sample had multiple tracks during the early period, and 14 had multiple tracks during the later period. Reform to multiple tracks had occurred in 12 (23.5%) of the 51 programs that were single-track in 1972-74. No reform from a nonacademic discipline-based program to an entirely discipline-based program had occurred in either sample. One institution in the United States sample was in the process of changing to an entirely discipline-based program. A chi-square analysis tested the hypothesis that there was no difference between the samples in the proportion of programs that had undergone reform during the 15-year period. The analysis showed a significant difference between the samples at the .001 level, and the hypothesis was rejected. The most common major preparation emphasis for both samples during both periods was teacher education. Other tracks found in the U.S. sample in the later period included fitness specialization, sports management, sports communication, and athletic training. Other tracks found in the Japanese sample in the later period included social physical education, lifelong sports, and sports specialization. The current state of physical education programs in each country was discussed. It was concluded that currently, the main issue for U.S. programs overall is finding a balance between discipline-based academic education and professional career preparation. In Japan, the main issues were considered to be the creation of nonteaching professional tracks and the development of jobs for physical education graduates. / Graduation date: 1991

No description available.

The primary purpose of this study was to determine provisions for equality and liberty for the funding of school capital expenditures in each of the 50 states. More specifically, the following issues were analyzed: (a) the extent to which state policies provide equality in funding school facility construction, (b) the extent to which state policies provide local boards liberty in decisions on funding school facility construction, and (c) categorization of the 50 states with respect to provision of liberty and equality for capital outlay funding. A descriptive database of the capital outlay funding systems for each of the 50 states was developed.A descriptive survey research procedure was used. Data were collected from August through November 1999 using a survey instrument developed by the author. Usable data were received from all states.States were categorized as high, moderate, or low with regard to their potential to achieve funding equality and liberty for local districts. Only one state, Hawaii, ranked low in liberty; however, 18 states ranked low in equality. Six states ranked high in both liberty and equality.The following conclusion were formulated: (a) states that continue to rank low in equality are likely to face future litigation; (b) the courts have tolerated some degree of inequality to preserve liberty; (c) politics and not economics often determined how state legislatures responded to equality concerns; (d) differences among the states are far greater with respect to equality than they are with respect to liberty; (e) many states will continue to experience considerable conflict over funding school construction because of the inevitable tensions between liberty and equality.Further study was recommended in both the 18 low equality states and the six states that ranked high in both equality and liberty. The purpose should be to identify legal, political, and economic variables that affected school construction finance policies in those states. / Department of Educational Leadership

This thesis aims to compare the relative chances of occupational success of Chinese in Great Britain and the United States. The study uses data from British national Labour Force Surveys (1983 to 1989) and American Census of Population and Housing Public Use Microdata Samples (1980). Using various methods of statistical analysis, mainly logit modelling, the thesis looks at three aspects of the research question. First, analysis is conducted on the relative level of occupational attainment (in access to the service class and avoidance of unemployment) of Chinese immigrants in Britain through comparisons with whites, Indians, Pakistanis, African Asians, West Indians and Irish. Secondly, similar analysis is done for foreign-born and native-born Chinese in the U.S. through comparisons with whites, Blacks, Hispanics, Japanese, Filipinos, Koreans, Indians and Vietnamese. Thirdly, comparisons are made directly on the relative chances of occupational success for being Chinese in Britain versus being Chinese in the U.S.A. In the thesis, specific attempts are made to bring out the effects of education in determining occupational success for Chinese as well as other ethnic groups in the two countries.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Florida State University, 2004. / Advisor: Dr. Tom Anderson, Florida State University, School of Visual Arts and Dance, Dept. of Art Education. Title and description from dissertation home page (viewed Sept. 23, 2004). Includes bibliographical references.

This study is an effort to point out the need for Federal assistance to education in areas in which Federal activity causes an inequity of educational opportunity for children. The construction of Shasta Dam in Northern California caused an influx of both government and contractor employees resulting in educational hardships for children in that area. This is a study of the problem that is involved when a Federal activity enters an area previously devoid of such activity.

American churches seeking to assimilate baby boomers are struggling to meet the adult educational needs of this group. To determine what models of church-based adult education are used to meet the educational needs of this group, three large, growing American churches known for attracting boomers were identified as sites for research. A qualitative case study research design was used and results were compared using cross-case analysis. Initial data collection included a three-day visit at each church. Data were collected in three phases: Phase One consisted of personal interviews with staff and lay leaders; Phase Two focused on observation of adult education events which took place during the visitation period; Phase Three involved gathering materials that described adult education programs. To optimize the reliability and accuracy of the findings data were subjected to examination by peers, collection methods were applied consistently in each research phase, follow-up contacts were made with each church to verify observations and findings, and case records were created for each site. Eleven categories were selected and the data were presented by category. Within each category, data were delineated and organized into three areas: trends among the churches, noteworthy comments about individual programs, and comparison to the literature in the adult education field.

The purposes of this study are (1) to identify the major policy issues being addressed by state agencies responsible for coordinating and regulating higher education; (2) to develop a classification system through inductive "clustering" that will aid in the analysis and synthesis of the major policy issues facing state coordinating boards for higher education; (3) to classify these policy issues; (4) to compare the goals and strategies of the various states; (5) to propose a list of significant policy issues that institutions and state agencies of higher education may face through the 1990s and into the 21st century.