Thesis advisor: Diana Pullin / As families struggle with the rising cost of college, the federal government attempts to ease the financial burden not only by providing grants and loans, but also by giving families better information about the cost of college and the availability of financial aid. The federal government spends significant amounts of money on collecting and disseminating information with the hope that students and parents will make better decisions about how to save, where to apply, and where to attend. This research stems from the observation that efforts to provide information are not backed by sufficient research. The literature on college choice and use of information does not indicate whether (and when) families seek cost and financial aid information. Moreover, the literature does not suggest whether families' use of information has the intended effect upon their decision making by helping families make better decisions about paying for college. This study takes steps to fill this gap in the literature by examining seven middleincome families' use of information during the college decision making process. The research uses a phenomenological approach to look at both the sources of information families use and the meaning that they make of this in their college search processes. The results show that families rely on cost and financial aid information primarily from colleges, independent websites, and informal sources like other parents, friends or neighbors. The study also identifies themes that play a role in shaping families' ability to use information in their decision making, such as the uncertainty that characterizes the college choice process and the distinct roles played by the parents and students. / Thesis (PhD) — Boston College, 2010. / Submitted to: Boston College. Lynch School of Education. / Discipline: Educational Administration and Higher Education.

Thesis advisor: Marilyn Cochran-Smith / Since the 1990s, many countries have used accountability mechanisms in teacher preparation. Aligned with this trend, the Chilean Ministry of Education has created national policies, which include national standards and an exit test for student teachers, grants for teacher education programs, and university scholarships for prospective teachers. These policies have been implemented in Chile, within the context of high social segregation and inequality, where accountability and deregulation work together. The purpose of this study is to explore how teaching and teacher education are constructed in national teacher education policy and university-based programs in Chile by unpacking assumptions about teaching, teacher education, and justice using frame analysis. This study analyzes national policy documents related to initial teacher education in Chile as well as semi-structured interviews and university and course documents from two teacher preparation programs. This dissertation argues that the influence of Chile’s national teacher education policies on local teacher preparation programs was not uniform across the programs. Rather both national and local frames were influenced by international organizations and universities. This overarching argument is based on four related propositions: 1) teacher preparation programs have different conceptions of practice-based teacher education and teaching while they have similar conceptions of justice; 2) the differences among faculties’ conceptions are shaped by different narratives, based on participants’ view of themselves and their programs, conceptions of teaching knowledge, participation in policies, and alignment and articulation; 3) national policies and teacher preparation programs have different conceptions of teaching and teacher education, but they have similar conceptions of justice; and, 4) Chilean national policies are influenced by international discourses even though they use different narratives to promote their changes. This study has implications for research, policy, practice, and activism. Building on the study’s findings, I constructed a framework that expands the notion of the policy web, incorporating the connection between local and international discourses in teacher education. This framework also identifies four dimensions that shape university’s faculty conceptions and explain the differences among programs. / Thesis (PhD) — Boston College, 2016. / Submitted to: Boston College. Lynch School of Education. / Discipline: Teacher Education, Special Education, Curriculum and Instruction.

Keywords: education policy, racial equity, youth, student voice, power relations The confluence of racial equity work – where district policy, students, staff, and administrators converge – creates significant tensions when enacting an educational racial equity policy that is intended to produce meaningful and transformative racial equity for all students. It is not only critical to analyze how educational policies conceptualize race and equity in relation to students’ experiences in schools, but also how students are positioned as recipients, stakeholders, and/or partners within such policies. This study examines the effects of power “at its extremities” when policy, race, and equity are localized in relation to beliefs, actions, and behaviors between students and adults enacting racial equity work. Using student focus groups with students of color and white students, participant observations from positions as a teacher/researcher, the research considers Foucault’s (1980; 1994) work on power to examine how students identify, engage, and address racial equity issues in their school. Educational equity policies discursively constitute racial inequities by defining “racial equity” from positions outside of schools, away from the very places where policies are enacted. The study explores how students of color and white students navigate tensions between themselves, administrators, and staff members as they organized a student-led racial equity club then leadership class to address racial inequities in a predominantly white high school. Despite the implementation of a six-year District racial equity policy, students’ “lived experiences” questioned enactments of the policy by administrators and staff members (see Dumas, 2014). The study argues meanings about race and equity are caught within “divergent discourses” (see Ball, 2013); that is, who is allowed to participate in conversations about race and equity, and who decides what racial equity issues take precedence in a predominantly white high school. Students are positioned in schools in unstable and contested ways to administrators and staff members, even if invited to participate in racial equity work as “student voice.” The concept of “student voice” in school-based decisions or policy work has inherent tensions between adults and students, however this should not dissuade policy processes that include students. Student involvement is strongly, but cautiously encouraged.

Thesis (Ed.D.)--Boston University / PLEASE NOTE: Boston University Libraries did not receive an Authorization To Manage form for this thesis or dissertation. It is therefore not openly accessible, though it may be available by request. If you are the author or principal advisor of this work and would like to request open access for it, please contact us at open-help@bu.edu. Thank you. / An elementary school principal writes an historical analysis of a thirty-year period of growing immigration and changing education policy in Chelsea, Massachusetts, a city located near Boston. The history examines the years 1890-1920 and the transformation of an urban public school system, including its policies and practices regarding the education of immigrant, non-English-speaking children. Comparisons are made with immigration and the New York City public schools during the same years. A literature review of language policies and the schooling of immigrant children in New York one hundred years ago sheds light on past and present experiences of language-minority students. Attention is given to changing notions of assimilation and Americanization in U.S. society; to the teaching of English and the role of native-language maintenance in defining an ethnic-American identity; and to educational achievement and mobility rates among Russian Jewish and Southern Italian immigrants and their descendants a century ago, and among Hispanic immigrants today. Related questions include: What was the response ofthe New York City and Chelsea public schools to the task of educating immigrant children and how did this change over time? What educational options were available to the increasing immigrant populations? What attitudes and expectations did immigrants and educators have of one another in terms of public school education? How does the historical and sociological evidence confirm or deny the perception of "academic success" and "educational attainment" of immigrants in New York City and the Chelsea Public Schools at the turn of the 20th century? Earlier developments in education policy petiaining to immigration in Chelsea are compared with recent trends, including English literacy, bilingual education, teacher quality, curriculum, school facilities, class size, testing and standards, and graduation rates. The researcher used a mixed-method study of both quantitative and qualitative sources. As an extended reflection and interpretive synthesis, the paper draws from the vast literature on past and present immigration. Sources are varied, from historical accounts of immigrants, to census and school department reports, newspaper reports, statistical surveys, student essays and speeches, and several novels, memoirs, and biographies. / 2031-01-01

Thesis (Ed.D.)--Boston University / PLEASE NOTE: Boston University Libraries did not receive an Authorization To Manage form for this thesis or dissertation. It is therefore not openly accessible, though it may be available by request. If you are the author or principal advisor of this work and would like to request open access for it, please contact us at open-help@bu.edu. Thank you. / This study examines the understandings of twenty-eight teachers in primary schools in Atteridgeville and Saulsville in South Africa with regard to outcome-based education and how their understanding influences the manner in which they implemented Curriculum 2005 (OBE) policy initiative which the South African government mandated for implementation in 1997. Four major findings emerged from this study. First, the majority of the teachers in the study supported the implementation of Curriculum 2005. Second, teachers had varying levels of understanding of the Curriculum 2005 policy. Third, teachers lacked preparation for implementation because comprehensive staff development opportunities were not available. Fourth, structural problems relative to fiscal resources and a flawed policy development process hindered teachers' understanding and implementation of Curriculum 2005. The findings revealed there is great teacher support for the implementation of Curriculum 2005 (OBE). The teachers believed Curriculum 2005 (OBE) has the potential of changing policy direction in education for the black majority students who received a poor quality of education prior to its implementation. The findings also revealed that teachers' varying levels of understanding of the Curriculum 2005 policy initiative are due to a lack of (a) quality teacher preparation, (b) effective staff development, (c) financial resources, and (d) effective policy development and implementation. These findings partly explain the teachers lack of understanding of Curriculum 2005 (OBE) and their failure to implement it. Two major conclusions were drawn from this study. First, the variations in the levels of support and understanding of Curriculum 2005 (OBE) among primary school teachers in Atteridgeville and Saulsville resulted mainly from a lack of quality teacher preparation before the introduction of Curriculum 2005 (OBE) and effective staff development during the implementation of Curriculum 2005 (OBE). / 2031-01-01

No description available.

<p> This study investigates the influence of the Advancement Via Individual Determination (AVID) program on participants who have taken it as an elective course for at least one year in high school and who have gone on to complete at least two years of higher education. Participants describe their experiences in terms of the way they saw/see themselves as learners, as students and as members of communities. Using a narrative inquiry approach to analysis and a poststructuralist theoretical framework influenced by Judith Butler&rsquo;s work in the field of gender identity, participants&rsquo; experiences are examined with an eye toward the ways in which their AVID participation had a role in the way they perform their identity and how they see themselves as acting and reacting in the performative aspects of their home selves, high school selves and college selves. In examining the narratives of participant experiences, particular attention is paid to the ways in which they mold their views of themselves and others&rsquo; views of them into a set of values that, in their telling, sets them apart from who they had been and from others similarly situated who did not have the AVID experience (the high school self). It also sets them apart from their families (the home self), whose lack of knowledge and understanding of the process of becoming first-generation college students inhibited their ability to understand and effectively advocate for their children. It did, however, connect them to the kinds of cultural capital that would improve their ability to perform as higher education expects of undergraduates (the college self). </p><p> The findings of this research center on the interplay between internal agency and external influence as they combine to create participants&rsquo; views of their own identities and can be seen through their attitudes and actions as they pursued undergraduate degrees. An implication of this work is the idea that AVID serves as a bridge of sorts which connects the agent desiring to be with the society which expects it to be. This is brought forth as participants describe their progression through AVID and college and the changes they underwent in their perceptions of themselves first as novitiates in the academic world, then as junior partners and finally as capable doers of deeds who had not yet come to appreciate the incompleteness of their agency. </p><p>

This study examined data from Tripod student and teacher surveys administered over three academic years in a midsized urban school district in the United States. Two multifaceted questions guided the research: (1) How do teachers’ student survey ratings tend to behave over time? (2) How, if at all, do trends in student survey ratings relate to certain teacher background characteristics and professional experiences as reported on teacher surveys? Analyses indicated significant improvement in ratings, but only during the district’s first year of student survey implementation. Teachers’ perceptions of principal leadership emerged as the variable most closely tied to increases in ratings over time. Findings varied, however, depending on the dimension of teaching measured. Taken together, the study’s results translate into several specific recommendations for leaders and policymakers interested in instructional improvement and its relationship to student surveys.

<p> Little published research exists about individuals who decide to start their families while enrolled in graduate school. The purpose of this study was to explore with a qualitative methodology the experiences of first time parents in graduate study programs. Graduate student parents were defined as women or men either currently enrolled in a Master&rsquo;s or doctoral level graduate program, or recent alumni who graduated within the past five years. Participants had to have had their first child while in graduate school, either through childbirth (self or spouse), surrogacy, or infant adoption, and that child must be listed as a dependent. All graduate programs were located in the greater Boston area. Through semi-structured interviews, twelve participants detailed their experiences as student parents with newborn children. Interview data were categorized and coded, which led to the identification of five meta-themes, each of which was then divided into several sub-themes. </p><p> Meta-themes included the decision-making process to have a child while a student, which was broken down to age, fertility risk factors, and the academic timeline. The theme of logistical challenges included compounding financial costs, childcare issues, and scheduling conflicts. Physical and psychosocial challenges was another meta-theme regarding the experience of extreme sleep deprivation, cognitive changes, challenges with breastfeeding or pumping, the guilt associated with trying to balance school and family, negative experiences with faculty or the administration, and the social isolation of not knowing other student parents in their programs. Additional meta-themes revolved around the availability of social supports, and adaptations and classroom accommodations they developed in order to complete their degrees. Lastly, student parents outlined suggestions for changes in institutional policies and procedures to ensure basic educational rights, and to prevent future marginalization and discrimination for this largely invisible population.</p><p>

<p> Modern suburban school districts have experienced a significant shift in demographics over the last decade making them more diverse in race, ethnicity, income and ability level. The income diversity in suburban districts can hide pockets of significant need in the community. Due to the formulas associated with federal programs, suburban districts are less likely to receive supplemental funds to support vulnerable students. This study utilizes a case study approach and offers a unique view into the phenomenon by examining the work of a suburban school which has narrowed the achievement gap between economically disadvantaged students and their more affluent peers without the assistance of federal funds. Data includes interviews with 18 previous and current administrators, teachers and other staff, meeting observations, and a review of school documents and artifacts. Findings note the school maximizes its limited resources, empowers teachers to be instructional leaders through trusting relationships, has a robust support system for students and builds a welcoming school culture. Shield&rsquo;s (2001) transformative leadership framework was used as a theoretical lens to explore the school&rsquo;s practices. </p><p> The results of this study enhance the understanding of suburban schools with diverse populations by (a) identifying the multi-tiered support system that increases achievement of all students; (b) recognizes the school climate and culture among staff and students that create an environment that reinforces learning; and (c) illustrates how relationships between administrators and teachers can reinforce the instructional practices of the school. </p><p>