Thesis (Ph.D. (Public affairs))-University of Pretoria, 2005. / Includes summary. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 383-404). Available on the Internet via the World Wide Web.

abstract: Sparked by the Virginia Tech Shooting of 2007 and the resultant changes to the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act, a review was conducted of FERPA's impact on university policies regarding student privacy and safety. A single, private university's policies were reviewed and a survey was distributed to 500 campus employees who had recently completed the university's FERPA training to determine if the university's current training was effective in training employees to understand FERPA's health and safety exceptions clause. The results showed that while the university's training was effective in training employees how to safeguard students' academic records, employees did not have a clear understanding of which information they could or should share in response to a threat to health and safety or to which university entity they should route safety concerns. The survey suggests that the university's FERPA training should be expanded to include training on FERPA's health and safety exceptions, including the communication of clear reporting lines for possible threats to campus safety and security. / Dissertation/Thesis / M.S.Tech Technology 2010

abstract: More than 30% of college entrants are placed in remedial mathematics (RM). Given that an explicit relationship exists between students' high school mathematics and college success in science, technology, engineering, and mathematical (STEM) fields, it is important to understand RM students' characteristics in high school. Using the Education Longitudinal Survey 2002/2006 data, this study evaluated more than 130 variables for statistical and practical significance. The variables included standard demographic data, prior achievement and transcript data, family and teacher perceptions, school characteristics, and student attitudinal variables, all of which are identified as influential in mathematical success. These variables were analyzed using logistic regression models to estimate the likelihood that a student would be placed into RM. As might be expected, student test scores, highest mathematics course taken, and high school grade point average were the strongest predictors of success in college mathematics courses. Attitude variables had a marginal effect on the most advantaged students, but their effect cannot be evaluated for disadvantaged students, due to a non-random pattern of missing data. Further research should concentrate on obtaining answers to the attitudinal questions and investigating their influence and interaction with academic indicators. / Dissertation/Thesis / Ph.D. Educational Leadership and Policy Studies 2011

abstract: The Adult Basic Education/Literacy (ABEL) system in America can suffer critique. In a system that is staffed mostly by volunteers and plagued by funding woes, the experience of adult learners as participants within the institutional structure can be easily overlooked. Adult students are described as transient and difficult to track. Even so, and maybe because of this characterization, leaders within the local ABEL discourse make it their mission to reach these students in order to assist them to a better quality of life. However, there is more than one discourse circulating within the system. A discourse of outreach and intervention is one strand. The complex relationships education centers engage with more powerful government institutions causes another, more strident political discourse that constrains and influences the discourse within ABEL education centers, down to the classroom level. Within the vortex of motivations and needs created by institutional discourse, an institutional critique may give voice to those who experience the discourse in a way that hinders their education. This paper pursues critique, not through direct reconstruction, but through the encouragement of alternative discourses as additional institutions enter the system. AmeriCorps is presented as an institution that allows for more democratic participation through its distinct organizational features. The features that emerge in AmeriCorps projects offer hope for alternative models of participation within the highly politicized ABEL discourse. / Dissertation/Thesis / M.A. English 2011

<p> This basic interpretive study explored teacher and principal perceptions of reform and accountability and how these perceptions influenced leadership for school-based teacher development and learning. Complexity leadership theory served as the theoretical lens for the study and provided a holistic view of how reform and accountability served as tensions for enacted leadership roles both within and without the complex adaptive system of teacher learning and development. Four principals and twelve teachers participated in this study and reflected a maximum variation sample of teachers and principals across a southeastern state in the United States. The researcher collected data through semi-structured interview questions in one-to-one principal interviews and three teacher focus groups. Additionally, teachers constructed a drawing to illustrate what teacher learning and development looked like in their respective schools. Data from the interviews and drawings were analyzed for emergent themes and theoretical connections. Results found that all of the participants felt pressure from accountability for student performance as measured by state mandated tests. Required/mandated reform, created pressure to change instructional practice to ensure students showed growth and achievement on state mandated tests. Patterns of leadership behaviors for learning and development illuminated the role of principal leadership and context to the dynamic interactions of agents toward the shared need of improving instructional practice and growth. All participants experienced some form of tightly coupled leadership behaviors that stifled the teacher&rsquo;s ability to collaborate and interact with others. While reform and accountability were established to improve growth and achievement, the leadership behaviors oftentimes stifled the learning and development of the teachers. All of the principals and only three teachers&rsquo; responses revealed moderate couplings that supported agent interactions and one teacher experienced loosely coupled leadership behaviors. This study&rsquo;s findings suggest reform and accountability influenced leadership behaviors that tried to control and predict outcomes through information getting sessions or trainings which oftentimes led to static learning environments. Leaders that supported creation, innovation, and sensemaking in their schools, relinquished tight control and fostered collaborative spaces. These findings may be useful as educators endeavor to learn and grow to meet the evolving needs of the twenty-first century.</p><p>

<p> The purpose of this qualitative exploratory single case study was to explore how parents and teachers perceive the influence of socioeconomic status on parental involvement in suburban southern Georgia elementary schools. Two research questions were posed to fulfill the purpose of this study: How do parents perceive the influence of socioeconomic status on parental involvement in suburban southern Georgia elementary schools? and How do teachers perceive the influence of socioeconomic status on parental involvement in suburban southern Georgia elementary schools? Epstein&rsquo;s Framework for Parent Involvement and Hoover-Dempsey and Sandler&rsquo;s Model of Parent Involvement served as the theoretical foundations. Purposive sampling was used to select 22 parent and 59 teacher participants. Data collection comprised of semi-structured interviews of parents and teachers, questionnaires, and archival review of school documents to triangulate the data. Data were analyzed using a thematic analysis approach. Thematic analysis identified five themes: Defining Parent Involvement, Perception of Socioeconomic Status, Communication Methods, Perception of Involvement, and School Environment. Findings of this study revealed that elementary parents and teachers in South Georgia have differing perceptions of the influence of socioeconomic status on parent involvement. Overall, data revealed that while parent and teacher perceptions varied, they indicated that communication and the school environment were the most pertinent factors to their involvement. The implications for this study implicate that sharing the results of this study with both parents and teachers could possibly clarify expectations of each group and open a dialogue. </p><p>

abstract: ABSTRACT This study examined the schooling experiences and perceptions of resettled sub-Saharan African middle school refugee students in a metropolitan area of the United States Southwest. The research questions underpinning this study included: What are the schooling experiences and perceptions of resettled sub-Saharan African middle school refugee students in a southwestern U.S. state? 1a) How do they view their relationships with their teachers and peers? 1b) Can they identify a teacher or school staff member in their school community who is a significant resource for them? and 1c) What factors contribute to their challenges and successes in their school community? This qualitative study documented and analyzed the schooling experiences and perceptions of resettled refugee middle school students, who are relatively new to the U.S. educational system. Purposive and convenience sampling were sources utilized in selecting participants for this study. Semi-structured interviews and focus groups were used to capture the stories of 10 resettled sub-Saharan African refugee students enrolled in 7th and 8th grade, who have lived in the U.S. not more than 10 years and not less than three years. Among the participants, half were male and half female. They came from six countries: Burundi, Democratic Republic of Congo, Liberia, Rwanda, Sierra Leone and Somalia. Findings of the study revealed six major themes: teachers' helpfulness, positive perceptions of school, friends as resources at school, disruptive students in the classroom, need for better teachers, and before and after school activities. Overall, the participants in the study expressed a positive perception of their teachers and their schools, yet presented a dichotomous view of their schooling experiences and perceptions. / Dissertation/Thesis / Ed.D. Educational Administration and Supervision 2012

abstract: Given the surge of immigrant and resettled refugee student enrollment in public schools, a strong understanding of the transition process for these students and their families and facilitating the creation of effective schooling contexts are major educational priorities. It is critical to determine how to best support and assist resettled refugee students in academic and other endeavors. This study seeks to better understand the perspectives of resettled refugee students who are recent high school graduates and their mentors in order to contribute practical insights into resettled refugee education and to give voice to these students. Informed by sociocultural theories as reflected in the works of Daniels, Cole and Wertsch, (2007) and others, twelve resettled refugees from Bhutan, Iraq and Burma (aka Myanmar) and ten mentors participated in individual interview sessions and focus group discussions. The study took place in Arizona. The participants' responses were audio-recorded, transcribed, interpreted, coded, and categorized into themes. Study findings suggested that: resettled refugee students struggled with adjusting to their new school system. They were marginalized and faced discrimination and suffered low teacher expectations. They were placed in English language classes that they felt were not beneficial to them; and almost all attended inner city urban schools in areas with a high poverty concentration characterized by gang and drug activities that further adversely affected their performances. Against the odds, with the help of their mentors, striving for a better life, commitment to family, and resilience, the study participants were able to not only complete their high school education on time but earned impressive grade point averages of between 3.5 to 4.2 that helped five of them win scholarships to four-year colleges. / Dissertation/Thesis / Ph.D. Educational Leadership and Policy Studies 2012

<p> A college education offers people social and economic benefits, yet youth from foster care backgrounds are less likely than their peers to attain a college education, which places this already vulnerable population at higher risk for a lifetime of living on the margins of society. Foster alumni face multiple obstacles to accessing and persisting in higher education. To facilitate and support the success of this frequently overlooked population, professionals in higher education need to understand these obstacles. Little is known about the experiences of youth with foster care backgrounds as they transition into and through higher education. Although existing research has reported the academic, health, and social effects of having been in foster care, little is known about why foster alumni do not persist in higher education. This study used student-development theory, specifically Schlossberg&rsquo;s transition theory, Tinto&rsquo;s theory of student departure, and Bourdieu&rsquo;s work on social and cultural capital to provide a conceptual framework through which to view the lived experiences of youth with foster care backgrounds. Because, for many youths with foster care backgrounds, the pathway to the baccalaureate degree is through a community college, this study examined and explored the transition experiences of foster alumni about to begin or currently enrolled at an Oregon Community College. The study explored the factors that challenge and facilitate foster alumni persistence towards the attainment of a college degree.</p><p>

<p> This Delphi study explores the opinions of experts on their interactions with the adoption of digital products, services, and activities. Although there are a wide assortment of digital products and digital spaces that have the ability to make significant contributions to scholarship, still traditional monographs and textual publications dominate how research and opinions are shared. Even through scholars have widespread adoption of social spaces and digital technologies including self-publishing, many of their institutions and peer review platforms are still hesitated to recognize their contributions to scholarship (Gruzd, Staves, &amp; Wilk, 2011). The conceptual framework of this study is built upon Earnest L. Boyer&rsquo;s (1990) four principles of scholarship: the scholarship of discovery; the scholarship of integration; the scholarship of application; and the scholarship of teaching. In addition, the theory of diffusion of innovation by Rogers will guide the analysis component of the research.</p><p>