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Why has teachers’ classroom work remained relatively stable despite an enormous amount of change in educational policy? In 1998 the national Department of Education of South Africa introduced a new policy on assessment to complement its new curriculum policy introduced in 1997. With its emphasis on performance–based outcomes, the assessment policy constituted a decisive and significant break from the past assessment policy. This research focuses on the implementation of the new assessment policy by classroom teachers. The study is guided by the following three research questions: 1: What are teacher understandings and beliefs with regard to assessment policy? 2: In the context of official policy, how do teachers practice assessment in their classrooms? 3: How can the continuities and the discontinuities between official policy on assessment and teachers’ assessment practice be explained? After reviewing the literature on policy implementation, the study articulated a broader conceptual framework drawing on the construct of ‘deep change’. This perspective supplements rather than supplants dominant approaches to policy implementation. The ‘deep change’ framework suggests a more incisive approach to understanding the relationship between policy and practice. This study presents and tests three propositions about change, namely: Proposition One: That teachers may not have a deep, sophisticated understanding of a new assessment policy even if there is evidence of strong rhetorical commitment to the policy. Proposition Two: That teachers may not be able to reconcile their own assessment beliefs and capacities with the stated goals of a new assessment policy. Proposition Three: That teachers may find traditional assessment practices (that is, examinations and testing) to hold greater efficacy in the classroom than the alternatives required by a new assessment policy. A case study approach was undertaken with two Grade 8 science teachers from two different contexts, one from an under-resourced township school, and the other from a well-resourced urban school. Using evidence from questionnaires, free-writing schedules, extensive pre-lesson and post-lesson interviews, prolonged non-participant classroom observations, teacher records and documents, and student records and examinations, the study found that the two teachers had a surface understanding of the new assessment policy; the teacher from the well-resourced, urban school was able to implement some of the new assessment methods, while the teacher from the under-resourced, township school did not implement any of the new methods of assessment required by the new assessment policy; both teachers were unable to reconcile their own assessment beliefs and capacities with the stated goals of a new assessment policy; and both teachers found the traditional assessment practices (that is, examinations and testing) to hold greater efficacy in the classroom than the alternatives required by a new assessment policy. In other words, the study found that teachers did not have a deep understanding of the assessment policy and did not change their assessment practices deeply as required by the assessment policy. The study argues that educational policies will do little to achieve deep changes in teachers’ pedagogical practices without concurrent attention to a strong theory of change. The study concludes with implications for teacher learning, professional development of teachers, theory and research. / Thesis (PhD (Education Management and Policy Studies))--University of Pretoria, 2004. / Education Management and Policy Studies / unrestricted

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<p>School choice has expanded during the modern school choice movement and students in Indiana can now choose from several school options including public schools, charter schools, virtual schools, or participate in the Indiana Choice Scholarships program and attend a parochial school. The potential for increased educational stratification across different demographic groups is a concern amongst policy makers and stakeholders committed to providing equitable access to educational opportunities for all. This phenomenological qualitative case study examined how seven superintendents perceive the impact of open enrollment policy in Indiana. Individual semi-structured interviews were conducted with each superintendent. Four emergent themes were identified: (1) student enrollment and financial instability, (2) marketing and program advancement, (3) meeting student needs, and (4) increased diversity. The results of this study provide a unique perspective of seven practicing superintendents and the effects of open enrollment policy.  </p>

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<p> </p> <p>     The purpose of this study was to explore the rural schooling experience of ten high school students attending a small high school located in a rural county in Indiana regarding college and postsecondary aspirations. Specifically, do they have a positive, negative, or neutral view of college? Who or what is influencing their perceptions, values, and beliefs regarding college? Also, this study focused on rural Indiana, providing a Middle America “rural focus” because it is not prevalent in the literature. This qualitative single case study used a sociocultural framework and utilized information gathered from student personal essays, and semi-structured focus group interviews, which provided insights into how rural students perceive college. In addition to the student perspectives, the high school principal and college and career guidance counselor were also interviewed to provide context regarding the culture of the school, community, family involvement, and socioeconomic metrics and how these factors influence the educational and occupational aspirations of students at the site school. Each interview was recorded, transcribed, and coded for data analysis. The data were analyzed using open coding as articulated by Given (2008) as well as the eight-step focus coding process articulated by Tesch (1990) to identify emergent themes. Six themes emerged as providing perceptions, attitudes, and beliefs regarding college as well as the sociocultural and habitus influences concerning educational and occupational aspirations: (1) schooling experience; (2) juxtaposition of postsecondary education; (3) college is expensive; (4) guidance counselor- too many hats and limited resources; (5) influences of educational and occupational aspirations; (6) athletics – more than an extracurricular activity. Results showed the significance of the secondary schooling experience and the juxtaposition of postsecondary education, specifically concerning skilled trade occupations, especially for male students. The cost of college was discerning for the students as well as the burden of paying for college. Attitudes, perceptions, and beliefs differed based on perceived academic ability and gender. This study offers insights into the cultural role of the family, school, and community regarding postsecondary aspirations and how to increase postsecondary matriculation rate of rural youth. </p>

Teacher turnover is a well-studied phenomenon, particularly in highly urbanized locales, but not well researched in a state as geographically and demographically diverse as Pennsylvania, which is a composition of two major metropolitan areas combined with smaller urban centers and expansive rural regions. Those retention studies that do exist have been mainly exclusive to the Philadelphia region, with limited research devoted to the remainder of the state. This lack of a comprehensive empirical approach that compares turnover in three distinct settings limits a nuanced understanding of the issue and, in turn, can lead to incomplete policy considerations. This study utilizes Pennsylvania Department of Education data from 2012-2017, which describes the entire public-school workforce in all local education agencies (LEAs), to study how compensation and auxiliary spending (per student spending sans instructional costs) influence teacher turnover using multiple, parallel Cox Proportional Hazards survival models. Findings suggest that despite a “one size fits all” approach to public school funding policy popular amongst politicians on both sides of the political aisle, the effects of a monetary increase in reducing the likelihood of turnover varies considerably when accounting for the region, Title I status, experience and subject matter. The study highlights how the lack of monetary investment can lead teachers to seek employment elsewhere since low pay functions as a strong demotivator. Additionally, the results suggest that while a pay raise may arrest turnover risk, it is a poor long-term motivator or cause of job satisfaction. The study concludes by offering state and LEA leaders with policy recommendations that may improve both retention and job satisfaction. To date, this is the only study in the current literature that explores teacher turnover extensively in the nation’s fifth most populous state. / Urban Education

Thesis (PhD)--Stellenbosch University, 2014. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: This dissertation argues that women on the African continent experience moments of internal exclusion in higher education discourses. Although women are statistically represented in higher education discourses, they remain subjected to internal exclusion on the grounds that their contributions are evidently unsubstantive. Through a conceptual analysis of women’s experiences of African higher education, the study reveals that internal exclusion can be attributed to patriarchy, male chauvinism, authoritarianism and a gendered view of equality, mostly generated in people’s social, political and cultural practices. I contend that a ‘non-gendered’ ethics of care can undermine the debilitating effects caused by the internal exclusion of women in higher education discourses. By examining the implications of a reconstituted ethics of care for teaching and learning at higher education institutions on the continent, the study offers some ways in which exclusionary higher education practices can be remedied. This dissertation contends that, if higher education in Africa were to halt the dilemma of internal exclusion and move towards engendering a reconstituted ethics of care, both conceptually and pragmatically, then it stands an authentic chance of cultivating compassionate, imaginative and responsible citizens who can reason, not only for themselves, but for humanity as well. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Hierdie proefskrif argumenteer dat vrouens op die vasteland van Afrika momente van interne uitsluiting ondervind. Alhoewel vrouens statisties goed verteenwoordig is in hoër onderwys diskoerse, bly hulle steeds onderhewig aan interne uitsluiting op grond daarvan dat hulle bydrae nie genoegsaam geag word nie. Gegrond op 'n konseptuele analise van die wedervaringe van vrouens in hoër onderwys in Afrika, bevind hierdie studie dat interne uitsluiting van vrouens toegeskryf kan word aan patriargie, manlike chauvinisme, outoritarisme, en 'n geslagsblik van gelykheid wat meestal aanslag vind in mense se sosiale, politieke en kulturele praktyke. Ek voer aan dat 'n nie-geslagtelike etiek van sorg die verlammende effekte van interne uitsluiting van vroue in hoër onderwysdiskoerse kan ondermyn. Die studie stel maniere voor hoe uitsluitende hoër onderwys praktyke beredder kan word deur 'n ondersoek van die implikasies van 'n rekonstruksie van 'n etiek van sorg aan hoër onderwys instansies op die vasteland. Hierdie proefskrif voer aan dat as hoër onderwys in Afrika die dilemma van interne uitsluiting wil stuit en dan konseptueel en pragmaties wil beweeg na 'n rekonstruksie van 'n etiek van sorg, daar dan 'n outentieke kans kan bestaan om verantwoordbare burgers te kweek wat deernisvol is, wat verbeeldingryk is, en wat nie alleen vir hulleself kan redeneer nie, maar ook vir die mensdom.