This study was conducted to determine the significant factors that affected career aspirations for high school seniors in a suburban school. It also analyzed differences in females' and minorities' college plans, diploma type, and changes in career aspirations from 1986 to 1996. The research design was a causal comparative statistical analysis replicating a 1986 study at the same school. In-depth investigations into female and minority aspirations were also expanded in this 1996 study. The population (N = 577) was 81% Caucasian, 9.5% Asian, 4.5% African American, 4% Hispanic and 1% American Indian. A preliminary survey established the ratings of the occupations based on societal prestige. Data on career aspiration, ethnicity, gender, parents' education, grade-point average, diploma type and college plans were collected from the seniors using the Harrington-O'Shea career cluster form and two other surveys. The researcher operationally defined student aspiration levels by assigning the mean occupational rank from the preliminary survey to each student's choice of career. The seniors' aspiration data were analyzed using Chi-square Tests of Association, One-Way Analyses of Variance, Pearson Correlation and Scheffe comparisons. There was a significant correlation between the 1996 seniors' career aspirations and two variables: grade-point average (p=.000) and fathers' education (p=.003). There was a significant relationship between the female seniors' career aspiration and their graduation years, 1986 and 1996 (p=.000); the 1996 females had higher career aspirations. Both the 1996 female and minority seniors achieved significantly higher percentages of Advanced Studies Diplomas with the Governor's seal (p=.000) and significantly higher percentages of aspirations for college (p=.000) than their 1986 peers. Another important finding was that the means of female seniors' career aspirations were just as high as their 1996 male counterparts; this was not true in 1986. Also, the 1996 minority seniors had slightly higher career aspiration means than their Caucasian peers. This study suggests that educators can reflect on what has been done during the last decade to empower females and minorities. It also challenges educators to continue to seek better curriculum and career opportunity programs to overcome the institutional sexism and racism that may interfere with students' aspirations. / Ed. D.

Much of the recent scholarly attention has been devoted to the low fertility situation experienced by a growing number of developed countries. In this context, the theoretical framework explicitly incorporating the issues of gender in explanations of low fertility has been gaining notable popularity. This dissertation is focused primarily on the application of McDonald's theory of gender equity to the fertility context of two post-communist "low" and "very low" fertility countries, namely Poland and Estonia. Additionally, it tests the relative importance of gender equity at the societal level and the level of the family, contrasts the results of using different operationalizations of gender equity in the family, and compares the effects of gender equity on male and female fertility. I estimate two sex-specific models for Poland and two-sex specific models for Estonia, which respectively use three and two independent variables capturing gender equity in different institutions as well as in the family. All the models use intended fertility as the dependent variable operationalized as either the intention to have the second or higher order birth or the number of additional children intended. The main findings of this dissertation support the gendered explanation of low fertility in Poland and Estonia. More specifically, they indicate that gender equity in the family significantly increases fertility intentions of Polish men and women and Estonian women but not men. However, in none of the models there is evidence that gender equity in institutions outside the family matters to fertility. All in all, the findings support the gendered approach to fertility. The results of my dissertation indicate that it is important to pay attention to how we measure gender equity. I observe some variation in the findings depending on how stringent definition of equity is used. Finally, my research suggests that the importance of gender equity for women's fertility might be more universal but it is also not completely irrelevant to the fertility of men. I conclude this dissertation with a discussion of the implications of my findings and the potential for future development of research in this area.

This study focused on two themes which have recurred in education since the 1980's: equity of educational outcomes for all students and reform in mathematics education. The problem addressed in this study concerned the apparent inability of large- scale reforms to meet equity goals. The purpose of the study was to increase understanding of this problem from both theoretical and practical perspectives. The study was influenced by feminist perspectives in the choice of theoretical framework and methodology. Focusing specifically on gender equity, the study was set in the context of a large-scale reform in the USA, Ohio's Statewide Systemic Initiative, Project Discovery.There were three major objectives in this study. First was to synthesise the literature concerning gender equity in mathematics education to produce a definition of the ideal Connected Equitable Mathematics Classroom (CEMC). There were two parts to the literature review: one concerning explanations for observed gender differences in mathematics education, and another concerning initiatives implemented to try to bring about gender equity in mathematics education.The second objective was to use the definition of the ideal CEMC, derived from the literature, to determine the extent to which reform had occurred in mathematics classrooms in Ohio. This was accomplished through the analysis of quantitative data collected from a random sample of teachers and principals across the state, and qualitative data collected from seven case study sites. The third objective was to determine the barriers to and facilitators of the realisation of equity goals in middle-school mathematics classrooms involved in Project Discovery. This was accomplished through a cross-site analysis of data collected at the seven case- study sites, with the analysis framed around the characteristics of the CEMC.The outcomes of the study are ++ / set out in terms of these three objectives, culminating in a discussion of the implications and challenges which the findings of this study pose for researchers, reformers, equity advocates and practitioners.

University of Technology, Sydney. Faculty of Education. / This thesis is an exploration of my practice as a teacher consultant in the area of gender equity. Focusing on my consultancy practice with teachers in primary school settings, the study explores my development as a teacher consultant. The study is a self-study in teacher education practices and considers the following questions: • How do I experience and understand my practice as a gender equity consultant? • How can I improve my practice as a consultant? • How does self-study contribute to professional learning about consultancy? My learning about consultancy is explored using narrative inquiry methods including field notes, journal entries, in-depth and focus group interviews with participating teachers, and reflections on critical friend interactions. These methods were used to develop stories of teacher professional learning and consultancy that informed my understandings about my work with teachers, and subsequent changes to practice. I argue that the process of becoming a teacher consultant is one of continual construction and reconstruction as one reflects on and reframes experience, based on interactions with teachers, colleagues and the professional literature. This process of reconstruction enables one to come more clearly to know the self in practice, and therefore, better understand the needs of others in teacher professional learning contexts. Finally I argue that self-study of teacher education practices offers teacher consultants the means to investigate their practice in ways which result in transformative learning about their support of professional learning for teachers in school settings. This study has implications for self-study of teacher education practices as it expands this methodology to include its usefulness for understanding the practice of teacher consultants supporting the professional learning of experienced teachers in schools.

Achieving gender equity is an international priority. This research, guided by a critical social theory approach, explores and seeks to challenge dominant gender norms amongst young men and women living in the slum of Kibera, Kenya. To achieve this goal, 49 participants, recruited through convenience sampling techniques, engaged in a participatory diagramming technique of data collection and reflexive analysis. Findings from this research suggest that youth participants experienced numerous forms of social discrimination and exclusion that threatened health and development. Socio-economic status appeared to be the primary source of inequities, including gender inequity. Process and outcome changes were noted among participants throughout the course of this research. Participants created plans to minimize the impact of discrimination that was externally imposed on them as individuals, but challenged between members of the group. The findings underscore the significance of addressing the social, cultural, political, and economic context of health. They further suggest that groups and communities have the capacity to create integrated plans that address complex challenges.

Achieving gender equity is an international priority. This research, guided by a critical social theory approach, explores and seeks to challenge dominant gender norms amongst young men and women living in the slum of Kibera, Kenya. To achieve this goal, 49 participants, recruited through convenience sampling techniques, engaged in a participatory diagramming technique of data collection and reflexive analysis. Findings from this research suggest that youth participants experienced numerous forms of social discrimination and exclusion that threatened health and development. Socio-economic status appeared to be the primary source of inequities, including gender inequity. Process and outcome changes were noted among participants throughout the course of this research. Participants created plans to minimize the impact of discrimination that was externally imposed on them as individuals, but challenged between members of the group. The findings underscore the significance of addressing the social, cultural, political, and economic context of health. They further suggest that groups and communities have the capacity to create integrated plans that address complex challenges.

Women and members of underrepresented populations remain a relatively small proportion of the engineering faculty and students on university campuses. The lack of diversity potentially reduces the number of innovative and diverse perspectives contributing to these fields. One critical area missing in the research literature concerns faculty mentoring of engineering undergraduate women students. This qualitative study explores the narratives of six engineering faculty member mentors, two student affairs practitioners, and three undergraduate women student mentees and their mentoring experiences in a large public research university. Drawing on relevant frameworks from best practices in mentoring and pedagogy, this study will reframe the conversations surrounding faculty mentoring of undergraduate students by utilizing a feminist lens, which seeks to explicitly address the need to create and sustain an inclusive and engaging classroom environment and mentoring relationships. The following research questions guided the study: 1) how do mentors and mentees make meaning and conceptualize the act of mentoring, 2) how are these mentoring relationships situated within the context of the institution in which they are embedded, and 3) what implications emerge for retention and representation of underrepresented students for faculty mentors and student mentees? With this in mind, a feminist lens was useful for expanding the ways in which mentoring is conceptualized and explored because traditional approaches did not effectively explore or capture the benefits received by the participants. The engineering faculty mentor and undergraduate student mentee participants largely formed mentoring relationships informally, often through a connection established in a classroom. Faculty members were purposeful and thoughtful in their pedagogical choices, fostering an engaging and supportive classroom environment. Unlike the research literature, these faculty mentors perceived real benefits from mentoring undergraduate students. In addition, the faculty mentors participating in this study were particularly aware of the challenges and opportunities facing women and underrepresented undergraduate students, graduate students, and faculty in engineering. / text

University of Technology, Sydney. Faculty of Education. / This thesis is an exploration of my practice as a teacher consultant in the area of gender equity. Focusing on my consultancy practice with teachers in primary school settings, the study explores my development as a teacher consultant. The study is a self-study in teacher education practices and considers the following questions: • How do I experience and understand my practice as a gender equity consultant? • How can I improve my practice as a consultant? • How does self-study contribute to professional learning about consultancy? My learning about consultancy is explored using narrative inquiry methods including field notes, journal entries, in-depth and focus group interviews with participating teachers, and reflections on critical friend interactions. These methods were used to develop stories of teacher professional learning and consultancy that informed my understandings about my work with teachers, and subsequent changes to practice. I argue that the process of becoming a teacher consultant is one of continual construction and reconstruction as one reflects on and reframes experience, based on interactions with teachers, colleagues and the professional literature. This process of reconstruction enables one to come more clearly to know the self in practice, and therefore, better understand the needs of others in teacher professional learning contexts. Finally I argue that self-study of teacher education practices offers teacher consultants the means to investigate their practice in ways which result in transformative learning about their support of professional learning for teachers in school settings. This study has implications for self-study of teacher education practices as it expands this methodology to include its usefulness for understanding the practice of teacher consultants supporting the professional learning of experienced teachers in schools.

Magister Philosophiae - MPhil / The study examines female-male differentials in earnings and factors associated with them within the labour market of South Africa. Dating back from the end of apartheid in 1994, a few labour policies have been implemented to reduce poverty especially in the area of gender equity and wage discrimination. However, little evidence has been produced to inform on the magnitude of changes in reducing differences and progress achieved so far. Therefore the study attempts to assess and explain the structural changes in female-male differentials in earnings within the labour market. Sparsely conducted studies during the early years of post-apartheid South Africa showed strong racial divide in terms of wage gaps. This proposed study extends this analysis to socio-demographic attributes and also considers a more encompassing notion of earnings. Thus controlling for individual attributes, the overarching issue in this study stems from the following questions: do male workers earn more than their female counterparts within the Labour market? And if it is the case, what are some of the underlying social and demographic variables contributing to this difference? To assess the structural changes in earnings, data utilized for this study are derived from the Labour Force Survey of 2007 and 2011 carried out respectively under Statistics South Africa. Other public records are used to supplement these two sources. In the first step bivariate analysis are carried out to establish patterns and statistical relationships amongst variables selected. Drawing from that, the study makes use of a predictive model to analyse the combined effect of these variables taken together onto the dependent variable. It is expected to observe varying differences in the magnitude of earnings across the selected variables. Differences could be specific to occupation or industrial sector. Temporal variation provides insights about the dynamics of female-male differentials in earnings. From this the study draws some recommendations to guide policy interventions in the labour market.

Using qualitative interviews, this study explored public school support of transgender students using questions concerning their knowledge, ideas of what inclusion looks like, level of preparation for teaching transgender students, and openness to learning new information concerning best practices. This study aims to fill gaps in the existing research concerning experiences of transgender public school students, examining teacher support for the sake of helping determine policy steps and education that would best help transgender students looking for inclusive education. Emerging themes included generalized acceptance, fear of teaching outside curriculum, emphasis placed on student needs, and teachers' desires to learn more. These results are explored with consideration to their implications for policy, training, and resource compilation.