Children’s entry into school at appropriate ages and their successful progression through the primary grades are strong predictors of later life opportunities and successes. This retrospective study focuses on factors that can influence age appropriate school entry and grade progression with children who were eight at the time of the study and who live in a peri-urban community in Uganda. Children in this resource constrained community face risks of educational exclusion and longer term underachievement that arise from social, health and economic disadvantages, inequalities and inadequate services. The most disadvantaged children, those who live in households with life stress events such as the absence of one or more parents or the impact of diseases such as HIV and AIDS, are at risk of not enrolling in school at an appropriate age or not advancing successfully. Such risks may be mediated through family composition and family demographic variables and may be ameliorated through the presence of community programs designed for young children. This study examined the influence of family variables, home environment life stress events, and exposure to early childhood development (ECD) services on the educational transitions of young children. The study determined that children living with biological parents, and parents with higher educational levels, had more opportunities of exposure to community-based ECD programs, had higher success in enrolling in school at an age-appropriate time, and more successfully progressed through the grade levels. For the purposes of this study, data were collected from 535 children and their 535 caregivers in the peri-urban community of Kyanja in Kampala, the capital city of Uganda. The findings provide a backdrop for a discussion regarding the relationship between home environment life stress events, community ECD services for young children, and the current educational status of children aged eight years. A major focus lies on whether enrolment in ECD can help close the gap created by events in and the structure of the home environment. / Graduate

Thesis advisor: Paul Cichello / The COVID-19 pandemic impacted nearly every aspect of societies around the world when it struck in 2020. Food insecurity increased in almost all countries, even those with well-developed economies and safety nets, and education for all ages was drastically affected by social distancing guidelines and a concern for the safety of students and faculty alike. Using data from the 2019 and 2020 cross-sections of the Survey of Income and Program Participation, I evaluated the impact of an automatic increase in food assistance benefits in the United States during March 2020 on grade progression rates for students who were affected by the benefit increase. I find statistically insignificant results regarding the effect of this increase on grade progression rates, but a significant positive effect of being in the post-Covid period on these rates. These results could reflect the fact that school districts around the country broadly loosened the academic requirements for grade progression. Future research could evaluate the effect of food stamp benefits on the quality of education, and seek to overcome the limitations of the model used for this analysis. / Thesis (BA) — Boston College, 2023. / Submitted to: Boston College. College of Arts and Sciences. / Discipline: Departmental Honors. / Discipline: Economics.

Masters in Public Administration - MPA / Within the field of secondary education in South Africa there is currently a major crisis over learners’ poor academic achievement. This is a challenge to all roleplayers,especially the high failure and drop-out rates in Grades 10 and 11. In this study the problem of grade progression and promotion in Outcomes- Based Education (OBE) in a mixed low, middle and working-class school is addressed. The main question arising from this problem concerns the high promotion and low retention rates at the school. The central focus in this thesis is the understanding of grade progression and promotion on the part of Grade 10 educators. Thus this study investigates the implementation of grade progression and promotion, through observation as to how the actual practices and methods of educators and their Senior Management Team influence this process. Furthermore, the consequences for Grade 10 learners of the practices associated with grade progression and promotion are examined. This includes an analysis of educators’ opinions and how their practices of grade progression and promotion have affected or disadvantaged the learning process.This research is conceptualized in the domain of social, post-structural and constructivist theory, which provides a meaningful framework to help understand and explain educators’ multiple perceptions in the classroom. The study starts by exploring whether a poor socio-economic environment has a direct influence on activities in schools. This study also examines whether a poor socio-economic environment contributes to a dysfunctional situation in the classroom and school environment, which unintentionally influences the grade progression and promotion sessions. In addition, the study investigates and determines whether there is a disjuncture between policy (theory) and implementation (practice) when conducting grade progression and promotion. A qualitative research method was used in this study and a qualitative ethnographic design, influenced by an interpretivist framework, was adopted. Qualitative ethnographic techniques, such as observations, interviews and documents, were employed to collect relevant information for this study. Data was analyzed by using thematic narrative analysis to answer the dissertation questions. Ethical conduct and procedures were strictly observed.The results show that the socio-economic environment contributed to a dysfunctional condition in the school, which had a negative impact upon, and influenced the learning experience of, both educators and learners. The evidence revealed that the actual practices of educators and the school’s Senior Management Team during progression and promotion meetings were influenced by their subjective perceptions, attitudes and opinions. From this, the conclusion was reached that the progression, promotion or retention of learners resulted in positioning and labelling in the classroom, which might eventually lead to low motivation, weak performances and dropping-out. The significance of this study lies in the practical and academic value it holds for educators and other stakeholders. The findings, implications and recommendations can be used as a guide to provide solutions to problems and barriers which occur during grade progression and promotion in schools, and may offer opportunities for further investigation or study.