D.Ed. / Apartheid and underdevelopment have shaped the educational system in South Africa. Previously South African public schools have been segregated according to race and separate education systems had been instituted for the four main population groups since the early foundations of educations. Racially mixed schools were prohibited. With the transformation of South Africa to a democratic country, where the African National Congress came to power in 1994, many changes took place. One of these was fundamental changes to the educational system with the admittance of learners of all races to previously racially segregated schools. Many parents from townships welcomed the opportunity to have their children attend schools in urban areas to expose them to education that they perceive to be of a higher standard than that in township schools. This movement of learners from all ethnic groups to English medium schools has necessitated some changes in these schools to accommodate the unique characteristics of learners from diverse cultural, linguistic and socio-economic backgrounds. It is important to note that these learners bring to the classroom languages and cultures previously underrepresented. Learners who come from different cultural or linguistic backgrounds are often seen as environmentally deprived simply because of their “being different” from the dominant culture. These learners begin their schooling with certain lags that may be due to the fact that they have a limited understanding of the language of instruction. These communication difficulties are exacerbated when the learner is confronted with a foreign culture that may cause anxiety and frustration as well as insecurity. This, in turn, becomes the educator’s problem, because learning is impeded under such circumstances. Grade eight learners in transition from township schools may also have added difficulties on account of their required adjustment to changes linked to their developmental phase, namely adolescence. The aim of this study was to explore and describe the experiences of LEP grade eight learners in transition from township schools to English multicultural schools in order to develop an intervention programme for educators and educational psychologists with regard of support for these learners. The research was conducted from the qualitative paradigm. It included a literature review, individual and focus group interviews with learner, their educators and their parents, essays by LEP learners and observation of these learners. A purposive sample of ten learners from each six English medium secondary schools in Gauteng was selected. Data analysis was deductive. Categories of meaning included the following: scholastic performance, emotional factors, behavioural factors, sociological factors, cultural factors, environmental factors, educator attitudes and, finally, transition and adjustment. The three groups of respondents agreed to a large extent on the experiences of LEP learners. An intervention programme, based on the findings of the study, was developed for educators and educational psychologists to render support for LEP learners in order to facilitate their learning and adjustment in multicultural schools. The principal areas of the programme aimed at providing and inclusive, inviting educational approach that will enable learners to feel included and valued in the school, while improving their learning and adjustment. / Prof. J. Pillay

Language, schooling and self have always been inextricably intertwined in the life of high school adolescents. Yet, there has been a paucity of research that investigates the relationship between language, identity, and language-in-education policies that often contradict multiple and fluid identity expressions of young adolescents. The aim of this study project was to explore the relationship between multilingualism and identity construction among urban black youth in two heteroglossic schools of Soweto township and to understand identity of black urban youth in South Africa. Two phases of data collection were carried out. First, a baseline survey of language patterns was administered to a total of 138 (n=138) grade 11 adolescent youth ranging from 15-19 years old. The second phase involved focus group discussions comprising 10 and 7 self-selected multilingual adolescents per school in order to approximate out of school multilingual spaces to explore a full range of language use, identity expressions and language attitudes. The results of the study are two pronged. The survey revealed a high degree of multilingualism and multilayered identities among the participants as manifested in all spheres of their lives such as the school yard, home, and conversation with friends. However, this complex identity matrix is constrained by classroom practices that are torn between monolingual policy preferences and actual language mixing. Correspondingly, focus group-based language performance and metacognitive reflections on multilingual performance also revealed that a fluid, mobile and versatile communicative practice referred to as translanguaging, which goes a step further from traditional code-switching, is a norm among these urban youth adolescents. The study concludes by highlighting tensions on identity constructions of highly multilingual urban youth. The pervasiveness of identity construction through the translanguaging phenomenon suggests cross-language boundaries and emergence of new urban identities that are expressed through hybrid varieties such as ‘kasitaal’. Multilingually sensitive education approaches that are considerate of the inextricable relationship between age of identity construction, language and education as well as new areas for further research are recommended.

Thesis advisor: Jacqueline Lerner / Americans are more educated than ever, and high educational attainment has long been associated with positive outcomes for individuals and society as a whole. However, one-third of high school students do not enroll in post-secondary education immediately after graduation, thereby reducing potential benefits. A thorough understanding of college enrollment patterns is needed to develop and enhance interventions that will effectively promote immediate college enrollment. Extant literature on college access focuses largely on contextual factors that influence college enrollment, such as families, schools, and classrooms. Given that context is only one component of development, additional research on the role of the individual may be especially useful for understanding more fully the transition from high school to college. For this dissertation, theoretical approaches from higher education and developmental psychology were combined to provide a new framework for exploring immediate college enrollment. The variables of interest included indicators of college readiness (e.g., academic preparedness and sources of college information) and three internal assets: self-regulation, school engagement, and expectations for academic success. College enrollment patterns were examined using data from the Education Longitudinal Study of 2002, which surveyed students nationwide in 2002 (Grade 10), 2004 (Grade 12), 2006, and 2012. A series of multinomial regression equations revealed significant main effects and indirect effects of internal assets on college enrollment through college readiness variables, but no interaction effects between internal assets and college readiness variables. Analyses also provided support for previous findings related to racial/ethnic and socio-economic group differences, as well as school-level contextual factors. The findings from this study have valuable implications for college access programs: internal assets appear to be driving college readiness, not merely bolstering it, and should be a focus for interventional efforts. Additional research across applied settings for youth is needed to replicate and extend the findings from the current study, to evaluate applicable measurement standards, and to propose reform in practice and policy. / Thesis (PhD) — Boston College, 2015. / Submitted to: Boston College. Lynch School of Education. / Discipline: Counseling, Developmental and Educational Psychology.

Thesis advisor: Ana Martinez-Aleman / Abstract Black and Latino men have the lowest college enrollment rates among traditional college-aged students. Using a qualitative method, this study examined first-year students' perceptions of factors that influenced their plans to pursue a college education and actual enrollment. The factors this study explored were family support activities as defined by the Hossler college choice model and college aspirations factors. Currently, the experiences of first-year black and Latino men enrolled at four-year postsecondary institutions have been limited. These firsthand accounts will provide useful information to guidance counselors, school and university administrators, and policy makers interested in increasing the number of black and Latino men at four-year colleges and universities. The literature on college enrollment shows that black and Latino men have the lowest enrollment rates of all college-aged students. The college choice literature suggests that family support activities such as saving for college, visiting colleges, and attending a financial aid workshop all are influential in students' decision to enroll at a postsecondary institution. In addition, the literature on college aspirations shows that factors such as family encouragement, peers, and schools can either aid or hinder a student's plans to go to college. Yet, Hossler's college choice model and the college aspirations literature usually do not explain the college enrollment decisions of black and Latino men. In particular, a specific aim of this study is to investigate whether the college choice and college aspirations literatures' conclusions hold true for black and Latino men. In addition, this study explores whether participants' decisions to enroll are influenced by gender expectations. The results of this study were examined using a critical theory lens. The study's findings reveal that black and Latino men's college enrollment decisions are influenced in much the same ways as those of other high-school students. Parents provided the foundation along with early academic success that instilled ideas about the benefits of a college education and supported the attainment of that goal. Furthermore, participants rejected negative stereotypes associated with men of color and saw the pursuit of a postsecondary education as a challenge to these common beliefs. These findings show that men of color's college enrollment decisions are impacted by parents as well as multivariate factors that work to sustain their college enrollment goals. This information can provide school and college administrators as well as policymakers with strategies that could successfully address the problem of college transition and access for this population. / Thesis (PhD) — Boston College, 2009. / Submitted to: Boston College. Lynch School of Education. / Discipline: Educational Administration and Higher Education.

Abstract Background/problem: That physical activity (PA) is important for good health and high quality of life is well known. PA also increases a person’s executive functions, ability to concentrate, solve problems and to learn. High school students (HSS) that lack motivation lose focus and are overrepresented as high school dropouts.  Aim: The aim was to examine the effects of a 20-minute walk, during lunch break, on HSS self-rated motivation and concentration during after-lunch-studies.  Method: The study had a multiple baseline single subject design. Six HSS estimated their motivation and concentration for “after-lunch-studies” for 20 school days. They also estimated their sleep quality, sleep time and how well rested they were when they woke up. During the intervention-phase they performed a 20 min walk on the lunch-break. The length of the baseline and the intervention varied between 5-10 days. Results: No differences were found for the participants when comparing the results from the first and second control period and the intervention period.  Conclusion: No effect on motivation and concentration was found in this study. A different design with more subjects and different exercise intensity might be better suited to evaluate the effects of physical activity on HSS motivation and concentration.

Syftet med denna studie var att få en bättre förståelse för vilken betydelse lärare har för sina elever. Detta gjordes med hjälp av Interpersonal Reactivity Index (IRI), en skala utvecklad av Davis (1980) för att multidimensionellt kunna mäta empati.  I den här studien användes IRI för att testa hur graden av empati, hos både lärare och elever, kan påverka skolgången. I studien fick 154 elever enkäter under lektionstid och enkäterna hade till syfte att (a) se hur elever skattar lärares empati över tid, (b) hur elever och lärares empati påverkar betygen, (c) hur elevers empati påverkar hur de skattar lärarnas empati och (d) hur elever själva tycker lärares empati påverkar dem. Resultaten visade: (a) en tendens till att elever i årskurs ett skattar lärares empati högst och att elever i årskurs två skattar lärares empati lägst, (c) en tendens till att elever skattar lärares empati högre desto högre empati de själva uppmätte. Resultaten visade (b) en positiv korrelation mellan elevers betyg och elevers/lärares empati, där högre empati hos eleverna relaterade till signifikant högre betyg i fem ämnen (Svenska, Historia, Samhällskunskap Matematik och Naturkunskap). (d) En klar majoritet av eleverna tyckte att lärares empati påverkar dem och att empati hos lärare är övervägande positivt. Vidare fördjupad forskning inom de berörda områdena, där fördjupningar i enskilda frågeställningar görs, rekommenderas i framtiden.

This case study examined and described how under-served high school students enrolled in medical sciences academy CTE programs (Certified Nursing Assistant [CNA] and Electrocardiogram Technician [EKG]) at two Florida Title I high schools perceive that their career and technical education experience prepared them with the academic and technical skills and knowledge to pursue postsecondary training or higher education; be better prepared to transition into an ever-more complicated economic workplace; and become qualified and competent members of the workforce. The study participants were 53 CTE students (CNA and EKG juniors and seniors from both school sites), four CTE instructors (two CNA and two EKG instructors from both school sites), and three CTE administrators (one assistant principal from both school sites and one district Medical Sciences Specialist Administrator) during the academic school year 2016-2017. There were six major findings and ten sub-themes of this study. The first finding is that CTE programs at these schools provide career exploration and planning opportunities and includes four sub-themes; school-based learning, work-based learning, connecting activities, and need for improvement of CTE programs. The second finding is that CTE programs at these schools offer career relevant curricula and includes three subthemes; school-based learning, work-based learning, and connecting activities. The third finding is that students enrolled in CTE programs at these schools are offered consistent support and guidance, and includes three sub-themes: instructor support, guidance counselor support, and administrator support. The fourth finding is that the district plays a key role in the strategic planning and management of CTE programs at these schools. The fifth finding is that procedures are in place that make allowances for accountability and assessment of CTE programs at these schools. The sixth finding is the assessment of students’ career decision-making self-efficacy enrolled in CTE programs at these schools. Results indicated that students enrolled in CTE medical sciences academy programs (CNA and EKG) at these schools reported a high degree of career decisionmaking self-efficacy. Moreover, instructors,’ administrators,’ and students’ perceptions of students’ CTE experiences and engagement in career exploration learnings supported their career growth and development. / Includes bibliography. / Dissertation (Ph.D.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2017. / FAU Electronic Theses and Dissertations Collection

盧國輝. / Thesis (Ed.D.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 2011. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 255-278) / Electronic reproduction. Hong Kong : Chinese University of Hong Kong, [2012] System requirements: Adobe Acrobat Reader. Available via World Wide Web. / Abstracts in Chinese and English. / Lu Guohui.

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. / Computer skill scores of 166 high school sophomores were derived from a survey instrument and correlated to their GP A and state standardized test results. The survey instrument gathered demographic data, including home access to a computer and Internet, and used Likert questions to gauge the respondent's skill with various computer tasks. The computer skill categories measured were general operative skills, word processing skills, spreadsheet skills, and Internet communication skills. Results of the correlation testing revealed numerous significant and positive correlations between computer skill survey scores and both GPA and the state standardized tests. Further analysis revealed a significant difference in academic performance between survey respondents with access to multiple home computers versus single. Respondents with home high speed Internet access exhibited significantly higher computer skill scores than those with dial-up Internet access. Results are discussed and suggestions for further research are explored. / 2031-01-02

This study explored the influence of four features of collocations- frequency of occurrence, syntactic structure, semantic transparency, and congruency with L1- on the collocational knowledge and development of 252 Kurdish high school learners of English as a foreign language. The importance of collocations in learning English as a second or foreign language and the difficulties that challenge learners at different levels of language proficiency have been well established. However, few studies have adopted a longitudinal research design or a hybrid definition of collocations, incorporating both frequency-based and phraseological views. The present study took this approach to explore learners’ collocational knowledge and development and the influence of features of collocations on their collocational knowledge and development at the high school level of learning English as a foreign language. The study employed two tests: an appropriateness judgement test to measure learners’ receptive knowledge and a gap-filling test to measure their productive knowledge of collocations. The data were collected in two waves, one at the beginning of their school year and the other at the end. Data analyses were conducted to determine the relationship between features of collocations and learners’ collocational knowledge and development. The results revealed frequency of occurrence as the most influential factor affecting learners’ knowledge and development. Influence of the syntactic structure of collocations on the learners’ knowledge and development came second whereas congruency with L1 occupied the third position. Semantic transparency seemed to have the least influence on their collocational knowledge and development. Gender appeared as an influential factor in the individual tests. However, its influence was not significant in terms of overall knowledge development. In general, the results indicated that learners’ productive collocational knowledge lagged behind their receptive. However, receptive and productive collocational knowledge did not increase at the same rate over the study period. While learners’ receptive collocational knowledge did not show an increase in knowledge, their productive knowledge increased significantly over the school year. The results also revealed that grammatical collocations were less challenging than lexical collocations at this level of language learning. Finally, according to the study results, some pedagogical implications and suggestions for further studies are presented.