Schools that implement a school uniform policy are on the rise (Musu-Gillette, Zhang, Wang, Zhang & Oudekerk, 2017). About 74% of these schools have a high population of low socioeconomic status students (Musu-Gillette et al., 2017) with about 75% or more qualifying for free or reduced lunch. The purpose of this study was to examine any relationships between students' perceptions of the effects of school uniforms and student socioeconomic status. In a charter school, a survey was completed by students to gather perception information and a separate survey by parents to gather socioeconomic status information. Hypotheses were tested using descriptive statistics and multiple regression models. Data were gathered from 184 students in grades 3 through 8. Examining individual survey items revealed older students were more likely to report that school uniforms help to reduce bullying and teasing. Another statistically significant difference was that some students of high socioeconomic status reported that uniforms help reduce arguments with parents about clothing (t(182) = 2.66, p<.01). Student responses on 10 survey items were grouped into one factor called School Climate, reflecting student perceptions on how uniforms affect the school's climate. Analyses revealed no significant relationships between the School Climate factor and socioeconomic status. However, Hispanic students reported a significantly more positive response overall than non-Hispanic students. These findings suggest students of various socioeconomic status perceive school uniforms similarly, but older students could be more likely to associate uniforms with a reduction in bullying. More research needs to be done in charter schools as little research has been done on school uniforms in charter schools, and among Hispanic students because the participation of Hispanic students was relatively low.

Cette recherche est consacrée à l’instruction en Afrique de l’Est allemande (Deutsch-Ostafrika : DOA), devenue au lendemain de la Grande Guerre un mandat britannique, le Tanganyika Territory, au sein de la British East Africa (BEA). Ce changement aurait pu entraîner des ruptures dans la politique scolaire, en particulier à l’endroit des Africains qui constituaient la majorité de la population aux côtés des Arabo-Swahili, des Indiens et d’une minorité d’Européens. Or, une logique de laisser-faire a prévalu durant la domination britannique qui s’est exercée dans le cadre d’un indirect rule, avec des moyens insuffisants accordés à l’enseignement. La formation d’auxiliaires, d’une main-d’œuvre qualifiée et d’agents intermédiaires pour les besoins de la colonisation reste primordiale dans les objectifs de la scolarisation, comme au temps de la DOA. Et en situation coloniale, les Arabo-Swahili et les Indiens continuent de jouer un rôle déterminant. Mosaïque de sociétés et de langues, la question linguistique s’avère fondamentale dans les enjeux scolaires sur ce territoire. À ce propos, des débats et des tensions virent le jour entre les différents acteurs éducatifs. Néanmoins, le kiswahili demeura pendant toute la période coloniale et au-delà.Malgré les discours et les enquêtes en vue d’une amélioration et d’une adaptation de l’enseignement, l’instruction du plus grand nombre ne figure pas au programme des écoles gouvernementales, davantage attachées à la formation d’une élite, que ce soit dans la DOA ou au Tanganyika Territory. La prise en charge de ce volet de l’enseignement reste dévolue aux établissements confessionnels tenus par les missionnaires, dont certains étaient présents depuis les dernières décennies du XIXème siècle. Mais les missionnaires poursuivent comme objectif essentiel l’évangélisation. La Seconde Guerre mondiale marque cependant une rupture dans la politique scolaire. Les associations et partis nationalistes, principalement la Tanganyika African National Union (TANU), s’approprient la question de l’instruction, surtout celle des Africains, pour préparer l’accession à l’indépendance. Ce pays si divers trouvera son unité grâce au chemin parcouru, souvent sinueux, pour adopter une langue commune africaine, le kiswahili, généralisé à l’époque coloniale allemande et à un homme, Julius Nyerere, qui va faire de l’instruction une priorité nationale. / This research is devoted to education in German East Africa (Deutsch-Ostafrika : DOA), which became Tanganyika Territory as a part of the British East Africa (BEA) in the aftermath of the Great War. This transition could have resulted in a discontinuity of school policy, particularly with regard to Africans who formed the majority of the population alongside Arabo-Swahili, Indians and a minority of Europeans. Instead, a strategy of laissez-faire prevailed during the British rule, which was a style of Indirect Rule that allotted insufficient means to education. The educational priorities, like at the time of DOA, were rather to train auxiliaries, create a skilled workforce and reinforce the intermediaries for the purpose of colonization. But even in this colonial context, Arabo-Swahili and Indians continued to play a decisive role. As a mosaic of societies and languages, the question of language proved pivotal in the educational discussions of the territory. Debates and tensions thus emerged between various educational actors; and yet, the Kiswahili persisted throughout the entire colonial period and beyond.Despite speeches and investigations meant to improve and adapt the educational system, education for the majority was not part of the program of government schools. These schools were far more concerned with training an elite during the German and British colonial periods. Education for the minorities was provided by religious schools run by the missionaries, some of them having existed since the last decades of the 19th century. Missionaries pursued evangelism as their main objective. However, World War II marked a rupture in school policy. Nationalist associations and parties, mainly the Tanganyika African National Union (TANU), appropriated the issues of education, especially African education, to prepare for independence. This diverse country finally achieved unity thanks to two factors: one, the efforts to adopt a common African language, Kiswahili, which was generalized during the German colonial era, and two, a man named Julius Nyerere, who made education a national priority. / Die vorliegende Arbeit befasst sich mit der Schulausbildung in Deutsch-Ostafrika (DOA). Nach dem Ersten Weltkrieg wurde das Tanganyika Territory, unter britisches Mandat gestellt, als Teil des Verbundes des British East Africa (BEA). Diese Zäsur brachte Umbrüche in der Schulpolitik mit sich, insbesondere für die afrikanische Bevölkerung, welche die Mehrheit der Bevölkerung stellten, vor arabischen Swahili, Indern und der europäischen Minderheit. Dennoch war die Zeit der britischen Vorherrschaft, im Rahmen der indirect rule, von einer Logik des Laisser-faire geprägt, und für die Ausbildung standen nur unzureichende Mittel zur Verfügung. Auch in dieser Zeit, wie auch schon während der deutschen Kolonialisation, blieb die Ausbildung von Hilfspersonal, qualifizierten Arbeitskräften und mittleren Verwaltungs-beamten das vornehmliche Ziel der Schulbildung. Unter den britischen Kolonialherren spielten weiterhin die arabischen Swahili und Inder eine wichtige Rolle. In diesem Puzzle aus verschiedenen Gesellschaften und Sprachen auf diesem Territorium war hinsichtlich schulischer Belangen die Frage nach dem Erlernen der Sprachen von fundamentaler Bedeutung. Diesbezüglich kam es zu Auseinandersetzungen und Spannungen zwischen den verschiedenen Akteuren der schulischen Bildung. Trotzem blieb das Kiswahili während der gesamten Kolonialzeit und auch über diese Zeit hinaus die vorherrschende Sprache.Trotz vieler Reden und Studien im Hinblick auf die Verbesserung und Anpassung des Unterrichts, das Unterrichten der Hauptzahl der Bevölkerung war nicht Ziel von der Regierung eingerichteten Schulen, die vornehmlich der Ausbildung der Elite dienten, sowohl unter der deutschen Kolonialherrschaft, als unter britischem Mandat. Das Unterrichten der anderen Bevölkerungskreise wurde konfessionnell getragenen Schulen überlassen, die von Missionaren geleitet wurden, die teilweise seit dem ausgehenden 19. Jahrhundert auf dem Territorium anwesend gewesen sind. Deren Hauptziel war jedoch die Mission. Der Zweite Weltkrieg bringt dennoch eine Zäsur in der Schulpolitik mit sich. Vereinigungen und nationalistische Parteien, insbesondere die Tanganyika African National Union (TANU), machen sich die Frage der Schulbildung, insbesondere die der afrikanischen Bevölkerung, zu eigen, mit dem Ziel des Erlangens der Unabhängigkeit. Dieses sehr vielseitige Land wird seine Einheit in dem gemeinsam beschrittenen, verschlugenen Weg finden in der Wahl einer gemeinsamen afrikanischen Sprache, dem Kiswahili, das während der deutschen Kolonialzeit durchgesetzt wurde, und durch Julius Nyerere, der die Schulbildung zu einer Frage von nationaler Wichtigkeit machte.

Thesis (M.A.) --University of Limpopo, 2012 / The study was undertaken because the researcher was concerned about the denial of poor learners the right to education, as their parents could not afford to pay School Fees due to high unemployment and poverty in rural schools. The researcher noticed that schools sent learners home to collect school fees and also withheld learner reports until the required amount was paid. As a result, “Fee Exemption policy” was available to exempt poor parents from paying School Fees, but it was not effective because schools did not inform them to apply for this policy. As a result, poor learners decide to dropout. The government introduced “no-fee-schools” policy to end marginalisation of poor learners. Further, it appeared that School Allocations are little because rural schools have a shortage of school facilities and some of the facilities are too expensive.A purposive sampling strategy was used to select 3 public secondary schools as research sites and 26 respondents as a sample of the target population. Respondents consisted of 8 members; the principal, SGB member and 6 educators from School A; Nine (9) respondents; the principal, 2 SGB members and 6 educators from School B; the principal, 2 SGB members and 6 educators from School C. Twenty-six respondents were considered to be sufficient because my focus was not on representation. The respondents were considered to be key informants with required data. Interviews and document analysis were used as data collection methods. The researcher used semi-structured interviews because they are interactive, and they also give the respondents a voice associated with their perspectives and experiences. Document analysis was used to supplement data collected through interviews. The interviewees discovered that learners were denied the right to education, despite the departmental policies formulated to help poor learners and theirparents. Furthermore, “no-fee-schools” policy was formulated to enable poor students to access education, but it is problematic because School Allocation is not deposited to school accounts on time and does not cover all the school costs. The study recommends that poor learners should not be denied the right to education and that the departmental policy (viz., Fee Exemption Policy) should be monitored to ensure that marginalised learners benefit from this scheme. This policy should also be budgeted for so as to enable poor schools to purchase modern facilities to improve the quality of teaching and learning and employ extra educators so as to reduce the educator-learner ratios and so on.

Every year teachers find themselves involved in conflicts dealing with violations of students' First Amendment rights to freedom of expression and freedom of religion. Students and parents file lawsuits against school districts because they feel teachers and administrators have violated their First Amendment rights. As a result, many teacher preparation programs require pre-service teachers to learn about educational law and the rights students have at school. Yet, little research exists about how well pre-service teachers are prepared to deal with First Amendment issues in the classroom. The purpose of this study was to investigate how well pre-service teachers are prepared to deal with First Amendment issues in the classroom. This study reviews the literature regarding the need for educational law in teacher preparation, historical cases providing guidance to teachers regarding students' First Amendment rights in the classroom, and recent court cases involving conflicts between students and schools regarding students' First Amendment rights. Using a mixed-methods approach, the researcher investigated pre-service teachers at a large urban college of education using a survey developed by the researcher and interviews with a sample of the pre-service teachers. One hundred and ten secondary pre-service teachers submitted surveys, and 10 pre-service teachers participated in interviews. Using analyses of variance, the researcher found that there was not a statistically significant difference between the scores or confidence levels of pre-service teachers based on their subject area or their academic level (undergraduate/graduate). The knowledge that pre-service teachers have acquired is derived from experiences while in school, teaching, or in their coursework. In addition, when pre-service teachers have a personal experience with a First Amendment issue, they are more confident in their knowledge and more likely to take action in dealing with the issue. Pre-service teachers use several criteria when making decisions regarding First Amendment issues. These criteria include school policy, sense of right or wrong, offensiveness, and personal apprehension. Information about pre-service teachers' knowledge and how they make decisions regarding First Amendment issues provides teacher educators with valuable information for building a curriculum that prepares pre-service teachers to deal with First Amendment issues in the classroom.

This thesis reports the results of a single site case study conducted in Barracks High School, a comprehensive High School in metropolitan Sydney. The focus of the study was the relationship between student participation and school context in Barracks High. Underpinning the study is the notion of 'meaningful' participation: that is, participation by students that has real meaning to them, to teachers, and for the real work of the school. This notion is explored in the review of related literature, and in the results of the study as they are presented in the thesis. The study involved persistent researcher engagement in school life, leading at times to forms of 'intervention research'.A highlight of the research was the identification and dissemination by the researcher of participant 'voices' within Barracks High as a means of drawing attention to participation issues in the school. The study found that contextual dimensions at Barracks High operated at a ratio of two to one against the achievement of meaningful forms of student participation. The thesis concludes by suggesting that complex problems require holistic solutions, and suggests a framework of principles and strategies for building meaningful participation in schools / Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

This study examines the development and consequences of a crisis in a government primary school in the Australian Capital Territory. The A.C.T. system is founded upon participation in policy development at the school level - problems when they arise are usually resolved at the local level. A challenge to the school's policy is described, as is the reaction of the Board. The consequences flowing from the mechanism used to resolve the conflict are discussed in terms of the particular school and the system generally. The tensions inherent in a participatory approach to policy development at the school level are examined. The constructive as well as destructive elements are discussed.

The aim of this study is to analyze how problems are represented within SOU 2008:27. Further more, the aim is to analyze how the new subject plan for history can bee seen as a product of this document. The method used, and the theoretical frame of the study, is based on Carol Lee Bacchi’s ”what´s the problem represented to be?” approach, which basic principle is that policies are filled with representations of problems and that these representations need to be examined. These problem representations are then themselves subject for scrutiny, the second step being an analysis of the texts presumptions and assumptions concerning view of man and perception of knowledge.   The results show, among other things, that a problem representations can be found in the SOU; the school system is too vague and unclear. This can be broken down to four concrete problems; the schools lack of clarity, the schools uniformity, the schools abundance of choices and the educations lack of preparation for societal partake. The view of man is an idea of the working citizen and perception of knowledge mainly being securing students employability.   The subject plan in history is a product of the SOU in several ways. The proposed solutions for the schools lack of clarity are implemented, which results in a more detailed control of the teachers. The problem with the high schools uniformity is also solved by the fact that a shorter course is given to students attending a “practical program” thus dividing the high school.

The major purpose of this study was to determine how no pass, no play has impacted the perceptions of academic player eligibility as perceived by high school coaches in Educational Service Center, Region 20, Texas. Variables such as coach characteristics, school characteristics, and community characteristics were researched. In addition, the study examined the influence gender and ethnicity of the coach had on their perceptions of no pass, no play. The study focused on the perceptions of coaches to no pass, no play relating to (1) student motivation, (2) instructional issues, (3) ethnicity specific variables, (4) student suspension variables. The relationship between poverty status in the district, annual household income, the type of sport, and demographic variables such as the gender, experience level, and ethnicity of the coach were also examined. Respondents’ answers were dependent upon a number of variables. The gender of the coach was a variable that reappeared as significant throughout the study. The ethnicity of the coach and minority population in the school also showed to be significant variables. Lastly, the type of sport, poverty status in the district, percentage of economically disadvantaged students on the campus, the annual dropout rate, and annual household income were also variables that significantly impacted the study. Findings of the study included: 1. Female coaches were four times more likely than male coaches to believe that no pass, no play was an effective motivational tool. 2. Female coaches were 87% more likely to feel that allowing students to practice while they are ineligible to participate motivated students to stay in school. 3. As the annual household income in the district increased, so did the likelihood that the coach perceived students to feel threatened by no pass, no play, resulting in increased study time by the students. 4. The type of sport did not have an impact on coaches’ perceptions that in order to influence student eligibility, parents and student-athletes challenge failing grades assigned by teachers. 5. As the number of ineligible students increased, the likelihood of an athlete making better grades following suspension decreased.

The aim of this thesis was to investigate the relation between different kinds ofremedial teaching models, not specifically addressed to pupils with physicaldisabilities, in the Swedish school context, and to describe and analyze theobjectives related to each model. Research focus was held on professionaldescriptions of school related problems and arguments for different kind of models,but also on objectives formulated in Swedish school policy. As theoretical toolswere used discourse analysis and interpretive policy analysis. The concept ofalienation as it appears throughout Foucault’s work was also used to understand howdifferent knowledge fields as education, special education, psychology and medicinedivide themselves from each other. The study was based on the reading of schoolfiles for 19 pupils and some central school policy documents. The result implies thatSwedish school is, and seems to always have been differentiated, though legaldocuments proclaim the opposite. Further the thesis shows that especially social andpsychological dimensions of special school support is excluded from officialeducational policy in contrast to more medical ones, which in turn implies thatcertain remedial teaching models virtually are made invisible.

The purpose with this essay is to examine the Liberal Party and the Left Party´s views on homework, if the parties considers that homework affects the schools plan for equivalence and if the parties disagreement can be related to their different ideologies. To answer the purpose I have used following questions: How do the Liberal Party and the Left Party define the concept of homework?, What is the purpose of homework in primary schools according to the Liberal Party and the Left Party?, What are the arguments for and against homework and do homework affects the schools plan for equivalence according to the parties? and Can the parties' views on homework be related to their respective ideologies? The method used is a qualitative textual analysis with focus on the idea analysis. The material consist of relevant newspaper articles, news and debate clips and the parties various party programs, during the time frame of 2006-05-31 - 2013-10-14. To answer the purpose I also used different types of discourse theories, equivalence theory and the ideologies liberalism and reformist socialism as theories. The results shows that the Liberal Party and the Left Party have different views about what a homework should be considered as and that both parties thinks that homework can affect the schools plan for equivalence, but they have different perceptions about how. The Left Party believes that homework should be done during school time and The Liberal Party believes that homework should be done after school. Their different views and values regarding homework can also be relate to their different ideologies. A possible idea that I also can find from the results is that the parties different opinions can be based on that they refers to pupils of different age groups when they discuss the topic of homework.