Institutions of higher learning are experiencing increased difficulty managing the quantity and quality of their graduate student populations (Kallio, 1995). Currently the most important informational resource for potential students engaged in the graduate school search process is the Web (Huddleston & Drexel, 2006). Previous research has focused on things such as website design and technological advances but has failed to address the core content needed by applicants (Huddleston & Drexel, 2006). Research has focused on website design from the perspective of administrators and web designers with little consideration of the individuals who are in the process of applying to or identifying a graduate program to attend. This investigation sought to further define the content areas that influence applicants in the graduate program selection process. The sample (N=55) included applicants to the Department of Counseling Psychology and Special Education (CPSE) at Brigham Young University (BYU), a large, private religious university in the western United States. Applicants responded to surveys about the types of content they utilized in their program selection process both in application to BYU's CPSE programs as well as more generally in the graduate program selection process. The results are presented with descriptive statistics that allow comparison in content preference between different groups of applicants (e.g., program type, applicant status). It seems that, overall, the respondents were able to find the content areas that they were looking for on the Website. Responses indicated that the content related to faculty research, program descriptions, and course information was most commonly sought after. While some differences in content preference was noted between program types, little differentiation was noted among the different application groups. Limitations to the present study are discussed, and suggestions for future research are also provided.

The study was an investigation of parental decision-making regarding preschool programs for their children. Data indicated that parents investigated a preschool program beyond a conversation with the preschool director and that non-educational aspects of preschool programs were important considerations in the selection of a preschool program by parents. Parents educational preferences tended to coincide with the educational programs of the preschools they selected, although parents indicated favorable opinions of more educational variables than any of the preschools surveyed offered. Levels of education attained by mothers appeared to have little effect on educational preferences, and parents whose first child was attending preschool had educational preferences similar to those of parents whose older children had attended preschool.

Syftet med studien är att genom kritisk granskning få en fördjupad förståelse av fristående gymnasieskolors multimodala kommunikation på sina hemsidor gentemot grundskoleelever och deras vårdnadshavare. Avsikten är att jämföra de friskolor i Stockholmsområdet som hade högst respektive lägst meritvärde för antagning höstterminen 2019. För att undersöka detta används multimodal analys av tio fristående gymnasieskolors hemsidor. Resultatet presenteras utifrån olika kategorier med en bakgrund i sociosemiotisk teori. I resultatet framkommer att skolorna i gruppen med högst antagningsgräns ofta använder liknande semiotiska resurser vilka skiljer sig från de skolor med lägst antagningsgräns som inom sin grupp använder sig av semiotiska resurser som liknar varandras. De olika skolorna riktar sin kommunikation till olika grupper av elever och vårdnadshavare. Alla skolor använder sina egna semiotiska resurser för att skapa mening. Kombination av de semiotiska resurserna på en skolas hemsida skapar en viss förståelse hos betraktaren. / The purpose of this study is to achieve a greater understanding of multimodal communication towards prospective students and their guardians on webpages of independent upper secondary schools in Sweden. The intention is to compare independent schools in the Stockholm area which had the highest as opposed to the lowest limit of admission in the autumn of 2019. To investigate this, multimodal analysis of the websites of ten independent upper secondary schools is used. The results are presented in different categories based on social semiotic theory. Furthermore, the results show that the schools in the group with the highest admission limit often use similar semiotic resources and that they differ from the schools with the lowest admission limit. This group on the other hand, use semiotic resources that are similar to one another. The different schools direct their communication towards different groups of students and guardians. Schools use several individual semiotic resources which create understanding in combination with each other.

This study used descriptive phenomenology to address the research question: What is the experience of parents who have a child with any disability in selecting a school for their child? Nine parents of a child with any disability from the Greater Vancouver area participated in this study. Through one-on-one in-depth interviews, the parents shared their experiences in selecting a school for their child. Using Colaizzi's descriptive phenomenological method for analysis, six broad themes were revealed that described the parents' experience of finding a school: a) the school itself, b) the child's needs, c) the parent's own experience, d) the family's involvement in the decision, e) non-school supports; and f) availability or lack of choice. Findings were discussed in relation to relevant literature, implications for both parents and school systems were addressed, and further research options were offered. / Graduate

Anotation The Diploma thesis deals with the transition of a child from nursery school to primary school. The important factor deciding on the entrance to primary school is school maturity and school preparedness. The theoretic part deals with these themes., The theoretic part further describes the characteristics of a preschool child, its entrance to primary school and school attendance postponement. The practical part investigates the whole process of primary school enrollment. It finds out how school mature or immature children are. The basic methods of the research investigation are the orientation Test of School Maturity (Jirásek), observation, casuistical methods of preschool children and conversation with chosen children.