Thesis (M.A.)--University of Portland, 1965. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 57-60).

Political recognition of the multicultural nature of Mexico has advanced the understanding of how people live together, as well as how they value and respect each other’s differences. The migration of indigenous populations from rural areas of the country to urban settings has transformed the cities, and also schools, into places of remarkable cultural diversity. This study examines the processes of identity formation of indigenous children in two urban schools in Jalisco, Mexico. By studying the processes of identity formation, I focus on understanding how indigenous children represent themselves within the wider social discourses and dynamics of power, which might be either reinforcing or limiting their opportunities to strengthen their ethnicity. By using an ethnographic approach, from a critical theory perspective, this study focus on listening to indigenous children’s voices, rather than the other voices and experiences within the school setting. The study was conducted in two schools in the municipality of Zapopan, in the State of Jalisco, Mexico. Over a period of 14 months, I conducted semi-structured interviews with 22 indigenous children, balanced by gender and age, from 4 different ethnic groups: Mazahua, Nahua, Purepecha, and Totonaco. I also interviewed 22 mestizo children, 10 teachers, 3 principals, and 7 parents. The schooling experiences of indigenous children are discussed in the study. Elements such as language use, territory (geographic and symbolic), family networks, and their attachment to their communities of origin were identified as the crucial factors for indigenous children to represent, or sometimes deny, themselves as being indigenous. The analysis also highlights the silences, racism, and ethnic blindness that indigenous children face in urban schools. Meritocratic educational approaches within neoliberal discourses of competition, individual effort, and autonomy were embedded in the children’s schooling experiences, thereby shaping their learner identities. This study seeks to contribute to the pursuit of providing indigenous children with educational services that recognise and reinforce their ethnic identity. It is also my objective that children’s voices open up a dialogue with those responsible for the educational and social policies, in order to create a common front that might challenge the racism veiled as indifference and/or a desire for ‘equality’ in Mexican urban schools.

This research explores the process of becoming a teacher of primary physical education (PE) within an English University based Initial Teacher Training context. Despite the introduction of a National Physical Education and school sport subject strategy in 2003, academics and professionals in the UK and elsewhere have continued to suggest that primary PE is highly problematic, echoing the views of others expressed consistently over four decades. There have been regular calls for a significant increase in the time allocated to the subject within the structure of primary ITT and some have suggested that primary PE is best taught by ‘specialists’ as many class teachers feel most comfortable delegating this task to others. However, although some researchers have suggested that trainee primary teachers are more or less disposed towards the teaching of PE, little is known regarding the dual role of dispositional and structural factors, or the way in which they combine to result in particular primary PE practices. Data were collected over a three year period (2004-2007). The research was conducted within a university provider of primary ITT in the South of England and focused on trainees following a three year undergraduate degree route to Qualified Teacher Status. In Stage 1, an initial quantitative scale was administered to a large cohort of trainee primary teachers at the outset of their course. This was followed by a series of semi-structured interviews with a smaller sample of trainees. Qualitative data generated through semi structured interviews were analysed using Interpretive Phenomenological Analysis as an organisational framework, creating descriptive coding and the presentation of organisational themes. This analytic process led to the development of a model to represent the relationship between structures, disposition and practice in primary PEITT. The outer dial of this model represents a typology of trainees in primary PEITT, which is the outcome of combined influences of structures and disposition. Four recommendations for practice are made, including the need to develop the structures of primary PE ITT with differentiated learning opportunities and to provide more effectively mentored practice in school settings. Whilst those trainees with a very negative disposition towards PE may be best advised to avoid teaching the subject altogether, the greatest potential for improving primary PE lies in the development of those trainees with an initially ambivalent attitude to the subject. This majority of trainees in the middle ground of the proposed typology may hold the key for long term improvements in the subject should ITT providers be able to respond to the identified learning needs. The findings of this research are particularly pertinent in light of current government plans to increase school based responsibilities within ITT.

This thesis is concerned with the analysis of processes of implementing peer mediation services for interpersonal conflict resolution in schools and outcomes attributable to this intervention. To illuminate such an analysis, the thesis argues the utility of Cultural-Historical Activity Theory (CHAT). This argument is based on the need for a theoretical approach that conceptualises processes of social and individual transformation, including the structure of the social world and the creation of new possibilities for thinking and acting in its analysis. Concepts from CHAT are elaborated to give greater description of I) the principles of power and control underpinning alternative models of activity, and II) different forms of conflict. The thesis analyses the implementation of a peer mediation service at one school undergoing transformation and at eight others where peer mediation has been implemented in the past with mixed success. Despite limitations regarding some of the data collection tools chosen, interview data highlights that those schools where principles of power and control are modified to give pupils greater responsibilities in the regulation of their peers’ conflicts, produce new mediational tools that expand the range of possible actions available to individuals in conflict.

This thesis critically explores: “Perspectives on the educational experiences of African Caribbean boys”. It draws upon the earlier literature in the field of secondary schools (Mac an Ghaill, 1988 and 1994, Gillborn, 1995, Sewell, 1997, Blair, 2001, LDA 2003). But this study adopts a comparative approach, specifically focusing on Black boys current experiences of both state secondary schooling and other areas of education, namely, a supplementary school and a youth organisation. Recent statistics have indicated a continuing high level of underachievement among African-Caribbean boys studying in British schools. The DFES 2006 reports that only 39% of Black pupils achieve 5+ A*-C GCSE grades which denotes that Black boys are among the lowest achievers at secondary school level as compared with pupils of other ethnic minority communities. The DFES further reports that Black pupils are more likely to be excluded from schools than pupils from any other group (Education and Skills, 2006). This study will go beyond the statistics by examining the reasons as to why Black boys have negative experiences in their secondary school education which is linked to their historically-based underachievement in secondary schools. The literature review of the study explores the academic literature/reports concerning African-Caribbean pupils’ underachievement (Mac an Ghaill, 1988, Wright, 1992, Benskin 1994, Gillborn, 1995, Sewell 1997, Ofsted, 1999, Blair 2001, LDA 2003, Education and Skills, 2006). The discussion reflects a number of inter-related issues that are shaped by the intersection of race, class and gender. These issues include: racialisation and accompanying negative stereotypes of the Black community and more specifically portraying Black masculinity as a problem, lack of respect for Black boys and their culture, peer group influence, and differences in treatment by teachers towards Black boys, as some of the significant factors affecting Black boys’ negative experiences at secondary schools and their resulting underachievement. In addition to examining the impact of these factors, as indicated above, this thesis critically examines two other areas of education, a supplementary school and a youth organization. Earlier studies have identified such sites as a powerful source of positive experiences for secondary school Black boys. This comparative, multidisciplinary approach enables original data to be gathered, in probing into the reasons as to why these institutions are successful in making Black boys educational experiences more meaningful. Over a course of six months, 36 participants were involved in this research study. The boys, their parents and their teachers were interviewed at the secondary and supplementary school. At the youth organisation, the Black boys and their youth workers were interviewed. The research used a wide range of methods, such as semi-structured interviews, participant-observation and non-participant-observation. This process provided the researcher with the bigger picture, giving insight into why Black boys have negative and positive experiences of education. The study makes a number of recommendations based on the findings, which include: actively recruiting more Black teachers to provide Black pupils with positive role models who understand their culture; employing Black culture/history in schools for the benefit of Black boys and teachers in state secondary schools learning from the other educational sites in terms of curriculum, pedagogy and relations between educators and Black male pupils. Such recommendations have been proposed in potentially being a step towards removing institutional racism within schools and promoting the career paths of these boys into successful professions.

This thesis analyzes the educational activities of the Ottoman Jews in a time period between the last decades of the Ottoman Empire and the early years of the Turkish Republic covering the reforms the new regime performed for a secular education system. The particular education society called the Alliance Isra&eacute / lite Universelle is taken as a case study with all its activities from its establishment in 1860 to the closing its last school in Turkey. The French origin AIU schools are considered with different scopes, including their impacts upon the Ottoman and Turkish education systems and interactions with the social life in each. However, in order to analyze this institution, the administration of the heterogeneous Ottoman state is required to be revised and the status of the Jewish communities in the Ottoman Empire is to be overviewed. In the study, besides the AIU archival resources, mainly the first and second hand sources in the Turkish archives are used.

Thesis (Ph. D., Education)--University of Idaho, April 2009. / Major professor: Roger L. Scott. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 145-152). Also available online (PDF file) by subscription or by purchasing the individual file.

Thesis (M.S.A.)--University of North Carolina at Wilmington, 2003. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves : [54]-56).

Thesis (B. Div.)--St. Vladimir's Orthodox Theological Seminary, 1973. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 113-115).

Thesis (D. Min.)--Dallas Theological Seminary, 2007. / Abstract. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 134-136).