This eleven-month ethnographic study puts critical discourse analysis in dialogue with postmodern conceptualizations of space and place to explore how eight educators talk about space and in the process, produce racialized spaces in Roche Bois, Mauritius. The macro-historical context of racialization of this urban marginalized community informs the discursive analysis of educators' talk at school. Drawing on theories of race that call for the non-deterministic exploration of race relations as they occur in different contexts and times (Hall, 2000; Pandian & Kosek, 2003; Essed & Goldberg, 2000), I explore the spatial racialization of children in Roche Bois as a process specific to this township and its history. Engaging with Lefebvre's three-dimensional theorization of space (Lefebre, 1991) as well as the Discourse Historical Approach developed by Wodak and colleagues (Wodak & Reisgl, 1999), I draw on the micro-macro concept of identity construction "strategy" to study 1) how meanings of race play out as an amalgam of various thematic dimensions of schooling, culture, bodies, and work that are spatialized; 2) how meanings of place perpetuate or transform long-standing historical constructions of Creole identity in Roche Bois. The findings show that repeated patterns of educators' spatial racialization produce and reproduce conceived spaces (Lefebvre, 1991) and yet my research also highlights that banal moments of lived space (Lefebvre, 1991) also exist, as ordinary disruptions of the spatial order produced by patterns of conceived space. While educator discourse for the most part negatively emplaces and racializes the children, one educator's representations of place and race both assimilates and differentiates marginal identities, encourages unity and essentialism at the same time as promotes hybridity. The analysis therefore shows that discourses of place are not totalizing and that moments of interruption can be the basis for thinking of teacher education and practice as a politics of "decolonization" and "reinhabitation" (Gruenewald, 2003). Specifically, the findings indicate the importance of reinvesting critical historical meanings into pedagogies of the local.

The problem explored in this study is that African American, Hispanic American, and Native American students have a tendency to experience much lower levels of academic success in United States public schools than do European American and Asian American students. With such a problem defined, the purpose of the study becomes clear; to facilitate increased academic success of African American, Hispanic American, Native American, and other minority youth not experiencing academic success. The problem is shown to be pervasive by examining indicators of academic success and ethnic group membership on both the national level and on the level of the researcher's data from some of his teaching experiences in multicultural classrooms (N = 39) and from surveying experienced ESL teachers in a MAT program (N = 23). A survey was also given to middle and high school teacher interns being trained at a major U.S. university (N = 62). It was found that although these interns were well aware of how ethnic differentials in academic success were manifest in the U.S., they had little factual knowledge as to why these differentials exist and are a serious problem in need of speedy solutions. Hence, this study proposes that one way to facilitate minority academic success is to educate future teachers about the true reasons for ethnic differentials in academic success and about why these differentials are indeed a serious problems. Also generated from the teacher intern survey were data identifying some proposed teacher, school administrative, and teacher training program initiatives that were seen by the teacher interns as being potentially highly effective in facilitating the academic success of minority youth. The study concludes with suggestions for teacher, curriculum, school administrator, and teacher training program initiatives to facilitate increased academic success of African American, Hispanic American, and Native American youth, mainly by reducing the need to adopt alternation models of behavior in order to do well in school. It is proposed that such a goal can be accomplished through the inclusion of minority cultures and knowledge in the curricula, pedagogy, evaluation, and governing of schools.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Illinois State University, 1975. / Title from title page screen, viewed August 2, 2005. Dissertation Committee: J.H. McGrath (chair), Gene A. Budig, Clinton R. Bunke, Eugene D. Fitzpatrick, Mary Kay Huser. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 152-159) and abstract.

Made available in DSpace on 2014-12-17T14:36:28Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 MariaDS_TESE.pdf: 1570825 bytes, checksum: b999f6241ca02aa2d4db2e9ca4247a55 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2012-02-27 / Coordena??o de Aperfei?oamento de Pessoal de N?vel Superior / This study deals with Sociology teacher identity issues. This is done considering daily routines of Sociology grade school teachers in the city of Picos in the state of Piau?-Brazil. Thus, the research aims to acknowledge the manner the inter-relations between the teacher s know-how and the process of construction of the professional identity of these teachers occur. It is seen that the discipline of Sociology in this context brings out processes related to inclusion and exclusion once the subject of Sociology is distinguished as unstable in relation to other disciplines. However, in June 2008, the law included the Sociology as a discipline 11,684 mandatory on all high school series.The theoretical and methodological procedures of this research were based on an ethnographic qualitative nature research and enabled a documental analysis. In order to collect data, a semi-structured questionnaire was applied in collective and individual in four state schools in the city of Picos in Piau?. The analysis of the information was based in content analysis from the proposals made by Bardin (1997), and Franco (2008). The information was then organized in knowledge matrixes that allowed the identification of themes divided into two thematic axes: teacher education: the search for sense making in experience and the exercise of teaching as well as the Sociology grade school teacher s daily routine. The research enables the understanding of the senses the subjects have on their own activity since the work deals with concrete situations and experiences in the scholar context. These senses are considered relevant in order to enable a comprehension of the inter-relations that are established between the know-how and the construction of the identity on behalf of these teachers. Almost all of the interviewed subjects did not have a degree in Social Sciences and came from other backgrounds especially ones related to Education. Sociology teachers investigated almost in its entirety, do not have specific training in the social sciences, becoming teachers of Sociology by lack of school and to complete the work load. But, in spite of the difficulties experienced in the practice of the discipline all are in favour of its inclusion in high school. They have a clear vision, that through the work of the theoretical content of the discipline with the daily life of the students by using teaching strategies that add value to the relationship of knowledge that are prepared in society at large, to Sociology provides a critical analysis of the reality in which they are inserted / Este estudo aborda aspectos sobre a identidade e a doc?ncia no cotidiano do professor de Sociologia do Ensino M?dio de escolas p?blicas estaduais da cidade de Picos/PI. Tem como objetivo compreender as inter-rela??es entre o saber-fazer e o processo de constru??o da identidade profissional desses professores. O percurso da Sociologia como disciplina nesse n?vel de ensino ? marcado por processos de inclus?o e exclus?o, distinguindo-se por uma situa??o de instabilidade em rela??o ?s outras disciplinas. Por?m, em junho de 2008, a Lei 11.684 incluiu a Sociologia como disciplina obrigat?ria em todas as s?ries do Ensino M?dio. O encaminhamento te?rico-metodol?gico deste trabalho tem como base a pesquisa qualitativa do tipo etnogr?fico aplicada ? educa??o, possibilitando a realiza??o de an?lise documental, a aplica??o de question?rios e de entrevistas semiestruturadas individuais e coletiva e a observa??o em quatro escolas p?blicas estaduais da cidade de Picos/PI. As an?lises das informa??es foram embasadas em alguns procedimentos da an?lise de conte?do fundados nas proposi??es de Bardin, (1997) e Franco (2008). As informa??es foram sistematizadas em matrizes que conduziram ? identifica??o dos temas agrupados em dois eixos categ?ricos: a forma??o para a doc?ncia: a busca de sentido na experi?ncia do ser; e o exerc?cio da doc?ncia: o cotidiano do professor de Sociologia do Ensino M?dio. O estudo empreendido possibilita entender os sentidos que os professores sujeitos da pesquisa conferem ? atividade docente como pautados nas situa??es concretas e nas experi?ncias vivenciadas no contexto escolar. Esses sentidos atribu?dos foram relevantes para a compreens?o das inter-rela??es estabelecidas entre o saber-fazer a constru??o da identidade docente de tais professores. Os professores de Sociologia investigados, quase na sua totalidade, n?o possuem forma??o espec?fica em Ci?ncias Sociais, tornando-se professores de Sociologia por car?ncia da escola e para completar a carga hor?ria. Por?m, apesar das in?meras dificuldades vivenciadas na pr?tica da disciplina, todos s?o favor?veis ? sua inclus?o no Ensino M?dio. Eles t?m uma vis?o clara de que, por meio do trabalho dos conte?dos te?ricos da disciplina com o cotidiano dos alunos, ao utilizarem estrat?gias de ensino que valorizam a rela??o dos conhecimentos que est?o dispostos na sociedade em geral, a Sociologia proporciona uma an?lise cr?tica da realidade na qual est?o inseridos