This thesis focuses on the problems of the Chinese University Admission (CUA) system. Within the field of education, the system of university admissions involves all of Chinese society and causes much concern amongst all social classes. University admissions have been researched since the middle of last century as an issue which has economic impact. However, little attention has been paid to the CUA system from the perspective of economics. This thesis explores a number of interesting aspects of the system. As a special case of the priority-based matching mechanism, the CUA system shares most properties of the Boston Mechanism, which is another example of a priority-based matching mechanism. But it also has some unique and interesting characteristics. The first chapter will introduce the main principles of the CUA system in detail and discuss stability, efficiency, strategy-proofness, and other properties under different informational assumptions. There is a heated debate about whether the CUA system should be abandoned or not. Educational corruption is one of the issues that have been raised. Corruption is a major issue of the CUA system as well as university admission systems in other areas in the world, e.g. India, Russia, etc. We contrast the performance of markets and exams under the assumption that there exists corruption in the admission process. The problem will be analyzed under perfect capital markets and also under borrowing constraints. We use auction theory to obtain equilibria of the market system and the exam system and analyse the effects of corruption on the efficiency of the two systems. We conclude that the exam system is superior to the market system if we only consider the issue of corruption. In the third chapter, we construct a model to reveal the forces that positively sort students into different quality universities in a free choice system under assumptions of supermodular utility and production functions. Given a distribution of student ability and resources, we analyse the planner's decisions on the number of universities and the design of the "task level" for each university, as well as the allocation of resources between universities. Students gain from completing requirements (tasks) in universities, while having to incur costs of exerting effort. In contrast to previous literature, our model includes qualifications as well as cost in the student's utility function, and educational outputs depend on qualification, ability and resources per capita. Our main focus is on the design of task levels. Our result differs from the literature as regards the optimal number of colleges. A zero fixed cost of establishing new colleges does not necessarily result in perfect tailoring of tasks to students. Furthermore, if the fixed cost is not zero, then the planner has to take fixed costs into account when deciding the number of universities.

Magister Artium (Development Studies) - MA(DVS) / After the first democratic election in South Africa in 1994, the new democratic government harnessed all its resources towards establishing a non-racial society based on a constitution that embodies equal rights. One of the enduring legacies of apartheid is the extreme socio-economic disparities that emerged in the South African society. Higher education in the context of South Africa is also a means of bridging the inequality gap created during the colonial and apartheid periods (Reddy, 2004). Moreover, apartheid education, as with other sectors of society was racialised in favour of whites creating a drought in skills within the other race groups. The need to establish an equitable and efficient higher education thus became one of government’s pivotal priorities. The adoption of affirmative action policies that have prioritised university access by underprivileged black students has been pointed to as one of the means to address racial inequalities in education. The thesis postulates that that the use of race in implementing affirmative action policy is neither a sufficient means to, nor an end of, redressing the ills of apartheid. Through qualitative and quantitative methods, the present study analyses the impact of affirmative action policies at the University of Cape Town (UCT) and gauges the level of transformation as a result of the use of race as a proxy for admission into UCT. The study examines the equality of access and enrolment of first time entering undergraduate students into UCT through race based admission. Despite government and institutional (for example UCT) efforts to pursue a transformatory agenda, affirmative action policies continue to cause ruptures both within university communities and beyond. This research is going to use both quantitative and qualitative designs. The quantitative approach will be used where necessary – such as in reviewing racial split of enrolment over time – to glean on the figures. Such figures will however not be generated by the study itself but from officials from UCT. On the other hand, the qualitative approach will be used through the analyses of debates occurring in the UCT community in order to gauge perceptions on the policy.

O trabalho busca discutir a relação entre os cursinhos pré-vestibulares populares e a educação popular, a partir das categorias “inclusão” e “emancipação”. Procura-se analisar o histórico do acesso à universidade brasileira, e os mecanismos de segregação utilizados para tal. Como resposta às provas de vestibulares realizadas pelas universidades, surgem cursos preparatórios, primeiramente ligados ao movimento estudantil e depois constituídos como um mercado próprio. A partir da década de 1980 ressurgem experiências que visam trabalhar com a tomada de consciência e engajamento nas lutas das classes populares, através da apropriação de um conhecimento muitas vezes disponível apenas aos que por ele poderiam pagar: os cursinhos populares. Procuramos discutir as seguintes questões: os cursinhos populares representam projetos de “inclusão social” no sentido de manter as estruturas que geram excluídos? Ou há elementos que confirmem tais experiências como negação desta ordem, que construam novas relações, como, por exemplo, de emancipação? Para o alcance dos objetivos propostos efetuou-se um estudo de caso focalizando o Cursinho Popular Chico Mendes/Rede Emancipa na Grande São Paulo. Nesta análise evidenciamos algumas das principais contradições, como a relação dos professores com a prática docente (voluntariado ou militância?), a relação de institucionalização através de Fundações ou Organizações Sociais Civis de Interesse Público (OSCIPs), e como encaram seu papel frente ao Estado. A pesquisa efetuada permite concluir que muitos dos cursinhos populares não apenas capacitam estudantes que buscam conquistar uma vaga na universidade, mas também podem colocar em xeque a lógica meritocrática e o caráter de classe da universidade. / This work aims to discuss the relation between preparatory courses for university admission and popular education, using the categories “inclusion” and “emancipation”. Here we analyze the history of university admission in Brazil, and the segregating means used for that admission. Preparatory courses then emerge as a response to the admission tests organized by universities. Those first courses were connected to university student movement, and then configurated as enterprises. In the 1980’s new experiences emerge, which aim to work with consciousness-raising and struggle engagement of popular classes, through apropriation of a private knowledge: the popular preparatory courses. We discuss the following questions: do popular preparatory courses represent “social inclusion” projects, mantaining structures that generate exclusion? Or are there elements that make those educational experiences confront social order, building new relations, as emancipation? To reach the objectives proposed, we designed a case study of Cursinho Popular Chico Mendes/Rede Emancipa in São Paulo metropolitan area. Among those social groups we can highlight some contradictions, as teachers´ practice (voluntary work or militancy?), the relation between institucionalization through Foundations or Non-Governmental Organizations, and how they face their role towards State. Our results made us conclude that many of the popular courses not only train students that look forward a seat in university, but can as well undermine university´s meritocracy and class character.

O trabalho busca discutir a relação entre os cursinhos pré-vestibulares populares e a educação popular, a partir das categorias “inclusão” e “emancipação”. Procura-se analisar o histórico do acesso à universidade brasileira, e os mecanismos de segregação utilizados para tal. Como resposta às provas de vestibulares realizadas pelas universidades, surgem cursos preparatórios, primeiramente ligados ao movimento estudantil e depois constituídos como um mercado próprio. A partir da década de 1980 ressurgem experiências que visam trabalhar com a tomada de consciência e engajamento nas lutas das classes populares, através da apropriação de um conhecimento muitas vezes disponível apenas aos que por ele poderiam pagar: os cursinhos populares. Procuramos discutir as seguintes questões: os cursinhos populares representam projetos de “inclusão social” no sentido de manter as estruturas que geram excluídos? Ou há elementos que confirmem tais experiências como negação desta ordem, que construam novas relações, como, por exemplo, de emancipação? Para o alcance dos objetivos propostos efetuou-se um estudo de caso focalizando o Cursinho Popular Chico Mendes/Rede Emancipa na Grande São Paulo. Nesta análise evidenciamos algumas das principais contradições, como a relação dos professores com a prática docente (voluntariado ou militância?), a relação de institucionalização através de Fundações ou Organizações Sociais Civis de Interesse Público (OSCIPs), e como encaram seu papel frente ao Estado. A pesquisa efetuada permite concluir que muitos dos cursinhos populares não apenas capacitam estudantes que buscam conquistar uma vaga na universidade, mas também podem colocar em xeque a lógica meritocrática e o caráter de classe da universidade. / This work aims to discuss the relation between preparatory courses for university admission and popular education, using the categories “inclusion” and “emancipation”. Here we analyze the history of university admission in Brazil, and the segregating means used for that admission. Preparatory courses then emerge as a response to the admission tests organized by universities. Those first courses were connected to university student movement, and then configurated as enterprises. In the 1980’s new experiences emerge, which aim to work with consciousness-raising and struggle engagement of popular classes, through apropriation of a private knowledge: the popular preparatory courses. We discuss the following questions: do popular preparatory courses represent “social inclusion” projects, mantaining structures that generate exclusion? Or are there elements that make those educational experiences confront social order, building new relations, as emancipation? To reach the objectives proposed, we designed a case study of Cursinho Popular Chico Mendes/Rede Emancipa in São Paulo metropolitan area. Among those social groups we can highlight some contradictions, as teachers´ practice (voluntary work or militancy?), the relation between institucionalization through Foundations or Non-Governmental Organizations, and how they face their role towards State. Our results made us conclude that many of the popular courses not only train students that look forward a seat in university, but can as well undermine university´s meritocracy and class character.

O trabalho busca discutir a relação entre os cursinhos pré-vestibulares populares e a educação popular, a partir das categorias “inclusão” e “emancipação”. Procura-se analisar o histórico do acesso à universidade brasileira, e os mecanismos de segregação utilizados para tal. Como resposta às provas de vestibulares realizadas pelas universidades, surgem cursos preparatórios, primeiramente ligados ao movimento estudantil e depois constituídos como um mercado próprio. A partir da década de 1980 ressurgem experiências que visam trabalhar com a tomada de consciência e engajamento nas lutas das classes populares, através da apropriação de um conhecimento muitas vezes disponível apenas aos que por ele poderiam pagar: os cursinhos populares. Procuramos discutir as seguintes questões: os cursinhos populares representam projetos de “inclusão social” no sentido de manter as estruturas que geram excluídos? Ou há elementos que confirmem tais experiências como negação desta ordem, que construam novas relações, como, por exemplo, de emancipação? Para o alcance dos objetivos propostos efetuou-se um estudo de caso focalizando o Cursinho Popular Chico Mendes/Rede Emancipa na Grande São Paulo. Nesta análise evidenciamos algumas das principais contradições, como a relação dos professores com a prática docente (voluntariado ou militância?), a relação de institucionalização através de Fundações ou Organizações Sociais Civis de Interesse Público (OSCIPs), e como encaram seu papel frente ao Estado. A pesquisa efetuada permite concluir que muitos dos cursinhos populares não apenas capacitam estudantes que buscam conquistar uma vaga na universidade, mas também podem colocar em xeque a lógica meritocrática e o caráter de classe da universidade. / This work aims to discuss the relation between preparatory courses for university admission and popular education, using the categories “inclusion” and “emancipation”. Here we analyze the history of university admission in Brazil, and the segregating means used for that admission. Preparatory courses then emerge as a response to the admission tests organized by universities. Those first courses were connected to university student movement, and then configurated as enterprises. In the 1980’s new experiences emerge, which aim to work with consciousness-raising and struggle engagement of popular classes, through apropriation of a private knowledge: the popular preparatory courses. We discuss the following questions: do popular preparatory courses represent “social inclusion” projects, mantaining structures that generate exclusion? Or are there elements that make those educational experiences confront social order, building new relations, as emancipation? To reach the objectives proposed, we designed a case study of Cursinho Popular Chico Mendes/Rede Emancipa in São Paulo metropolitan area. Among those social groups we can highlight some contradictions, as teachers´ practice (voluntary work or militancy?), the relation between institucionalization through Foundations or Non-Governmental Organizations, and how they face their role towards State. Our results made us conclude that many of the popular courses not only train students that look forward a seat in university, but can as well undermine university´s meritocracy and class character.

Esta pesquisa tem como objetivo analisar provas de vestibular de espanhol, disponibilizadas por algumas Instituições de Ensino Superior (IES), referentes aos processos seletivos de 2004 a 2006. Por meio de consulta às páginas web do INEP, tivemos acesso aos endereços eletrônicos das 1.130 IES da região sudeste. Após entrar em contato com todas elas, obtivemos 23 exames fornecidos por 21 instituições - duas das quais apresentavam a prova de língua espanhola na 1ª e na 2ª fase do processo seletivo. São esses os exames que integram nosso corpus de pesquisa. À luz das concepções teóricas sobre o processo de compreensão textual apresentadas por Kleiman (2004), Kato (1999) e Solé (1998), entre outros pesquisadores, e considerando os pressupostos a respeito da leitura constantes nos documentos oficiais brasileiros para o Ensino Médio, a saber: PCNEM (1999), PCN+ (2002), PCN em debate (2004) e OCNEM (2006), procedemos à análise do material coletado. Identificamos o conhecimento de mundo exigido dos candidatos em tais exames e o gênero de cada um dos 42 textos relacionados. Analisamos as 205 questões organizando-as em quatro grupos que envolveram questões de: 1. compreensão global ou parcial do texto; 2. relações entre os elementos lingüísticos do texto; 3. de conhecimento gramatical; 4. de conhecimento lexical. Por fim, analisamos a presença, ou não, de dois aspectos específicos, quais sejam, contextualização e interdisciplinaridade, presentes em todos os documentos de orientação para o Ensino Médio, organizados pelo MEC. Ainda que a maior parte das questões tenham feito referência a um texto, muitas delas ainda exigiram apenas a identificação de elementos expressos no texto. Outras, em menor proporção, continuaram avaliando apenas e/ou prioritariamente o domínio de regras gramaticais e do léxico, como se o ensino de uma língua pudesse ser reduzido a esses dois temas. Concluímos nossa pesquisa apresentando uma síntese e reflexão dos principais dados levantados sobre os exames vestibulares em língua espanhola, sobretudo quanto aos aspectos privilegiados nas provas analisadas. Por fim, entre os anexos, incluímos a relação nominal das IES contatadas, com a indicação da cidade onde se situa e o correspondente endereço eletrônico. / This research has the purpose to analyze Spanish tests of university admission exams available by some Brazilian colleges about the selective process of students in 2004 to 2006. Through consultation to the pages web of INEP we had access to the e-mails of 1,130 colleges of the south east region. After the contact with all the institutions, we got 23 tests provided by 21 institutions - two of them showed Spanish test in the first and the second stage of the selective process. These tests were organized in the corpus of this research. According to the theoretical conception about the process of textual comprehension presented by Kleiman (2004), Kato (1999) and Solé (1998), among other researchers, and considering the presupposes about the reading unchangeable in the Brazilian documents to high school, as: PCNEM (1999), PCN+ (2002), PCN em debate (2004) and OCNEM (2006), we procedured to analyze of the collected material. We identified the world knowledge demanded from the candidates in these tests and the textual gender of each one of the 42 texts presented in the corpus of this research. We analyzed 205 questions organized in 4 groups that included questions of: 1. global or partial comprehension of the text; 2. relations among linguistic elements of the text; 3. grammatical knowledge; 4. lexical knowledge. Finally, we analyzed the presence, or lack, of two specific aspects, just like, contextualization and intersubject, present in all documents of orientation to the high school, organized by MEC. Although most of the questions were connected with the text, yet many of them demanded only the identification of the elements expressed in the text. Others, in lesser proportion, continued assessing just and/or priorily the masterfulness of grammatical rules and lexical knowledge as if the teaching of a language could be reduced to these two topics. In the conclusion of this research we showed a synthesis and a reflection of the principal data checked about the tests of university admission exam in Spanish language, especially to connect with the aspects privileged in the tests that we analyzed. Finally, among annex, we included the nominal relation of the colleges contacted with the indicator of the city where they locate and their corresponding e-mail.

No description available.

Esta pesquisa tem como objetivo analisar provas de vestibular de espanhol, disponibilizadas por algumas Instituições de Ensino Superior (IES), referentes aos processos seletivos de 2004 a 2006. Por meio de consulta às páginas web do INEP, tivemos acesso aos endereços eletrônicos das 1.130 IES da região sudeste. Após entrar em contato com todas elas, obtivemos 23 exames fornecidos por 21 instituições - duas das quais apresentavam a prova de língua espanhola na 1ª e na 2ª fase do processo seletivo. São esses os exames que integram nosso corpus de pesquisa. À luz das concepções teóricas sobre o processo de compreensão textual apresentadas por Kleiman (2004), Kato (1999) e Solé (1998), entre outros pesquisadores, e considerando os pressupostos a respeito da leitura constantes nos documentos oficiais brasileiros para o Ensino Médio, a saber: PCNEM (1999), PCN+ (2002), PCN em debate (2004) e OCNEM (2006), procedemos à análise do material coletado. Identificamos o conhecimento de mundo exigido dos candidatos em tais exames e o gênero de cada um dos 42 textos relacionados. Analisamos as 205 questões organizando-as em quatro grupos que envolveram questões de: 1. compreensão global ou parcial do texto; 2. relações entre os elementos lingüísticos do texto; 3. de conhecimento gramatical; 4. de conhecimento lexical. Por fim, analisamos a presença, ou não, de dois aspectos específicos, quais sejam, contextualização e interdisciplinaridade, presentes em todos os documentos de orientação para o Ensino Médio, organizados pelo MEC. Ainda que a maior parte das questões tenham feito referência a um texto, muitas delas ainda exigiram apenas a identificação de elementos expressos no texto. Outras, em menor proporção, continuaram avaliando apenas e/ou prioritariamente o domínio de regras gramaticais e do léxico, como se o ensino de uma língua pudesse ser reduzido a esses dois temas. Concluímos nossa pesquisa apresentando uma síntese e reflexão dos principais dados levantados sobre os exames vestibulares em língua espanhola, sobretudo quanto aos aspectos privilegiados nas provas analisadas. Por fim, entre os anexos, incluímos a relação nominal das IES contatadas, com a indicação da cidade onde se situa e o correspondente endereço eletrônico. / This research has the purpose to analyze Spanish tests of university admission exams available by some Brazilian colleges about the selective process of students in 2004 to 2006. Through consultation to the pages web of INEP we had access to the e-mails of 1,130 colleges of the south east region. After the contact with all the institutions, we got 23 tests provided by 21 institutions - two of them showed Spanish test in the first and the second stage of the selective process. These tests were organized in the corpus of this research. According to the theoretical conception about the process of textual comprehension presented by Kleiman (2004), Kato (1999) and Solé (1998), among other researchers, and considering the presupposes about the reading unchangeable in the Brazilian documents to high school, as: PCNEM (1999), PCN+ (2002), PCN em debate (2004) and OCNEM (2006), we procedured to analyze of the collected material. We identified the world knowledge demanded from the candidates in these tests and the textual gender of each one of the 42 texts presented in the corpus of this research. We analyzed 205 questions organized in 4 groups that included questions of: 1. global or partial comprehension of the text; 2. relations among linguistic elements of the text; 3. grammatical knowledge; 4. lexical knowledge. Finally, we analyzed the presence, or lack, of two specific aspects, just like, contextualization and intersubject, present in all documents of orientation to the high school, organized by MEC. Although most of the questions were connected with the text, yet many of them demanded only the identification of the elements expressed in the text. Others, in lesser proportion, continued assessing just and/or priorily the masterfulness of grammatical rules and lexical knowledge as if the teaching of a language could be reduced to these two topics. In the conclusion of this research we showed a synthesis and a reflection of the principal data checked about the tests of university admission exam in Spanish language, especially to connect with the aspects privileged in the tests that we analyzed. Finally, among annex, we included the nominal relation of the colleges contacted with the indicator of the city where they locate and their corresponding e-mail.

No description available.

In recent years, university-based Intensive English Programs (IEPs) have expanded to serve the growing population of international students who wish to earn their degrees at U.S. universities. Many of these IEPs have shifted their focus to assist these academically bound international students by functioning as a bridge to enrollment in American undergraduate or graduate degree programs. Accordingly, it has become increasingly important to investigate and better understand how such programs are serving this student population. This dissertation explores how one university-based IEP is preparing its academically bound international students for their subsequent academic studies. In order to gain greater insight into students’ experiences throughout the college-going process, current and former students were interviewed about the ways in which this IEP facilitated their admittance to, enrollment in, and academic readiness for success in university degree programs. Additionally, interviews with instructors and administrators, observations of IEP courses and advising sessions, and student test score and academic record data were all analyzed to gain a more holistic understanding of the processes these students undergo in the pursuit of their academic goals. This study draws upon Lave and Wenger’s (1991) theory of situated learning as a theoretical framework to examine the academic socialization that international students studying at a university-based IEP experience throughout the college-going process. The findings from this study revealed that in addition to English language instruction, university-based IEPs with academically bound student populations must also provide their students with the college choice support and academic readiness skills necessary to achieve their goals. By conducting an in-depth analysis of one university-based IEP, this dissertation offers concrete implications that IEP administrators and instructors can enact in order to better support their students throughout the university applications and admissions processes, while providing these students with the linguistic and academic skills necessary for ultimate success in their undergraduate or graduate degree program. / CITE/Language Arts