Thesis (Ph. D.)--Miami University, Dept. of Educational Leadership, 2009. / Title from second page of PDF document. Includes bibliographical references (p. 87-90).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Illinois State University, 1995. / Title from title page screen, viewed April 19, 2006. Dissertation Committee: Sally B. Pancrazio (chair), Dianne Ashby, Douglas Blair, Larry McNeal, Walter Warfield. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 68-74) and abstract. Also available in print.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Miami University, Dept. of Educational Leadership, 2006. / Title from second page of PDF document. Includes bibliographical references (p. 151-154).

Thesis (M.Ed.)--York University, 2005. Graduate Programme in Education. / Typescript. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 109-110). Also available on the Internet. MODE OF ACCESS via web browser by entering the following URL: http://gateway.proquest.com/openurl?url%5Fver=Z39.88-2004&res%5Fdat=xri:pqdiss &rft_val_fmt=info:ofi/fmt:kev:mtx:dissertation&rft_dat=xri:pqdiss:MR11921

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Chicago, Dept. of Sociology, March 2001. / Includes bibliographical references. Also available on the Internet.

abstract: ABSTRACT This research studies the effects of a writing community on three novice, middle school, Title I language arts teachers' perceptions of themselves as educators and as writers. The participants wrote on topics of their selection, on a bi-monthly basis, for one semester, to explore their teaching and learning. The teachers are in their first five years of instruction and work in Title I, urban schools with ethnically diverse students. All participants are National Writing Project fellows. The researcher analyzed teachers' journals, narratives, conversations, interviews and pre-surveys to collapse and code the research into themes. Findings suggest that teachers need time and support to write during the school day if they are going to write. They also need a supportive, honest, and friendly audience, the writing community, to feel like writers. Findings generated have implications for teacher preparation programs. The participant, who was not an education major, in her undergraduate program, is the only teacher who feels confident in her writing abilities which she connects to her experience in writing and presenting her work as an English and women's studies major. More teacher education programs should offer more writing courses so that preservice teachers become comfortable with the art of composition. Universities and colleges must foster the identities of both instructor and writer in preservice language arts teachers so that they become more confident in their writing and, in turn, their writing instruction. It may be implausible for novice teachers to be effective writing instructors, and educate their students on effective writing strategies, if they do not feel confident in their writing abilities. Although writing researchers may posit that English teachers act as gatekeepers by withholding writing practices from their students (Early and DeCosta-Smith, 2011), this study suggests that English teachers may not have these writing skills because they do not write and or participate in a writing community. When preservice English teachers are not afforded authentic writing opportunities, they graduate from their teacher education programs without confidence as writers. Once ELA teachers transition into their careers they are, again, not afforded the opportunity to write. In turn, it is difficult for them to teach writing to their students, particularly low-income, minority students who may need additional support from their teachers with composition. K-12 teachers need the time and space to write for themselves, on topics of their selection, during the school day, and then, must be trained on how to use their writing as a model to coach their students. / Dissertation/Thesis / Ph.D. Curriculum and Instruction 2012

M.Tech. (Architectural Technology) / The inner city space is a living and working locale for diverse population groups. The central business district provides job opportunities for a multitude of skilled and unskilled workers who either live in the city or who commute from outlying areas and suburbs. In other words, it serves many purposes for many people. Yet it is rarely acknowledged as an appropriate space for young children. Reality, however, shows that children should and are accommodated within the inner city. They are part of the families that engage with the city on a daily basis. The research question addressed by this study mainly concerns how the architecture should respond to a situation which acknowledges the presence of children in the inner city in a way that is not only safe and secure but also draws on the unique learning experiences that the city offers. In this respect there are endless possibilities for discovery and sensory exploration. The city is a sensory cornucopia, of sorts. The challenge is therefore to create a relationship between the pre-school and the city that is symbiotic. Because life is the generator of the city, children add another layer to its intriguing complexities. In return, the city provides exciting educational experiences which "have the potential to ensure that memories are made and remembered. An urban preschool is not typified by the way it mirrors the urban context or incorporates it thematically, but by the way it engages and becomes part of its pattern language. Existing boundaries which are often restrictive and prescriptive are deconstructed and reconstructed, and, in doing so, the identity and the conventional stereotype of the urban preschool is redefined. The challenge that this study purports to address is to create a balance between two realms: the preschool as a place of ultimate safety and the public realm as a place of ultimate freedom. It takes into consideration how these issues have been addressed locally and overseas from the point of educational principles and, specifically, how the architecture supports and incorporates these principals within the urban context. Such an exploration of factors that typify an urban preschool (as opposed to the more familiar suburban model) will culminate in the development of a preschool that is completely context specific, especially with regard to the sensory references in the city.

Water is undoubtedly one of South Africa’s most valuable resources. Without significant improvement in the efficiency of use of this resource, we may experience wide-ranging shortages throughout the country within the not too distant future. The educational sector in South Africa could play a pivotal role in the education of learners and their communities, relating to the responsible use of water. This education, however, requires a parallel demonstration of these values within the boundaries of the school yard in order to maintain credibility amongst those being taught, and to enjoy the financial and environmental benefits of water saving initiatives. Primary and Secondary Schools in South Africa currently accommodate approximately 11,6 million learners and 360,000 educators. These learners and educators are accommodated in 27,200 schools, of which approximately 19,600 urban schools are supplied with water on site. Included in these schools are approximately 75,000 hostel beds, with supporting infrastructure such as canteens and laundry facilities. Other water uses within these schools include 63,700 sports facilities for various sports codes such as swimming, rugby, soccer, hockey, athletics, cricket and volleyball. Specialist laboratories, home economics and science centres total approximately 3,400. (National Department of Education, 2001, Schools Register of Needs). This portfolio of facilities represents a major water use within South Africa, costing schools and the Department of Education, approximately R216m per annum, plus estimated losses, due to leakage and wastage of approximately R74m per annum. This study has also shown that billing under-recovery to local supply authorities, providing water to schools, amounts to approximately R90m per annum. Based on cursory audits of 64 schools in Gauteng North, as well as their utility service provider accounts, this project sets about defining key performance indicators for use by schools to assist with the management of their water resource use. A simplified, paper-based water use simulation tool is developed for use by schools nationally, in establishing an ethic of measuring and monitoring within their institutions. School water use is fragmented, at facility level, into various major uses, including ablution consumption, irrigation of sports fields and landscaping, other ancillary uses and water losses, due to leakage and wastage. This project outlines the impacts, financial and environmental, of school water efficiency initiatives, illustrating technology options using life-cycle costing studies, and desktop simulations. / Dissertation (MSc (Quantity Surveying))--University of Pretoria, 2007. / Construction Economics / unrestricted

The primary intent of this thesis is to demonstrate how the schoolyard, through physical diversification focusing on a three-fold paradigmatic framework, can become a significant educational environment able to support the physical, cognitive and developmental skills in children. Research is used as a tool to inform and support the designs. Discussed in the first two sections are the history and evolution of school grounds, play and the environment, the effects of place-identity on self-identity, as well as the power of place in pedagogy. The design framework is supported by precedent studies, intending to reflect the design principles, programs, ideas and values of the ecological, curriculum-based and narrative landscape design layers. The final master plan design is an amalgamation of these three layers, representing an educational setting that will foster a dynamic interchange between children and their milieu. / Applied Science, Faculty of / Architecture and Landscape Architecture (SALA), School of / Graduate

This qualitative research study was conducted to ascertain how urban school leaders conceptualized school discipline policies in ways that supported the education of students of color as well as how their values and beliefs informed the implementation of school discipline policies in ways that supported the education of students of color. Urban school leadership participants’ experience was primarily in the nation’s largest school district, New York City. Two research questions guided the framework of this study: (a) How do urban school leaders conceptualize school discipline policies in ways that change the way students of color are disciplined? and (b) How do the values and beliefs of urban school leaders inform their implementation of school discipline policies in ways that support the education of students of color? Qualitative research methodology was used for this study. Data were collected through individual interviews with participants and expert participants. The findings and data analysis constructed a road map for culturally relevant school leaders to conceptualize and implement school discipline policies to support students of color in schools and change the way they were disciplined.