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Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'Choice-based education'
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Lutkus, Lauren Julia. "Holistic Approaches to Art Education: A Case Study of Choice-based Art Education." Kent State University / OhioLINK, 2019. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=kent1564572381222662.
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Mohoric, Lauren E. "Restructuring to a Substantial Choice-based Art Curriculum." Kent State University / OhioLINK, 2020. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=kent15877419441678.
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Barnes-Wright, Lenora Aileen. "In search of satisfaction African-American mothers' choice for faith-based education /." Connect to this title online, 2004. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc%5Fnum=osu1101838395.
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Thesis (Ph. D.)--Ohio State University, 2004.Document formatted into pages; contains 201 p. Includes bibliographical references. Abstract available online via OhioLINK's ETD Center; full text release delayed at author's request until 2007 Dec. 1.
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Montalban, Castilla José. "Addressing Inequalities in Education : Need-Based Grants, Gender Differences and School Choice." Thesis, Paris, EHESS, 2019. http://www.theses.fr/2019EHES0155.
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Cette thèse rassemble des recherches sur trois sources d’inégalités éducatives en Espagne, à différents niveaux d’éducation (préscolaire, primaire, secondaire et supérieur). Ces recherches tentent d’évaluer l’impact causal de politiques de grande ampleur sur l'efficacité et l'équité des systèmes éducatifs. Le premier chapitre porte sur les effets de l'aide financière aux étudiants défavorisés, dans le contexte de l'enseignement supérieur. Les programmes nationaux d’aide financière (bourses) aux étudiants défavorisés couvrent une grande partie des étudiants et représentent une part non négligeable des budgets alloués à l’enseignement supérieur. En s’intéressant à une réforme du système de bourses en Espagne qui modifie les exigences académiques nécessaires pour bénéficier des aides, on tente d’identifier l’effet de ces exigences académiques, à niveau de bourse donné, sur les performances des étudiants, leur propension à abandonner ou réussir leurs études. Pour cela, on utilise des micro-données administratives sur l'univers des candidats aux bourses dans une grande université. En exploitant les discontinuités dans la formule d’éligibilité, on trouve des effets positifs marqués de l’association d’exigences académiques élevées aux bourses, sans aucun effet négatif sur le décrochage. Les étudiants sont plus fréquemment présents aux examens de fin d’année, leur moyenne générale comme leur taux de réussite y sont plus élevés, et ils ont moins souvent besoin de passer des rattrapages. Le deuxième chapitre s’intéresse à l’impact des conditions d’examen, dans le primaire et le secondaire, sur les performances académiques selon le genre. Les conditions d’examen académique elles-mêmes ont néanmoins fait l’objet de peu d’attention dans cette littérature. Ce chapitre s’intéresse précisément aux différences de performance entre garçons et filles qui apparaissent lorsque l’environnement de l’examen est modifié. Pour cela, ce chapitre analyse une intervention aléatoire concernant l’ensemble des élèves de 6e et 10e années dans la région de Madrid (Espagne). Les écoles de la région ont été assignées de façon aléatoire dans deux groupes devant administrer leurs examens de façon différente: en interne, où les élèves étaient évalués par des enseignants de l’école vs. en externe, où des enseignants extérieurs venaient effectuer les tests. Lorsque l’examinateur est externe, les filles performent moins bien que les garçons, notamment dans les matières où elles performent généralement moins bien à la base. Les données d’une enquête additionnelle sur le stress, la confiance en soi et le degré d’effort indiquent que ces performances relatives découlent d’une moins bonne gestion du stress provoqué par un environnement non familier. Le troisième chapitre étudie la relation entre choix de l’école et ségrégation scolaire, dans le contexte de l'éducation préscolaire. Ce chapitre vise à élargir cette littérature en étudiant comment la régulation publique affecte les décisions des familles et la ségrégation des enfants entre les écoles, dans le cadre du Mécanisme de Boston. Ce chapitre analyse deux réformes à grande échelle, entreprises dans la région de Madrid (Espagne). En particulier, on exploite ici une réforme interdistricts qui a largement élargi l’univers des choix possibles pour les familles. Son impact est mesuré en combinant une event study first difference entre cohortes avec une différence de différences. Grâce à des données uniques sur les candidatures des familles auprès des différentes écoles, ce chapitre montre que les familles ont candidaté à des écoles plus éloignées de leur domicile. La reforme produit des effets différenciés, avec les parents les plus éduqués et n’étant pas immigrés réagissant le plus fortement (en termes absolus). Les résultats indiquent un déclin de la ségrégation par niveau d’éducation des parents mais une croissance de cette ségrégation entre enfant de parents immigrés et non-immigrésThis dissertation gathers evidence on three sources of education inequalities across different education levels (preschool, primary, secondary, and higher education) in the context of Spain. It revolves around the causal effects of large-scale educational policies on the efficiency and equity of educational systems.The first chapter focuses on the effects of financial aid for disadvantaged students in the context of higher education. National financial aid programs for disadvantaged students cover a large fraction of college students and represent a non-negligible component of the public budget. Using a reform in the Spanish need-based grant program, this paper tests the causal effect of receiving the same amount of grant under different intensities of academic requirements on student performance, degree completion and student dropout. I use administrative micro-data on the universe of applicants to the grant in a large university. Exploiting sharp discontinuities in the grant eligibility formula, I find strong positive effects of being eligible for a grant on student performance when combined with demanding academic requirements, while there are no effects on student dropout. Students improve their final exam attendance rate, their average GPA in final exams, and their probability of completing the degree. They also reduce the fraction of subjects that they have to retake. The second chapter centers on the gender differences in academic performance due to the testing-environment, in the context of primary and secondary education. However, little attention has been devoted to investigating how the organization of student testing may influence the relative performance of male and female students. This paper analyzes the gender gap in test scores that arises as a result of differential responses by boys and girls to the testing environment. To that end, we exploit a unique randomized intervention on the entire population of students in the 6th and 10th grades in the Region of Madrid (Spain). The intervention assigned schools to either internally or externally administered testing. We find that girls do worse than boys in exams that are externally administered, especially in male-dominated subjects. Additional survey evidence on stress, self-confidence, and effort suggests that lower relative female performance in externally administered tests results from a lower ability to cope with stressful situations as a result of less familiarity with the testing environment.The third chapter studies the relationship between school choice priorities and school segregation in the context of preschool education. This work aims at broadening the scope of market design questions to school choice by examining how government-determined school choice priorities affect families’ choices and pupil sorting across schools in the context of the Boston Mechanism. We use two large-scale school choice reforms in the school choice priority structure undertaken in the region of Madrid (Spain) as a source of variation. In particular, we exploit an inter-district school choice reform that widely expanded families’ choice set of schools. We combine an event study first difference across cohorts and a Difference-in-Difference design to identify the impact of the reforms. Using unique administrative data on parents’ applications to schools, this paper shows that families reacted to the reform exerting higher inter-district choice and applying to schools located further away from home than before the reform. We find distributional effects of the reform concluding that parents from the highest education levels and parents of non-immigrant students were those who reacted the most in absolute terms. We find a decrease in school segregation by parental education and an increase in school segregation by immigrant status
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King, Stephen. ""None of the Above" as an Answer Option in Observatoin Based Multiple-Choice Questions." TopSCHOLAR®, 2006. http://digitalcommons.wku.edu/theses/288.
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This study examined the characteristics of items using none of the above (NOT A) as an answer option in observation based multiple-choice questions. Previous research has examined only the use of a NOTA option in academic knowledge based testing, not in visual recognition testing. Item difficulty and discrimination were examined for three different item formats: (a) items without a NOTA option, (b) items with NOTA as a distracter, and (c) items with NOTA as the correct answer. The questions were based on two photographs with similar content. A total of 98 participants from a large southeastern university completed a visual recognition test containing all three item types. Results revealed no difference in item discrimination between items without a NOTA option and items with a NOTA option, but did indicate that items with a NOTA option were more difficulty. A discussion of the results, limitations, and suggestions for future research is provided.
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Childers, Chadwick T. "Instrument choice of fifth grade boys and girls aural and visual preference based on presentation mode." FIU Digital Commons, 2004. http://digitalcommons.fiu.edu/etd/2331.
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The general purpose of this research was to determine if a lesson including gender will influence the instrument selection process of fifth grade children. Subjects were two homogeneous groups of fifth grade students from Miami, Florida. Each group received a lesson concerning five acoustic musical instruments: the clarinet, flute, saxophone, trumpet, and drums with photos and music excerpts.
The control group did not receive a gender lecture nor did the photographs depict anyone playing the instrument. Overwhelmingly, drums were the instrument of choice in both groups. As a result a second experiment was designed to replicate experiment 1, but drums were removed from the choices and the trombone was substituted as a "male' instrument.
It was concluded that gender did have an effect on the instrument selection process in young children.
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Brown, Rosemarie Ann. "Food Autonomy: The Paradox to Cereal-Based Food Choice." Queensland University of Technology, 2005. http://eprints.qut.edu.au/16103/.
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Certain aspects of our modern diet have been implicated in thedevelopment of non-communicable diseases. For instance, energyconsumed in excess of an individual's physiological requirements maylead to an increased risk of obesity, diabetes mellitus, gall bladder disease,coronary heart disease, high blood pressure, and possibly some cancers.Although many of these diet-related diseases can be controlled by modernmedicine, they cannot be cured. Instead, prevention through public healthstrategies is the only satisfactory solution. One of the major strategies forprevention of diet-related diseases in Australia is to modify the nationaldiet (Rogers 1987). In April 1979, the Commonwealth Department of Health responded to theWorld Health Organisation's call for the development of national food andnutrition polices by proposing the Dietary Guidelines for Australians. "TheDietary Guidelines for Australians provide advice to the general populationabout healthy food choices, so that their usual diet contributes to ahealthy life-style and is consistent with minimal risk for the developmentof diet-related diseases" (National Health and Medical Research Council1992:ix). However, in order to achieve the aim of the dietary guidelines,supporting educational programs are required. This is because it isbelieved that as consumers become more informed about food, nutrition,health, and the dietary guidelines, they are more likely to begin changingtheir diet in the directions recommended by the CommonwealthDepartment of Health and Family Services (1998a). Public health professionals believe that behaviour-change theories arebeneficial in gaining an understanding of the evolution of peoples' foodand nutrition behaviours. Behaviour-change theories are typicallyintegrated into dietary interventions as a means of educating theAustralian population about healthy food choices. However, attempts tochange Australians' food and nutrition behaviours by applying behaviour-change theories have been adiaphorous. Therefore, public health professionals need to explore traditional food and nutrition practices inorder to determine more effective dietary change strategies for the Australian population. Qualitative research is complementary to existing quantitative studies onbehaviour-change. Since qualitative methodologies focus on the whole ofhuman experience and the meaning ascribed by individuals living theexperience, these methodologies permit broader understanding and deeperinsight into complex human behaviours such as food consumption thanwhat might be obtained from grossly measured quantitativeclassifications. Grounded theory was the qualitative methodology chosenfor this study because it allowed me to theorise about the rationale forconsumers' current food choices. Bread and Cereal consumption waschosen as an important staple food group in which to explore thisphenomenon. Thus, this research was designed to discover, understand,and theorise about the rationale for consumers' current Bread and Cerealfood choices. Semi-structured, in-depth interviews were conducted with22 participants living in South-East Queensland. Adult males and femalesfrom three-generational families of varying ethnicity were recruited frommy personal network of associates. Interviews were analysed usinggrounded theory methodology for data analysis. The resulting Grounded Substantive Theory of Food Autonomy posits thatconsumers have different levels of power when it comes to selecting theBreads and Cereals they want to eat and that their power to choose themis governed by micro- and macroenvironmental forces.Microenvironmental forces envelop sociofamilial powers such as parents,partner, and offspring whereas macroenvironmental forces envelop thesociopolitical powers of the food industry, health professionals, andinstitutions. These forces influence a consumer's capacity to select theBreads and Cereals they want to eat. Consumers engage in the process ofinformation gathering in order to overcome these prevailing influences. The significance of the Grounded Substantive Theory of Food Autonomy asa means for explaining how consumers acquire food autonomy fromprevailing influences in order to eat the Breads and Cereals they desirehas important implications for public health nutrition education andpractice. An understanding of the life long nature underpinning a person'sfood behaviour will help nutrition and dietetic professionals understandbetter the range of change that is likely to be possible, and the best waysto facilitate food autonomy through appropriate education and compatibledietary interventions. Autonomy is not a new concept but when associatedwith food it introduces the public health professional to a paradoxicalperspective for studying consumers' food behaviour, which has beencustomarily looked at via the decision making process of food choice andbehaviour-change theories with adiaphorous effects.
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Nicula, Jessica Y. "Teaching Boys More Effectively in the Art Classroom: A Personal Investigation." Digital Archive @ GSU, 2011. http://digitalarchive.gsu.edu/art_design_theses/91.
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In this thesis, I reflect upon an art educator’s experience teaching boys and developing an art curriculum with a boy focused framework. Two comprehensive units on monsters are included along with research on teaching boys and choice based practices in the art classroom. I also reflect on the creative process of lesson planning with the needs of male learners in mind.
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Ferro, Melyssa D. "STEM Influence on Career Choice Variables of Middle School Students Based on Gender and Ethnicity." ScholarWorks, 2019. https://scholarworks.waldenu.edu/dissertations/7643.
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Science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) are growing fields in both global job markets and educational spaces. The problem related to this study was the lack of understanding of how gender and ethnicity might relate to differences in the science self-efficacy, outcome expectations, and task interest of students who have participated in STEM intervention programs at the middle school level. The purpose of this quantitative study was to explore the extent to which there were differences between the dependent variables of science self-efficacy, outcome expectations, and task interest in U.S. middle school students based on the independent variables of gender and ethnicity after participating in a citizen science STEM intervention program. Social cognitive career theory was the theoretical framework for the study. This study was a nonexperimental comparative investigation based on survey responses from students who had participated in a water quality, citizen science STEM intervention from 2017-2019. The participating students’ school district has a history of multiple, systemic STEM learning experiences. The results of two-way MANOVA indicated that there were no statistically significant differences in career choice variables between male and female students and between non-Hispanic and Hispanic students after participating in a citizen science intervention program. This study has the potential to help students from underrepresented populations to envision success in their STEM educational and career pathways by seeing other students experience success in those areas. Educators may also be better able to design programs that address the specific needs of underrepresented student populations, which may lead to better student outcomes for those groups.
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Leukert, Aimee. "Choosing God, Choosing Schools: a Study of the Relationship between Parental Religiosity and School Choice." Scholarship @ Claremont, 2018. https://scholarship.claremont.edu/cgu_etd/142.
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Over the last several decades, school choice – in the context of educational systems that are available to choose from as well as the reasons why parents choose what they do for their child – has become a topic of interest to both educational researchers and the public at large. The Seventh-day Adventist school system, like other faith-based institutions, is uniquely positioned in this subject, as it is an educational organization framed by a religious denomination. In addition to the typical factors such as academic standards, curricular offerings and peer influence, the issue of school choice within this context also involves complex layers of culture and religiosity and spirituality.
Are parents able to disengage themselves from the trappings of those expectations and beliefs and objectively choose a school system for their child? Or are religious background and experience simply too embedded into one’s psyche – and, as an extension – one’s choices to ever fully disentangle that subtext from the decision-making process?
This mixed-methods study sought to better understand the relationship between parental religiosity and school choice, specifically within the Seventh-day Adventist denomination. In order to assess the influence of Adventist culture, doctrinal commitment and general religiosity, a cultural domain had to first be established. Following the methodology as laid out in cultural consensus theory, free-listing and rank-ordering tasks were given to two separate, geographically representative samples from across the continental United States.
Derived from those conversations, statements were then developed that captured characteristics and behavior of a member who adhered to traditional Seventh-day Adventist culture. Those statements were written into the survey instrument, alongside validated scales for general religiosity and Adventist doctrinal commitment.
The population for this study targeted any Seventh-day Adventist member in America who had K-12 school-aged children. The survey was developed in SurveyMonkey and distributed through church communiqué (websites, bulletins, announcements, etc.), official administrative channels such as ministerial department newsletters and video announcements, and social media. Over 1,000 responses came in and the data was analyzed through SPSS, specifically examining patterns of school choice among those with high or low general religiosity, doctrinal commitment and Adventist culture.
The results of the data analysis demonstrated clear and significant associations between several key variables and the dependent variable of school choice. Several variables, such as Adventist culture, doctrinal commitment and a parent’s own educational background, emerged as predictors for school choice when binary logistic regressions were conducted. Adventist culture proved to be a multi-factorial construct, interacting with other variables in different ways.
The conclusions from this study point to several implications for K-12 Adventist education, particularly in the area of marketing to Adventist families and further research could certainly explore that more fully.
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Hiscox, Douglas Twing. "An Examination of the Impact of Intra-District School Choice Programming on Student Achievement." Youngstown State University / OhioLINK, 2015. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ysu1453738960.
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Fiss, Xoe, and Xoe Fiss. "Connect/Create: A Case Study of Choice-Based Resources at the University of Arizona Museum of Art." Thesis, The University of Arizona, 2017. http://hdl.handle.net/10150/624118.
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In this study, I examine how the University of Arizona Museum of Art (UAMA) can best serve the University of Arizona campus community by providing resources to professors that bring their classes to the museum. A review of literature connects research about learning in museums to k-12 choice-based teaching approaches. The methodology section provides an overview of data collection methods and an explanation of each resource used in the study. Through a qualitative case study, I use the collected data from interviews, visual analysis of student resources, and researcher notes to discuss and analyze the research questions. The findings result in the development of a resource for the museum to provide additional information to professors. The study informs future research needs in museums and contributes to a growing knowledge of how visitors learn in museums and how museums best serve their visitor populations.
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Hui, Emily 1979. "Application of polyhedral choice-based conjoint analysis to the redesign of MIT Sloan School's executive education programs." Thesis, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 2003. http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/89378.
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Mohamed, M. Elfatih Ibrahim Mustafa. "The Impact of Science Teachers' Metacognition on Their Planning Choice of Technology-mediated Inquiry-based Activities." Thesis, Université d'Ottawa / University of Ottawa, 2016. http://hdl.handle.net/10393/35229.
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This study investigated the conditions for developing science teachers’ Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge (TPACK). It also explored the opportunities offered by two strategies to enhance science teachers’ ability to design technology-based inquiry activities for science learning: Experiencing Inquiry Model (EIM) and Metacognitive Scaffolding (MS). These strategies were adopted to support the processing necessary for developing teachers’ knowledge and for negotiating the integration of computer technology in science instruction. Situated Cognition Theory was used as a theoretical framework for learning, and TPACK was used as a conceptual framework for technology integration. 33 science teachers from four intermediate and high schools participated in the study. 17 and 16 teachers were conveniently assigned to EIM and MS, respectively. The study employed a mixed method of quantitative and qualitative evidence. As per the quantitative method, a quasi-experimental design that employed the 2 Teaching Strategy (EIM or MS) × 2 Time (pre- and post-intervention) of learning split-plot factorial design was applied in the study. Concurrently with the quantitative data collection, the qualitative evidence was collected from the researcher’s logbook, participants’ written documents, and interviews. The findings suggested that there were no significant differences between EIM and MS for developing the knowledge components embodied in TPACK. Nevertheless, the participants who learned through the MS strategy outperformed their counterparts in designing technology-based inquiry activities for science learning. The latter result suggested that teachers who received metacognitive scaffolding were more equipped to connect curriculum goals with technology and instruction.
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Liu, Jinghua. "The effect of performance-based assessment on eighth grade students mathematics achievement /." free to MU campus, to others for purchase, 2000. http://wwwlib.umi.com/cr/mo/fullcit?p9974655.
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Thurman, John P. "THE INTERACTION OF TOPIC CHOICE AND TASK-TYPE IN THE EFL CLASSROOM." Diss., Temple University Libraries, 2008. http://cdm16002.contentdm.oclc.org/cdm/ref/collection/p245801coll10/id/13300.
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CITE/Language ArtsPh.D.
This study was an examination of the effect that three levels of topic choice (no choice, limited choice, and complete choice) would have on students' Task Interest and Task Self-efficacy (Study 1, 78 participants), and on three aspects of students' oral output: Accuracy, Complexity, and Fluency (Study 2, 42 participants in 21 pairs). Also examined were the effects that three types of tasks (descriptive, narrative, and decision-making) exerted on these five variables. Data were collected using a questionnaire for Study 1 and recording the participants' conversations for Study 2. Data were collected in nine consecutive treatments to examine the main effects of choice and task, and the interaction effects of choice and task, using two-way repeated-measures ANOVAs. For Study 1, limited choice promoted Task Interest for the descriptive and narrative tasks, and Task Self-efficacy for the narrative and decision-making tasks to a statistically significant degree. In addition, the descriptive task had the highest Task Interest for the no choice and complete choice treatments and had the highest Task Self-efficacy for the no choice of topic treatment. The findings generally indicated that the participants were more interested in the task when there was choice, and that this led to higher levels of Task Interest and Task Self-efficacy. The Study 2 results indicated that Complexity was significantly higher when choice was introduced for the descriptive and narrative tasks. Accuracy and Fluency were not influenced to a statistically significant degree by choice, but they were positively influenced nonetheless. Attentional resources may have been freed up when choice was introduced and the participants may have been more willing to take risks, both possibly causing the significantly higher levels of complexity for choice. Suggestions for further research include a closer examination of the process students use when choosing a topic and examining ways for a more efficient method of introducing choice into the task-based language teaching syllabus.
Temple University--Theses
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Ramsey, Michelle L. "Using Function-Based Choice-Making Interventions to Increase Task Completion and Accuracy and to Reduce Problem Behaviors for Students with E/BD." Digital Archive @ GSU, 2010. http://digitalarchive.gsu.edu/epse_diss/69.
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Two choice-making interventions (task sequence and where) were implemented by a classroom teacher to determine the effects on the percentage of task completion, accuracy, and classroom disruption for ten sixth through eighth grade students with E/BD in a residential math classroom using a reversal design. An FBA was conducted to determine the function of disruptive behavior during independent math practice prior to the implementation of the two choice-making interventions. The math teacher provided either choice of task sequence of the independent tasks or choice of where to complete the independent tasks. Results indicate that choice of task sequence matched avoidance-maintained behaviors for two of four participants who exhibited reduced disruptive behaviors and increased task completion and accuracy. Results were mixed for six students with access-maintained behavior. Three of the six students showed decreased disruptive behaviors and increased task completion and accuracy with the hypothesized choice of where intervention. However, three participants decreased overall in disruptive behavior and increased task completion and accuracy; choice of task sequence was the most effective intervention. Future directions for research in choice-making interventions are discussed as well as limitations of the present study.
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Hawes, Hubert William Richmond. "The curriculum for health education in schools : issues of definition, choice and implementation : an illuminative study based on Uganda, Zambia and India." Thesis, University College London (University of London), 2002. http://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/10020021/.
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Beckley, Nicole Marie. "Relationships between visual and written narratives in student engagement." Thesis, University of Iowa, 2014. https://ir.uiowa.edu/etd/4574.
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This research explores the relationships between visual and written narratives, as well as the quality of engagement in art and writing processes. The study focuses on the work of second grade students in the art education classroom at a small rural elementary school. Data collection included: direct observation of the students, teacher notes, rubrics, student surveys, and student projects. The aim was to collect information on the ways in which students prefer to create and share their narratives. Results show that by providing students with choices in their learning, they are more engaged in the narrative process. It also demonstrates that by providing a variety of narrative methods, particularly the inclusion of image making, students will produce stories that are richer, more elaborate, and engaging.
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Wang, Connie Hou-Ning. "Agent-Based Overlapping Generations Modeling for Educational Policy Analysis." ScholarWorks, 2017. https://scholarworks.waldenu.edu/dissertations/4112.
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Educational systems are complex adaptive systems (CAS). The macroeffects of an educational policy emerge from and depend on individual students' reactions to the policy. However, educational policymakers traditionally rely on equation-based models, which are deficient in reflecting the work of microbehaviors. Using inappropriate tools to make policies may be a reason why there were many unintended educational consequences in history. A proper methodology to design and analyze policies for complex educational systems is agent-based modeling (ABM). Grounded in the theories of CAS and computational irreducibility, ABM is capable of connecting microbehaviors with macropatterns. The purpose of this study was to contribute to the application of ABM in educational policy analysis by constructing an agent-based overlapping generations model with hypothesized inputs to qualitatively represent the environment of the Taipei School District. Four research questions explored the effects of Taipei's 2016 student-assignment mechanism and its free tuition policy on educational opportunity and school quality under different assumptions of students' school-choice strategies. The simulated outputs were analyzed using descriptive statistics and paired samples t tests. The findings, which could hardly be revealed by traditional models, showed that the effects were complex and depended on students' strategies along with the number of choices students were allowed to make; the assignment outcomes for elite students were robust to the mechanism, and the free tuition policy worsened school quality. Although exploratory, these findings can serve as hypotheses and a guide for Taipei's policymakers to collect empirical data in evaluating their 2016 mechanism and tuition policy.
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Moran, Kaitlin Kelly. "Early Childcare Settings and the Parental Enrollment Process: Insights from the Maternal Primary Caregivers of Children Attending High-Poverty Urban Childcare Centers." Diss., Temple University Libraries, 2014. http://cdm16002.contentdm.oclc.org/cdm/ref/collection/p245801coll10/id/272591.
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Urban EducationPh.D.
Every day in the United States, millions of children living in high-poverty neighborhoods are dropped off at a variety of early childcare settings and arrangements. When those settings are high quality, early childhood education can produce both short and long term benefits for this population, including increases in school achievement and in literacy attainment and decreases in grade retention, the likelihood of early dropout, and behavioral issues (August & Hakuta, 1997; Barnett, 1995; Brooks-Gunn & Duncan, 1997; Entwisle & Alexander, 1993; Korenman, Miller, & Sjaastad, 1995; McLoyd, 1998; Wertheimer & Croan, 2003; Zill, 1999). Early childhood education, however, is neither a formalized nor mandatory educational level, which gives parents significant latitude in deciding when and where to enroll their children. Consequently, it is important to better understand the quality, availability, distribution, and use of non-parental childcare across different settings. A more nuanced perspective is also necessary because there is great variation in the types of and tendencies toward childcare enrollment along the lines of socioeconomic status, race, and geographical location. This research study presents the findings of a qualitative, interview-based study that explored what maternal primary caregivers were influenced by when they enrolled children of color in high-poverty urban childcare centers. Building upon the current literature, the study explores the ways structural, parental, and child-level factors intersected in the decision-making process and how choices continued to effect parents after initial enrollment decisions had been made. This study also addresses parental satisfaction levels. Through a series of interviews conducted with the maternal primary caregivers of children enrolled in one of three early childhood centers in a single metropolitan region, this study captures and describes childcare enrollment as a complex and nuanced process. The findings of the study speak to the nature of navigating and managing childcare decisions from the perspective of the parent. Specifically, the study found that networks of trust, maternal instincts, and lessons learned from past childcare experiences influenced the choices of the maternal primary caregivers interviewed. Educational value and children's futures were also important, as were logistics and cost. As the mothers in the study made their choices, they also negotiated structural, parental, and child factors. The literature supports these factors as influencing choice, but they have largely been examined in isolation. This study adds to the literature by describing how levels of factors intersected and overlapped with one another. More exploratory findings of the study support that maternal primary caregivers continued to manage their childcare choices long after enrollment and that childcare satisfaction is both subjective and nuanced. The experiences of the women who participated in this study shed light upon directions for future research and areas of need in terms of resources, information, and support. The mothers in this study made childcare choices based on their realties, using who or what they knew and how they felt. Further, the local governance where this study was conducted proved highly disjointed and participants showed little faith in the system. The greatest area of need, which would stand to most benefit all parents, is for meaningful increases in support, resources, and cohesion at the local level.
Temple University--Theses
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Griffiths, Joanne. "Curriculum contestation : analysis of contemporary curriculum policy and practices in government and non-government education sectors in Western Australia." University of Western Australia. Graduate School of Education, 2008. http://theses.library.uwa.edu.au/adt-WU2008.0178.
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[Truncated abstract] The aim of this study was to analyse the changing dynamics within and between government and non-government education sectors in relation to the Curriculum Framework (CF) policy in Western Australia (WA) from 1995 to 2004. The Curriculum Council was established by an act of State Parliament in 1997 to oversee the development and enactment of the CF, which was released in 1998. A stated aim of the CF policy was to unify the education sectors through a shared curriculum. The WA State government mandated that all schools, both government and non-government, demonstrate compliance by 2004. This was the first time that curriculum was mandated for non-government schools, therefore the dynamics within and between the education sectors were in an accelerated state of transformation in the period of study. The timeframe for the research represented the period from policy inception (1995) to the deadline for policy enactment for Kindergarten to Year 10 (2004). However, given the continually evolving and increasingly politicised nature of curriculum policy processes in WA, this thesis also provides an extended analysis of policy changes to the time of thesis submission in 2007 when the abolition of the Curriculum Council was formally announced - a decade after it was established. ... The research reported in this thesis draws on both critical theory and post-structuralist approaches to policy analysis within a broader framework of policy network theory. Policy network theory is used to bring the macro focus of critical theory and the micro focus of post-structuralism together in order to highlight power issues at all levels of the policy trajectory. Power dynamics within a policy network are fluid and multidimensional, and power struggles are characteristic at all levels. This study revealed significant power differentials between government and non-government education sectors caused by structural and cultural differences. Differences in autonomy between the education sectors meant that those policy actors within the non-government sector were more empowered to navigate the competing and conflicting forms of accountabilities that emerged from the changes to WA curriculum policy. Despite both generalised discourses of blurring public/private boundaries within the context of neoliberal globalisation and specific CF goals of bringing the sectors together, the boundaries continue to exist. Further, there is much strategising about how to remain distinct within the context of increased market choice. This study makes a unique and significant contribution to the understanding of policy processes surrounding the development and enactment of the CF in WA and the implications for the changing dynamics within and between the education sectors. Emergent themes and findings may potentially be used as a basis for contrast and comparison in other contexts. The research contributes to policy theory by arguing for closer attention to be paid to power dynamics between localised agency in particular policy spaces and the state-imposed constraints.
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Strayer, Jordan L. "Artistic Development in the K-12 Classroom." University of Toledo / OhioLINK, 2019. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=toledo1544814998449893.
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Broman, Karolina. "Chemistry: content, context and choices : towards students' higher order problem solving in upper secondary school." Doctoral thesis, Umeå universitet, Institutionen för naturvetenskapernas och matematikens didaktik, 2015. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:umu:diva-95956.
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Chemistry is often claimed to be difficult, irrelevant, and uninteresting to school students. Even students who enjoy doing science often have problems seeing themselves as being scientists. This thesis explores and challenges the negative perception of chemistry by investigating upper secondary students’ views on the subject. Based on students’ ideas for improving chemistry education to make the subject more interesting and meaningful, new learning approaches rooted in context-based learning (CBL) are presented. CBL approaches are applied in several countries to enhance interest, de-emphasise rote learning, and improve students’ higher order thinking. Students’ views on upper secondary school chemistry classes in combination with their problem- solving strategies and application of chemistry content knowledge when solving context-based chemistry tasks were investigated using a mixed methods approach. Questionnaire responses, written solutions to chemistry problems, classroom observations, and think-aloud interviews with upper secondary students at the Natural Science Programme and with experts working on context- based chemistry tasks were analysed to obtain a general overview and explore specific issues in detail. Several students were identified who had positive feelings about chemistry, found it interesting, and chose to continue with it beyond the compulsory level, mainly with the aim of future university studies or simply because they enjoyed it. Their suggestions for improving school chemistry by connecting it to everyday life prompted an exploration of CBL approaches. Studies on the cognitive learning outcomes arising from the students’ work on context-based tasks revealed that school chemistry heavily emphasises the recall of memorised facts. However, there is evidence of higher order thinking when students’ problem-solving processes are scaffolded using hints based on the Model of Hierarchical Complexity in Chemistry (MHC-C). In addition, the contextualisation of problems is identified as something that supports learning rather than distracting students. To conclude, the students in this thesis are interested in chemistry and enjoy chemistry education, and their motives for choosing to study chemistry at the post-compulsory level are related to their aspirations; students’ identity formation is important for their choices. Because students are accustomed to recalling facts and solving chemistry problems that have “one single correct answer”, they find more open problems that demand higher order thinking (e.g. knowledge transfer) unfamiliar and complex, suggesting that such processes should be practiced more often in school chemistry.Kemi är ett skolämne som generellt anses vara både svårt, irrelevant och ointressant för ungdomar. Trots att det ändå finns ungdomar som uppskattar naturvetenskap i allmänhet och kemi i synnerhet, har de ofta problem att se sig själva som naturvetare eller kemister. Denna avhandling undersöker och ifrågasätter den negativa bilden av kemiämnet genom att till en början studera gymnasieelevers syn på kemi. Med utgångspunkt från naturvetarelevers förslag för att förbättra kemiundervisningen och göra ämnet mer intressant och meningsfullt, anknyter avhandlingen därefter till kontextbaserad kemi. Kontextbaserade kurser används i flera länder för att öka elevernas intresse, minska fokuseringen på utantillkunskaper och utveckla elevernas mer avancerade tänkande; med andra ord med målet att uppnå ett meningsfullt lärande. Vid kontextbaserade angreppssätt utgår man från ett sammanhang (kontexten), ofta något personligt eller samhälleligt, som ska vara relevant och intressant. Från dessa kontexter koncentreras därefter undervisningen på de ämneskunskaper man behöver ha för att förstå sammanhanget (s.k. need-to-know). Syftet med avhandlingen är att undersöka naturvetarelevers syn på gymnasiekemin, både deras intresse för ämnet och deras skäl att välja det naturvetenskapliga programmet på gymnasiet, samt elevernas problemlösningsförmåga och användande av ämneskunskaper när de löser kontextbaserade kemiuppgifter. Skälet att studera naturvetarelever på gymnasiet är att dessa elever uppfattas som möjliga framtida naturvetare eftersom de själva har valt naturvetenskaplig inriktning efter den obligatoriska grundskolan. Med hjälp av olika metoder (enkäter, klassrums- observationer, skriftliga lösningar till kemiuppgifter och intervjuer med både elever och experter som löser kemiuppgifter) har analyser genomförts för att dels får en allmän överblick, dels för att utforska specifika delar i detalj både gällande kognitiva och affektiva aspekter av lärande. Resultaten visar att flertalet elever har en positiv inställning till kemi, många tycker att ämnet är intressant och har valt att fortsätta läsa kemi efter den obligatoriska grundskolan främst med målet att studera vidare på universitetsnivå, men också eftersom de specifikt uppskattar kemi. Gymnasieeleverna lyfter fram lärarna som viktiga och lärarstyrda kemilektioner anses positivt, speciellt om lärarna är strukturerade i sin undervisning. Ett vanligt skäl till att välja naturvetenskapsprogrammet är också att man aktivt väljer utbildning med utgångspunkt från vilken skola man vill gå på, något som i denna avhandling tolkas som ett identitetsskapande. Elevernas förslag för att förbättra skolkemin genom att anknyta kemin till vardagen låg till grund för avhandlingens fortsatta inriktning mot kontextbaserade angreppssätt. Analyser av elevernas kognitiva resultat när de löser kontextbaserade kemiuppgifter visar att dagens skolkemi tydligt fokuserar på att memorera faktakunskaper. Eleverna är vana att använda utantillkunskaper när de löser kemiuppgifter eftersom uppgifterna, enligt eleverna, efterfrågar ”det rätta svaret”. Däremot visar studierna också att ett mer avancerat tänkande kan uppnås när elevernas problemlösning stöds av hjälp och ledtrådar som baseras på ett specifikt ramverk, MHC-C (Model of Hierarchical Complexity in Chemistry). När det gäller ämneskunskaperna som krävs för att lösa de kontextbaserade kemiuppgifterna är vissa kemibegrepp viktiga tröskelbegrepp (sk. threshold concepts). Med hjälp av medvetenhet om tröskelbegrepp, som exempelvis polaritet och elektronegativitet för löslighetsuppgifter inom den organiska kemin, kan en större helhetsförståelse för övergripande begrepp (crosscutting disciplinary concepts) som förhållandet mellan kemiska ämnens struktur och egenskaper förhoppningsvis uppnås. När det gäller affektiva resultat anser eleverna att kontexterna i uppgifterna både var intressanta och relevanta, främst när en personlig anknytning var tydlig. Dessutom visade sig kontexterna i uppgifterna vara positiva för lärandet, inte en distraktionsfaktor. Sammanfattningsvis konstateras att svenska elever på naturvetenskaps- programmet är intresserade av kemi och uppskattar kemiundervisningen, speciellt om kemin knyts till vardagen och att lärarna har en tydlig struktur i sin undervisning. Elevernas skäl att välja fortsatta kemistudier efter den obligatoriska grundskolan kan knytas till deras utbildningssträvan men också att elevers identitetsskapande är viktigt för deras gymnasieval. Med hjälp av kontextbaserade angreppssätt kan kemiundervisningen göras mer intressant och relevant samtidigt som elevernas problemlösningsförmåga kan utvecklas. När eleverna möter mer öppna frågor som kräver förklaringar och resonemang är de ovana vid detta och uppfattar uppgifterna komplicerade, samtidigt som de uppskattar denna typ av uppgifter eftersom de uppfattas relevanta och intressanta. Slutsatsen blir att elevernas förmåga till problemlösning av öppna frågor som både kräver faktakunskaper men också förklaringar och resonemang måste tränas oftare inom ramen för skolans kemi för att utveckla elevernas meningsfulla lärande.
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Escatiola, Joanne Ambat. "How effective are college based websites at providing students with the information necessary to make an informed college choice?" CSUSB ScholarWorks, 2007. https://scholarworks.lib.csusb.edu/etd-project/3234.
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The purpose of the project was to develop a rubric to assess whether a selected group of college websites, chosen to represent most of what is available to students, meet the requirements necessary for students to make an informed college choice. The project was undertaken as a way to determine if these sites, individually or as a whole, present enough information for students to make a choice that correctly aligns with their college aspirations.
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Harris, Heidi. "Parental Choice and Perceived Benefits of Reggio Emilia Inspired Programs." ScholarWorks, 2018. https://scholarworks.waldenu.edu/dissertations/5717.
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Despite credible research to support a constructivist-based approach in early childhood programs, policymakers continued to push for a more academic-based philosophy in an effort to reach standardized testing goals. Reggio Emilia, a constructivist-based early childhood philosophy that originated in Northern Italy, has been shown to be an excellent model to facilitate optimum learning in young children. The purpose of this phenomenological study was to investigate parental experiences when choosing the constructivist-based early childhood program, Reggio Emilia, for their children and to explore parents' perceived benefits after their children attended. A constructivist conceptual framework was used to provide context for the Reggio Emilia philosophy. A purposeful sampling strategy was used to select a Reggio Emilia inspired program, Foundations Early Learning Center, in the American Midwest. Five parents who had enrolled their children at Foundations Early Learning Center for a minimum of 6 months participated through in-depth interviews. Data were analyzed, categorized, and clustered into similar themes that described the phenomenon. Results indicated parents identified an overall satisfaction for choosing a Reggio Emilia experience for their preschool children. Ten perceived benefits from parents were identified that were associated with their children after they attended the Reggio Emilia inspired program. Findings of the current study have the potential to bring awareness to policymakers and early childhood program directors when making decisions on what type of educational philosophy to implement into early childhood programs with results favoring the choice of a constructivist-based Reggio Emilia inspired program over alternative options.
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Holman, Robin Terrell. "The Lived Play Experiences of Kindergarten Teachers: An Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis." ScholarWorks, 2016. https://scholarworks.waldenu.edu/dissertations/2931.
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Following implementation of the No Child Left Behind Act and Common Core Standards, play experience opportunities by kindergarten students have been compromised. Prior research indicates that how teachers make sense of play is most likely reflected in educational practice. The purpose of this interpretative phenomenological analysis was to gather the lived experiences of 5 kindergarten teachers from northern New England on the nature of play through pre-reflective description and reflective interpretation. Guided by Vygotsky's social constructivist theory as the conceptual framework, the goal of this study was to describe lived play experiences of kindergarten teachers. In-depth, semi-structured interviews were used to answer the main research question about the essence of play as expressed by teachers. Interviews were transcribed, reduced, coded, and analyzed for common thematic elements and essences regarding the impact of how play manifests in curriculum planning and classroom arrangement. Three themes emerged: community building, creative learning, and engaged excitement. The findings revealed that although kindergarten teachers experienced the nature of play differently, play naturally and unequivocally seemed to promote social skills and cooperation, language and concept development, and motivated and self-directed learners. Additional findings showed an incompatibility between the lived world interpretations of kindergarten teachers and the district curriculum expectations. This study influences positive social change by opening educational discussions about kindergarten pedagogy, leading to improved classroom practice.
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MacVane, Fiona E. "Midwifery knowledge and the medical student experience. An exploration of the concept of midwifery knowledge and its use in medical students' construction of knowledge during a specialist obstetric rotation." Thesis, University of Bradford, 2010. http://hdl.handle.net/10454/4904.
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The literature concerning what medical students learn from midwives during specialist
obstetric rotations is scarce. In the UK, despite a long tradition of providing midwifery
attachments for medical students, it is almost non-existent.
Working with midwives is arguably the only opportunity medical students have to
experience holistic or social models of maternity care, focusing on normality rather than
on the medical concept of risk.
This study sought to discover how medical students constructed their knowledge about
childbirth during a six week specialist rotation in obstetrics in a Northern English
teaching hospital (NETH), with particular emphasis on whether participants assimilated
any concepts from midwifery knowledge (MK). A Delphi Study, done as the first phase
of the research, focused on MK, utilizing an international sample of experienced
midwives. Resulting themes were used to develop the data collection tool for the second
phase of the research.
The research employed a qualitative case study method with students from a single year
cohort comprising the case. Data were collected using a tool consisting of three problem
based learning (PBL) scenarios. These were presented to the students in consecutive
interviews at the beginning, the middle and the end of their obstetric rotation.
Following analysis, five main themes were identified which illuminated the medical
students' construction of knowledge about maternity care. These were explored and
discussed. The thesis concludes with recommendations for increasing opportunities for
IPE in the medical and midwifery curricula.
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MacVane, Fiona Ellen. "Midwifery knowledge and the medical student experience : an exploration of the concept of midwifery knowledge and its use in medical students' construction of knowledge during a specialist obstetric rotation." Thesis, University of Bradford, 2010. http://hdl.handle.net/10454/4904.
Full textAbstract:
The literature concerning what medical students learn from midwives during specialist obstetric rotations is scarce. In the UK, despite a long tradition of providing midwifery attachments for medical students, it is almost non-existent. Working with midwives is arguably the only opportunity medical students have to experience holistic or social models of maternity care, focusing on normality rather than on the medical concept of risk. This study sought to discover how medical students constructed their knowledge about childbirth during a six week specialist rotation in obstetrics in a Northern English teaching hospital (NETH), with particular emphasis on whether participants assimilated any concepts from midwifery knowledge (MK). A Delphi Study, done as the first phase of the research, focused on MK, utilizing an international sample of experienced midwives. Resulting themes were used to develop the data collection tool for the second phase of the research. The research employed a qualitative case study method with students from a single year cohort comprising the case. Data were collected using a tool consisting of three problem based learning (PBL) scenarios. These were presented to the students in consecutive interviews at the beginning, the middle and the end of their obstetric rotation. Following analysis, five main themes were identified which illuminated the medical students' construction of knowledge about maternity care. These were explored and discussed. The thesis concludes with recommendations for increasing opportunities for IPE in the medical and midwifery curricula.
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Sibemberg, Fernando Igor. "Maximização da soma das receitas de competidores por meio de análise conjunta baseada em escolhas : um estudo aplicado ao mercado de educação superior privado." reponame:Biblioteca Digital de Teses e Dissertações da UFRGS, 2017. http://hdl.handle.net/10183/172460.
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O mercado de Educação Superior privado no Brasil apresenta altos índices de concentração, caracterizando-se como um oligopólio, podendo, portanto, ser estudado sob a ótica da Teoria dos Jogos. Uma das técnicas existentes para abordar este tipo de mercado é conhecida por Análise Conjunta Baseada em Escolhas (Choice Based Conjoint Analysis), que permite estimar as utilidades atribuídas para cada característica dos produtos, prevendo o desejo de cada produto gerado pela combinação dos seus atributos, possibilitando, assim, simular como as decisões de uma amostra de respondentes seriam distribuídas em um mercado simulado entre dois ou mais produtos competidores. Esses modelos, porém, limitam-se a maximizar a receita individual de cada produto, de forma isolada, não levando em conta a possibilidade das firmas terem interesses em maximizar a soma de dois ou mais produtos de forma conjunta. Isso se torna necessário, por exemplo, quando uma empresa comercializa dois produtos que competem no mesmo mercado. Com o objetivo de maximizar a receita conjunta de dois ou mais produtos, foi desenvolvido um método alternativo, baseado em Programação Não-Linar, que foi aplicado em uma cidade brasileira e em um país centro-americano. A comparação dos resultados do modelo desenvolvido com os do modelo tradicional evidencia que o modelo desenvolvido apresenta melhores resultados – soma das receitas das firmas de interesse – gerando uma taxa de crescimento na receita 3% maior, no caso brasileiro e 75% maior no estudo centro-americano. O modelo desenvolvido pode ser adaptado e utilizado em outros mercados oligopolistas ou para otimizar diferentes funções-objetivo.The Brazilian Higher Education private market shows high levels of concentration and can be considered an oligopoly. Therefore, one can study it as a Game Theory problem. Choice Based Conjoint Analysis – a technic that can be used to approach this kind of market – can estimates the utilities of each products’ features and predict the desire of each product generated by the combination of its attributes. Such technic can simulate how the decisions of a sample of respondents would be distributed among the products of a market made of two or more competitor. These models, however, only maximize the revenues of individual products, not considering the possibility of firms wanting to maximize the sum of the revenue of two or more products. This is useful, for instance, when a company trends two or more products that compete in the same market. An alternative method, based on nonlinear programming, was developed, in order to maximize the conjoint revenue of two or more products and it was applied in a Brazilian city and in a Central American country. Comparing both models – the traditional versus the developed one –, we can see that the developed model shows better outcomes – ie, sum of both companies’ revenues – resulting in a revenue increase rate 3% higher in the Brazilian case and 75% higher in the Central American study. This model can be fitted to other oligopolistic markets or to optimize others objective functions.
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SIDOTI, LAURA. "LE POLITICHE EDUCATIVE AMERICANE: EVOLUZIONE E SVILUPPI FUTURI." Doctoral thesis, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, 2011. http://hdl.handle.net/10280/1029.
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Questa ricerca presenta una panoramica introduttiva delle principali variabili (storiche, sociali, economiche, istituzionali, culturali, ideologiche e valoriali) che condizionano il policy-making educativo degli Stati Uniti e descrive le riforme e innovazioni più significative introdotte negli ultimi trent’anni nel sistema scolastico americano. Quali fattori socio-culturali, urgenze storiche, azioni e convinzioni politiche stanno alla base delle riforme in atto? Come stanno mutando gli equilibri di potere fra governo federale, stati membri e autorità locale e quali sono le ricadute di questo riallineamento sulla governance scolastica? L’approccio seguito per esaminare le principali riforme ed innovazioni (dal movimento per gli standard comuni, al collegamento fra i test scolastici e accountability per i risultati, alle charter school) è quello proprio della policy research, disciplina pressoché sconosciuta a quanti s’interessano di problematiche pedagogiche in Italia ma che può arricchire la capacità di lettura e comprensione di molte questioni dibattute quando si parla di riforme dell’istruzione.this research provides a comprehensive introduction to the field of education policies in the United States. Blending together theoretical analysis and practical examples, it examines the main variables (history, economy, demographics, political structures, ideologies, values, political culture) that influence the policy environment. What social and economic needs does the U.S. education system cater to? What sociocultural factors, pressing historical circumstances, political choices and actions and beliefs (independent) underlie the current education reforms? What are the implications of the shift of power over education policy from the school and local levels to the federal and state levels? Current issues such as charter schools, high-stakes testing, standards-based reform, and school choice are analyzed in retrospective and perspective using a policy research approach to public problems and policy alternatives. Almost unknown to Italian educational experts, particularly in academia, policy research can expand our general understanding and knowledge about problems and choices when education reform is under discussion.
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Allen, Rebecca. "Choice-based secondary school admissions in England : social stratification and the distribution of educational outcomes." Thesis, UCL Institute of Education (IOE), 2008. http://eprints.ioe.ac.uk/632/.
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This thesis uses the cohort of 2005 school-leavers in the National Pupil Database to present an economic analysis of the effects of secondary school admissions in England on pupil sorting and achievement. The first part of the thesis exploits the availability of pupil postcodes to examine the impact of current school admissions arrangements on residential and school stratification. It produces data from a thought experiment whereby pupils currently in schools are reallocated to a new school based strictly on proximity to school. Through this simulation the role of the housing market in producing socially stratified schooling can be identified. A survey of school admissions policies is used to show that religious (and to a lesser extent Foundation) schools have intakes that are signifcantly more advantaged than their local neighbourhood, and that they achieve these intakes through the use of explicit potentially selective admissions criteria. The second part of the thesis adds to evidence on whether policies intended to increase parental choice raise pupil achievement via competition between schools. Quantitative evidence on school competition in England is evaluated alongside the existing international literature. A regression discontinuity design is employed to examine the legacy effects of the Grant-Maintained schools policy on area-wide educational outcomes at age 16. Pupil fixed-effects test score growth models and historical instrumental variables are used to identify the causal impact of religious schools on their neighbouring schools. This econometric analysis fails to lend support to claims that encouraging schools to compete for pupils is a route to improving standards. The thesis concludes that the current English secondary school arrangements have resulted in a system that is stratified and inequitable, without measurable efficiency gains induced by competition between schools for pupils.
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Du, Toit Sedik. "Parental Choice in South African High Schools: An urban Cape Town Case Study." Thesis, University of the Western Cape, 2008. http://etd.uwc.ac.za/index.php?module=etd&action=viewtitle&id=gen8Srv25Nme4_9351_1258028191.
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This study examines how families judge and choose high schools. The review of literature relating to school choice provides a theoretical framework for the study. The review includes an international perspective including both developed countries such as United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Denmark, England and Wales, the Netherlands, Scotland and Sweden, and developing countries including India, Chile, Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania, Mauritania, Senegal, Cote d'Ivoire and South Africa. The context within which school choice occurs in South Africa is examined. This context includes continued influence of Apartheid policies and current legislation including the South African Schools Act, The Admission Policy for Ordinary Schools Act and the Norms and Standards for Schools Funding. The literature review includes a critical analysis of the research, both Local and International, which addresses questions as to which factors are considered when judging and choosing schools, who makes the choice school, when the choice of school is made and which sources of information inform the choice of school. The empirical study examines the process of high school choice in urban Cape Town. The group areas Act and other Apartheid policies have created a situation where the respondents have a large number of high schools from which to chose. The selected area reflects diversity in Socio-Economic status, including both privately owned homes and council rental flats and houses. The study is limited to English medium or dual medium schools in the area. It includes both co-ed and single gender schools.
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McCord, Samuel. "A School of Choice: A Case Study of an Instructional Learning Model in a Public School System." Digital Commons @ East Tennessee State University, 2018. https://dc.etsu.edu/etd/3372.
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This case study focused on the understandings of the administration and teaching staff with regard to the implementation and student academic growth of the B-L Upward program. The understandings were formed from data collected through structured, face-to-face interviews. The questioning of the staff members assisted in determining an understanding of the instructional model of the B-L Upward program. The experimental nature of the B-L Upward program allowed students, primarily those graduating from eighth grade and heading into high school, to choose an alternative to the traditional secondary learning environment. The current case study is an examination of the B-L Upward program through the interview process involving the administrative and teaching staff with regard to program implementation and student academic growth. Four members of the administrative staff directly responsible for the management of the B-L Upward program and eight members of the teaching staff currently employed at the school were interviewed regarding their understandings of the BLU program. The case study approach provides a detailed picture of the understandings of these staff members. Recommendations for practice and for the continuation of further research were included at the study’s conclusion.
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Liddell, Robert Laws. "Florida's Bright Futures Scholarship Program: The Effects of Losing Merit-Based Financial Aid on Persistence." Scholar Commons, 2015. http://scholarcommons.usf.edu/etd/5985.
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College completion agendas necessarily presume year-to-year student persistence. Institutional efforts to retain admitted students has emerged for a variety of reasons, some intrinsic and others extrinsic. Some of these reasons include (1) financial exigency as institutions strive to retain tuition-paying students or meet prescribed enrollment and retention criteria currently used in performance funding strategies; (2) reputation enhancement as institutions attempt to ascend annual publications such as the U.S. News & World Report which rely on retention rates as one of several indicators used to measure institutional quality; (3) gaining a perceived advantage in admissions, marketing, and fundraising as persistence rates have, for better or worse, become a de facto measure of quality undergraduate programs; and (4) mission fulfillment as institutions, especially public institutions, are tasked with contributing towards broadly cast social goals such as access to education, economic competitiveness, and community development. Knowledge about forces that impact student attrition is critical to the development of preventative strategies that seek to improve student persistence rates. One such environmental force that has an impact on student persistence is financial aid and a student’s ability to pay for their college education. While research examining the impact of financial aid on student persistence has accumulated over the years, little is known about how the loss of certain types of aid, specifically, state-based merit aid, affects students once they enroll in an institution. The majority of studies about financial aid’s impact on student persistence were conducted prior to the establishment of many state-wide merit scholarship programs.
Tinto’s (1975, 1986, 1993) interactional theory of student departure serves as the theoretical framework employed in this study. Tinto (1975) states that entering college students bring with them specific background characteristics and initial commitments that influence the student’s social and academic integration at the institution that, in turn, impact subsequent institutional and goal commitments and, ultimately, persistence. This study intends to examine pre- and post-matriculation data gathered through the admissions and financial aid processes to develop predictive models useful in calculating the probabilities associated with Bright Futures scholarship retention, institutional persistence after losing a Bright Futures scholarship award at the conclusion of a student’s first year of enrollment, and a student’s eligibility to recapture a Bright Futures scholarship award in their third year of enrollment. Data was collected passively from institutional databases on 2,418 students meeting the study criteria for inclusion in the model building process. Findings indicate that the models developed throughout the course of this study hold potential for informing institutional retention initiatives among Bright Futures scholarship award recipients.
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Mirikitani, John Masa. "School-based management and charter schools: Market-based education reform and limits on the exercise of choice /." 2004. http://www.gbv.de/dms/zbw/546853293.pdf.
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Labuschagne, Marko. "Motivational factors affecting a student's choice between print and on-line modes of delivery in distance education." Diss., 2003. http://hdl.handle.net/10500/2132.
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This study argues in favour of the distance education student as being a decision-maker and scrutinised his choice criteria against the `open' education background. In particular, the study investigated the relative contribution of influential decision factors, as identified by previous research, in the choice students made when they chose between print-based and on-line modalities. A quantitative study, drawing data from 233 participants in two modules at the University of South Africa, was employed. The study showed that influential decision factors were transferable to a choice between printed or on-line instructional content, but their effects were less significant. Differences pertaining to previous experience with their delivery mode were apparent between students who selected the print-based option and students who selected the on-line option. The results also confirmed that of other research that a significant relationship exists between self-concept and optimal decision-making and self-concept and social environment.Education Studies
M. Ed. (Psychology of Education)
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Sulz, Lauren Denise. "Health Promoting Secondary Schools: Implementation of a Self-Determination Framework : Project 1: The Experiences and Motivation of Key Stakeholders in the Development and Implementation of a Choice-Based Whole-School Health Model ; Project 2: Effectiveness of a Choice-Based Whole-School Model to Increase Students’ Motivation Towards Physical Activity and Healthy Eating ; Project 3: Evaluation of a School-Based Intervention to Increase Students’ Motivation and Enrolment in High School Physical Education." Thesis, 2014. http://hdl.handle.net/1828/5720.
Full textAbstract:
The purpose of this research was to implement and evaluate a whole-school health model (Health Promoting Secondary Schools [HPSS]), grounded in self-determination theory (SDT). The approach used a "For Youth with Youth" planning strategy designed to change school environments (culture, policy and practices) in order to help high school students become more physically active and eat more healthful diets. Three interrelated research projects were conducted to address the purpose of this study. A concurrent mixed-methods design was used to: (a) gain an understanding of the experiences of teachers and the Action Team as they planned and implemented school-based healthy living strategies (Project 1); (b) evaluate the impact on and relationship between SDT constructs and students’ motivation to engage in health-related behaviours (Project 2); and (c) evaluate the motivation of students in physical education classes grounded in SDT and its impact on their enrolment in grade 11 elective physical education (Project 3).
In Project 1, 23 teachers and 37 Action Team members participated in focus group interviews. School observation field notes and Action Team meeting minutes were collected throughout the intervention process. Analysis of the data revealed that several factors were associated with participants’ experiences and motivational processes. These factors included: (a) Competing Responsibilities, Technical Difficulties, and Lack of Computer Access (b) Resources, Reminders, Workshops, and Collaboration (c) Choice-Based Design Impacts Participants’ Experiences; (d) Teacher Control Impacts Student Engagement (e) Teacher Job Action Inhibited Implementation of HPSS Action Plans. The findings from this study can facilitate future school-based projects by providing insights into student and teacher perspectives on the planning and implementation of a whole-school health model.
In Project 2, 379 grade 10 students in ten participant schools (5 intervention schools; 5 control schools) completed self-report questionnaires pre and post intervention to evaluate the impact on students’ motivation to engage in health-related behaviours. Results showed students attending HPSS intervention schools reported significantly lower amotivation scores for healthy eating compared to students in usual practice schools. No significant differences were found between conditions on motivation towards physical activity. The findings indicate that a choice-based whole-school health approach may be an effective approach for decreasing amotivation towards healthy eating behaviours.
In Project 3, a sample of 373 grade 10 students completed self-report questionnaires to assess their perceptions of autonomy, relatedness, and competence towards grade 10 Physical Education. Enrolment rates were collected from participant schools to determine the impact of the HPSS intervention on student enrolment in grade elective physical education. Multilevel analysis showed no significant differences between conditions post intervention on overall psychological need satisfaction or individual SDT constructs. For enrolment in elective physical education, chi-square analyses showed a significant difference in proportion of female students in HPSS intervention schools enrolled in grade 11 elective physical education. Findings show support for a whole-school health model to improve female student enrolment in elective physical education programs.Graduate
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Baumgardt, Jacqueline. "Perceptions of the accelerated Christian education programme as preparation for tertiary education." Diss., 2006. http://hdl.handle.net/10500/1769.
Full textAbstract:
This study seeks to explore aspects of the educational practice of the Accelerated
Christian Education (ACE) programme.
The philosophy (the Christian underpinnings) and pedagogy (mastery learning) of the
ACE programme as contemporary educational practice is examined against a
background of educational reform movements such as outcomes-based education.
In addition, the thesis examines the issue of what it takes for a student to succeed in
tertiary education, investigates the stated claims of the ACE programme in this regard,
and then scrutinises these claims, in an empirical study, that includes ACE graduates,
their parents and university admissions officers.
Finally recommendations are made to those who use the programme in schools
regarding any perceived strengths and/or weaknesses in the programme itself, or in the
management and implementation of the programme, with a view to enhancing the educational experience of high school students preparing to enter the realm of tertiary education.Psychology of Education
M. Ed.(Educational Management)
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Ghafouri, Farveh. "In Search of Understanding Children's Engagement with Nature and their Learning Experiences in One Urban Kindergarten Classroom." Thesis, 2012. http://hdl.handle.net/1807/32718.
Full textAbstract:
Considering the context of large city schools, this study explores what variables in a kindergarten classroom may impact the process of children’s engagement with nature. In particular I examine the central role of children and teacher in co-constructing their own unique understanding, knowledge, and attitude towards the natural world. In this study, I examine nature-child’s connection considering the complexity of nature beyond a pre-packaged concept (Louv, 2007) and avoiding a linear identification of a cause and effect relationship between children’s learning experiences and nature, (Kellert, 2005).
This qualitative case study is based on extensive classroom observations, in which 20 kindergarten children and their teacher participate. The children’s direct, indirect, and vicarious experiences with nature are documented using digital photography, video-audio recording, and collection of artifacts. I interview the classroom teacher two times and invite the parents to fill up a questionnaire about their children’s experiences with nature outside the school time. I use the techniques and procedure of the grounded theory to analyze the data.
A comparative analysis of the five learning episodes demonstrates four major factors that when all woven together encourage and sustain the children’s engagement with nature. These factors are: investigating children’s meaningful and autotelic questions, encountering and experiencing nature in familiar contexts, developing emotional bonding, and having sufficient time. The findings show the crucial role of the classroom teacher in creating five main conditions to engage the children in the process of each inquiry. She offers the children many opportunities to use their prior skills and knowledge, take responsibility of their own learning, and experiment with learning as a process. She often responds positively to the children’s learning endeavours and communicates her high confidence and expectations for them.
This study makes an important contribution to the field of early childhood education and environmental education by demonstrating the possibilities and challenges in actively and holistically engaging children with nature in school settings. The findings shed light on our understanding of children and teacher’s sense of ownership and motivation as two driving forces of learning.
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Voigt, Christian. "Educational design and media choice for collaborative, electronic case-based learning (eCBL)." 2008. http://arrow.unisa.edu.au:8081/1959.8/48671.
Full textAbstract:
At a theoretical level the research identifies a conceptual framework for the design of fruitful case discussions in an online environment and at a practical level, the conceptual framework has been used to implement and evaluate several versions of a case-based online course.
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"The Impact of Supplemental Educational Services on Standards Based Assessments." Doctoral diss., 2015. http://hdl.handle.net/2286/R.I.30056.
Full textAbstract:
abstract: ABSTRACT
When you have more students who are eligible for tutoring than those who are successfully meeting the academic requirements, then there is a problem. This study examined the impact that NCLB's federal mandates of providing Supplemental Educational tutoring services had on New Mexico’s Standards Based Assessment results for eligible elementary students in one district who participated in tutoring for three school years from 2008 to 2011. The quantitative study examined the archived Standards Based Assessment data for each tutored participant leading to the total average means scaled scores per year for four elementary schools in comparison to non-tutored students within the same schools. Research Question 1 asked if Supplemental Educational Services tutoring increased Standards Based Assessment scores. To generalize the results and state whether there was an increase in SBA test scores due to participation in the SES tutoring was not valid. Research Question 2 asked if the number of years tutored increased Standard Based Assessment scores. There were only three students who were tutored for two years consecutively. Research Question 3 asked if one group of providers were more effective than others. One provider was used from 44% to 88% of the time; however, there were no clear findings as to which SES provider was more effective as to SBA gains. Research Question 4 asked as to what services offered from SES providers was the parent choice for tutoring. The researcher found descriptions from the other SES providers to be similar to Club Z! Interviews were not part of the study and contacts made with the providers were not successful, pre- and posttest results of participating students were not available. The recommendation primarily was build internal monitoring and evaluation, collaborations with tutors, and continued study in area of tutoring.Dissertation/Thesis
Doctoral Dissertation Educational Administration and Supervision 2015
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DiBartolomeo, Matthew. "The impact of judges' consensus on the accuracy of anchor-based judgmental estimates of multiple-choice test item difficulty: The case of the NATABOC Examination." 2010. https://scholarworks.umass.edu/dissertations/AAI3427517.
Full textAbstract:
Multiple factors have influenced testing agencies to more carefully consider the manner and frequency in which pretest item data are collected and analyzed. One potentially promising development is judges’ estimates of item difficulty. Accurate estimates of item difficulty may be used to reduce pretest samples sizes, supplement insufficient pretest sample sizes, aid in test form construction, assist in test form equating, calibrate test item writers who may be asked to produce items to meet statistical specifications, inform the process of standard setting, aid in preparing randomly equivalent blocks of pretest items, and/or aid in helping to set item response theory prior distributions. Two groups of 11 and eight judges, respectively, provided estimates of difficulty for the same set of 33 multiple-choice items from the National Athletic Trainers’ Association Board of Certification (NATABOC) Examination. Judges were faculty in Commission on Accreditation of Athletic Training Education-approved athletic training education programs and were NATABOC-approved examiners of the former hands-on practical portion of the Examination. For each item, judges provided two rounds of independent estimates of item difficulty and a third round group-level consensus estimate. Prior to providing estimates of item difficulty in rounds two and three, group discussion of the estimates provided in the preceding round was conducted. In general, the judges’ estimates of test item difficulty did not improve across rounds as predicted. Two-way repeated measures analyses of variance comparing item set mean difficulty estimates by round and the item set mean empirical item difficulty revealed no statistically significant differences across rounds, groups, or the interaction of these two factors. Moreover, item set mean difficulty estimates by round gradually drifted away from the item set mean empirical item difficulty and, therefore, mean estimation bias and effect size analyses gradually increased in correspondence with the item set mean item difficulty estimates provided across rounds. Therefore, the results revealed that no item difficulty estimation round yielded statistically significantly better recovery of the empirical item difficulty values compared to the other rounds.