Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'Traditional public schools'

The need to spur innovation and improve student performance initiated the formation of, under different legislative acts, charter schools that include variations of traditional public schools. With the enthusiasm and level of investment going into the formation of charter schools, it is necessary to explore whether these schools have achieved their objectives. This study explored whether Texas open enrollment charter schools perform bettered compared to Texas public schools. The study applied a causal comparative quantitative research design. School data on graduation and dropout rates, college preparation, attendance rates, and overall performance were analyzed quantitatively. Student achievement data available for statistical analysis includes student performance on the Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills (TAKS) state assessment from 2007 to 2011. Data analysis for race, special programs, at risk, economically disadvantaged, and limited English proficiency was incorporated. Descriptive statistics and analysis of variance techniques were included in the data analysis. The analysis extended to post hoc tests to determine variables that caused variation. The study found Texas open-enrollment charter schools had more African American students but fewer Whites compared to public schools. Students in public schools performed better than those in charter schools, and Whites yielded the best performance. Charter schools had high dropout rates, low attendance, and low graduation rates, while public schools had low dropout rates, high attendance, and high graduation rates. Finally, public schools had more students ready for college than charter schools.

Purpose. The purpose of this qualitative study was to identify and describe the attributes of public charter schools considered important for the selection of a charter school as perceived by the parents of charter school students. A second purpose of this study was to identify the sources parents used to inform their decision to enroll their child in a charter school.

Methodology. This qualitative study was accomplished by interviewing parents of public charter school students in three districts within San Bernardino County. The interview consisted of nine open-ended questions and each interview was recorded to ensure accuracy of the responses. The results of the interview were analyzed and organized into a narrative form. The population for the study included parents of public charter school students.

Findings. The participants noted smaller class sizes, higher educational quality, and a more nurturing environment as the main reasons for selecting a public charter school. Their answers also indicated the variety of programs available to them at charter schools influenced their decision to enroll their children. Participants noted talking with friends and family as a major source of gathering information about schools. Using some form of the internet was also instrumental for parents when obtaining information about a given school.

Conclusions. The results of this study supported the conclusion that parent perceptions of schools and the education they offer may be more influential than the school’s performance on state assessments. Results indicated many other factors influenced a parent’s selection of a school. A positive environment, which cultivated learning, and a variety of educational opportunities were crucial attributes for many parents.

Recommendations. The researcher recommended the study be replicated in a different region of California to see if the results remain the same. Additionally, a study should be conducted to see how many and why parents removed their children from public charter schools and returned them to traditional public schools.

The study examined mathematics and English student achievement, attendance rates, dropout rates, and expenditures per pupil for Texas high school students in both open-enrollment charter schools and traditional public high schools for the 2009–2010 school year. All data were assembled using archived information found at the Texas Education Agency (TEA). This information included the TEA report entitled Texas Open Enrollment Charter Schools Evaluation; TEA Snapshot Yearly Report; and Academic Excellence Indicator System (AEIS) data files. Microsoft Excel (Version 2010) was used to randomly select traditional public high schools categorized as Title 1 and non-Title 1 for comparison with Title 1 and non-Title 1 open-enrollment charter high schools. The IBM Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) (IBM Statistics Version 20) was used for a one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) conducted between one independent variable (charter or traditional school) and five dependent variables (mathematics exit-level TAKS scores, English exit-level TAKS scores, attendance rates, dropout rates, and expenditures per pupil). Traditional public high school students had higher or better average mean values than charter schools for mathematics exit-level TAKS scores, English exit-level TAKS scores, attendance rates, dropout rates, and expenditures per pupil. The ANOVA found that four of the five dependent variables were statistically significant at the 0.05 confidence level for the independent variable of school type, whether charter or traditional school. There was no significant difference found between the schools for attendance rates. Effect size calculations, using the eta-squared method, confirmed the comparisons with significant differences.

Thesis advisor: Joseph M. O'Keefe
This mixed methods sequential explanatory study applied the economic theory of the educational marketplace to examine district superintendents' perceptions of charter school competition and its impact on the administrative and instructional innovations launched in their districts. The initial intent of the 1993 legislation on charter schools in the Commonwealth stated specifically that charter schools would serve as an impetus for the development and dissemination of innovation in the districts in which they were allowed to reside. The study examined whether superintendents reported reform activities consistent with the language in the Massachusetts Education Reform Act, which was intended to spur innovation in charter schools and traditional districts. This dissertation asked superintendents about administrative and instructional innovations that have taken place as a result of increased competition from the educational marketplace. Though competition from school choice and vocational schools were referenced, the study focused on the impact of charter schools. The findings indicate that the innovations initiated by district superintendents are targeting student populations that are perceived to be most likely to attend local charter schools; namely those students considered by superintendents to be high academic achievers. In response, most superintendents reported innovative marketing strategies rather than programs focused on teaching and learning. Superintendents rarely mentioned programs designed to assist students from low-income families, English language learners, or students with special needs. Finally, superintendents reported minimal meaningful collaboration between districts and charter schools, except in three isolated and unique circumstances
Thesis (EdD) — Boston College, 2014
Submitted to: Boston College. Lynch School of Education
Discipline: Educational Leadership and Higher Education

Educational Psychology
Ph.D.
To move the field closer to untangling the charter versus public school debate, this study compared leadership practices surrounding discipline and the frequency of student misconduct between public and charter schools that reside in urban neighborhoods and serve predominantly students of color. School leadership's approaches to discipline were investigated by comparing punitive authoritarian practices such as suspensions and transfers to therapeutic and educational strategies such as positive behavior management and teacher training. Student conduct was comprised of problematic peer-directed behaviors (e.g., bullying, sexual harassment, harassment of sexual orientation, and gang activity) and authority-directed misconduct (e.g., verbal abuse of teacher, acts of disrespect towards teacher, and classroom disorder). The sample used in this analysis was garnered from a larger nationally representative pool of public school principals (n = 610) from elementary, middle, high school, and combination schools across the United States who completed The School Survey of Crime and Safety (SSOCS) during the 2009-2010 academic school year. To uncover which leadership variables could account for significant differences in student conduct across school type (public or charter) several multivariate analyses were conducted using factorial analysis, MANCOVAs, and partial correlations. The results revealed that charter schools used more Educational Discipline while public schools used more Authoritarian Discipline and Therapeutic Discipline. In addition, public school principals reported a greater frequency of Peer-directed and Authority-directed student conduct compared to charter school principals. The relationships between certain discipline practices and student conduct types were found to be statistically significantly different between school type. Several points of policy are suggested for leadership and policy makers to consider with regard to urban school reform initiatives surrounding the establishment of a supportive school climate that positively affects student conduct.
Temple University--Theses

Since the 1980s, a variety of pre-school approaches has existed within the ACT Public School System. These approaches are in theory based on different educational ideologies and principles. The Field Study Project evaluates and compares three different educational models; existing classroom processes and procedures, and student achievements in a 'traditional', a modified Montessori and a Weikart pre-school currently operating in the ACT Public School System. Using selected criteria, an analysis of the three educational models, an ecological survey and student assessments were carried out to make the evaluations and comparisons. The analysis of the three educational models indicate different program orientations and instructional preferences in the different models. The ecological survey results suggest that the 'traditional', the modified Montessori and the Weikart approaches identify with the models they are based on. Nevertheless, educational trends and orientations are similar in the three programs, which are predominantly cognitively oriented. In contrast, teaching styles differ slightly. It is significant that the teacher in the 'traditional' program fulfills a more nurturing role, while her colleagues in the modified Montessori and the Weikart programs fulfill more instructional roles. The evaluation and comparison of the student assessments seems to indicate that there are no significant differences in achievement in drawing, specific cognitive tasks and in self-concept development between matched groups of learners in the three pre-schools. The findings support the notion that middle class children enrolled in approved pre-schools develop cognitive abilities regardless of the type of program they attend. The evaluation and comparison of the three existing approaches in the ACT suggests that the pre-school organisation in the ACT Public School System is still strongly committed to the 'traditional' model, and makes only minor attempts to change educational patterns in pre-school education.

Unlike their private school counterparts, charter schools receive public funding but are relieved of some of the bureaucratic and regulatory constraints of public schools in exchange for being held accountable for student performance. Studies provide mixed results with regard to charter school performance. Charter schools are, by definition, schools of choice, and this means that observational data methods are required for comparing such schools with others. In observational data contexts, simple comparisons of two groups such as traditional public and charter schools typically ignore the inherent and systematic differences between the two groups. However, given well-designed observational studies and appropriate analysis methods, the effects of the selection bias can be reduced, if not eliminated. The result is that the usual simple comparisons of two independent groups are replaced by comparisons that make adjustments for covariate differences. This study includes development of new methods, largely graphic in form, designed for observational data to compare two groups. These methods are then used to investigate the question of whether students who attend charter schools perform differently than their traditional public school counterparts on two key academic domains: reading and mathematics. The new methods represent extensions of propensity score analysis (Rosenbaum & Rubin, 1983) by aiding descriptions and aim in reducing selection bias in the context of clustered data.

Using data from the 2009 National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) for mathematics and reading at grades four and eight, estimates of the differences between charter and traditional public schools were calculated at the state and national levels. This study finds that there is wide variability in math and reading performance for charter schools. But in aggregate, charter schools do not perform any differently than their traditional public school counterparts.

The new methods were used to examine potential relationships between the "quality" of state charter laws as determined by the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools (NAPCS; 2010a) and aggregate differences in charter and traditional public school student NAEP scores produced by the new methods are explored. Analyses suggested that these relationships were either absent or modest across the two grades and subjects.

Thesis advisor: Joseph M. O'Keefe
This mixed methods sequential explanatory designed study applied the economic theory of marketplace competition as a way to frame superintendents' perceptions of the characteristics of students and parents seeking charter schools. Although studies on charter schools are abundant, there is limited literature on this particular aspect of market competition between traditional districts and charter schools. Through surveys and interviews with superintendents across Massachusetts, this study found that most of the superintendents reported a perception that charter schools "cream-skim" higher achieving students and under-serve or "crop" high needs or more costly students - particularly special education and English language learner students. Additionally, superintendents generally perceive that parents were most likely to choose a charter school because of a perception that it was a more elite option and that parents making those choices were more likely to have been engaged in a child's educational life. Many superintendents reported a strong pressure to find ways to retain high-achieving students while expressing resentment that charter schools under-serve high needs students. In three small urban districts, however, superintendents described charter schools that enroll high-needs students proportional to or exceeding the district's student population, filled a gap or met an unmet need, or provided a specialization from which the district could learn
Thesis (EdD) — Boston College, 2014
Submitted to: Boston College. Lynch School of Education
Discipline: Educational Leadership and Higher Education

The research sought to objectively evaluate the effectiveness of Texas standard AP open-enrollment charter school campuses and to discover independent variables that may be utilized to predict effective charter school campuses. The literature review was designed to enhance the current understanding of charter schools and therefore facilitate a more effective evaluation of them. A basic knowledge and understanding of the origins, characteristics and purposes of charters allow for a more objective analysis. The literature review covered the history of charters including their founders, characteristics, and growth patterns. The data items used in the analyses were downloaded from the 2007-2008 Academic Excellence Indicator System (AEIS), which contains a variety of data from all Texas public schools. Multiple statistical analyses were utilized including chi-square, ANOVA, multiple regression and discriminate analysis. In order to evaluate Texas standard AP open enrollment charter campuses, their accountability ratings were compared with those of standard AP traditional public school campuses. The research evaluated twelve independent variables for charter schools to determine their relationship to accountability ratings, thereby providing charter operators indicators or predictors of accountability ratings to facilitate better academic quality. By analyzing the same variables for traditional public schools as charter schools, a baseline model was developed to compare the similarities and differences with the results of the charter school analyses.

The purpose of this study was to examine the essential elements of a community of practice intended to increase communication and collaboration between traditional public and charter school leaders. Members of the Los Angeles Cohort of the School Leaders Network participated in this study. This case study triangulated observation, interview, and document review data to identify the factors that were most beneficial to this particular community of practice. Drawing on the research of communities of practice, constructivism, and leadership theory, these factors were articulated into five domains with the hope that, with further research, this framework could influence the creation of additional communities of practice between traditional public and charter school leaders. This framework, including indicators and action steps to aid in creating a community of practice, identified five key factors: knowledge, relationships, authenticity, constructivism, and leadership. The convergence of these five domains pointed to two key take-aways: Communities of practice must create a risk-free environment in which sharing can occur so that participants can use storytelling as a vehicle for the exchange of ideas. Essential in creating this environment is the influence of a skilled facilitator who can drive these conversations. Ultimately, in sharing stories and building community, these communities of practice are meant to further the cause of a socially just education for all students regardless of the type of schools they attend.

Comparative analyses of district-run public schools and charter schools are limited to performance outcomes. There is a dearth of research on how the school-types vary on factors consequential to performance such as school climate. Public-private distinctions, such as in organizational autonomy, value orientations, funding structures, and management practices, could result in school climate dissimilarities between district-run public schools and charter schools. The aim of this dissertation is to assess the influence organizational factors have on school climate and determine if school-type affects school climate. Student and staff school climate survey data from the Miami-Dade school district were utilized for this dissertation. Structural equation modeling was employed to test theoretical models of students’ and staffs’ perceptions of school climate using data from 2001-2002 through 2015-2016 academic years. Within-between effects panel regression was utilized to test the effect of school-type on school climate constructs over time using data from 2005-2006 through 2015-2016 academic years. The structural equation results demonstrate that milieu, ecology, culture, and organizational structure influence students’ and staffs’ perceptions of their schools’ climates. Ecology has the strongest association with students’ perceptions of school climate. Job satisfaction, a part of milieu and culture, has the strongest association with staffs’ perceptions of school climate. The results indicate that the theoretical models of school climate employed by this study are sound. The within-between effects panel regression results demonstrate that characteristics inherent to school-type have a plausible influence on students’ perceptions of school climate, but not for staff. Charter school students rated their school climates more favorably than traditional public schools, but when other factors are controlled, traditional public schools and magnet schools had more favorable ratings. Public-sector values, collective bargaining, and school district oversight may be beneficial to schools’ climates. This dissertation underscores the impact management and funding structures have on school climate. The author recommends that the school climate concept and evaluations of schools’ organizational practices be incorporated into school improvement policies. The milieu, culture, ecology, and organizational structures of schools should be reviewed when assessing school quality.

This paper addresses the idea that the successful of mathematics reform demands the support of the full educational community including school principals, parents, and students. One of the most important group that affect mathematics reform is school principals. A project related to modifying UAE principals’ perceptions of mathematics is presented. This project consists three steps. In the first step, principals’ perceptions of the nature of Mathematics and its learning and teaching were examined. Results showed that those principals possess many improper perceptions related to Mathematics. In the second step, a professional training program for promoting school principals\' understanding of the new vision of teaching and learning mathematics has developed. This training program comprises two integrated phases: Clarification and conviction, and implementations for principal’s role. It includes a package of paper documents, videotapes, discussion sessions, and group and individual activities. In the third step, the training program is applied on eight principals in UAE. An initial analysis of the qualitative data showed many positive improvements in principals’ perceptions of mathematics education.

Learning in America has been restrained by time. Educators have developed a time-bound mentality and deceived themselves into believing that schools can educate all students at the same pace. Across the nation there is a growing trend toward restructuring as educators seek smaller class enrollment with more flexible use of time. Block scheduling utilizes classes organized into longer blocks of time and may be an element that meets these demands for restructuring. In Virginia, 4/4 block scheduling is the most popular (31.6%) arrangement of the school day. Advocates of 4/4 block scheduling are convinced this schedule meets students' needs. With the adoption of the new Standards of Learning Tests for Virginia Public Schools it is important for educators to determine which schedule will help students improve their test scores. There are no empirical studies on the effect of 4/4 block scheduling on these Standards of Learning Tests. This study will attempt to determine if there is a meaningful relationship between two types of schedules, the 4/4 block and 7-period traditional schedules, and student achievement on the Standards of Learning Tests for Virginia Public Schools.
Ed. D.

Thesis advisor: Joseph O'Keefe
This study applied the economic theory of marketplace competition as a framework to explore how district superintendents perceive the existence of charter schools by examining their perceptions about whether or not charter schools are stimulating competition for consumers in public school districts. As its underlying foundation, the study used the driving forces of competition and innovation as expressed in the legislative intent of the 1993 Massachusetts law that designed created charter schools to provide an alternative to district schools by promoting innovation. This mixed methods sequential explanatory designed study has yielded findings about superintendents' perceptions of charter schools within the context of a competitive educational marketplace. Not only do superintendents sense urgency to act within a competitive charter school market, but other schooling options for students similarly add competitive pressure. Superintendents perceive that the impact on their district budget is constraining, and that the funding formula does not take into consideration school systems' economies of scale. Most superintendents perceive the choice market as limited or a "quasi-market" unlike in a pure market-based economy where cost is a driving factor. This study found that there is considerable sentiment among superintendents that charter schools separate communities and decrease democratic principles of education by separating society into smaller homogeneous groups, thereby endangering the growth of a multicultural society. And lastly, all superintendents who were interviewed expressed concern that the driving force of this movement - the charter school legislation - has not been implemented as intended
Thesis (EdD) — Boston College, 2014
Submitted to: Boston College. Lynch School of Education
Discipline: Educational Leadership and Higher Education

The purpose of this pilot study was to examine the benefit of offering a percussion ensemble class in secondary public schools. I looked at two elements of music education: playing time and relevant instruction. The research questions focused on the difference in playing time and relevant instruction between percussionists in the concert band and percussionists in the percussion ensemble, as well as differences between the concert band subgroups (brass, woodwind, percussion). 6 separate instrumental groups were observed: 4 concert bands and 2 percussion ensembles (N=6). Students were randomly selected from each instrument subgroup (brass, woodwind, percussion, percussion ensemble) for observation. A mixed model ANOVA was used to compare the playing time per hour of each instrument subgroup. A second mixed model ANOVA was used to compare the relevant instruction received per hour of each instrument subgroup. As anticipated, the concert band percussionists experienced significantly less playing time and relevant instruction than both the brass and woodwind subgroups. The percussion ensemble subgroup did not experience a significant difference in either playing time or relevant instruction from the concert band percussionstudents. However, informal observations of the rehearsals indicated a difference in the scope and depth of the playing time and instruction experienced by these two subgroups. Implications from these observations are also discussed.

A quantitative, causal-comparative study between single gender and traditional mixed gender schools was conducted to examine how single gender schooling affected the academic achievement of African American males in a high-poverty urban community. This study examined the differences in TSI and EOC scores between African American males who attended a single gender male high school and a traditionally mixed gender high school serving students in the same community in Fort Worth, Texas. A two sample t-test was used to compare the STAAR and TSI scores of the two groups of African American males. Microsoft Excel was used to collect the descriptive statistical data and analysis was conducted in SPSS version 25.0 for Windows. A detailed description of the participants, the research design that was used in the study, a description of instruments that was used to analyze the data, research problem, research questions on which the study was based, and a description of data analysis methods that was used. This quantitative research compared the STAAR and TSI scores in language arts, math, and reading. The findings of study indicate the single-gender school model impacts the academic achievement of African American males in a particular community in Fort Worth, Texas. The single-gender school had 100% of the African American males in its first graduating class during the 2017-2018 school year were accepted into college.

Recent charter school enrollment trends suggest that many parents are choosing to enroll students in charter schools instead of traditional public schools, even though data indicate public school achievement is equal to or above charter schools. Guided by Rogers and Maslow's humanistic theory, the purpose of the study was to examine reasons why parents exercised their right to educational choice and chose charter schools instead of traditional public schools for their children. The study focused on two charter schools, the Learning Academy and the School of Excellence (both pseudonyms), which are located in a large urban and suburban school district in Georgia. In this qualitative case study, data collection occurred through focus groups and individual interviews. The information was then coded, and themes were identified. This resulted in rich descriptions of the beliefs and perceptions of 13 classroom teachers, 2 administrators, and 21 parents from the 2 schools studied. Parents interviewed considered student achievement, school climate, and parent involvement opportunities when choosing the charter school. The analyzed data led me to develop a policy recommendation highlighting professional development for teachers and administrators as well as suggestions for increased parental involvement in public schools. This study has the potential to bring about positive social change by providing insights regarding why charter schools are becoming a better choice for parents through the perceptions of parents, teachers, and administrators. School leaders have the option to implement policy recommendations in a way that promotes student learning, positive school climate, and parental engagement, benefiting students within the district.

The purpose of this study was to examine if the implementation of a technology-based music class in public high schools in the northeastern United States had any significant impact on the overall music department enrollment and on enrollment in traditional performance ensemble courses, such as band and chorus, as they are the courses most offered in high schools in the United States. The two phases of the study included identifying eligible schools and collecting data from schools. A six-year history of music department and school enrollment data was collected from participating schools (n = 12). Individual music classes in each school were categorized as Band, Chorus, Orchestra, Technology-based, or Other Music Classes. Results found a statistically significant increase in overall Music Department enrollment and no statistically significant change in enrollment in Band or Chorus after the implementation of a technology-based music class. Reductions in enrollment did occur in Other Music classes. No significant change to the number of teachers in music departments was found. This study suggests that implementing a technology-based music classes may help increase overall music department enrollment without negatively impacting enrollment in traditional performance ensembles and may not necessitate funding for additional faculty.

The purpose of the study was to determine if a relationship existed between primary teacher beliefs, traditional or developmentally appropriate; and primary teacher practice, traditional or constructivist. A multi-case study design was employed for this qualitative research study. Eight teachers completed the Primary Teacher Questionnaire (PTQ) to determine the study group. Based on their responses to the teacher beliefs questionnaire, 3 teachers were chosen to further participate in the study. Three main research questions were analyzed with individual and cross-case analysis. Triangulation of data included observations, Assessment of Practices in Early Elementary Classrooms (APEEC) scores determined from observation data, and individual teacher interviews. The 3 teachers' initial data from the questionnaire were also used. The teacher with traditional beliefs demonstrated traditional practices. The teacher with developmentally appropriate beliefs demonstrated constructivist practices. The teacher whose beliefs fell in the middle demonstrated practices that were more constructivist than traditional.

The publication of the Curriculum Development Centre's discussion paper 'Core Curriculum for Australian Schools' in June 1980 stimulated discussion of the concept of core curriculum in Australia. The driving force came from the Foundation Director of the CDC, Dr Malcolm Skilbeck. This study discusses the themes and directions to which Skilbeck was committed through a study of his work prior to his return to Australia in 1975 and his subsequent writings. The study considers Skilbeck's work against general thinking on educational matters in Australia and overseas. The initial discussion centres on Skilbeck's work in the United Kingdom prior to 1975. This concludes that his views were moulded by his own research on the American progressive educator John Dewey and that Dewey's ideals of a democratic society moulded and sustained by a democratic core curriculum have been dominant in all Skilbeck's subsequent thinking. The study reviews the establishment, working and conclusions of the CDC Core Curriculum and Values Education Working Party. In two subsequent chapters, the study looks at Skilbeck's approach to cultural mapping and school-based curriculum development as the two fundamental Planks of his approach to the development and implementation of a core curriculum for Australian schools. The study shows that Skilbeck's concept of cultural mapping is helpful but does not succeed in providing an effective basis for the articulation of national guidelines. In consequence, the CDC did not succeed in providing a framework sufficient to hold together the infinite range of possibilities opened UP by school-based action. The study considers the limited published reactions to the CDC Paper. It notes that the termination of the CDC by the Committee for Review of Commonwealth Functions in early 1931 prevented the fuller dissemination and debate of the topic during 19S1 and subsequently. The study notes that responses were disaapointingly few and in many cases failed to address the central questions raised by the CDC paper, in particular the idea of national curriculum guidelines and their application through school-based curriculum development. The major responses came in the State of Victoria where local circumstances encouraged discussion of the issues raised by the CDC. The study concludes that the CDC discussion paper was a valuable stimulus to discussion of curricular foundations at the time it was released but represented a point of view that was not fully understood or appreciated at the time. It laid the foundation for the renaissance of the general concept as 'democratic curriculum' in 1986 and provides important indications of the potential for the development of the Participation and Equity Program.

This multiple case study utilized a qualitative approach to research student engagement at the middle school level. Specifically, this project contributes to the understanding of how students at a STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) magnet middle school and a traditional public middle school perceive student engagement in the classroom as classified into the categories of behavioral, emotional, cognitive, and agentic engagement (Lee & Reeve, 2012; Reeve & Tseng, 2011). Middle school students in this project participated in a classroom engagement unit of inquiry, produced photo-elicitation data depicting positive examples of classroom engagement, produced descriptions of those photos, and discussed engagement in photo-elicited focus group interviews that revealed their thoughts and beliefs about engagement in the classroom setting. Results revealed that middle school students at traditional and STEM sites have similar perceptions related to each of the categories of student engagement. However, two distinguishing characteristics were discovered from this research. First, students at the traditional middle school attributed student engagement as primarily an individual experience whereas students at the STEM middle school perceived student engagement as mainly collaborative for each category of engagement. Second, students at the traditional middle school identified a teacher-centered aspect to student engagement that was absent from the perceptions of students at the STEM school. Additional research on student engagement is warranted due to the changing landscape of middle school education.

This interpretive, exploratory qualitative study examines the similarities and differences between charter school leadership and traditional public school leadership. Previous research has examined the differences in school leadership in traditional public schools from large-scale, quantitative data (Cravens, Goldring,& Penaloza, 2012; Goff, Mavrogordato, & Goldring, 2012). Though research exists on specific facets of charter schools such as student achievement, there is little research on the needs of charter school leaders and how well-prepared they are for their unique roles (Huerta, 2009; Hughes & Silva, 2013). The purpose of this study is to contribute to the body of knowledge on school leadership by developing an emic description of the relationship between charter school leadership and traditional public school leadership through a qualitative interpretivist study approach. School leaders in Minnesota who have been heads of school in both independent charter schools and traditional public schools were surveyed, and four were selected for in-depth follow-up interviews. The guiding research questions are: (1) What are the differences between traditional public school leadership and charter school leadership according to school leaders in Minnesota who have been leaders of both types of schools; (2) How do school leaders in Minnesota who have been leaders of both charter schools and traditional public schools experience instructional leadership in the different school organizations; and (3) How do school leadership preparation programs help prepare educators for leadership in charter schools? Findings from this study indicate that differences in school leadership in traditional public schools and independent charter schools may exist due to organizational structure, including the expanded scope of school leadership in charter schools. However, some of the differences may be because of school size, as leaders with experience in both types of schools indicated that leading a charter school is similar to leading a small, rural, traditional public school. The findings also examine the structures created to support charter school leadership, and the need for professional community and support. Implications for school leader professional development and school leadership preparation programs are discussed.

The purpose of this study was to quantify core academic middle school teachers’ (English/language arts, mathematics, science, and social science) perspectives of career education. Prior research denotes that if career education exposure and awareness is provided in middle school grades, then students have the potential to develop a valuable understanding of various occupations available in the future (Akos, Konold, & Niles, 2004). Students observe what the work accomplishes and the effort required for the employee to be successful. If the occupation interests the students, then an increased motivation to complete their studies is likely to develop as they see the connection between what is taught in class and the opportunity for the desired career (Schaefer, & Rivera, 2012). In order to achieve that, the first step is to understand the teaching community’s viewpoint on career education and to use that knowledge to build successful programs. Teachers employed in a large school district in southeastern United States at the time of the study indicated their understanding of the concepts of future career orientation and career integration in its present state of use. The researcher distributed the tested CareerStart Teacher Perspective Survey (CTPS) and a selection of teacher related variables from charter, magnet, and traditional public middle schools to populate the study (n=199). Using ANOVA and regression analysis, the study found a significant difference in the value of future orientation and overall career education factors from males versus females. In addition, teachers ages 25-44 had a higher mean value for all factors than teachers of other age groups. There were no significant differences amongst teachers’ value of career education between the three different types of schools. This study contributes to the body of research pertaining to teacher perspectives of career education at the middle school level.

Colleges and schools in today??s competitive marketplace must not only be cognizant of student and faculty recruitment, but also of their positioning in rankings. This thesis seeks to determine how the use of strategic communications can play a role in increasing student applications, the quality of student applications and funding resources; thereby, increasing their rank as determined by the U.S. News and World Report. It is believed that an in-depth strategic communications plan committed to paper, and resourced properly, can increase each of these areas. Specifically, this research examined the top 50 ranked schools in public affairs to determine the relationship between top ranked schools and their communications departments and each of their uses of strategic communications as defined as the long-term planning, implementation and research of the use of public relations, marketing, and advertising.

The purpose of this study was to examine the essential elements of a community of practice intended to increase communication and collaboration between traditional public and charter school leaders. Members of the Los Angeles Cohort of the School Leaders Network participated in this study.

This case study triangulated observation, interview, and document review data to identify the factors that were most beneficial to this particular community of practice. Drawing on the research of communities of practice, constructivism, and leadership theory, these factors were articulated into five domains with the hope that, with further research, this framework could influence the creation of additional communities of practice between traditional public and charter school leaders.

This framework, including indicators and action steps to aid in creating a community of practice, identified five key factors: knowledge, relationships, authenticity, constructivism, and leadership. The convergence of these five domains pointed to two key take-aways: Communities of practice must create a risk-free environment in which sharing can occur so that participants can use storytelling as a vehicle for the exchange of ideas. Essential in creating this environment is the influence of a skilled facilitator who can drive these conversations. Ultimately, in sharing stories and building community, these communities of practice are meant to further the cause of a socially just education for all students regardless of the type of schools they attend.

The purpose of this study was to examine the extent to which factors influencing cognitive autonomy differed for "identified" and "not identified" troubled adolescents. One hundred and nineteen residential treatment youth aged 14 to 18 and 13 7 public high school adolescents were compared using the Cognitive Autonomy Self Evaluation (CASE) inventory, which examines five elements of cognitive autonomy including evaluative thinking, voicing opinions, decision making, self-assessing, and comparative validation. Findings reveal that generally cognitive autonomy did not differ according to troubled status. However, ninth-grade females at the traditional public high school rated themselves much higher in evaluative thinking, voicing opinions, decision-making, and self-assessing than the ninth-grade females at the residential treatment center. Implications for these findings and further recommendations were also discussed.

Democratic schools are learning institutions where students have a voice in the structure and organization of their learning. This school ethnography is a case study of a Brazilian public democratic elementary and middle school, Amorim Lima, in São Paulo. The purpose of the research was to understand the key elements of Amorim Lima’s innovative educational project. The theoretical framework for this research includes Paulo Freire’s theory of emancipatory education involving a narrative relationship between students and teachers as well as oral tradition scholars Amadou Hampaté-Bâ and Daniel Murunduku’s theories of learning in cultures of oral tradition. The study is also related to research in self-regulated learning and self-efficacy, self-directed learning and agency, and restorative justice in schools. Data was was collected for three months from participant observation at the school and short and long interviews with students, parents, and teachers. A central focus to the case study was the way members of the school community told their narratives. Participants recounted how student engagement and motivation have increased and how student conflict has decreased over the past 10 years as the school community has developed its democratic project. The first unique educational element that emerged from the research was the roteiro system of learning in which students complete all of their learning at their own pace through journals, texts, and an online platform. Through the self-paced tasks that require them to engage with texts and organize their own learning, students exhibited agency, curiosity, and self-efficacy in their learning. The second component of the school was the daily discussion circles called rodas de conversa in which students meet daily to freely discuss issues that impact them. The rodas de conversa are a way of solving conflict and building community in line with Freirian democratic education and the oral tradition. The third essential element of the Amorim Lima project was a set of school-wide community projects including a garden, festivals, and drum and music circles. Through these projects, students learned to value their heritage and community and described increased motivation to attend school. This case study shows that educational reform at the school level is possible within current public education systems and offers a uniquely Brazilian model for an inclusive, participatory school. The findings of this research may be useful for teachers and school leaders interested in innovative forms of learning, discipline, and community engagement in schools.

Thesis (Ed. D.)--University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, 2008.
Title from electronic title page (viewed Sep. 16, 2008). "... in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Education in the School of Education." Discipline: Education; Department/School: Education.

Educational Administration
Ed.D.
Two coinciding trends in education have given rise to this study: the political cycle of school reform and the heterogeneous nature of the charter school landscape. Since Minnesota became the first state to pass a charter law in 1991, the dramatic increase in the number of charter schools has provided opportunities for researchers to try to categorize the success of charter schools. Although the number of charter schools have almost doubled from 3,689 to 6,004 from 2005-2006 to 2012-2013, an average of approximately 500 charters have opened and more than 160 charter schools have closed per year during these eight years of the available data. However, students who attend charter schools do not have a monolithic educational experience. The purpose of this paper is to examine the perceptions of students and parents in relation to enrolling in a specific brick and mortar and several cyber charter schools, and if applicable, leaving said schools. This qualitative study explores the lived experiences of students and parents who reside in a rural public school district and chose to attend a cyber charter or brick and mortar charter school. Survey responses and information gathered from interviews of students and their parents/guardians were analyzed to illuminate the research questions. While the results will not be generalizable, this study has led to an understanding of what led these students to enroll in charter schools and if applicable, why they chose to leave. More specifically, three themes emerged from the data: (1) Family members, primarily mothers, significantly impacted students’ decisions to employ choice to enroll in charters; (2) The lack of extra-curricular activities in charters had a substantially negative impact on students’ experiences and (3) Educational quality was the foremost characteristic named in the determination to transfer out of a charter school. While there has been research on charter schools separate from studies on perceptions of school age children with respect to education programming, this examination indicates the need to unite charter research and student voice aspects within the realm of educational research.
Temple University--Theses

Thesis (MPA (Public Management and Planning))--University of Stellenbosch, 2010.
ENGLISH ABSTRACT: The Department of Health estimates that 80 percent of South Africans consult traditional healers before consulting modern medicine. The aim of this study is to investigate the extent of the use of traditional medicine in local communities in the Limpopo Province, and add value to a draft policy that was introduced by the Minister of Health. (South Africa, Department of Health 2007a) Traditional healers are regarded as an important national health resource. They share the same cultural beliefs and values as their patients. They are respected in their communities. In South Africa, traditional healers have no formal recognition as health care professionals. Despite the advantages of modern medicine, there is a dramatic evolution in traditional medicine developing and developed countries. In recognition of the value that traditional medicine has added to people’s health needs, government organisations have realised the gap and needed to embark on public participation to bring to light the solution, by implementing a relevant policy (Matomela 2004). According to research done by Pefile (2005), positive outcomes that resulted from the use of traditional medicine include a more holistic treatment, a wider choice of health care that suits people’s needs, and scientific advancement, this paves a way forward for a policy to be put into place for the legal recognition of traditional medicine. New legislations have been brought about in regulating traditional medicine and practitioners. This paper provides a synopsis of government initiatives to close the gap and address the concerns of integrating traditional and modern medicine. The thesis addresses the challenges involved in incorporating the two disciplines for the best possible impact of local communities in accessing their rights as vested in the constitution. The study is a qualitative study where relevant practicing traditional healers, users, Western doctors, nurses, managers and government policy makers were interviewed regarding the draft policy on traditional medicine. This was to obtain information on the challenges, gaps and possible solutions regarding the integration of African traditional medicine into the health care system of Southern Africa. Findings show the following: a majority of traditional healers do not agree to scientific trialling and testing on the herbs that they prescribe, and Western doctors feel that traditional healers should only treat patients spiritually unless they have a scientifically tested scope and limitations on their field. The study also found that traditional healers want to be registered and integrated into the health care system, but do not agree to have regulated price fixing. Other conclusions included that the communities seek traditional help for cultural reasons and more benevolent purposes, but are changing their focus towards seeking medical help from clinics where it is provided for them. However, people within the communities are still confused whether to seek traditional or western medicine and therefore seek both. It was found that medications are not readily available in district clinics and hospital waiting times force people into seeking traditional help. Nurses, doctors and caregivers acknowledge that traditional healers are hampering the health care of patients by delaying hospital treatment of patients hence progressing illnesses. However, they also state that traditional healers help people spiritually and mentally. Therefore policy makers have found solutions to educate healers and create regulatory boards to limit and create a scope of practice for traditional healers. Recommendations and solutions for the relevant policy are as follows: It is recommended that traditional health practitioners should only be allowed to practice and train over the age of 21. They must be prohibited from certain procedures, for example: drawing blood, treating cancers, and treating AIDS/HIV. They should only be allowed to practice midwifery if they have had training. They should be prohibited from administering injections and supervised drugs, unless trained at a tertiary level traditional healers can be used as home caregivers, spiritual healers, and traditional advice counselling entities in the communities. Traditional healers must be prevented from referring to themselves as a ‘doctor’ or ‘professor’. This misleads people into believing that they are allopathic doctors. ‘Traditional health practitioners’ must realise that they are holistic healers, and must be addressed as such. A strong recommendation is to rename ‘traditional health practitioners’ as ‘spiritual practitioners’. With regards to regulations, it must be imperative that every practicing traditional health practitioner be registered annually with the relevant board. A good suggestion is for traditional health practitioners (THP) to attend formal training courses, under an experienced herbalist, and it should be documented on paper. A written record of the location of practice, and specialty must also be documented. There must be policies on health and safety, hygiene and sterility that need to be in place. It is suggested that training on patient confidentially must be taught and implemented. A code of conduct and a standard of professional ethics must also be implemented. Health and safety regulations pertaining to the profession and the citizens must be listed. Efforts towards dispelling myths and making people aware, thereby filtering out the positive side of the traditional medicine (e.g. medical benefits with some herbs), and rooting out the ‘quack’ practices (e.g. the use of amulets around a patient’s body to cure diseases) should be practiced. Pertaining to co-operative relationships between modern medical doctors and traditional practitioners, it is recommended that the use of exchange workshops between the two professionals needs to be developed. Also scientific information and technology must be available to traditional healers. A continued professional development (CPD) programme should be a mandatory requirement, as for all other health care professionals. It seems the development of traditional hospitals, in which a scope of practice is defined, can be used as a recovery ward and a spiritual guidance centre. The above recommendations will encourage a healthier, safer and transparent health care system in South Africa, where all disciplines of medicine co-exist in one National Health Care System.
AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Nadat navorsing deur die Departement van Gesondheid gedoen is, is daar gevind dat 80 persent van Suid-Afrikaners tradisionele genesers besoek. Die doel van hierdie navorsing is om ondersoek te doen na die gebruik van tradisionele medisyne deur landelike gemeenskappe in die Limpopo Provinsie, en om ook ‘n bydrae te lewer tot die konsepbeleid wat deur die Minister van Gesondheid bekendgestel is (South Africa, Department of Health 2007a). Tradisionele genesers kan beskou word as ‘n belangrike hulpbron in die nasionale gesondheidsdiens. Hulle deel in kulturele gelowe en waardes van hulle pasiente en word ook gerespekteer in hulle gemeenskappe. Suid-Afrika egter, gee geen erkenning aan tradisionele genesers of die feit dat hulle in die gesondheidsdiens is nie. Ondanks die feit van moderne geneesmiddels, is daar ‘n dramatiese evolusie wat besig is om plaas te vind in die Westerse Wêreld. Die erkenning en waarde van tradisionele medisyne wat bydra tot mense se gesondheidkwaliteit, het daartoe gelei dat Staatsorganisasies begin insien het dat daar ‘n gaping is en dat publieke peilings gedoen word om ‘n oplossing te vind en ‘n beleidsdokument saam te stel wat tradisionele genesers insluit (Matomela 2004). Die ondersoek wat Pefile (2005) gedoen het, het positiewe resultate getoon by die gebruik van tradisionele medisyne wat ‘n holistiese behandeling in ‘n wyer verskeidendheid van medisyne insluit by gebruikers. Ook die wetenskaplike vooruitgang van tradisionele medisyne het daartoe bygedra dat ‘n beleidsdokument in plek gesit word vir die wettige erkenning daarvan. Nuwe wetgewing is in werking gestel om beheer uit te oefen oor tradisionele genesers en tradisionele medisyne. Hierdie dokument verskaf ‘n sinopsis van die Staat se inisiatiewe om die gaping tussen moderne medisyne en tradisionele medisyne aan te spreek en ook om landelike gemeenskappe toe te laat om hulle reg uit te oefen soos wat in die Grondwet vervat is. Die studie is kwalitatief waar relevante praktiserende tradisionele genesers, verbruikers, Westerse dokters, verpleegkundiges, bestuurders en staatsdiensbeleidvormers ondervra is oor ‘n konsep beleidsdokument oor tradisionele medisyne. Dit was gedoen om informasie rakende die uitdaging , gapings en 'n moontlike oplossing te vind vir die integrasie van Afrika se tradisionele medisyne in die gesondheidsorgsisteem van Suidelike Afrika. Belangrike bevindings sluit die volgende in: die meerdeerheid tradisionele genesers stem nie saam dat wetenskaplike toetse gedoen word op kruie wat hulle voorskryf nie; tradisionele genesers will geregisteer en geïntegreer word in die gesondheidsorgsisteem maar stem nie saam oor prysregulering en prysvasstelling nie; Westerse dokters is van mening dat tradisionele genesers net pasiënte geestelik moet kan behandel tensy hulle ‘n wetenskaplik getoetse doel en beperkings in hulle veld het; Westerse dokters glo dat tradisionele genesers dwarsboom die gesondheidsorgsisteem deurdat hulle behandeling vetraag; die gemeenskap soek tradisionele hulp op vir kulturele redes en ander welwillendheidsredes maar gaan soek mediese hulp by klinieke waar dit aan hulle verskaf word; mense van gemeenskappe is verward en raadpleeg beide tradisionele genesers en Westerse dokters vir hulp; sommige medisyne is nie altyd by klinieke beskikbaar nie en mense sien nie kans om in lang rye te wag by hospitale nie en dit noop dat hulle tradisionele medisyne gebruik; verpleegkundiges en gesondheidswerkers erken dat tradisionele genesers mense vertraag om gesondheidsorg en behandeling by hospitale te kry, maar verstaan ook dat tradisionele genesers aan mense geestelike hulp verleen; en besleidskrywers moet oplossings vind om tradisionele genesers op te voed en om komitees te stig wat tradisionele genesers se ruimte van praktisering in toom te hou. Die volgende word as voorstelle tot aanpassing van die genoemde beleidsdokument geïdentifiseer:- Tradisionele genesers mag alleenlik praktiseer en opleiding verskaf na die ouderdom van 21 jaar. Hulle moet verbied word om sekere prosedures, byvoorbeeld die trek van bloed; behandeling van HIV/VIGS; om voor te gee dat hulle mediese praktisyns is; om vroedvroue te wees slegs indien gekwalifiseer daartoe; om inspuitings toe te dien en medisyne uit te reik slegs indien hulle tersiëre opleiding gehad het. Tradisionele genesers se dienste kan gebruik word as gemeenskapsgesondheid hulpwerkers, geestelike genesers, en kan tradisionele advies en begeleiding aan die gemeenskap lewer. Tradisionele genesers moet belet word om die titels “Dokter” en “Professor" te gebruik. Tradisionele genesers moet daarop let dat hulle holistiese genesers is en moet daarvolgens aangespreek word. Hulle moenie pasiënte mislei deur voor te gee dat hulle allopatiese geneeshere is nie. “Tradisionele genesers” moet hernoem word na “geestelike genesers”. Tradisionele genesers moet by ‘n erkende organisasie geregistreer word en moet so-ook jaarliks registrasie hernu. Formele onderrig wat deur ‘n ervare kruiegeneser aangebeid word moet bygewoon en gedokumenteer word. ‘n Geskrewe rekord van die ligging van die praktyk en betrokke spesialisering moet bygehou word. Beleidsvoorskrifte wat verband hou met gesondheid en veiligheid, hygiene en sterilisasie moet in die tradisionele gesondheidgeneserspraktyk geïmplementeer word. Opleiding in pasiëntkonfidensialiteit moet aangeleer en toegepas word. Samewerking en werkswinkels tussen moderne mediese dokters en tradisionele gesondheidgenesers moet geïmplementeer en ontwikkel word. Mediese wetenskapsinligting en tegnologie moet aan tradisionele genesers bekendgemaak word. Voorts moet ‘n voortgesette professionele ontwikkelingsprogram (POP) aan alle gesondheidswerkers voorgeskryf word. Dit blyk wenslik te wees om tradisionele hospitale tot stand te bring waar die bestek van praktyk gedefinieer word. Sulke hospitale kan dien as plekke waar pasiënte aansterk en geestelike onderskraging geniet. ‘n Etiese kode en standaard vir professionele etiek moet geskep word vir tradisionele genesers. Gesondheids- en sekureitsregulasies moet van toepassing wees en geïmplementeer word. Pasiënte moet ingelig word oor die wegdoen van mites en fabels. Daardeur kan die positiewe sy van tradisionele medisyne (byvoorbeeld mediese voordele van kruie), en uitroei van “kwakke” (byvoorbeeld dra van gelukbringers om die lywe), verdryf word. Dit sal die aanmoediging van ‘n gesonder, sekuriteitbewuste en deursigtige gesondheidsorg sisteem bewerkstellig in Suid-Afrika waar alle dissiplines van medisyne saam bestaan in die Nasionale Gesondheidsorgsisteem.

The purpose of the study is to explore relationships among elementary school students&
#8217
gender, relevant prior knowledge, meaningful learning orientation, reasoning ability, self-efficacy, locus of control, attitudes toward science and achievement in genetics in learning cycle and traditional classrooms. The study was conducted on 213 8th grade students from eight classes of two public elementary schools in Ankara in 2005-2006 Spring-semester. Students in the experimental group (N=104) received learning cycle instruction that helps students acquire conceptual understanding of scientific concepts, and the students in the control group (N=109) received traditional instruction. The students were given Genetics Achievement Test as a pre-test before and as a post-test after the instruction. Students were also given Learning Approach Questionnaire that measures students&
#8217
learning orientations and Test of Logical Thinking that determines students&
#8217
reasoning abilities. Students&
#8217
levels of self-efficacy, locus of control and their attitudes toward science also were measured. One-way ANOVA analysis revealed that learning cycle instruction improved students&
#8217
achievement in genetics compared to traditional instruction. Stepwise multiple regression analysis revealed that in learning cycle classrooms, the main predictors of achievement in genetics were students&
#8217
meaningful learning orientation (49.6%) and their attitudes toward science (11.8%). In traditional classrooms, students&
#8217
attitudes toward science (44%) and reasoning ability (9.8%) were the main predictors of achievement while remaining 5.7% of the variance explained by relevant prior knowledge, locus of control and meaningful learning orientation. This study revealed that different variables may be important for 8th grade students&
#8217
genetics achievement in learning cycle and traditional classes.

The purpose of the study is to investigate the relative effect of problem-based learning (PBL) and traditionally designed science instruction (TDSI) on students&rsquo
academic achievement and performance skills in the unit of genetics after controlling for students&rsquo
prior knowledge, prior performance skills, reasoning ability, and learning approach. The sample consisted of 192 eight grade students from a public elementary school in Ankara. Four classes instructed by two science teachers were randomly assigned as experimental and control groups. The experimental group students were taught the subject through PBL, while the control group students received the TDSI. Students in experimental group dealt with ill-structured problems based on real-life working in small groups and individually. On the other hand, students in control group received an instruction based on teacher explanations and textbooks. Genetics Achievement Test, Test of Logical Thinking, and Learning Approach Questionnaire were administered as pre-tests to students in both groups to determine their prior knowledge and prior performance skills, reasoning ability, and learning approach, respectively. After the treatment, Genetics Achievement Test was administered again as a post-test to compare the effectiveness of PBL and TDSI on students&rsquo
achievement and performance skills in Genetics. Multivariate Analysis of Covariance (MANCOVA) was used to investigate the effect of problem based learning and traditionally designed science instruction on students&rsquo
academic achievement and performance skills in Genetics when students&rsquo
prior knowledge, prior performance skills, logical thinking abilities and learning approaches are controlled. Results of the study revealed that students in PBL classes had higher mean scores on Genetics Achievement Test developed to measure academic achievement and performance skills in the unit of genetics. Therefore, the PBL students appeared to be better compared to the TDSI students in terms of genetics understanding and at using relevant information in addressing the problem, articulating uncertainties, organizing concepts, and interpreting information.

Thesis (MPhil)--Stellenbosch University, 2012.
ENGLISH ABSTRACT: This thesis uses local narratives to explore relationships between agrarian landscapes, agrarian land use practices and the traditional cultural perspectives of traditional amaMpondo farming communities living along Pondoland‟s Wild Coast, on the East Coast of South Africa. This endeavour is based on theories that propose that human behaviour, including agrarian practice, is influenced by complex socio-cultural factors that shape cultural values, knowledge and world-views, and that are reflected in cultural narratives, and these influence the way different cultures relate to the surrounding environment. As a consequence of these cultural influences, different cultures use and shape the landscape in unique, culturally determined ways. Consequently, in human impacted landscapes attention needs to be paid to how cultural world-views, practices, customs and value systems influence the land use practices of the people inhabiting those landscapes. Amongst traditional communities with a long history of habitation within particular landscapes, traditional land use practices and customs, including agrarian practices, need to be understood from the perspective of the opportunities and constraints that particular environments present. Literature shows that a failure to understand relationships between culture and land use can led to the imposition of unsuitable development practices and policy on traditional cultures, and this can undermine cultural, agricultural and ecological diversity and lead to unsustainable models of development (Naveh, 1995; Antrop, 2005; Antrop, 2000; Capra, 2003; Capra, 1996; Nusser, 2001; Harding, S. 2006). Given the need to address development and agricultural practices that perpetuate unsustainable land use, an understanding of the nature of influencing relationships between landscape, land use and culture is particularly important Despite the debilitating influences of a colonial history, many rural communities along the Pondoland Wild Coast still retain a strong sense of cultural identity that has deep roots in a traditional agrarian system, and this has given rise to a unique indigenous landscape. This study of traditional amaMpondo farming communities presents an opportunity to gain insights into how different cultural perspectives might shape and utilize the landscape and lead to alternative land use systems than the dominant industrial norm.
AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Hierdie tesis gebruik plaaslike narratiewe om die verhoudings tussen agrariese landskappe, landbou grondgebruik en die tradisionele kulturele perspektiewe van tradisionele amaMpondo boerdery gemeenskappe wat langs die Pondolandse Wildekus, aan die ooskus van Suid-Afrika voorkom te verken. Hierdie strewe is gebaseer op teorieë wat voorstel dat menslike gedrag, insluitende agrariese praktyk, beïnvloed word deur die komplekse sosio-kulturele faktore wat kulturele waardes, kennis en wêreldbeskouings vorm, en wat weerspieël word in die kulturele verhale, wat dan weer invloed het op die wyse waarop die verskillende kulture verband hou met die omliggende omgewing. As gevolg van hierdie kulturele invloede, maak verskillende kulture in unieke, kultureel bepaalde wyse gebruik van die landskap. Gevolglik, in landskappe wat deur die mens beïnvloed word, moet aandag geskenk word aan hoe kulturele wêreldbeskouings, praktyke, gewoontes en die waarde stelsels die mense in hierdie provinsies se landgebruik be-invloed. Tradisionele praktyke en kulture waaronder agrariese praktyke ingesluit is, moet in die tradisionele gemeenskappe wat 'n lang geskiedenis het van habitasie binne bepaalde landstreke, verstaan word vanuit die perspektief van geleenthede en beperkings wat hierdie besondere omgewings verteenwoordig. Litteratuur toon dat die versuim om die verhoudings tussen kultuur en grondgebruik te verstaan, kan lei tot die oplegging van ongeskikte ontwikkelings praktyke en beleid op tradisionele kulture. Dit kan' n kultuur-, landbou-en ekologiese diversiteit ondermyn en lei tot onvolhoubare modelle van ontwikkeling (Naveh, 1995; Antrop, 2005; Antrop, 2000, Capra, 2003; Capra, 1996; Nusser, 2001; Harding, S. 2006). Om die behoefte te vul wat ontwikkeling en landbou-praktyke wat nie-volhoubare grondgebruik perpetueer, is 'n goeie begrip van die aard van die beïnvloedings verhoudings tussen landskap, grondgebruik en kultuur veral belangrik. Ten spyte van die kreupelende invloed van 'n koloniale geskiedenis, het baie landelike gemeenskappe langs die Wildekus van Pondoland nog steeds' n sterk gevoel van kulturele identiteit wat diep wortels in 'n tradisionele agrariese stelsel het. Dit het aanleiding gegee tot' n unieke inheemse landskap. Hierdie studie van die tradisionele amaMpondo boerdery gemeenskappe bied 'n geleentheid aan om insig te verkry in hoe verskillende kulturele perspektiewe van die landskap kan vorm en gebruik maak en lei tot' n alternatiewe grondgebruik as die dominante industriële norm.

The purpose of the study was to investigate the relative effect of problem based learning with a non local perspective (PBL1), problem based learning with a local perspective (PBL2) and traditionally designed environmental education (TRD) lectures on elementary school (7th grade) students&rsquo
environmental attitude
specifically by the 3 dimensions as
general environmental awareness, general attitude toward solutions, and awareness of individual responsibility. The sample consisted of 95 7th grade students from a public elementary school in Nigde. Three classes instructed by the same science teacher are randomly assigned as control group and experimental groups. All the groups were taught the topic &ldquo
Why do ecosystems change?&rdquo
for four weeks. On the other hand, the control group was taught through TRD, one of the experimental groups was taught through PBL with a non local perspective, and the other experimental group was taught through PBL with a local perspective. Students in TRD group received an instruction based on teacher explanations and textbooks. On the other hand, the experimental groups dealt with ill- structured real life problems working in small groups. The problem of PBL1 group was selected as &ldquo
the declining environmental conditions of Manyas Lake&rdquo
and the problem of PBL2 group was selected as &ldquo
the declining v environmental conditions of Akkaya Dam in Nigde&rdquo
to create a non local / local difference between the experimental groups. Environmental Attitude Questionnaire (EAQ) was administered to all groups as pre-test to determine the prior environmental attitude. The worksheets, on the other hand, used by experimental groups in their group work were examined to reveal the quality of the process. After the treatment, EAQ was administered to all groups as a post-test to compare the effectiveness of PBL1, PBL2 and TRD on students&rsquo
environmental attitude. Analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) was performed to investigate the effect of traditionally designed EE, Problem Based designed EE, and Problem Based with a local perspective designed EE on students&rsquo
general environmental awareness, awareness of individual responsibility and general attitude toward solutions when students&rsquo
prior general environmental awareness, prior awareness of individual responsibility and prior general attitude toward solutions are controlled. The results of the study revealed that, students in PBL2 group had significantly more positive environmental attitudes in general environmental awareness and general attitude toward solutions dimensions than TRD group and in all three dimensions of the questionnaire than PBL1 group. Moreover, TRD group had significantly more positive attitude than PBL1 group in students&rsquo
awareness of individual responsibility determined after the treatment.

This study was conducted to investigate the effect of analogy-enhanced instruction on students&rsquo
achievement in function and attitudes toward mathematics. The study was conducted with 63 ninth grade students in one of the public high schools in Konya, Turkey during Spring 2005 semester. The experimental group received instruction with analogy-enhanced model. The control group received instruction with traditional method. The matching-only pre-test- post-test control group design was used in the study. The following measuring instruments were used to collect data: The Function Achievement Test, Mathematics Attitude Scale and open ended questions. The data of the present study were analyzed by using Multivariate Analysis of Variance (MANOVA) and paired t-test. Results of the study indicated that: (1) There was a significant mean difference between students received instruction with analogy-enhanced models and those received instruction with traditional method in terms of the function achievement, (2) there was no significant mean difference between students received instruction with analogy-enhanced models and those received instruction with traditional method in terms of attitudes toward mathematics, (3) there was a significant mean difference between gained scores of students received instruction with analogy-enhanced method and those received instruction with traditional method in terms of attitudes toward mathematics.

The main purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of creative drama based instruction on seventh grade students&rsquo
achievement in ratio and proportion concepts and their attitudes toward mathematics. Another purpose of this study was to investigate students&rsquo
self-reported views related to creative drama based instruction. The study was conducted in a public school in Kö
rfez-Kocaeli with a total of 58 seventh grade students, lasting 12 lesson hours (three weeks). Thirty of the participants received Creative Drama Based Instruction (CDBI), and twenty-eight received Traditional Instruction (TI). The data were collected through Ratio and Proportion Achievement Test (RPAT), Mathematics Attitude Scale (MAS), and interviews. The RPAT and MAS were administered as both pretest and posttest. In addition, interviews were conducted with the ten randomly selected students. The quantitative analyses were carried out by using One-Way Analysis of Covariance (ANCOVA) with covariate preRPAT and dependent variable postRPAT at the significance level 0.05. Moreover, independent samples t-test was performed on gain scores of MAS. The results of the study indicated that there was a statistically significant mean difference between the students who received creative drama based instruction and traditional instruction in terms of achievement in ratio and proportion concepts and in terms of gain scores of attitudes toward mathematics, in favor of CDBI. Furthermore, according to the interview responses of the experimental group students, significantly better performance of the experimental group students was attributable to the potential of the creative drama based instruction to provide actively involvement, work with friends and collaboratively and providing selfawareness.

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Para os povos indígenas, a escola se instalou como um processo exógeno às comunidades originárias. As críticas partem do pressuposto de que adaptar um currículo existente não é o mesmo que criar uma escola com processos próprios de aprendizagem. Em um currículo adaptado, é suprimido, muitas vezes, viver a própria educação. É uma diferença acentuada quando se busca compreender e administrar o tempo, a cosmologia, os símbolos e os ritos. O estudo se propôs entender a participação da comunidade indígena nas propostas de educação. Enquanto o governo propõe uma política engessada, o indígena diz que o ser humano desvalorizou as outras formas de leitura e de escrita do mundo e impôs seus próprios olhares e métodos científicos. Fez crer que sua escrita era mais perfeita do que culturas infinitamente mais antigas. Os ensinamentos são transferidos de forma espontânea entre os membros da tribo, sem a necessidade das figuras específicas de quem ensina e de quem aprende. Esta perspectiva não caracteriza um detentor do saber, e não há limite físico do espaço de aprendizagem, ou seja, toda aldeia é local para interagir e aprender. O estudo é uma pesquisa qualitativa que buscou compreender os anseios da comunidade Coxilha da Cruz na escola Escola Estadual Indígena Ensino Fundamental Tekoa Porã à proposta de escolarização do governo do Estado do Rio Grande do Sul e a importância de sua participação nos processos de decisão. A metodologia aplicada é um Estudo de Caso, que contou com a observação participante, pesquisa documental e entrevista semiestruturada como instrumentos de coleta de dados. O trabalho está estruturado em três capítulos. O primeiro, intitulado ‘A proposta de Educação Pública do Estado para os Povos Indígenas’, seguido de ‘Aprendizagens na Cultura Mbyá Guarani’, e finaliza com um capítulo chamado ‘Encontro com o povo Mbyá Guarani da aldeia Coxilha da Cruz’. Para a apresentação histórica dos movimentos indigenistas no Brasil, as referências principais são Rosane Freire Lacerda (2007), Manuela Carneiro da Cunha (1993), Silvio Coelho Santos (2004) e Fábio K. Comparato (2007), que auxiliaram no conhecimento da história, das políticas indigenistas, do direito e da cidadania dos povos indígena no Brasil. Na problematização das ações afirmativas para a promoção da educação escolar indígena, utilizei prioritariamente os seguintes autores: Antonio Hilário Aguilera Urquiza (2010), Adir Casaro Nascimento (2010), José Ribamar Bessa Freire (2004), Luís Donisete Benzi Grupioni (2000), Aracy Lopes da Silva (2000), Wilmar da Rocha D’Angelis (1999), Maria Aparecida Bergamaschi (2005), que escrevem sobre os contextos políticos e administrativos da Educação Escolar Indígena e os processos interculturais gerados pela institucionalização da escola para os indígenas. A escola na aldeia se organiza com a matriz de uma escola ocidental, mas que escapa à rigidez, pois possui seu próprio tempo em seu próprio espaço. Constrói sua identidade pelo viver Guarani.
For the indigenous, the school settled as an exogenous process originating communities. The criticisms are based on the assumption that adapt an existing curriculum is not the same as creating a school with own learning process. In an adapted curriculum, is suppressed, often, live his own education. It's a marked difference when it tries to understand and manage the time, cosmology, the symbols and rites. The study set out to understand the participation of the indigenous community education proposals. While the Government proposes a policy in a cast, the indigenous says the man was devalued the other forms of reading and writing the world and imposed their own looks and scientific methods. Did believe that his writing was more perfect than infinitely older cultures. The teachings are passed spontaneously among tribe members, without the need of specific figures who teaches and learns. This perspective does not features a holder of knowledge, and there is no physical limit of the learning space, namely, the whole village is place to interact and learn. The study is a qualitative research that sought to understand the aspirations of the community school cross EEIEF Coxilha Tekoa However the proposal of education of the Government of the State of Rio Grande do Sul and the importance of their participation in decision process. The methodology applied is a case study, participant observation, documentary research and semi-structured interview data collection instruments. The work is structured in three chapters. The first, titled ' the proposal for State Public Education for indigenous peoples ', followed by ' Mbyá Guarani culture Learning ', and ends with a chapter called ' encounter with the Mbyá Guarani people of village Coxilha da Cruz '. For the historical presentation of the indigenous movement in Brazil, the main references are Rosane Freire Lacerda (2007), Manuela Carneiro da Cunha (1993), Silvio Coelho Santos (2004) and Fábio k. Comparato (2207), which assisted in the knowledge of history, indigenous policies, law and indigenous peoples ' citizenship in Brazil. On questioning of affirmative actions for the promotion of indigenous school education, used primarily the following authors: Antonio Hilário Aguilera Urquiza (2010), Adir Casaro Nascimento (2010), José Ribamar Bessa Freire (2004), Luís Donisete Benzi Grupioni (2000), Aracy Lopes da Silva (2000), Wilmar da Rocha D’Angelis (1999), Maria Aparecida Bergamaschi (2005), writing about the political and administrative contexts of Indigenous school education and intercultural processes generated by the institutionalization of school for indigenous peoples. The school in the village is organized with the matrix of a Western school, but who escapes the rigidity, because it has its own time in their own space. Build your identity through live Guarani.

Attempts to improve retention, interest, and enrollment of females in Technology & Engineering Education courses have included a variety of approaches including female-only classes. However, the implications of such courses have not been thoroughly investigated. Therefore, an investigation of female-only classes was undertaken; the findings revealed that the overall enrollment of females went up in the course and in subsequent classes, these students maintained their interests and attitudes towards Technology and Engineering, their perceptions of an engineer's gender changed from that of mostly male to mostly female, and their concepts of what an engineer does changed from mostly building or fixing things to that of mostly someone who designs. This study used two instruments: the Technology Engineering Attitude Survey (TEAS) and the Draw an Engineer Test (DAET). The population of the study was 7th grade middle school students. They were placed into two groups: the control being the mixed male female engineering and technology classes, and the treatment being the all-female students enrolled in the same engineering technology course.

abstract: This study describes how the concept of “community” is framed in traditional public and charter high school guiding statements and interviews with school leaders. Guiding statements from public high schools in Arizona were analyzed and interviews were conducted with principals from traditional public schools and charter school principals. The findings suggested similarities between traditional public high schools and charter high schools in their framing of the concept of community, suggesting that schools are loosely coupled to state and federal education departments in particular, and to varying degrees at the district level: The guiding statements and high school leaders generally distinguished between the “school as community” frame inside the school and the “the local community” frame focused on the community outside of the school. Both traditional public high schools and charter schools emphasized the importance of both frames and their connections with “the local community.” Differences between traditional public schools and charter schools were observed, as schools appeared to attempt to legitimize themselves in different ways to the communities they are located in. Despite open enrollment policies leading to inter-district enrollment, traditional public schools have a mandate to primarily serve students from a specific area and were framed in the guiding statements and by school leaders as being part of and serving a geographically defined community that they have close ties to, the “school as a member of community” frame. Charter schools, on the other hand, focused on creating and serving a specific educational community characterized by shared interests, ideals, and expectations (‘school as community”) and contributing to the community that the school is located in (“school as a contributor to community”).
Dissertation/Thesis
Doctoral Dissertation Educational Policy and Evaluation 2018

School reforms in New Orleans have brought sweeping changes to the way public schools are governed and managed, and to the way in which students are assigned to public schools. Non-profit charter school boards now govern over 90% of public schools, and families are able to choose the public school in which they enroll. Competition within the system of schools is expected to compel schools to differentiate themselves from each other in order to attract and retain students. School-level budgetary data provide one source of information with which to examine the priorities schools establish as they seek to differentiate themselves. There is a significant body of research comparing the resource allocation patterns in traditional public schools to those in charter schools. Often, however, these comparisons are drawn between schools that do not operate in a single educational marketplace. Rather, they compare schools within different geographic areas that may not be in direct competition with each other. Many of the studies also fail to distinguish between non-network charter schools and those run by centralized charter school networks. This quantitative case study uses the New Orleans public school marketplace as a critical case for examining how governance and management structures impact school spending. Specifically, the study aims to identify, describe, and understand whether and how school-level resource allocation patterns differ across schools of different governance and management structures, and how those patterns might be influenced by market competition. This research uses linear regression models to estimate differences in resource allocation between traditional public and charter schools in the educational marketplace, after controlling for student and school-level characteristics. School expenditures are examined over a variety of expense categories and human resource indicators. Data from New Orleans suggest that privatization and decentralization have a significant impact on how resources are allocated at the school level. Importantly, however, no significant spending differences emerge when data are aggregated to the level of the local education agency. In other words, spending in the traditional public school district, charter management organizations, and single site charter schools appear similar, irrespective of governance and management structure of those organizations.

碩士
開南大學
商學院碩士在職專班
100
The general affairs are the main tasks for supporting the educational activities in a public elementary school, and the construction projects procurement often are the most important part among them. However, some teachers may be requested to sever as the adjunct staffs of general affairs section, and they maybe lack the experiences and abilities for handling these professional processes and operations. Therefore, it may produce ill-performed results in quality control or contract dispute of construction projects frequently. As a result these adjunct staffs of general affairs section often lie in the risk of duty punishment. The previous literatures seldom focused on risk impacts of contract patterns by standpoints of procurement entity. This research aims to recognize the risk factors of contract pattern by analyzing the features of public elementary school and the procurement process. It identifies 10 risk factors in the traditional contract and 9 risk factors in the turnkey contract, and then calculates the rankings of importance and priority of the identified risk factors from interviewing 14 experienced staffs by fuzzy linguistic preference relations (FLPR) approach. Furthermore, the likelihood ratings of these risk factors were combined by the same experts to construct the risk matrices which were plotted on a two dimensional graph depicting impact (on the x-axis) and likelihood (on the y-axis). The risk matrices will indicate the potential character of risks of construction project by traditional and turnkey contract, and then can provide the procurement personnel to prevent or alleviate the risks they may face.