The role of ethnic culture in work-family balance among Armenian women in leadership positions in higher education

Baran, Hasmig University of Southern California 2012 해외박사(DDOD)

In contemporary society women leaders in education have struggled to balance work and family. While some women have succeeded in finding that balance, many others are still struggling. The purpose of this qualitative study was to examine the experiences of three Armenian women in senior-level leadership positions in higher education in the United States with dual roles as professionals and homemakers. The study dwelt on four research questions: 1) What challenges do Armenian women in senior-level leadership positions in higher education face in balancing work and family life? 2) What support systems do Armenian women in senior-level leadership positions in higher education perceive to be helpful in achieving work-family balance? 3) What strategies do Armenian women in senior-level leadership positions in higher education employ to balance work-family life? 4) What role does ethnic culture, as a support system play in achieving work-family balance for Armenian women in senior-level leadership positions in higher education?. The study revealed the following challenges that these women faced in maintaining work-family balance: the demands and responsibilities of their dual roles as professionals and homemakers; gender stereotypes; making choices in professional compromises and personal sacrifices. These challenges were met through family, professional, institutional, and community support. Armenian ethnic culture, in particular, proved to be an important factor that lent support to the success of the three women under study in achieving work-family balance. The strategies that the three women adopted were likewise instrumental in finding and maintaining work-family balance. Those strategies included applying democratic and participatory leadership; communicating openly with family members; managing time effectively; putting things into perspective; planning and sharing plans; making a conscious effort to learn from others' experiences; integrating roles. Finally, this study underscored the implications for policy and practice in higher education as it pertained to women in senior-level positions, and made several recommendations for future research.

After the recovery: Understanding education policy shifts in Rwanda, 1998--2012

Ehrenberg, Steven Teachers College, Columbia University 2016 해외박사(DDOD)

This is a qualitative case study of post-conflict Rwandan education policy development. It analyzes the Rwandan education policy subsystem over a 14 year period, with particular attention given to the dynamics between Rwandan state actors and donors in the education sector, and on tracking the flow of policy ideas and discourse as it flows from external reference societies to the Rwandan education sector. The analysis focuses on the period following Rwanda's recovery from 1994 genocide, beginning in 1998 with the launch of a process that was to culminate in the adoption of the first post-conflict education policy, and ending in 2012. The study provides insights into belief systems of the coalitions driving education policy shifts in Rwanda and how those belief systems intersected with each other. This case study contributes to the Advocacy Coalition Framework (ACF), a theory of policy change, by describing an understudied case; redefining the gap in ACF case studies as categorical (lacking in civil society) rather than geographical (lacking in African cases); and proposing to redefine ACF variables to mitigate a bias towards pluralist democracies. It also contributes to a rising research agenda within literature on education and fragility by describing a case with common post-conflict variables (a steadily strengthening state; a ruling party composed mostly of a minority ethnic group; ongoing conflict at state borders) so that future meta-analyses can identify common patterns and characteristics of educational policy development among comparable cases. Finally, this study contributes specifically to an understanding of the politics of Rwandan educational development by describing meso-level policy making during the post-recovery period, whereas previous literature focused on the recovery period, macro-level analyses of donor-state relations, and micro-level policy analyses. It highlights how education policies, such as basic education policy, can be aligned discursively and with donor dollars, while simultaneously advancing local agendas through public expenditure on education.

Predictors of special education referral: Child characteristics and state pre-kindergarten quality

Nugent, Linda The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill 2007 해외박사(DDOD)

Past research has demonstrated that attending high quality early education programs is associated with the reduction of later need for special education services. However, little research has looked specifically at how different program characteristics affect these outcomes. Additionally, no research has examined such associations within the state-funded pre-kindergarten programs that have recently become more widespread. The current study aimed to add to the literature by exploring the potential benefits of state-funded pre-kindergarten programs for children who are at-risk for needing later special education services. More specifically, the study had three purposes: (1) to identify early social and academic skills that serve as predictors of special education referral at the end of kindergarten, among children without individualized education plans (IEPs) at entry to pre-kindergarten, (2) to investigate the associations between classroom quality in state-funded pre-kindergarten programs and special education status for this group of children, and (3) to examine whether classroom quality moderates the relation between young children's skills and later special education placement. To explore these issues the present study draws from the National Center for Early Development and Learning's (NCEDL) Multi-State Study of Pre-Kindergarten and the State-Wide Early Education Programs (SWEEP) study. Combined, these studies offer a sample of nearly 3,000 children from over 700 classrooms in state-funded pre-kindergarten programs in 11 states. Participants were followed longitudinally throughout their pre-kindergarten and kindergarten years. No study participants had an IEP at the start of pre-kindergarten. Results suggest that academic and social skills at the start of pre-kindergarten predict special education placement at the end of kindergarten. Specifically, both lower language and social skills were related to greater chance of later referral for special education services. Results did not support an association of classroom quality and special education status. Similarly, support was not found for an interaction between abilities of young children and classroom quality, and later special education. Limitations of the present study and implications for future research are discussed.

(The) role of ICT for the rights of child to education in the context of education in emergencies

조유진 Graduate School of International Studies, Korea Un 2020 국내석사

Numbers of forcibly displaced persons has reached a peak since World War Ⅱ. In such circumstances, the rights of child to education are seriously violated as there is a lack of access to education. Only about half of all refugee children attend primary school. Also, traditional educational settings, such as schools, are extremely damaged. In order to cope with this human rights crisis, Information and Communications Technology (ICT) is being highlighted as an innovative solution. Due to its unique characteristics, ICT enables children to access quality education in any circumstance. However, simply providing ICT to children cannot promote their rights to education. In order to fulfill the rights of child to education in the context of education in emergencies, ICT based education should consider the following factors that encompass development and human rights perspectives: 1) implementing contextualized hardware, 2) developing adequate software (curriculum), 3) providing teacher training, 4) improving parents’ perceptions, 5) developing non-formal education that is complementary to formal education, 6) ensuring maintenance, 7) inclusion and non-discrimination, 8) participation and empowerment, and 9) accountability and transparency. ICT can play a pivotal role in resolving this human rights crisis, but only if the right questions and elements are considered before, during, and after the implementation of ICT based education. Lastly, the role of private actors and the need for cooperation with traditional developmental actors are underlined for better implementation of ICT for the promotion of rights of child to education in emergencies.

International students and internationalization of higher education in Japan: Interpretive study with policy makers and international educators

Horie, Miki University of Minnesota 2003 해외박사(DDOD)

This interpretive study explored the experiences of Japanese policy-makers and international educators regarding the national policy on international student since the 1980's. This study also illustrated the meaning of internationalization of higher education from Japanese perspectives, and summarized suggestions for future policy-making and implementation. Data collection was done through in-depth and semi-structured interviews. The interviewees include 14 individuals, either teaching or administrative staff members of Japanese universities. Three policy-makers were former governmental committee members. Eleven international educators were active members of a professional organization for international education. The following themes emerged through thematic analysis. Policy-makers' experiences at the governmental committee meetings were characterized by (1) target number as a slogan and (2) bureaucrat-dominant politics. International educators' experiences differed between perspectives of national and private universities. International educators at national universities experienced (1) confusion caused by the gaps between the government's priorities and international educators' principles and (2) partial advancement of university reforms. The private university perspective articulated (1) school mission as a motivation for expanding international education, (2) leadership making a difference, and (3) neglected by the government. International educators from both national and private universities also expressed their understandings about the process of becoming international educators: (1) started from new, isolated, and unknown job responsibilities, (2) eye-opening experiences with the international educators in the United States, and (3) appreciation for happening to become an international educator. Three themes emerged about the meanings of internationalization of higher education from Japanese perspectives: (1) returning university education to its original functions, (2) an adjustment process to the surrounding global society, and (3) an alteration of the goal of university education. The interviewees' opinions for further policy-making and implementation were summarized into five suggestions for the government and three for universities. These mainly suggest that the government shift its goal from quantity-oriented to quality assurance and that each university make its own institutional policy about international education. The implications propose a Japanese model of internationalization, bridging gaps between the government and universities, and training specialists in international education and in order to utilize their leadership for future university reforms in Japan.

The perceptions of Minnesota's community education directors and Minnesota community education citizen leaders regarding the integrative and instructional functions of four ordered imperatives in community education

Whitesell, Gayle Jasmin University of Minnesota 2000 해외박사(DDOD)

The purpose of the study, which focused on Minnesota, was threefold. The first was to describe the perceptions of Community Education directors toward the integrative and instructional functions of Community Education. The second was to compare those director perceptions with those of Community Education advisory council leaders regarding the integrative and instructional functions of Community Education. The third was to ascertain the perceptions of the directors and citizen leaders toward a set of philosophical imperatives basic to Community Education. The research questions were based on the above threefold purpose of the study. Director and leadership perceptions were obtained through a mailed survey designed to elicit information on the two functions of Community Education as contained in the setting of the four imperatives. Follow-up phone interviews and focus groups were conducted to give depth and meaning to the survey responses. The qualitative data go “beyond mere statistical entries” by focusing on the philosophical functions of Community Education. The differences and similarities of perceptions of the lay leader and the professional director regarding the functions of Community Education should provide practical information. Certain research needs such as trends, emerging models, successes, barriers, self-reported norms were addressed. Data were collected, analyzed and interpreted so as to be useful in the study, the planning, the evaluation and the training aspects of Community Education.

Art education and disability studies perspectives on mental illness discourses

Derby, John K The Ohio State University 2009 해외박사(DDOD)

This dissertation critically examines mental illness discourses through the intersecting disciplinary lenses of art education and disability studies. Research from multiple disciplines is compared and theorized to uncover the ways in which discourses, or language systems, have oppressively constructed and represented "mental illness." To establish interdisciplinary common ground, art education research on disability and disability studies research on art practices are reviewed and juxtaposed. Building on these reviews, art education and disability studies discourses are critically examined and elaborated to advance anti-oppressive scholarship on mental illness. In particular, I examine art education's adoption of special education language, and I explore the limited employment of art practices within disability studies. As an interdisciplinary example, I write about my experience of mental illness and some of the art processes I have used to make sense of mental illness as both a stigmatizing label and as a matter of complex embodiment. My research shows that oppressive, ableist discourses persist in such diverse forms as popular visual culture and special education legislation, while art education and disability studies are generally invested in challenging oppression. Such discourses reinforce stigma by misrepresenting mental illness and by excluding first-hand perspectives of people who experience mental illness and subsequent stigma. Disability studies scholars have used performance and writing to critically express self-revealing, self-disclosing, and therefore educative discourses. Other than performance and literature, however, there are few scholarly examples of using contemporary art practices to critically engage mental illness and other disabilities. As research, guided by my own embodied knowledge, I construct an example of how art education and disability studies practices can be integrated to construct critical disability discourses that challenge stigma and ableism. The dissertation suggests that interdisciplinary dialogue between art education and disability studies can effectively disrupt oppressive discourses through critical contemporary art practices and creative writing. Art educators can utilize disability studies scholarship to further divest ableist discourses and practices. Art educators can also contribute to disability studies by strategizing art practices that critically explore disability discourses in the many fields that comprise disability studies. Together, art education and disability studies can address the many areas where disability and art meet, socially, culturally, and pedagogically.

National communications campaigns on public education, 1890--1945

Trone, Carole Jeanne The University of Wisconsin - Madison 2005 해외박사(DDOD)

This dissertation examines several national campaigns to inform the general public about major educational reforms between 1890 and 1945. During these years, public education and mass communications media assumed increasingly significant roles in American society. The Russell Sage Foundation (RSF), the General Education Board (GEB), the U.S. Bureau of Education, the American Legion, the American Federation of Teachers, and the National Education Association (NEA) are among the prominent organizations studied whose communications efforts included national magazines, newspapers, pamphlets, reports, and exhibits to engage public interest and support of public education. Extensive correspondence and unpublished records reveal the tensions between university educational experts, who used specialized knowledge to secure their emerging professionalism, and philanthropic foundation officials, who widely disseminated findings for broader citizen engagement. Informing public opinion did not ensure the intended influence, as reforms assumed different messages according to the priorities of editors, parents, politicians, and activists. The campaigns reveal changes over time in media, publicity techniques, and public education. The first two chapters analyze Joseph Mayer Rice's 1892--1893 series in the Forum magazine on school conditions in several cities. Under Walter Hines Page's editorship, the series motivated many educational reform efforts well beyond Rice's limited organizational reforms. The next three chapters examine school investigations and surveys by Leonard P. Ayres of the RSF and Abraham Flexner at the GEB from 1907--1921. Ayres's reports, particularly Laggards in Our Schools and the Cleveland Survey, challenged views of social efficiency, vocational education, and intelligence testing. With the Gary, Indiana school survey, Flexner confronted widespread questions about his objectivity amid a controversial effort to implement Gary's platoon system in New York City schools. The final two chapters focus on two major publicity campaigns after World War I. American Education Week, started by the U.S. Bureau of Education with the NEA and the American Legion, promoted celebratory messages about public schools using popular publicity techniques. A later campaign to modernize high school graduations, called Vitalized Commencements, ultimately failed to shift popular support from traditional yet deeply symbolic ceremonies. This study contributes new understanding of the importance of communications strategies in implementing educational reform.

College immigrant students: How undocumented female Mexican immigrant students transition into higher education

Rangel, Yolanda T University of California, Los Angeles 2001 해외박사(DDOD)

This study phenomenologically examines the educational experiences of six undocumented female Mexican immigrant students, and the obstacles and resources they encountered as they transitioned into higher education. Two of the students attend a community college; two attend a Cal State University; and two attend a University of California system. Three phases of their transition are examined: the Pre-matriculation phase (K–11), the Matriculation phase (12<super>th</super> grade), and the Post-Matriculation phase (higher education). Within each phase, three domains were explored: home, school, and college. Within in each domain students were asked to reflect on the resources and obstacles that they encountered which influenced their educational goals and aspirations. A list of these obstacles and resources was compiled. In their early education, students receive great support and encouragement from home. After graduating from high school, these students became dependent less on their families and more on their own astuteness to be able to succeed in college. Though there were services and information provided by the institutions, the students seemed to benefit most from the academic guidance and information provided by student organizations. The financial resources at this level were almost non-existent. On the other hand, the family was one of the utmost critical obstacles affecting the students' education. The very serious problems that parents had between them had devastating influences on students in school. Upon entering the American school system, these students were immersed in English speaking classrooms and other English only speaking educational settings. As a result of their limited English skills, they faced humiliation and embarrassing incidents at the hands of cruel classmates. In the latter part of their education, some racist teachers marginalized these students. They had to struggle to be placed in college bound programs. Then, when students finally entered college their options were limited and resources were scarce. Their legal status was the greatest impediment in their academic mobility. Their lack of legal documentation also coerced these students to take low paying jobs that paid them less than minimum wage, had poor working conditions and long work hours. Recommendations are made to specific spheres working directly with immigrants and a college access guide for immigrant students is being developed.

Towards a theory of expedition education

Williams, Benjamin Stewart Harvard University 2000 해외박사(DDOD)

Are there deeper historical and philosophical traditions that connect ecological and holistic understandings of community, environment, and education together? This paper examines this question through a study of three decades of an expedition based environmental education program known as the National Audubon Society Expedition Institute (AEI) and its predecessor, the Trailside Country School. The model developed by AEI/TCS used a converted school bus as a mobile base for its program in expedition education. Students and teachers embarked on semester and yearlong expeditions in a small mobile learning community studying ecology, history, environment, and variation in American culture. While, initially based on field studies models, the long duration and community involvement in curriculum, itinerary, and other aspects of the program opened the possibility for a broader understanding of both education and environment in a process called “expedition education.&rdquo. This study conceptualized expedition education through six different metaphors: definition, symbolism, history, grammar, rhetoric, and dialogue. The study connected the environmental and learning community orientations of these metaphors to the long-standing American philosophical traditions in progressive social thought and political change. The purpose of the theory is to explain the longevity of a type of alternative education, which ordinarily has a more limited life span. The study speculates on a theoretical construction of the expedition learning community as a blending of democratic communal experience and more traditional forms of education. The core of the project describes the program in terms of characteristic stories that illustrate the quality and blending of community, education, and experience. The study ends with a dialogue about the theoretical construct and its applications with a group of current and past field directors of AEI on the central thesis of the work: longevity related to a balance between communal and traditional educational forms. This section concludes with a sharp disagreement among past directors of the program regarding whether or not AEI has shifted towards a more conventional form of education or whether it has sustained a radical balance between community centered experiential education and more conventional models of environmental education.