Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'Education, Secondary – Cross-cultural studies'

Nations sharing similar historical, linguistic, and social backgrounds tend to cluster around the same cultural values systems. However, changing socioenvironmental conditions drive cultural values systems to change over time. This study compared changing cultural values in Poland in the postcommunist era with values in the Czech Republic and Slovenia, using factorial ANOVA of published data from the European Values Survey and World Values Survey. The hypotheses were: (a) cultural values in Poland have moved from traditionalist values toward secularism; (b) Poland's rate of cultural values movement was more moderate than either the Czech Republic or Slovenia; and (c) the higher degree of religiousness in Poland mirrored the slower rate of movement toward secularism. The study participants were 20,038 adults from the Czech Republic, Poland, and Slovenia. Findings showed 10 of 19 cultural values in Poland showed moderate movement toward secularism, confirming that traditional cultural values in Poland had decreased. However, the findings also showed cultural migration in Poland preserved strong traditional family and religious values despite the influence of far reaching social, economic, and political changes. This study revealed two important points: (a) as cultural values within groups of nations change, cultural values in similar clusters of nations tend to move in the same direction, and (b) deeply held traditional values tend to preserve the differentiation between nations, even as process of cultural values change continues.

Hispanic students' life experiences are influenced by factors related to cultural capital that are imbedded in the fabric of the family's culture and interwoven in the tapestry of the school setting in relationship to student engagement. Many researchers have argued that middle-to-upper class parents who possess high-status capital know how to navigate a school system that is congruent with the dominant group. In contrast, working-class minority parents are perceived as lacking cultural capital, and consequently struggle to access school resources necessary to benefit their children's educational attainment. This dissertation is concerned with examining how the role of cultural capital from home and school settings influence student engagement of Hispanic students, by using the theoretical framework derived from Bourdieu's (1986) cultural capital. This qualitative narrative inquiry looked at 30 participants comprised of two administrators, three counselors, seven teachers, nine parents and their nine students from the only high school in a small bedroom community located in one of the largest counties in Southern California. The authentic "voices" of the participants were captured through individual face-to-face audio taped interviews, which were coordinated, transcribed and synthesized over a three month period. The data was triangulated using the responses of the participants to answer the three research questions. The analysis of the findings revealed that minority Hispanic students possess familial and school cultural capital that influences student engagement. This work implies that Hispanic students have access to cultural capital at school through the extra assistance received from teachers and counselors, coupled with parent's strong desire not only to see their children succeed in academia but also vicariously fulfill the parent's own personal academic and career dreams and aspirations. Recommendations were made to inform educators how to avoid assumptions that Hispanic working-class students lack cultural capital.

This qualitative study sought to examine the Holy Cross Immersion, a service-learning trip for senior boys at Holy Cross School, New Orleans, Louisiana. The specific focus of the study is whether the experience increased the participants’ awareness of social justice issues, leading to future civic involvement. Individual interviews were conducted with nine young men who participated in an Immersion service-learning experience as seniors in high school between the years of 2011 and 2014. A focus group followed with three of the participants. I kept a journal throughout the interviews to document observations. Data were collected from the journal and interviews and analyzed using qualitative phenomenological methods. Findings of this study suggest that the Holy Cross Immersion service-learning trip is effective in helping adolescent males understand the marginalized in society, increasing their awareness of social justice issues, and contributing to their desire to volunteer.

The purpose of this project was to develop a grant proposal and identify a potential funding source for the purpose of expanding a cross-age mentoring program to increase school participation and decrease dropout rates of students in one high school and middle school in San Antonio, Texas. The program is designed to target and strengthen non-academic factors such as family connectedness, community involvement, and self-esteem which have been shown to contribute to school dropout rates. An extensive literature review increased knowledge about dropout rates among Hispanics and individuals who come from economically disadvantaged backgrounds and provided information about evidenced-based mentoring programs that the grant writer then used to design a best-practice program. A search for potential finding sources via the internet resulted in the selection of Kronkosky Charitable Foundation as the best funding source for this project. A grant was then written to support the expansion of a cross-age mentoring program at Harlandale High School and Harlandale Middle School in San Antonio, Texas.

This study focused on the perceptions of 16 Latina students regarding their cultural school climate as well as the thoughts of two administrators and six teachers at an all-female Catholic high school. Students revealed that, while they felt very supported by the school’s faculty and administration, they revealed that their culture was not fully embraced and/or represented in their educational curriculum and school’s practices. Students also alluded to deliberately choosing and valuing to spend their free time with their family over their classmates. Further, they felt disconnected from their school’s mission, which emphasized sisterhood among students. Furthermore, bicultural students provided a unique perspective often not fitting the Latina and/or dominant culture at the school.

Latino males from an English Language Learner (ELL) background are not successfully graduating from high school and going to college. This study seeks to understand this phenomenon through narratives of young Latino males in the Los Angeles area. Guided by Yosso's theory community cultural wealth theory, this qualitative study examines the challenges experienced by Latino males in their high school English Language Learner programs, and how these challenges were met. community cultural wealth theory provides six tenets of capital that communities of color possess: aspirational, familial, linguistic, social, navigational, and resistance. These types of cultural wealth exist in the lives of students and can assist students in attaining successful educational outcomes. Interviews with 16 Latino male ELLs between the ages of 18 to 25 were conducted over a 2-month period. The 16 Latino male ELLs were divided into groupings of high school graduates in college, high school graduates, high school students finishing their diploma requirements, and high school dropouts. Along with these interviews, four parent interviews were also conducted in order to gain a holistic perspective of the Latino males' experiences. Latino male ELLs illustrated the utilization of multiple forms of community cultural capital in their narratives; forms of social, linguistic, and navigational capital made a difference in Latino male ELLs that reported not only finishing high school, but also attending college. Conclusions of the study will be used to make recommendations for improvements in counseling services, assisting newly arrived ELLs to high school, and specific changes to policy.

This thesis investigates how Generation iY students perceive that social media and / or texting technology has influenced their ability to track and comprehend the subtleties of face-to-face communication within an academic setting. Generation iY is defined as those born between the years 1982 to 2004. Also involved in this study are members of the faculty and staff that teach Generation iY. The theories being applied and examined in this study include, Postman's Technology Ecology, McLuhan's Media Ecology, and Ong's Orality and Literacy. These theories while addressing different aspects of technological change, all agree that the change is all encompassing with every advancement in technology. The study consisted of four focus groups. Two groups consist of Generation iY, and two groups of faculty and staff. Comparative analysis was utilized to point out the similarities and differences between the focus groups. This study has revealed that while Generation iY said that they prefer face to face communication; they are intimidated, fearful of judgment, overwhelmed, and lack the sense of responsibility that is inherent with face-to-face communication. They find social media and texting a more comfortable means of communication because it requires less effort and minimizes consequences. The quotes given by the Generation iYers in this study are in accord with what Elmore (2010), writes about them, Generation iY is isolated yet connected. Generation iY has an overdeveloped attachment to their peer group via social media. The faculty of Generation iY cites this as a major reason why Generation iY struggle with critical thinking. Weiler (2004), supports these concerns as she indicates that they gather information for the wrong reasons. They use critical thinking in order to prove their beliefs right to their peer group instead of trying to find answers to problems.

This mixed-methods study analyzed the effectiveness of the practices and attitudes of selected African American teachers who use culturally relevant and responsive Afrocentric pedagogies as the instructional foundation for improved academic outcomes with their African American students. The theory of Afrocentricity was used as the philosophical framework to study their pedagogy. Afrocentricity is a mode of thought and practice in which in African people are placed at the center of their own history and culture; engages them as subjects rather than objects; and approaches them with respect for their interests, values, and perspectives (Asante 1980, 2003). Concepts employed from this theoretical framework provided a lens for the triangulation of qualitative and quantitative data collected and analyzed. The setting for this study was a private Afrocentric prekindergarten through 8th-grade school. The participants in this study were 3 African American teachers. Data collected and analyzed supported using culturally relevant and responsive pedagogy to produce improved academic outcomes for students of color (Boykin, 1984, 1994; Hale-Benson, 1986; King, 1991; Ladson-Billings, 1994; Shujaa, 1995; Villegas, 1991).

Findings suggested that in selected academic settings improved academic performance occurred for African American students when teachers used culture relevant and responsive pedagogy. The following themes were embedded in the pedagogy: self-determination, academic empowerment, cultural empowerment, and family/community empowerment. The findings implied a need for teachers and teacher-training institutions to re-examine, recommit, and re-institute culturally relevant and responsive pedagogy that respects and addresses the culture, education, and social improvement for positive academic outcomes for all children.

Keywords: Afrocentricity, Afrocentric Pedagogy, achievement gap, culturally responsive pedagogy.

African American high school students are underrepresented in study abroad programs, and their lack of intercultural skills and international understanding can impede their personal and professional development, and limit their career opportunities. The purpose of this descriptive qualitative case study was to explore the influence of intercultural experiences through study abroad and immersion programs on African American high school students’ intercultural competence. The conceptual framework drew on 2 theories: Bennett’s development model of intercultural sensitivity and Kolb’s experiential learning. Data from interviews and focus groups with 13 African American high school students, 2 parents, and 2 teachers as well as documents and field notes from a Northeast United States urban high school addressed the research questions pertaining to how students perceived travel abroad that fostered intercultural competence skills as well as how teachers and parents perceived students’ personal development. Findings resulted from provisional codes used to identify pattern of codes, and central themes that indicated predeparture seminars and reflective practices enhanced intercultural skills. The portfolios suggested that most students became more reflective and accepting of cultural differences after their sojourn abroad. Recommendations based on the findings suggest increasing homestay experiences and planning and predeparture trainings. Future research is needed on how to attract more male African American students to such programs. The findings may contribute to positive social change by encouraging investment in homestay study abroad and immersion programs with adequate preparation and planning at inner city high schools that might foster intercultural competence skills.

Taiwan and Korea have been categorized in the same cluster of Confucian and hierarchical cultures. However, Korean missionary pastors in Taiwan experience significant cross-cultural differences that directly affect the effectiveness of their leadership among Taiwanese congregants.

This study discloses the four factors contributing to the effectiveness of select Korean missionary pastors: (a) personal traits, (b) interaction on cross-cultural issues, (c) trust, and (d) spirituality. Working as a whole, four key factors result in a four-fold transformation of leadership: (a) leaders responded to cross-cultural encounters with cognitive discernment, (b) which resulted in movement from authoritarian to servant leadership, (c) which fostered trust among followers, (d) which resulted in movement from servant to transformational leadership.

The theory in this study on the effectiveness of cross-cultural leaders in Taiwanese context is derived from the ground theory study using in-depth semi-structured interviews, and participant observation.

The need for equality has become one of the most deeply talked about subjects in the health care field. One challenge in this area is to reduce health care disparities and improve access to high-quality health care for diverse patients. There is a vast amount of literature on the implementation of cross-cultural competence in health care to reduce health care disparities. Cultural competence strategies include a racial and linguistic staff, culturally competent education and training, and integrated culturally translated signage. The cultural competence approach that is being investigated in this thesis considers the concepts of sociological factors that contribute to a complete understanding of one's culture. This thesis will examine two separate literatures: first, research on the historical culture context, sociocultural behavior and ethnic identity; and second, research on the cultural competence approach in the health care industry.

A literature review expands this research by applying a theoretical framework based on Unequal Treatment: Confronting Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Health Care, Institute of Medicine Principals of Quality, and Minority Populations and Health. A cross-cultural curriculum model through which to consider social psychology variables is presented.

Keywords: disparities, race, social psychology factors, cross-cultural curriculum, health care.