Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'Education – Social aspects – Italy'
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Bock, Jan-Jonathan. "L'Aquila : the social consequences of disaster and the recovery of everyday life in an Italian urban environment." Thesis, University of Cambridge, 2015. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.709169.
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Cox, Melody. "Masks and museums : the creation and performance of identity in a highland Sardinian village." Thesis, University of Oxford, 2015. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.669703.
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郭國全 and Kwok-chuen Kwok. "The political economy of educational investment: a review and an appraisal." Thesis, The University of Hong Kong (Pokfulam, Hong Kong), 1986. http://hub.hku.hk/bib/B31974764.
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Kastner, Andrea Frances. "Lifelong education and social policy : ideals and realities." Thesis, University of British Columbia, 1988. http://hdl.handle.net/2429/28080.
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Many claims have been made about the potential of Lifelong Education, when implemented as a social policy, to bring about a more just society. However, the assumptions underlying these and similar claims have seldom been critically scrutinized. For this reason, there is in the literature a concern that the concept of the "learning society" simply means lifelong schooling and is the rhetoric of social control. In this view, the potential of Lifelong Education as a transformative force for the development of a participator}' democracy and a more equitable distribution of resources remains a Utopian vision.
In this work, an analysis of the assumptions, it was expected, would bring to light the ideological position embedded in Lifelong Education as a social policy tool.
This research therefore, offers a systematic critical analysis of the expected outcomes of Lifelong Education policies. This required the development of a theoretical framework which built upon: 1.) Paulston's model of social change; 2.) Rawls' and others' concepts of justice and equality; and 3.) perspectives on the role of education in society outlined by Aronowitz and Giroux. This framework was employed to analyze 1.) selected publications of UNESCO on Lifelong Education, 2.) Canadian Association for Adult Education and Canadian Commission for UNESCO documents, and 3.) contemporary Canadian federal and provincial education policies. The findings of this analysis were compared with various models of social policy.
Five principle findings emerged from the study. First, the literature, for the most part, reflects a view of society characterized by homogeneit3' and consensus. The model of social change is evolutional, and avoids the structural conflict perspectives. Second, a number of assumptions are made concerning some elements of a theory of justice, but no unified comprehensive theory of justice supports the literature's claims. Third, adopted in the literature is an ideal view of the role of Lifelong Education as a means of producing change in society. The absence of a critical perspective leaves Lifelong Education in the role of reproducing inequalities in society, vulnerable to application as a mechanism of manipulation rather than emancipation. Fourth, the social policy models implied by the literature are not models which are significantly redistributive in their aims. Finally, projected normative outcomes such as "the good society", "improved quality of life", and "a more just society" lack precise definition thereby leaving unexpressed the ideological position on which they are premised. This deprives the field the means of evaluating these policies.
It is argued that if the role of educators in the development of democratic active participation of citizens in the collective formation of public policy is to be taken seriously, the ideological position of Lifelong Education must be more carefully defined and developed so that citizens can reflect on its principles, compare them with alternate ideological positions, and make their choices from this more informed position.Education, Faculty of
Educational Studies (EDST), Department of
Graduate
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Festeu, Dorin. "Social learning programme through physical education lessons in Romania." Thesis, Bucks New University, 1998. https://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.714447.
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Mills, Jared G. "Social studies and global education: viewing economic, social and political aspects of the civil war through multiple perspectives." The Ohio State University, 2006. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1407404987.
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Angelis, Desi. "Adult numeracy, mathematical education and social meanings." Master's thesis, University of Cape Town, 1993. http://hdl.handle.net/11427/17496.
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Bibliography: pages 74-83.In sum, the theoretical framework proposed here for adult numeracy, and developed from a discourse of mathematics education, has as its task the elaboration of the social implications of principles in adult education and the pedagogic outcomes of three sets of numeracy materials.
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Ermakov, D. S. "Education for sustainable development: social ecological and economic aspects of the environment." Thesis, Видавництво СумДУ, 2004. http://essuir.sumdu.edu.ua/handle/123456789/23455.
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Fainella, John G. "Destination, housing and quality of life in the migrant experience from Larino (Molise, Italy) to Milano and Montreal." Thesis, McGill University, 1996. http://digitool.Library.McGill.CA:80/R/?func=dbin-jump-full&object_id=42026.
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Evidence on comparative quality of life and housing of Italians at origin, and emigrants in two destinations was gathered from field research, and from three surveys: one, of residents of the town of origin (n = 153), Larino, in the province of Campobasso, and the other two, of residents of major destinations of Larinesi emigrants--Montreal (n = 118), and Milano (n = 73). The main working hypothesis was tested that the best quality of life is found among emigrants living in Montreal. The research also explicated the historical connection between policies of migration and housing concerns in Canada and in Italy.Quality of life was measured using a battery of structural, objective and subjective indicators that were calibrated for relative comparisons between the two cities of destination by the re-analysis of two large surveys (Milano n = 966; Montreal n = 461), and by the use of of official statistics.
Multivariate analysis results showed that in comparison to the town of origin, Montreal produced the best and most distinguishable socio-demographic context and Milano the best geographic context. The objective indicators based on the ratios of income to need and those based on income relative to each city, are most influential in Montreal. Subjective indicators such as attitudes and lifestyles are more consistently related to levels of education than to place of residence.
High rates of house ownership among the Larinesi in Montreal, and changes in their patterns of use of space which accompany permanent resettlement--especially those regarding the use of an extra kitchen--were found to be explainable in terms of the "housing culture" of the town of origin.
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Tench, Elizabeth. "The nature of social cognition in high-performance adolescent team athletes." Thesis, National Library of Canada = Bibliothèque nationale du Canada, 1999. http://www.collectionscanada.ca/obj/s4/f2/dsk1/tape7/PQDD_0006/NQ38987.pdf.
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Byrom, Tina. "'The dream of social flying' : social class, higher education choice and the paradox of widening participation." Thesis, University of Nottingham, 2008. http://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/11053/.
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Widening Participation in UK universities is currently a key political concern. Whilst the under-representation of particular groups has been a feature of higher education for many years, participation for groups identified by gender, ethnicity and disability has seen some improvement. However, the participation of students from low social class groups remains an issue. Whilst there are a number of intervention programmes that seek to increase the numbers of young people from disadvantaged backgrounds who do go on to higher education, in this thesis I work closely with a group of non-traditional students who participated in a Sutton Trust Summer School. In attempting to understand the complexities of social class participation in HE and the perceptions of an HE hierarchy, I draw heavily from Bourdieu's notions of habitus and field. The findings from this study raise numerous issues for intervention programmes such as the Sutton Trust. In presenting the findings, I explore three arenas of influence: habitus influenced by home context; habitus influenced by institutions such as school and the Sutton Trust and also the idea of living with a ‘split’ habitus - a habitus in tension. Throughout the findings sections, I draw from the experiences of the young people to argue that their ‘class’ based practices align more closely with those of the middle classes and that their decision to go to university was made early on in their educational journeys. Their pursuit of higher education with a particular focus on the types of HE institutions they were willing to consider, presents an interesting issue for those working in the widening participation arena. The students in this study were already equipped with the ability, knowledge and desire to apply to an elite institution prior to their Sutton Trust experience. I describe this position in terms of a 'trajectory interruption' where the expected trajectory of an individual can be influenced by the numerous fields of which they are a part. I draw specifically from the notion of habitus to explain how their respective 'trajectory interruptions' occurred. The 'dream of social flying'(Bourdieu 1993: 2) places these students in particular positions within the educational field - positions that are conducive to any form of trajectory interruption.
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Levine, Diane Thembekile. "Adolescent girls, social cognition and technology." Thesis, University of Warwick, 2015. http://wrap.warwick.ac.uk/75499/.
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Technology is almost ubiquitous among adolescents in contemporary British society. Despite this, we do not have a meaningful understanding of the interplay between adolescent girls’ developing social cognition and their use of digital devices. This study aims to address this gap in understanding. Four pre-pubescent and eleven pubescent young women based in the Midlands and from across the socio-economic spectrum participated between 2012-2013. Participant completed six research tools and eleven of them participated in a face-to-face interview. Three tools were adapted from the existing psychology literature, and the remainder were developed specifically for this study. The tools explored technology-mediated attachment and relationships, self and identity, attribution and Theory of Mind. The findings suggest that the moral panics surrounding technology use in adolescence are misplaced; rather, adolescent girls with a good range of personal and situational resources are likely to exert considerable choice in their uses of technology, and social media in particular. Valsiner’s Zones and life course perspectives were used to conceptualise the emerging understanding of technology-mediated social cognition in adolescent girls. This theoretical framework made it possible to do four things. Firstly, to recognize adolescents’ active choice and agency. Secondly, to articulate development opportunities within individuals, relationships and technological environments. Thirdly to locate physiological and psychological development within the broader socio-technical realm. And finally, to see technology as neither positive nor negative but as shaping, rather than defining adolescent perspectives, behaviours and relationships. These possibilities suggest that, rather than attempting to shoehorn adolescent experience into a single paradigm or model we need to ask ourselves key questions about the interplay between the individual adolescent and the technology they choose to use.
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Simon, Amanda Rachel. "The social positioning of supplementary schooling." Thesis, University of Birmingham, 2013. http://etheses.bham.ac.uk//id/eprint/4160/.
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This research study constitutes an ethnographic investigation of the social positioning of 16 ‘supplementary schools’. The study incorporates positioning theory coupled with Blommaert’s approach to discourse as theoretical and analytical frameworks. The realm of supplementary schooling is complex and diverse with each school engaged in various educational projects dictated by multiple socio-political and historical factors. This complexity however is not adequately represented within current research literature. The first phase of this study investigates the key purposes of 16 diverse supplementary schools in Birmingham. This phase also encompasses the establishment of a framework in which the social positioning of schools are represented. Such a framework will challenge existing essentialised notions of supplementary schooling. This aspect of the study is achieved through semi-structured interviews with school leaders from all 16 schools. This social positioning of supplementary schools is further explored within phase 2 of the study, through an in-depth case study of an African-Caribbean school. Here, classroom observation fieldnotes, interactive recordings and staff interviews afford an exploration of the relationship between school positioning and micro-level discursive practices. Analysis of this data demonstrates that supplementary schools are complex socio-political enterprises that are situated within and respond to multiple historical, social and political storylines. The study argues that these historical, social and political contexts should be considered in order to gain a developed understanding of the role and social positioning of these institutions.
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Pihlaja, K. (Kaisa). "Adaptive expertise in teamwork environment:the importance of social aspects in expert work and learning." Master's thesis, University of Oulu, 2016. http://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:oulu-201608122629.
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Today’s society and modern working life is in a constant change which poses challenges for professional expertise as well as to educational systems that are expected to produce the future experts. Work tasks are becoming increasingly complex and multifaceted in which domain-specific knowledge and routine expertise may not suffice anymore, but calls for adaptive expertise: the ability to adapt in new and unfamiliar settings, use knowledge flexibly in creating high-quality, innovative solutions to problems, and to constantly learn new and renew expertise.
The previous studies on expertise have informed our understanding about expert performance and learning of expertise, but have mainly concentrated on the cognitive aspects of expertise. Thus it is important to gain more information about adaptive expertise, and especially about the social aspects of adaptive expertise which has been studied less. Also, due to the challenging nature of expert work in modern working life and the fact that work is in increasing amounts performed in teams, this context is important to study. The current study aims at exploring adaptive expertise in working life, more precisely, in the context of teamwork environment to gain more information about the social aspects of adaptive expertise, learning of expertise, and what kind of an effect teamwork environment has in it.
The participants in the current study were six adaptive experts from ICT domain. ICT domain was selected as the setting for studying adaptive expertise for the reasons that the domain includes knowledge workers whose jobs require specialization and adaptive expertise on specific domains, often knowledge on only one domain is not enough but diverse knowhow and skills are needed, and work is mainly done in teams. The data was gathered with semi-structured interviews and qualitative content analysis was used to analyze the interview data.
The results of the present study give further evidence that adaptive expertise is a highly social phenomenon. Adaptive experts possess good social skills which they make use of when solving work-related complex problems in collaboration with other people, which in turn leads to further growth of their knowledge and skills. The current study also brought forward the various challenges but also the affordances of teamwork environment which not only provide for effective problem solving but also learning and developing expertise when collaborating with other people. Also, the results of this study give support to the view that ICT companies could be considered as second-order environments that promote learning of expertise. In an ICT company the continual contributions to technological and strategical knowledge means that conditions keep changing, and thus there is a need to adapt to these progressive set of conditions. This in turn means that experts need to continually redefine problems at a higher and usually more complex level that are beyond their existing competence, which in turn develops their expertise further.
Based on the results of the current study, implications are suggested related to optimal composition of teams as well as communication and information sharing in organizations, the importance of collaborative problem solving in educating future experts, as well as how in expert research the social aspects of adaptive expertise and learning of expertise should be regarded with equal importance as the cognitive aspects.
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Starnino, Vince. "Religion, spirituality, and social work education : taking the next step." Thesis, McGill University, 2001. http://digitool.Library.McGill.CA:80/R/?func=dbin-jump-full&object_id=32830.
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Despite calls for increased attention to religion and spirituality in social work education and practice, the topic remains a neglected area. This small exploratory study seeks to examine barriers that cause religion and spirituality to continue to be on the periphery in social work education. Involved are six faculty members, teaching a range of social work courses. Insights into some of the controversial issues that arise in the classroom when religion and spirituality are discussed are offered. Findings suggest a lack of uniformity in teaching approaches, indicating that educators may be unclear about how to address the topic.
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Lacey, Jacqueline Marie. "Teaching social skills through environmental education." CSUSB ScholarWorks, 2000. https://scholarworks.lib.csusb.edu/etd-project/1765.
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This project was designed to address the need for a curriculum that links environmental education and social skills. All of the social skills units were created to improve the students' understanding of social skills and important environmental concepts.
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Cooper, Paul. "Live and learn : the educational and social experience of adult, returning learners." Thesis, University of Wales Trinity Saint David, 2001. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.683180.
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Migliore, Joseph Anthony. "The Cultural Barriers to Integration of Second Generation Muslims in Northern Italy." PDXScholar, 2011. https://pdxscholar.library.pdx.edu/open_access_etds/231.
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In this study, I examine the existing literature and carry out a qualitative exploration in order to formulate a better understanding of the dynamics that influence the lives of 2nd generation Italian Muslims. Although monumental social and political challenges remain in confronting integration of the Muslim population and for achieving greater acceptance of Islam within the Italian public sphere, the evidence suggests that the process for integration has slowly begun. Additionally, this study examines the intellectual framework of the existing literature which addresses the issues impacting Muslim integration in Northern Italy. This issue has induced new debates within Italy on multiculturalism, national identity, human rights, while more importantly raising the question--"to what extent do we allow Muslim integration into Italian society and the further insertion of Islam into Italy's spiritual geography?" This study argues that the convergence of contemporary international affairs with religion calls for a new lens for interaction. In Italy the events following 9/11, combined with a resurgence of Islamophobia and the impact of the Global War on Terror, have drawn the issue of Muslim immigrants into a negative spotlight. Mainstream attitudes in Europe, following 9/11, have generated a rift in Muslim-West relations and have caused confusion and anxiety among Muslims and non-Muslims alike. The research hypothesis for this thesis suggests that there are multiple factors impeding the efforts for Muslims to achieve equal footing within the Italian religious landscape and inclusion within Italian society. Among these are divisions found within the Muslim community itself, a growing mistrust of Islam in mainstream Italian society, sponsored by negative media stereotyping and xenophobic political movements, and underlying everything else, the privileged position of the Catholic Church and its unwillingness to accommodate Islamic identity within the social framework. The chosen methodology employed in this study is qualitative, theoretical contextual analysis combined with interviews plus questionnaires used to construct a case study were applied. Beyond engaging in seven interviews with the 2nd generation Italian Muslims, this study was informed by the relevant academic literature from the fields of conflict resolution, history, sociology, cultural studies, Islamic studies and political science. Finally this study contextualized the dynamics generating this conflict and examined the discontinuities this situation has created in the lives of Muslims in Italy. The exclusion of the Muslim population, coupled with the complex relationship between this cultural group and state, has led to the exploration within Italy of different models for integration. The findings of this study indicate that inequalities exist for the Muslim population of Northern Italy in their relation with the host nation and society. This further hampers the process of integration and generates further exclusion. Only profound rethinking of the Italian approach to integration will serve to adequately meet the needs of this marginalized population and fully incorporate them within Italian society.
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Jordan, Steven Shane. "The Technical Vocational Education Initiative (TVEI) and the making of the enterprise culture." Thesis, McGill University, 1996. http://digitool.Library.McGill.CA:80/R/?func=dbin-jump-full&object_id=40371.
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This thesis is situated in the history of British debates over the relationship of technical and vocational schooling to capitalism. It analyses the impact of 'new vocational' policy initiatives on English education from the 1970s, using an approach termed 'historical ethnography.' Using this methodology, it draws on ethnographic studies of the Technical and Vocational Education Initiative (TVEI) between 1985 and 1992.My argument is that TVEI represents the most recent manifestation of a long history of educational policies that have systematically produced and ordered the social relations of class in an educational form. In this vein, I argue that the technical and vocational curriculum can be seen as an integral site within the English educational State for the production and formation of class relations within schooling. TVEI, I assert, was central to such a process through its capacity to concert and co-ordinate the social relations and practices of secondary schooling around the concept of enterprise, which acted as an organising device for management/administration, teaching, learning, and most crucially, the formation of individual subjectivities. Understood this way, we can see how TVEI effected reforms that contributed to the formation of clusters of social relations that produced class in new ways.
I show how this process emerged under TVEI through my ethnographic studies of enterprise, school-based management, business studies, and assessment. What each study reveals is how TVEI worked to effect a generalised shift in the culture of schooling away from the post-war social democratic politics of education, to that of a 'managed market' and enterprise culture. In this respect, I argue, TVEI prefigured many of the reforms that were to flow from the Education Reform Act (1988).
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Terry, David Patrick. "Social Justice Education| Examining Aspects of Power & Privilege Influential to an Educator's Efficacy." Thesis, Prescott College, 2013. http://pqdtopen.proquest.com/#viewpdf?dispub=1539453.
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This thesis examines how White educators can more effectively integrate Critical Pedagogy into praxis working with predominantly White collegiate communities. It asks: How can White Male educators working in predominantly White collegiate communities, use their own power and privilege as sources of currency to catalyze student awareness of social justice and becoming agents of change in their own lives? This thesis used a mixed methods approach that incorporated heuristic and case study methodologies to address the thesis question. The heuristic study was conducted with an intensive, environmentally-focused rafting undergraduate course at Progressive College. Additionally, case study research was conducted with White Male educators working in higher education at Progressive College. The results consisted of pre/post-course questionnaires and interviews conducted with the case study participants. This thesis argues that a White Male educator's currency, including, positionality, identity, experiences and competency influences the efficacy of an educator's ability to integrate Critical Pedagogy into praxis when working within White collegiate communities. It makes claim that the alignment and similarities between student-teacher identities and experiences result in the educator being more effective in working with specific populations based on their ability to relate, be empathetic and supportive throughout the process of transformation.
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Sams-Iheme, Mira. "The psychological aspects of battered African-American women." DigitalCommons@Robert W. Woodruff Library, Atlanta University Center, 1996. http://digitalcommons.auctr.edu/dissertations/AAIEP15793.
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There is sparse research on the battering phenomena as it relates to African-American women. Therefore, this study was undertaken in order to determine whether a relationship existed between battering, depression and low levels of self-esteem in African-American women. Another purpose of this study was to obtain a profile of demographic characteristics of these battered African-American women.
The study was conducted in two battered women shelters located in metropolitan Atlanta, Georgia. The actual site locations were in Fulton and DeKalb counties. A quasi-experimental design was used. The non-random sample consisted of 53 African-American women who resided in the battered women shelters during the research period. The Beck Depression Inventory, the Coopersmith Self-Esteem Inventory and the Questionnaire for Battered African- American women were administered. l Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
Statistical procedures that were used to analyze the data from this study were frequency analysis and the Pearson R. The results indicated that there was a relationship between battering and depression in African- American women. There were also variations in the demographic data of these women.
Limitations of this research and implications for counselors are included. Recommendations for future research conclude this work.
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Stephens, Michael 1964. "The interface between education and social change efforts in civil society agencies /." Thesis, McGill University, 2002. http://digitool.Library.McGill.CA:80/R/?func=dbin-jump-full&object_id=33930.
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Social change strategies grounded in theory help change agents to be more effective in their efforts. This study attempts to make explicit the links between public education efforts and the social change goals of non-profit organizations through an examination of both radical humanist thought and various social change theories.This thesis maintains that public education is an essential component of lasting change, serving eleven identifiable roles in the social change process. Of particular note, education can serve to challenge the dominant corporate paradigm and to develop an informed, critical, and more active citizenry. Education can also help create an environment conducive to achieving systemic changes. It is argued that civil society organizations are well situated to play a leading role in the creation of a more just and healthy society. Public education is proposed here as an approach that shows considerable promise to move us in that direction.
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Sischarenco, Elena. "Italian entrepreneurs of the construction business in a time of economic recession : ideas, strategies and movements." Thesis, University of St Andrews, 2017. http://hdl.handle.net/10023/11088.
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This thesis is based on an ethnographic study of entrepreneurs of the construction business in Lombardy, Northern Italy. The aim is to gain some understanding of this business, of entrepreneurialism, and of individuals in a non-stereotypical light through a full and complex account of their daily lives. The aim is to reveal the thoughts, actions and strategies of particular local actors in their everyday contingency and contradictoriness. No attempt is made to simplify the complexity of their understandings and practices for the sake of producing a single encompassing and consistent image. Many similarities were found between the practices of entrepreneurialism and those of the discipline of anthropology. Knowledge and information are constantly sought after but are recognised as emerging in unexpected places and times and as being socially negotiated. Apprenticeship is often used as a methodology, and learning often happens through experience. Contextual application of knowledge is seen as essential. In order to exchange information and knowledge, to collaborate with other businessmen or to simply get a job, trust is fundamental and constantly negotiated. Personal relationships and trust become particularly important in an uncertain market situation, as ways to face risk. Trust is acquired slowly and accorded contextually, through face-to-face interaction and cultivated relationships, but also through positive recommendations or simply a feeling of sympathy. Knowledge, apprenticeship, trust and risk are key themes of the thesis. The blurred borders between the distinct individual personalities of my informants and their collective identities and commonalities are also discussed. The personality of an entrepreneur is seen as ideally complex, in which many (possibly contradictory) characteristics can be expected to be present, but also ideally balanced, each manifesting itself in specific situations. The ethnography also explores the fragility of the entrepreneur, in apparent contradiction to their strong and charismatic personalities. It is seen to be despite and because of their positions of power that they also feel vulnerable: their discourse is imbued with their fears for their businesses in a difficult period of economic crisis. Finally, through a ubiquitous desire to control markets and the future, we also encounter forms of corruption; corruption that is often condemned verbally but nevertheless is present in the business world and amplified by public and media discourses. The mechanisms by which work that is put out to tender is subject to possible manipulation are examined, and the ideas of the entrepreneurs about these practices are described—again demonstrating how thoughts and practices are often self-contradictory in their contextual relevance and application.
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Sewell, Alexandra. "Young social beings : an investigation into the social interactions and relationships of a Year Five class." Thesis, University of Birmingham, 2016. http://etheses.bham.ac.uk//id/eprint/7049/.
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The research study employed a mixed methods research design to investigate the social interactions and relationships of a Year Five, mainstream Primary School class. The first strand of the research empirically evaluated an adaptation of the Applied Behaviour Analysis (ABA) intervention 'The Good Behaviour Game' (TGBG), which aimed to increase the positive social behaviour of the Year Five class. TGBG is a dependent group contingency, behaviour management intervention which is implemented at the whole class level. The research employed a single case, ABAB reversal design to evaluate its efficacy for promoting behaviour change for the target social behaviours of working as a team, supporting peers and positive social interactions with a peer. Observation data was also collected for a focus participant to explore the effects of a universal intervention at the targeted level of an individual participant. The second strand of the research utilised Personal Construct Psychology (PCP) to explore participants' construing of their social interactions and relationships with others. The repertory grid interview method was used to interview 8 participants. The PCP strand to the study was perceived to add an illuminative addition to the ABA strand, which incorporated a constructivist approach to understand the unique perceptions and views of the child.
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Hu, Bo. "Education for migrant children : policy implementation in the changing urban education system in China." Thesis, London School of Economics and Political Science (University of London), 2012. http://etheses.lse.ac.uk/616/.
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This thesis aims to examine the extent to which migrant children’s education policy is implemented and identifies the factors that affect the implementation of this policy in the Chinese context. In the last two decades, urban China has witnessed a rapid increase in the number of children of rural-urban migrants. It has become a public concern that migrant children do not have access to education and cannot receive as good an education as do urban children in the cities, even though there are policies formulated by the central government to tackle this issue. The thesis adopts mixed research methods to examine the implementation of migrant children’s education policy. Main sources of the evidence include semi-structured interviews, statistical data, government documents and internal reports by local schools. The thesis divides migrant children’s education policy into three parts: funding and school access policy, equal opportunity policy and school support and social integration policy. It is found that policies for migrant children are selectively or partially implemented. Some policy goals have been achieved, while others have not. Certain groups of migrant children have access to urban public schools and receive high quality education while others do not. A policy analysis shows that migrant children’s education policy is ambiguous in goals and weak in incentives, which grants local governments and schools scope to act with discretion. Non-implementation of sufficient funding and school access policy result from self-interested and habitual decisions of local governments. Implementation of equal opportunity policy is affected by the workings of the exam-oriented education system in China. Social integration policy appears to be well-implemented due to effective school support available to migrant children and good intergroup relationship between migrant and urban children. The findings imply that further policy reform is needed to improve the educational opportunities of migrant children. In particular, special attention should be focused on those policy areas not effectively implemented and more support should be directed to those migrant children who are more disadvantaged.
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Wuest, Leslie Grace. "Factors Associated with Inclusion of Spirituality in Secular Social Work Education." PDXScholar, 2009. https://pdxscholar.library.pdx.edu/open_access_etds/301.
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In a diverse society, social work practitioners must be able to work with and respect people from a wide variety of cultures and ethnicities and with different value systems and ideological perspectives, including spiritual or religious beliefs. Accordingly, social work education has begun to incorporate the topic of spirituality. This study builds upon previous studies by Dudley and Helfgott (1990) and Sheridan et al. (1994) which focused on views of faculty members regarding spirituality in social work education and support for a course on spirituality in the social work curriculum. This study goes on to examine inclusion of spirituality in general social work courses. The study involved a survey of social work faculty members who teach courses in direct practice, human development, and diversity, with a response rate of 52% (N = 222). The 40-item web survey replicated items regarding faculty views about spirituality and social work, and measures of personal experience with spirituality from Sheridan's (1994) survey. Items regarding faculty and student inclusion of spirituality, classroom management strategies, and discussion outcomes were original to this study.Results showed that in addition to 9 faculty who teach courses in spirituality, 75.1% of faculty members surveyed report a moderate or substantial discussion of spirituality in half of the courses they teach. Multiple regression analyses showed an association of faculty inclusion of spirituality to student inclusion and constructive discussions of spirituality, the school offering a separate course on spirituality, female gender, and full time status (p < .001). Faculty-reported student inclusion of spirituality was associated with faculty inclusion, conflictual discussions, constructive discussions, and use of classroom rules (p < .001). Constructive discussions of spirituality were associated with use of modeling and facilitation, faculty inclusion, and student inclusion of spirituality (p < .001). Several path models were compared using AMOS software. Results suggest that when faculty members include spirituality, students are more likely to discuss the topic. Faculty members report frequently including the topic of spirituality in the content of general social work courses. Classroom rules are related to increased student participation, and modeling and facilitation promote constructive discussion of spirituality.
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Cabrera, Hernández Francisco-Javier. "Essays on the impact evaluation of education policies in Mexico." Thesis, University of Sussex, 2016. http://sro.sussex.ac.uk/id/eprint/63707/.
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This thesis gathers research on three impact evaluations of interventions at the school and student level in Mexico. The first chapter evaluates the effects of a School Breakfast Program (SBP) on children's outcomes such as cognitive skills, illness, height and weight and grade repetition in the period 2002 to 2005. Quasi-experimental estimations provide evidence of positive effects on children's weight; however, such gains push children over their 'ideal' standardized average causing them overweight. This effect is significantly higher in the case of poorer children. The second chapter evaluates a Full-Time Primary Schools Program implemented in 2007, to work out if changing the time pupils spend at school can enhance skills in language and mathematics. Differences in Differences regressions point to a significant improvement of 0.11 standard deviations in mathematics and Spanish test scores after four years of treatment. These gains are three times higher in schools located in deprived areas and do not seem to be driven by students self-selection. The last chapter focuses on an exogenous policy change in Mexico which eliminates enforced grade repetition for all first to third grade students. This reform helped schools to reduce repetition rates from varying higher levels to almost zero in one academic year. Estimations coming from two-way fixed effects models using a panel of schools show an average reduction in dropout rates after reform implementation of 0.3% points along with no seeming effects on pupil's performance. General findings from the three chapters are of strong significance when placed into the broader debate about what works best in schools for improving children's academic performance and general education outcomes in Mexico.
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Kwok, Ka-ho, and 郭家豪. "Politics, social change and education reform in Taiwan, 1994-2008." Thesis, The University of Hong Kong (Pokfulam, Hong Kong), 2010. http://hub.hku.hk/bib/B45455831.
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Yung, Man-sing, and 容萬城. "Education and the labour market: the implications of higher education expansion in Hong Kong in the1990s." Thesis, The University of Hong Kong (Pokfulam, Hong Kong), 1990. http://hub.hku.hk/bib/B31955976.
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Agbley, Gideon Kofi. "Social mobility and education in Ghana : interactions between capabilities and educational outcomes." Thesis, University of Cambridge, 2011. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.609844.
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Christensen-Needham, Vicki. "Primary teachers’ perceptions of the social and emotional aspects of gifted and talented education." Thesis, University of Canterbury. Educational Studies and Human Development, 2010. http://hdl.handle.net/10092/5014.
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This study investigates the impact that teacher attitudes and experiences have on their understandings of the social and emotional characteristics and needs of gifted and talented children. It addresses the issues within Aotearoa New Zealand Primary school settings. The study used a mixed methodology approach. Quantitative data was collected in the form of questionnaires to collect information from a range of participants and to identify potential participants for individual interviews. More in-depth qualitative data were collected through semi-structured interviews conducted with four teachers.
The findings suggest that many teachers are uncertain about the social and emotional characteristics and needs of gifted and talented children. Teachers expressed positive attitudes towards gifted and talented children while acknowledging their lack of personal knowledge about gifted and talented education. The findings also identified teachers‘ frustrations at barriers affecting their ability to support gifted and talented children‘s social and emotional needs in their classroom programmes, including, limited personal knowledge and skills, lack of professional development, lack of time to spend with gifted and talented children, and school directed priorities for meeting the needs of other children.
The findings of this study have implications for teachers wanting to support gifted and talented children, educators interested in the social and emotional needs of gifted and talented children, and those responsible for gifted and talented education (GATE) programmes and GATE professional development. It would seem that it is highly desirable for all teachers to have professional development in gifted and talented education, in order to better understand social and emotional aspects, and thereby provide a more supportive environment where gifted and talented children can learn and grow.
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Althonayan, Mona. "Evaluating stakeholders performance of ERP systems in Saudi Arabia higher education." Thesis, Brunel University, 2013. http://bura.brunel.ac.uk/handle/2438/7502.
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Enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems are complex and comprehensive software packages designed to integrate business processes and functions. Despite the difficulties and risks of implementing such a system, the last decade has seen a remarkable global diffusion of such systems. To cope with technical developments, the Saudi Arabian government is starting to implement them in both private and public organisations, including the higher education (HE). HE in Saudi Arabia applies integrated solutions to replace existing systems, supporting all its business functions and improving effectiveness and efficiency. Evaluating the impact of ERP adoption on stakeholders’ performance is complex and no single existing model was considered adequate. To overcome their various weaknesses, this study integrates three models (Task Technology Fit, the Information Systems Success Model and End User Computing Satisfaction) to produce a new model which offers a comprehensive view of the most important factors affecting stakeholders’ performance. This integration results in a theoretical framework that is used as model for empirical investigations of the impact of ERP systems on HE stakeholders. The aim of this research is to assess the impact of ERP systems on Saudi academic institutions, focusing on stakeholders’ post-implementation performance. Three case studies are examined, using mixed methods of interviews and questionnaires to collect quantitative and qualitative data. SPSS 20 and analytical techniques were undertaken to analyse case studies data. While the results varied according to the circumstances of each case, the overall quantitative findings were that there were six significant factors in the system quality dimension (timeliness, flexibility, ease of use, content, currency and authorisation) and two (reliability and responsiveness) in the service quality dimension. These results were consistent with those of the qualitative phase, which identified a number of other factors having a significant impact on stakeholder performance: resistance to change, continuous training and education, appropriate systems customisation and top management support. In general, it was found that ERP systems had a significant of positive and negative nature impact on HE stakeholders’ performance and productivity in Saudi Arabia.
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Sirkhotte, Widad. "The incorporation of social cohesion in an initial teacher education programme in the Western Cape." Thesis, Cape Peninsula University of Technology, 2018. http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11838/2626.
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Thesis (MEd (Education))--Cape Peninsula University of Technology, 2018.This is a qualitative study that explores social cohesion in terms of how it is understood by, teacher educators and pre-service teachers, and how it is incorporated, taught, and experienced in an initial teacher education (ITE) programme that is located within one university in the Western Cape, South Africa. It uses semi-structured interviews, observations, and a focus group interview to understand how teacher educators think about and teach social cohesion. Moreover, it focuses on how fourth year pre-service teachers experience the programme in relation to debates on social cohesion. Findings suggest that teacher educators’ understandings and pre-service teachers’ backgrounds influence their experiences of an ITE programme. It further suggests that pre-service teachers do develop attitudes and pedagogies for social cohesion, all be it unevenly so. This study contributes to better understandings of social cohesion as a priority of South African government, and how it is experienced by pre-service teachers in an ITE programme. In so doing, it contributes to how social cohesion may be realised in post-apartheid South Africa.
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Tzortzis, Konstantinos. "Higher education policy in the EU : an institutional account." Thesis, University of Nottingham, 2008. http://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/11246/.
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This research examines the development of the EU higher education policy under the theoretical lenses of historical institutionalism. Starting from the assumption that institutions matter, this thesis follows the evolution of higher education policy in the EU premises from its emergence in the early 1970s to date. Unfolding in four phases, this case study focuses on the institutional parameters of the policy and the polity context in order to explain the critical factors that shaped the policy outcomes and the scope of higher education. In a story development full of unanticipated consequences and normative building, this thesis critically examines the relation between the levels of governance to assess their impact on the policy outcome. The main finding is that higher education has been developed as a `market-supporting' policy. The human capital role of higher education has been the main attribute identified in the EU level. As such, higher education gradually evolved from being a policy field aimed at battling unemployment to becoming one of the driving forces behind the knowledge driven society. At the same time higher education moved from the doldrums of EU competence and activity to the centre of policy action to become a policy example of applying the new modes of EU governance. In between the formal EU settings and the Bologna process, institutions and actors have withheld the idea that academic and professional mobility, recognition, comparability are the main areas for the future European workforce.
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Roberts, Brian Alan. "The social construction of 'musician' identity in music education students in Canadian Universities." Thesis, University of Stirling, 1990. http://hdl.handle.net/1893/2141.
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This research concerns itself with the development of a theory in the grounded tradition to account for the social construction of an identity as musician by music education students in Canadian universities. The principal data gathering techniques were semi- and unstructured interviews and participant observation, first at the Faculty of Education and the Faculty of Music, University of Western Ontario with further periods of interviewing at the University of Alberta and the University of British Columbia. The pilot study was conducted at Memorial University of Newfoundland where the author was, at the time of writing, an Associate Professor and Co-ordinator of Music Education in the Faculty of Education. Data collection and analysis were completed simultaneously and the interviewing became more focused on emerging categories and their properties, particularly concerning the construction of identity. The core categories discussed concern the apparent sense of isolation and the development of a symbolic community in the music school, as suggested by Cohen (1985). Further core analytic categories include the music education students' perceptions of Others as outsiders to their own insider symbolic community, and the students' perception of social action, including the notion of deviancy, which contributes to their construction of this symbolic closed community. An examination of models of social action is undertaken. The notion of making points as suggested by Goffman (1967) provides a beginning model for the identification and accumulation of status points which students appear to use in the process of identity construction and validation. Further discussion examines the nature of the music education sub-group as a stigmatized group. The nature of the category musician is examined and substantial comparison and contrasting with the position presented by Kingsbury (1984) is undertaken. The analytical categories of talent and music as in-group constructs are examined. Finally the processes of Self-Other negotiation on are explored and a theory is developed to account for the construction and maintenance of musician identity. The emerging theory borrows extensively from those analyses of the roots of social interaction recognised in the labelling tradition which are concerned with the construction of identity in negotiation with Others, and most specifically draws upon the notion of societal reaction. The research is guided by those theories and methodologies generated by symbolic interactionism developed by writers such as Blumer, Meltzer and Denzin and follows the traditions of sociological research in educational settings by such writers as Baksh, Martin and Stebbins in Canada, and Hargreaves, Woods, Ball, Hammersley and Lacey in the U.K.
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Price, Alan Charles. "Action research in outdoor learning : promoting social and emotional learning in young people with social emotional and behavioural difficulties." Thesis, University of Birmingham, 2017. http://etheses.bham.ac.uk//id/eprint/7428/.
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This research applies a non-typical action research approach to design, implementation and monitoring of an outdoor learning intervention situated within a UK special school for learners with social emotional and behavioural difficulties (SEBD). The rationale for the research is based upon practitioner assumptions that an earlier skills orientated outdoor learning curriculum was inappropriate and that change was required to incorporate opportunities for the learners to develop their social and emotional learning (SEL) skills. The thesis describes the historical role of outdoor learning in relation to SEBD intervention and applies structuration theory (Giddens, 1984) to gain an understanding of previous outdoor learning interventions. The theory has also been used to create a narrative from which to describe the augmentation of SEL skills within the participant group. It was found that SEL augmentation in individuals contributed toward the production of improved social structures within the participant group. Participant attendance on the outdoor learning intervention is also reviewed in the context of alternative curriculum discourse. It was found that participants had improved attendance, punctuality and motivation on intervention days.
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Koff, Nancy Alexander. "Trainee negotiation of professional socialization in medical education." Diss., The University of Arizona, 1989. http://hdl.handle.net/10150/184888.
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The character of the professional socialization experience is a subject of debate in the literature; one of the primary issues being the relative contributions of trainees to the nature of their socializing experience. As crucial as the clinical education experience is to the educational and professional development of medical students, it has received relatively little attention in the literature on professional socialization of physicians. The goals of this research were to understand, from the students' perspective, the character of the first clinical learning experience in the medical school career of a group of medical students and, given the character of that context, the role of student negotiations in their own education and professional socialization. This study employed a symbolic interactionist framework and the data collection methods of participant observation and unstructured interview. The data collection was conducted over a six-week period during which time the researcher experienced along with a group of six medical students their first clinical learning experience. These students perceived the clinical learning environment to be challenging, complex and frequently too busy to easily accommodate their learning needs. They recognized the enormity of their learning task and of their own incompetence. These were the basic perceptions that prompted the students to negotiate their clinical learning experience. Student negotiations took three basic forms: the creation of new learning opportunities, the manipulation of existing learning resources, and interpretation of events and behaviors. Students' negotiations were constrained by the structure of the education program and the students' own assertiveness. The study's findings indicate that the students were active negotiators of the content and the conduct of their own professional education and professional socialization. Even in the face of overwhelming demands on their intellectual and emotional resources, the students expressed their individual and collective intent for their educational experience. The study findings were similar to those of earlier studies of professional socialization, although new behaviors and behaviors inconsistent with those found in previous research were uncovered. Contributions to the literature on professional socialization and to an understanding of this phenomenon were made through the explanation of these inconsistencies.
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CHABOT, Timothée Pierre Jules. "From diversity to mixing? : socioeconomic homophily in French desegregated middle schools." Doctoral thesis, European University Institute, 2021. https://hdl.handle.net/1814/73517.
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Defence Date: 20 December 2021Examining Board: Prof. Fabrizio Bernardi, (European University Institute); Prof. Agnès van Zanten, (CNRS / Sciences Po Paris); Prof. Arnout van De Rijt, (European University Institute); Prof. Pierre Mercklé, (ENS Lyon)
Socioeconomic mixing at school is often considered to be a desirable objective, as it would reduce academic inequalities and help pacify inter-group relations. For this reason, socioeconomic segregation, understood as the spatial distribution of students across different schools, has been extensively studied in educational sociology. However, the interactions among students in cases where schools are effectively diverse have been notably underexplored. Does spatial diversity imply relational mixing, or do students keep interacting with socioeconomically similar peers even in formally desegregated contexts? This raises the question of homophily, the principle by which relationships occur at a higher rate among similar individuals. In this dissertation, I study socioeconomic homophily among a cohort of 860 middle school students in four schools in France, followed during three years. Based on the statistical analysis of students’ friendship networks and on qualitative interviews, I examine the magnitude of this homophily, and try to disentangle the relational processes through which it emerges. In particular, I consider the respective roles of dispositional and contextual factors: to which extent are friendship pairings driven by internalized traits – preferences, tastes, ways of feeling and behaving –, and, on the contrary, by the constraints and incentives that the immediate environment exerts? Results suggest that there generally is socioeconomic homophily among adolescents, but that its magnitude drastically varies across schools. These differences are explained by a multiplicity of factors, as socioeconomic homophily emerges through the joint effect of several relational processes. Among these, the psychological tendency to search for socioeconomically similar friends only accounts for a minority of the total homophily; spatial constraints – such as classrooms and places of residence – and, most importantly, network and group mechanisms – notably transitivity –, play a key role as well. Finally, results hint at a strong variation in the local salience of socioeconomic attributes: depending on the context, youth’s socioeconomic origin can be made particularly visible, or on the contrary be “flattened” and minimized, which may in turn explain students’ propensity to base their friendship behaviors on this particular criteria.
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Ahene-Codjoe, Ama Asantewah. "The effects of education on health and fertility in Ghana." Thesis, University of Nottingham, 2012. http://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/12642/.
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Using the Ghana Living Standards Survey (GLSS) conducted in 1987/88 and 1998/99, this thesis examines two thematic areas of non-monetary returns to education in Ghana. One of the primary aims is to find the differences in the effects of education over the decade (1987/88–1998/99), using standard and non-standard econometric analysis. In addition, the later survey year serves as a robustness check on the first. The first theme examines health status; measured as illness and its duration, as well as the use of anthropometric indicators. The study finds that parental education is positively associated with child’s reported illness and its duration. Further verification of this outcome using an instrumental variable (2SLS) approach that assumes possible endogeneity of parental education supports the results relating to maternal education in both survey years. In contrast, paternal primary education tends to reduce children’s reported illness; but this is only statistically significant in GLSS 1. These outcomes, although perverse are not uncommon in developing countries, and may be the result of systematic reporting bias. The analysis also reveals inconsistent results regarding adults’ health status between the two survey years. For example, we find that illness and its duration increase with personal education in GLSS 1, but the converse is true in GLSS 4, ceteris paribus. The mixed results of this study imply that the relationship between education and health status varies across health measures, and probably over time. Hence caution should be exercised before broad conclusions are drawn and policies made regarding these two vital socioeconomic indicators (education and health). The last theme analyses fertility in both structural and reduced form functions. The structural function involves a two-stage process. The first stage estimates the effect of education on three proximate determinants of fertility - the duration of breastfeeding, contraceptive use and age at cohabitation. The second stage subsequently models the fertility function by estimating three measures: the probability of having at least one birth; the unconditional number of births; and the number of births conditional on one having occurred, using the predicted values of the proximate determinants as inputs similar to the conventional production function. The reduced form fertility model estimates the impact of women’s education on the number of live births. The findings are that (1) education increases the use of contraception, delays age at cohabitation and shortens the duration of breastfeeding, as anticipated; (2) contraception and age at cohabitation subsequently tend to reduce the overall number of live births, though we observe an ambiguous outcome regarding breastfeeding; (3) education, in a fuller and direct way, also shows a strong negative association with fertility in both surveys; and finally (4) fertility appears to have declined over the period studied. We also find a structural shift in respect of the influence of women’s education from post-primary to primary level on fertility, ceteris paribus.
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Avtzaki, Nickolaou Maria. "Education and ethnic conflict resolution : bicommunal academic links in Cyprus." Thesis, University of Nottingham, 2012. http://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/12913/.
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Many contributors to the interdisciplinary field of conflict resolution have emphasised the impact of socio-psychological and psycho-cultural influences in maintaining and perpetuating ethnic conflicts. The review of the literature concerning Cyprus reveals that such factors have been active in the 37 years of ethnic separation between the Greek-Cypriot and the Turkish-Cypriot communities. Although strategies are available to bridge communities and offer prospects for a reconciliation and peace centre on facilitating interaction, contact and dialogue between communities at all levels, it is surprising how little has taken place between the two academic communities on the island. This is in contrast to the picture found in similar conflict cases, such as the ones in Northern Ireland and Israel-Palestine. Despite some notable efforts and collaborations currently in place, the numbers involved constitute a very small fraction of the two academic bodies. The research has aimed at establishing the role of higher education in divided societies, not only by examining theoretically and philosophically its importance as a part of a reconciliation process but also by depicting the opinion of academics from both parts of Cyprus. The research has shown that although they are optimistic about future links, they nevertheless identified major implications stemming out of the issues of ‘recognition’, nationalism, social pressure, the impact of media and the characteristics of the academic cultures in each respective community. These explain the contrast between much good-will and little real action. The analysis of findings includes a discussion of possible strategies to establish an open dialogue between the two academic communities and to facilitate collaborations.
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Pang, Lau Seung-man Bessie, and 龐劉湘文. "Social aspects of integration of children with profound hearing impairment in Hong Kong primary schools." Thesis, The University of Hong Kong (Pokfulam, Hong Kong), 1990. http://hub.hku.hk/bib/B38627085.
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Yu, Ka-pik Susanna, and 余家碧. "Personal and social education, a preventive approach to pastoral care: a case study of teachers' perspectives." Thesis, The University of Hong Kong (Pokfulam, Hong Kong), 1995. http://hub.hku.hk/bib/B31958370.
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Karlidag-Dennis, Ecem. "Basic education and hegemony in Turkey : thinking on ideology, policymaking and civil society." Thesis, University of Nottingham, 2018. http://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/49691/.
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This thesis is concerned with the latest education reform, called 4+4+4 (4+), and overall educational changes in the basic education system (K12) since 2002 by the governing Justice and Development Party (AKP). The study investigates the role that education plays in state formation processes as well as looking at how dominant groups’ ideologies influence education policies. The research problem is the extent to which the state uses education policies to create a new public ideology. There are three key research questions that this thesis addresses. The data for this research was obtained from fifteen semi-structured interviews conducted with teacher trade unions, journalists and policy makers, focusing on their experiences and views not only about the 4+4+4 education system but also about the policymaking process in Turkey. The interviews present the pressing issues within the education system and indicate how education works a state apparatus for the government to gain and secure society’s consent. Located in a critical tradition, the research draws its theoretical framework from the Italian theorist Antonio Gramsci, especially focusing on his concepts of hegemony, civil society and consent. Using a Gramscian theoretical framework allows this study to place the 4+ reform in a bigger picture. The thesis analyses the reform not only from a local perspective but also from an international education policy perspective, focusing on the relationship between power, ideology and schooling. The findings suggest that the state and its private associations (i.e. media, and political parties) are actively encouraging Islamisation along with neoliberalism in order to consolidate their hegemonic dominance.
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Byron, Amanda Smith. "Storytelling as Loving Praxis in Critical Peace Education: A Grounded Theory Study of Postsecondary Social Justice Educators." PDXScholar, 2011. http://pdxscholar.library.pdx.edu/open_access_etds/245.
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Looking through the philosophical lens of love, this study seeks a deeper understanding and appreciation of how postsecondary social justice educators use storytelling, in the context of critical peace education, to create social change. This research explores the guiding question of how storytelling is used to encourage social change and to inspire action toward the goal of greater social justice. The argument for the importance of this research is located within the crisis of neoliberalism, where the very tenets of democratic education are being challenged by an educational agenda that favors standards-based learning and employment training over the critical and analytical thinking skills required for democracy to flourish. The results of this study identify storytelling as a method of ideology critique, and locate it within a larger process of loving praxis. A theoretical model of loving praxis is offered to explain how postsecondary social justice educators engage story as an action that leads to the goal of social justice. The steps in the model describe how valuing the common good motivates social justice educators to take action through storytelling, toward the outcome of building transformation, voice, and agency within students as a means to build greater social justice. The sense of possibility that is cultivated in this process re-engages the cycle by validating the value of and hope for the common good.
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Maloney, Carmel. "Ritual and pedagogy : Teachers' use of ritual in pre-primary classroom settings." Thesis, Edith Cowan University, Research Online, Perth, Western Australia, 1997. https://ro.ecu.edu.au/theses/883.
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Pre-primary teachers' daily organisation and routines are established through repetitive patterns of actions which become highly ritualised. This study examines how pre-primary teachers use ritual and how ritual structures teaching in pre-primary classroom settings and in doing so serves a pedagogical purpose for teachers. Describing forms and functions of ritual provides a way of examining and interpreting what teachers know and do and how they go about their work. The interpretive paradigm of qualitative methodology has been adopted for the study. Participant observation and structured interviews are used as the primary methods of conducting field work and collecting data. The research is designed in the form of three case studies. Each case focuses on the teacher within the context of an interactive pre-primary classroom. Two classrooms are situated within the state education system, whilst the third setting is a Montessori pre-school. Data are reported for each of the cases. Six key features of ritual as it is enacted in pre-primary settings emerged from the data. Findings indicate that: pre-primary classrooms are highly ritualised; rituals are taken for granted; some rituals are sacrosanct; rituals can act as a framework; rituals are an expression of values and beliefs; and rituals are didactic. Classroom ritual has the potential to act as a tool through which teachers structure a particular form of praxis which goes beyond surface meaning and which carries a rational, pedagogical purpose for teachers. Ritual in each of the three pre-primary settings went beyond the realm of conveying messages of conformity, consensus and cohesiveness and was a means of putting in place a particular instructional form and leaching procedure for each of the three teachers
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Campbell, Elizabeth. "Scottish adult literacy and numeracy policy and practice : a social practice model : rhetoric or reality." Thesis, University of Glasgow, 2011. http://theses.gla.ac.uk/2948/.
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This thesis is about the story of the development of Adult Literacy and Numeracy policy and practice in Scotland. It includes some of my personal experiences over the past thirty years working in the field of adult education and particularly in literacies. However, the focus is primarily on the years 2000 –2006 when major developments took place in this field of adult learning. One of the tenets of the ‘new literacies’ policy and practice is that it is predicated on a social practice model. This thesis explores whether this assertion is rhetoric or reality. In the process the thesis outlines what the term social practice means to theorists, academics and those involved in the direct delivery of literacies. It examines the policy documents and the practices of managers and tutors and learner outcomes. The thesis argues that, while a learner centred approach is integral to any good adult education practice, it does not equate to the use of a social practice model and more requires to be done before it can be claimed that Scotland truly operates a social practice model in the delivery of Adult Literacy and Numeracy. The first five chapters of the thesis outline the historical context of literacies development in Scotland, locate my methodological approach, explore what is meant by social practices, sketch the development of policy and practice in Scotland and describe the methods used to gather data. The following three chapters explore the responses of the managers, tutors and learners that informed the outcomes of the research. The final chapters analyse the data and address three pertinent questions. Firstly, is it possible/likely that a full social practice model can become the norm in Scotland, secondly, whether it is possible to develop this model at a national level anywhere considering the current global situation and thirdly, how can the good practice recorded in this research be sustained.
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Taebi, Shala. "Theoretical foundations of media education : a critical analysis." Thesis, McGill University, 2001. http://digitool.Library.McGill.CA:80/R/?func=dbin-jump-full&object_id=31143.
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The primary purpose of this study is the exploration of the theoretical and critical framework of media education. The major paradigms used as rationale for the study of media embody views of media as agents of cultural decline that stress discriminating against the media; media as popular arts, stressing discriminating within the media; media as agents of communication, featuring the behavioral models of media studies; studying the media as representational or symbolic systems; and an exploration of the interaction between the self and the media and the question of whether and how media empower or oppress. Developments in the fields of structuralism, semiotics, theories of ideology and the social context of media production are discussed as the contributing factors to a view of media as representational systems. The study is concluded with a discussion of the significance of the context of meaning and a brief discussion of the educational implications of the field of cultural studies.
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Kozolanka, Karne. "Distributed practice and practical negotiation in a tech ed classroom : the way things are done in technology education." Thesis, McGill University, 2000. http://digitool.Library.McGill.CA:80/R/?func=dbin-jump-full&object_id=36774.
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This inquiry is about the sense-making of students in a technology education class as they build a prototype electric car in a secondary school manufacturing shop. I make sense of their sense-making by examining their talk and interaction in the interplay of the social, material, institutional, and organizational resources constituting what I call "distributed practice." This involves a move away from defining understanding and learning as self-contained structures in the minds of people, but instead sees learning as spread out in the broad social context of activity and participation. Distributed practice theorized in this way is about the interplay among "complex social relations, technologically constituted." Technologies and their use in practice provide us with a realm through which we can discuss issues related to the understanding of learners. In many respects, this dissertation is an exploration of how "the way things are done" becomes understanding and alternately, how understanding becomes "the way things are done." The analysis moves towards a social and cultural practice view of learning I call "practical negotiation."
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Boychuk, Tuutalik. "Homework and inequality : school responsibility and enabling student achievement in the school." Thesis, McGill University, 2008. http://digitool.Library.McGill.CA:80/R/?func=dbin-jump-full&object_id=111611.
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In this conceptual inquiry, I argue how and why homework contributes to inequality. Homework contributes to inequality systemically, as schools continue to rely heavily on it. Homework continues to contribute to inequality discursively and psychologically, as parents and educators encourage homework without fully realizing the consequences of homework for those students who have difficulty completing school tasks at home. The inequalities maintained by homework often persist unnoticed. This persistence is an example of a broader persistence of sociological problems even as technological advances are made. This imbalance in the two domains of society and technology is due partly to the differences in the nature of the knowledge content. Therefore, educators and policy makers must be vigilant against tendencies to be blind to possibilities for improvement. One such improvement is a ban on mandatory homework, which implies more school responsibility to enable student achievement in the school.
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REBANE, Marit. "The start of inequality : evidence from Italian time-use data." Doctoral thesis, 2017. http://hdl.handle.net/1814/49144.
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Defence date: 28 November 2017Examining Board: Professor Fabrizio Bernardi (Supervisor), European University Institute; Professor Jonathan Gershuny, University of Oxford; Professor Martin Kohli, European University Institute; Professor Maria Letizia Tanturri, University of Padua
The thesis consists of three empirical studies which explore the origins of various social inequalities arising at early ages. Italian Time Use Survey data from 2003 and 2009 is used. First, the educational and developmental gradients in childcare are under observation. More educated parents are expected not only to spend more time with children, i.e. the education gradient in child care, but also to alter their childcare time in order to cater children´s developmental needs more, i.e. the developmental gradient in childcare. The empirical results show that: (i) highly educated mothers alter the composition of active childcare time to suit children´s developmental needs more than less educated mothers; (ii) the developmental gradient in fathers´ childcare time only exists for certain activities and child ages; (iii) interesting time-use patterns of compensation emerge for couples with different educational backgrounds. Second study compares the time use of children from single-mother and intact families, using propensity score matching. The time diaries of children between age 3 and 10 years are scrutinized. Given the multitude of literature on the negative aspects of witnessing parental break-up, and being raised by a single-mother, the results are somewhat surprising. No systematic and large differences in the use of free time between the treatment and the control group. The greatest difference concerns daily meals with parent(s) that are about a quarter of an hour shorter in single-parent families. Third empirical study adds the perspective of different parental investments by children´s birth order which serves as an indicator of relative disadvantage. The analytical sub-sample consists of families with two and three children aged from 3 to 11 years. The contribution to available studies is (i) connecting the diaries of both parents and all children in the family by place codes, which enables to (ii) scrutinize the link between birth order and parental childcare investments by parental education. Results indicate that each day second-born children receive on average 88 minutes and third-born children 114 minutes less interactive care compared to their first-born sibling, while controlling for children´s age, gender, and other characteristics. The disadvantage arising from birth-order is about 47 minutes smaller if mother has secondary or tertiary education. Siblings fixed effects models underline that the differences in investing time in children are greater between families than inside families.
Chapter 2 'Double advantage or disadvantage? the effect of parental education on child care' of the PhD thesis draws upon an earlier version published as an article 'Double advantage or disadvantage? Parental education and children's developmental stages in Italy' (2015) in the journal 'Electronic International Journal of Time Use Research (eIJTUR)'