Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'Social welfare education'

Few studies have examined the intersection of charter school and special education policies. The concerns around the serving of special education students in charter schools must be carefully studied, especially as charter schools continue to grow in numbers and continue to serve a greater percentage of public school students. New policies must not only address equity in access for special education students in charter schools but must also study how charter schools can be leveraged to generate innovative and promising practices in the area of special education.

This study examines a recent policy change in the Los Angeles Unified School District that provides great autonomy and increased accountability for charter schools in their provision of special education services. This policy change promotes key tenets of charter schools: (a) autonomy and decentralization, (b) choice and competition, and (c) performance-based accountability with the aim of increasing access for students with special needs and increasing the capacity of charter schools to serve them. The research design utilizes a mixed method approach to collect qualitative and quantitative data to evaluate the goals of this major policy change within this particular school district.

The Emergency Immigrant Education Act of 1984 (EIEA) was passed by the 98th U.S. Congress to provide funds to states to "meet the costs of providing immigrant children supplementary educational services" (Emergency Immigrant Education Act of 1984, Title VI, Sec. 607). This study analyzes the culture, values, and political context in which the Emergency Immigrant Education Act of 1984 was developed, passed, and amended through its most recent reauthorization. EIEA is the only federal legislation that specifically targets new immigrant students. However, EIEA has been largely overlooked by education policy analysts, because new immigrant students are rarely considered as different from limited English proficient (LEP) students. The study employs historical document and content analysis, applying Kingdon's (2011) theoretical framework of agenda-setting and Manna's (2006) concept of borrowing strength to explain EIEA's path to the agenda. In addition, it applies McDonnell and Elmore's (1987) policy framework to EIEA to understand how policymakers sought to realize EIEA's goals, as well as that of Wirt, Mitchell, and Marshall (1988) to identify the cultural and political values revealed in the rhetoric of the legislation. In tracing EIEA's 30-year route, I describe how the nature of the legislation changed from a primarily capacity-building policy to more of an inducement. In addition, the study revealed a change in an egalitarian culture to one that emphasizes quality.

The main objective of this dissertation is to analyze the impact that two notable school reforms have had on student achievement in Colombia. The dissertation consists of three essays. The first essay lays out the conceptual framework for the dissertation. It describes the education production function that underlies most analyses in the economics of education, and reviews the main evidence on the impact of school resource policies on student outcomes.

The second essay analyzes the impact of longer school days on student achievement in Colombia, where primary and secondary students attend schools that have either a complete (7-hour) or a half-day (4-hour) schedule. Using test score data from 5^th and 9^th graders in 2002, 2005, and 2009, along with school administrative data, this study identifies the effect of longer school days by implementing a school fixed effects model. The main model compares variation in average test scores across cohorts for schools that switched from a complete schedule to a half schedule and vice versa. I find that among schools that switch schedules between 2002 and 2009, the cohorts exposed to complete schedules have test scores that are about one tenth of a standard deviation higher than cohorts that attended half schedules. The impact of a complete schedule is larger for math test scores than for language test scores, and it is larger for 9^th grade test scores than for 5^th grade test scores. Effects are largest among the poorest schools in the sample, and those in rural areas. The results suggest that lengthening the school day may be an effective policy for increasing student achievement, particularly for the lowest-income students in Colombia and other developing countries.

The third essay analyzes the impact of the "Escuela Nueva" (EN) model (New School) on student achievement, using test score data from SABER 2002 and 2005, a national standardized test administered to 5^th and 9^th graders in Colombia. EN is an educational model originally designed to improve the effectiveness of rural schools. It is characterized by multigrade classrooms (i.e., one instructor teaches students in various grades in the same classroom), a child-centered curriculum, flexible systems of grading and promotion, intensive teacher training, and parental involvement. To mitigate the concerns about systematic selection of schools into EN that might bias the estimations of the EN impact, this study implements a school fixed effects model that controls for time-invariant characteristics within the school. Results show that among schools that switched models between 2002 and 2005, the cohorts of 5^th grade students exposed to EN have on average 0.135 of a standard deviation higher language test scores than cohorts exposed to other models, while there is no statistically significant impact on switching to EN for 9^th graders. The impact of EN is largest among rural schools and the poorest schools in the sample.

In this analysis, we use National Ambulatory Medical Care Survey data to investigate whether the adoption of the ambulatory electronic health records (EHR) system is associated with changes in patient-specific health education prescription rates, patient-physician interaction time, and returned appointment rates. We estimate the treatment effect of EHR adoption with multinomial propensity score weighting adjusted regressions. We find evidence to suggest that full EHR adoption positively affects patient-specific health education prescription rates. We find no robust evidence to show a significant effect of the EHR system on time utilization or returned appointment rates. We discuss possible reasons for our findings. We recommend linking patient education with quality improvement efforts and improving the usability of EHR systems.

The purpose of this project is to develop a school curriculum prevention program for elementary school students. The identifying school for implementation will be Garfield Elementary School. This prevention program aims to work with elementary school students by providing psycho-education on healthy behaviors and unhealthy behaviors. This project will consist of providing a social support group for students to feel safe when talking about any type of violence from home, school, and the community. The class will consist of providing different activities in order to provide the information to the students. Students will also be giving a pre-test and a post-test in order to evaluate their knowledge before and after treatment. The purpose of this prevention program is to decrease bullying, teen-dating violence, and school violence. As part of the goals and objectives to decrease maladaptive behaviors this program will focus teaching and increasing the level of healthy behaviors, which includes, asking for help, walking away, speaking up, and conflict resolution among others.

The Experience of Sacred Breathwork™: Healing Through Non-Ordinary States of Consciousness

This narrative study examines the impact the foster care system had on the high school completion of adult former foster youth in an urban school setting. In particular, the study explores the experiences and reflections from their perspectives on the systems (school, child welfare agency, and legal) that raised them. The participants reflected and shared their personal experiences to provide detailed and accurate accounts of being a student while in the child welfare system. Through interviews and document analysis, a story surfaces that demonstrates collective narratives about the reality of the challenges, obstacles, and determination behind each participant's journey to get through both the public school and the child welfare systems to become the adults they are.

Five major themes (Impact of Instability and Permanency within Placements and Schools, Lack of Trust and Reliability within Systems, Perceptions and Expectations, Collaboration and Accountability within Systems and Policies, and Self-Reflection on Survival as a Student in Foster Care, Attachment or Resilience) emerged from the participants' stories that led to whether they were able to complete their secondary schooling. Attachment and resilience theories were used as a guide for participants' self-reflections about their survival in foster care and assisted in linking to existing literature associated with this subgroup of students.

This qualitative multi-site case study, situated in the context of Ukraine's post-Soviet political economy, examined how orphanage educators' expectations and beliefs about orphans' academic abilities and potential, curriculum, peer relationships, and education policy shaped orphans' post-secondary education decisions and trajectories. Examination of the educational experiences of orphans and children deprived of parental care shed light on socio-economic inequalities confronting these marginalized youth in and beyond state care. This dissertation is informed by critical theories of social and cultural reproduction that examine the relationship between schooling and socio-economic inequalities. I draw mainly on the concepts of the hidden curriculum and forms of capital (cultural, social, and economic).

Research conducted in Ukraine, primarily through quantitative surveys, tends to pathologize orphans and neglects to investigate how their secondary education experiences impact their trajectories post-institutionalization. This study, framed in qualitative methodology, was informed by observations of daily in- and out-of-classroom activities in two orphanages; in-depth, semi-structured interviews and focus groups with Grade 10 and 11 orphanage students, orphanage educators and administrators, and orphanage alumni; and document analysis. I focused on 81 orphanage youth and 41 educators as key participants embedded in the orphanage system.

My findings demonstrated that, despite some institutional changes, the ideologies, regimes, and cultures of Ukrainian orphanages still reflect the Soviet legacy of sequestered institutions providing substandard quality education. My examination of orphanage education revealed that many teachers, informed by genetic deficit ideology, communicated low expectations for student success and implemented an unchallenging curriculum characterized by watered-down teaching and learning materials, oversimplified assignments, canceled classes, and inflated grades. This study uncovered nuanced use of a hidden curriculum that ensured social reproduction and what I term a "transformative hidden curriculum" that fostered student success through art therapy, soft pedagogy, and hard caring.

Furthermore, this study shed light on factors that influenced orphans' complex post-secondary education decision-making processes, including peer pressure to attend vocational school; teacher-directed versus teacher-encouraged decisions; and informed, independent decisions largely thwarted by structural constraints. Lack of cultural and social capital significantly limited orphans' options and disenfranchised them in the labor market, thus perpetuating social reproduction in Ukrainian society.

The purpose of this study is to determine the extent to which teachers' academic and professional characteristics predict their classroom effectiveness, as measured by value-added indicators of their students' growth. Teachers' college transcripts, service records, and district records of classroom assignments are used to examine undergraduate content and pedagogy courses, graduate work, and professional experience; the district's own value-added indices are utilized as the measure of teacher effectiveness. The study examines a subset of 318 teachers who were continuously employed over a four-year period at one of 19 "hard-to-staff" secondary schools in one of the nation's largest school districts. The study finds that local experience and college coursework in the teacher's assigned content modestly predict the teacher's classroom effectiveness, which has implications for hiring practices in public schools.

High school exit exams have become a popular policy tool in states as well as districts and even schools as a means of improving student achievement and holding students accountable. Despite the extensive use of these exams, the behavioral responses to them and their impact on student outcomes are not fully understood. This study used a nationally representative longitudinal data set—the Educational Longitudinal Study of 2002—which tracked students starting in the spring of the 10th grade to explore the extent to which exit exam policies were associated with transfer behavior and student attainment outcomes. Transfer behavior was of interest because past research has found that schools that were successful in improving student achievement outcomes were not as successful in keeping transfer and dropout rates low (Rumberger & Palardy, 2005). Transfer behavior was conceptualized as a mediator to the likelihood of earning a regular high school diploma.

The logistic regression models used to answer the study's research questions found no evidence that statewide exit exams impacted the likelihood of transfer between the 10th and 12th grades or attainment of a regular high school diploma. There was also little evidence that the intensity of the exit exam, as measured using a composite indicator developed by the author, was associated with transfer or attainment outcomes, although the intensity may be influenced by the longevity of the policies.

Using a broader identification of exit exams that incorporated statewide exit exams, school-initiated exit exams, or locally mandated exit exams identified by school administrators, there was some limited evidence that exit exams were associated with an increased likelihood of transfer and decreased likelihood of earning a regular high school diploma. These results were particularly evident for the bottom quartile of performers on an achievement test (those most likely to fail an exit exam), while having no apparent impact on the top quartile of performers. The findings of this study suggest that school-initiated or locally mandated exit exam policies may be a confounding factor in analyses of the impact of statewide high school exit exam policies. Recommendations for future research and policy are discussed.

Mass notification systems exist to provide rapid notification to members of the public during emergency situations. Since the middle of the 20 ^th century, these systems have evolved to incorporate a variety of different communications methods as technology has advanced. While local governments have used mass notification systems for many years, institutions of higher education generally only began using such systems following the Virginia Tech shootings in 2007. This study attempted to examine trends relating to mass notification systems and to identify differences in how they have been implemented both in local government and in higher education. While the study was not able to identify statistically valid results due to low response rates, it appears that such differences do exist and further research in this area is needed.

This research explores the intersection of several truths: 1) American research universities are complex organizations with long-standing traditions that guide faculty behavior. 2) For the US to remain competitive in the global economy, education systems must prepare a diverse STEM workforce to conduct innovative research and development activities. Educators, students, and all citizens must understand the importance of and pathway to STEM careers. 3) Faculty rely on external funds to support their research. 4) The US government distributes tax dollars to support university research activities. The National Science Foundation (NSF) allocates the second largest percentage of federal research funds. 5) The NSF proposal review process includes Intellectual Merit and Broader Impacts Criteria, through which faculty must address areas of national need.

These realities are merged in the experiences of new faculty in engineering colleges at research universities in the United States. Junior faculty members who hold a prestigious NSF Faculty Early Career Development or CAREER award frequently struggle to develop a broader impacts strategy that satisfies the expectations of NSF and the expectations of their university. This work examined broader impacts from three perspectives: CAREER awardees from four institutions, faculty and staff who assist awardees with broader impacts planning and implementation, and current and former NSF officials who clarified the Agency's intent in maintaining broader impacts as a factor in distributing funds. The findings revealed many tensions or inconsistencies. Broader impacts is described as "annunciating existing behavior" or as a mechanism to "change the mindset" of faculty. Faculty perceptions, attitudes and behaviors are shaped by messages, often conflicting, that are sent by NSF and colleagues. CAREER holders had positive opinions of broader impacts but provided many different explanations of the intent. Their combined comments suggest changes that could ease tensions related to broader impacts work. Although the goal of broader impacts was not to change universities, this is a consequence as institutions have created mechanisms to support broader impacts work. Faculty noted broader impacts activities are not necessarily considered in promotion and tenure decisions, suggesting that changes represent resource-dependence responses and not true transformation of university traditions and expected behaviors.

Research indicates that families are the fastest growing segment of the homeless population in the country (National Alliance to End Homelessness, 2011). The rise in the number of homeless families has resulted in a dramatic increase in the number of homeless students (Chicago Coalition for the Homeless, 2013; Flannery, 2010). In recent years, the number of District of Columbia homeless families with children has significantly increased (The Homeless Children's Playtime Project [HCPP], 2012), and as of February 2013, more than 601 high school homeless students were enrolled in District of Columbia Public High Schools (DCAYA, 2013). Using mixed methods research, the study collected data from 95 homeless participants (16-21 years) to construct a demographic and educational profile of Black high school-aged homeless youth residing in District of Columbia homeless shelters. The study examined the factors that facilitate or impede the learning outcomes of these youth. The data analysis revealed that 31.66% of the respondents' struggle to find enough food to eat, 59.75% when faced with shelter shortages sleep in abandoned properties and city parks (34.45%), and (37.95%) sleep in city public streets (37.95%). In addition, 74.76% of the study sample "plans to keep going to school". Logistic Regression was performed and indicated that the variables (Multiethnic Identity, Ego Resiliency, and Life Orientation) are significant predictors of grade completion.