Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'Students Victoria Economic conditions'

Thesis (MTech (Tourism and Hospitality Management))--Cape Peninsula University of Technology, 2018.
A well-packaged tourism product is the deciding factor in the choice of tourists about which destination to visit. A tourism product can be bundled with many tourism elements such as accommodation, attractions, activities and tours, price, image and climate. The tourism elements that build up a tourism product are the principle factors that contribute to the decision to choose one destination over another destination. Tourists can put a number of tourism products on the table, based on their needs and wants. However, they opt for one tourism product that promises to satisfy their demands. Destinations that offer unique tourism products are the most successful in a competitive industry since tourists will visit such destinations to fulfil their needs. However, even though some destinations like Victoria Falls offer unique tourism products, it is important to understand the nature and trends of tourists visiting this destination and their perceptions of the tourism product. This will assist in planning how to address any areas of concern as well as maintaining areas that are performing well. Limited research exists on tourist perspectives of the Victoria Falls tourism product and hence this is the focus of the current research. It will help in broadening the knowledge of the relevant tourism bodies in Zimbabwe on how tourists view the tourism product, as well as aiding sustainable development and growth of the tourism product. This study followed a quantitative methodology design. The interviewer administered 377 questionnaires on face-to-face basis to tourists on a voluntary participation basis. Systematic sampling was used to collect the data.Key findings indicate that despite the increasing number of females visiting this destination, males still dominate the tourist numbers. The majority of tourists fell within the age bracket of 21-50 years. The findings further show that availability of attractions, price of the tourism product, and accessibility of the destination play a paramount role in influencing tourists to visit the destination. Most tourists’ expectations were met and they would visit again in future and recommend the destination to friends and relatives. The most satisfactory results were noted on the attractions, activities, tours, and tourist accommodation. Despite these positive results, tourists felt that prices of accommodation, activities, tours, as well as dining, was too high. Furthermore, too many police roadblocks and unnecessary fines were noted as being detrimental to the tourism product. The researcher noted all concerns and made recommendations to overcome these negative aspects. The experience of tourists at a destination is strongly associated with an amalgamation of different elements of a tourism product. It is crucial to understand the performance of each tourism element as this contributes significantly to the success of the tourism product. The results of this study will afford the Zimbabwe Tourism Authority and Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife Management Authority an understanding of the Victoria Falls tourism product from a tourist perspective. These entities will be able to improve the product, make it more attractive to tourists, and hence grow future visitor numbers. In addition, the results of this study create a baseline for future research. Monitoring of tourist perspectives over time and an evaluation and assessment of the tourist demands can be done, which will help in the modification and upgrading of the tourism product to match the demands of the consumers (tourists).

The problem of this study concerned the relationship between the academic achievement of students in Jordan state universities and the socioeconomic status (SES) of their families. A survey composed of questions regarding demographics, SES background, cultural factors, and accumulated grade point average (GPA) was administered by four Jordanian professors in four state universities in Jordan. Of the 620 surveys made, there were 609 usable surveys analyzed using the Statistical Package of Social Science SPSS/PC+. Data were sorted so that families' SES variables, namely fathers' and mothers' income, occupation, and education, and students' GPA were identified on a 9-point ordinal scale. Pearson's chi-square was used to determine whether relationships existed between parents' SES and with students' GPA. Spearman's correlation was also used to determine the direction and strength of the relationships. The same data were then compressed from 9 to a 3-point ordinal scale and were used to determine the relationship between studendts' GPA and their parents1 SES. For this purpose a one-way Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) was used. Five additional related questions concerned relationship between degree of religious commitment of parents, number of siblings, parents' kinship, parents1 educational aspiration, and reason for parents' educational aspiration, and students' GPA were identified on a 4-point ordinal scale and also tested using the one-way ANOVA, the Tukey/Kramer method, and the Eta coefficient.

The study was concerned with the testing of a modified causal model of college anticipation and attendance for a nationwide sample of Puerto-Rican and Mexican-American high-school seniors. The key problem of this study was defined on the basis of two fundamental criteria. The first states that social-structural and social-psychological components of sociological theory can provide basic information needed to comprehend the educational aspirations and achievement behaviors of Hispanic youth in the United States. The second theoretical tenet of this study was that the logic of the modified Wisconsin Model of status attainment can be understood as a common process that applies to all sectors of the American system of stratification and mobility. The data used in this study were extracted from the High School and Beyond: A National Longitudinal Study for the 1980s (HSB) and its First Follow-Up. Path coefficients associated with the direct and indirect effects were used in attempting to explain the variance in postsecondary educational plans and attainments of the subjects. A summary of the most significant findings, using the aforementioned data follows. The analysis of the educational attainments for the two ethnic group subsamples shows no statistically significant difference when the two samples are classified by gender. The recursive causal model used in this analysis is not completely successful in explaining the variance in the dependent variables (postsecondary educational plans and attainments) of both Mexican-American and Puerto-Rican high-school seniors. As a result, only about one-fourth of the degree of change in postsecondary educational plans and less than one-half of the variability in the level of educational attainments are accounted for by the antecedent variables. Present results reduce the impact of some of the social-psychological intervening variables on the level of educational plans of Hispanic adolescents. On the other hand, the role of objective variables (academic achievement and socioeconomic status is magnified. The influence of some of the objective variables on the process of educational attainment is also noticeable.

Understanding economically disadvantaged students and the ways in which they perceive their environment, enrolled in middle to upper class universities, is essential to the study of student development. Six economically disadvantaged students were studied in order to understand their acquisition of self-efficacy, experienced challenges, and the ways in which they perceived their environment. The interviews revealed important information regarding their identity development in relation to economic status and their challenges and/or setbacks. Moreover, a theoretical framework is presented to assess institutional intent and impact, thus facilitating the disruption of oppressive policies and systems.

The entrepreneurial intentions of university students are important factors to consider when developing entrepreneurship offerings at tertiary level institutions. This research study reports on pertinent findings from a study which set out to determine Rhodes university undergraduate students‟ entrepreneurial intentions and their pull and push factors that have brought them to the decision to become entrepreneurs. A survey, using a 43 question structured web-based instrument was used to capture the responses from undergraduate students across different departments at Rhodes University, Grahamstown. Key findings suggest that few undergraduate students intend to enter into an entrepreneurship career immediately after completion of their studies, whereas many of the respondents were more interested in doing so five years after graduation. The vast majority of students were satisfied without having formal entrepreneurial education and factors such as previous employment in entrepreneurial activities, and family influence had a statistical significant relationship with entrepreneurial intention.

The purpose of the study was to determine at the school district level, what relationships exist, if any, between Indiana school corporation SAT mean scores (a limited output measure of student achievement and aptitude) and six intervening input variables: (1) operating expenditures per pupil, (2) instructional expenditures per pupil, (3) per capita income, (4) corporation enrollment size, (5) degree of population density, and (6) at-risk index characteristics.The study provided a review of the research and related literature on relationships between high school SAT scores, public school expenditures and other intervening input variables. The study addressed questions about relationships and effects of expenditures and other input variables upon SAT scores. The need to examine individual district variation in SAT performance was motivated by the influence comparisons of SAT scores have on public perception of education and the resultant impact on state and local education policy.A principal goal of the study was to add to the understanding of the relationships between public expenditures directed to education, specific demographic and compositional student characteristics, and education performance as measured in SAT mean scores.The study incorporated Pearson product moment correlations and stepwise multiple regression procedures to determine the existence of variation in outputs accounted for by variation in the specific inputs. Initially a Pearson correlation coefficient was calculated to test each of the six null hypotheses. Statistical significance was sought in each instance at the .01 level. Stepwise multiple regressions were then used to examine the SAT output relationships with compounded variables.The following conclusions were drawn from the findings and the summary tables reported in the study: 1. Low per capita income is associated with a decline in SAT scores and higher per capita income to associate with higher SAT scores.2. Increased performance on the SAT is not dependent upon the amount spent in total General Fund expenditures per pupil, however, an increased amount spent on instruction tends to raise SAT scores.3. A high at-risk index presence is associated with lower SAT scores whereas a low at-risk index tends to be associated with higher SAT scores.4. Urban density does not effect SAT scores in a statistically significant manner.5. The size of the school corporation has no relationship to SAT scores.Overall total General Fund expenditures were not shown to significantly affect SAT scores, although such costs were not shown to be detrimental in the multiple regression analysis. More importantly, instructional expenditures per student were demonstrated to be one of three significant factors affecting higher SAT scores. The other significant variables were poverty and high at-risk factors, which were shown to be associated with lower SAT score levels.The data and the study strongly suggest that, if school authorities, legislatures, private business and parents continue to use the SAT scores as a prime barometer and target for educational success, we should immediately begin to compensate dramatically for the atrisk and per capita income deficits in individual students and impacted schools, and maximize financial resources into proven classroom instructional strategies. If the public wishes to narrow the gap in SAT scores, then policy makers need to examine the educational-environmental liabilities of low income, single parent home, and the appropriate level of instructional cost which will generate acceptable SAT results.
Department of Educational Leadership

Science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) educational achievement is vital to economic competitiveness in the United States and abroad. Despite a concerted effort, the US lags well behind many similarly developed nations. Research suggests that the integration of fine arts education into traditional STEM curriculum (STEAM) boosts academic achievement in STEM subjects and closes gaps between low- and high-socioeconomic status students. Justifications for STEAM programs are based, however, on the unexamined assumption, for one, that fine arts courses instill creative and critical thinking skills that can be transferred to STEM subjects. The present study explores the impact of taking fine arts courses on mathematics achievement in high school. Using the High School Longitudinal Study of 2009 and multi-level regression modeling, this study provides evidence that credit accumulation in fine arts courses relates positively to advancing past Algebra II in high school. Additionally, this estimated impact is much greater in magnitude for low-SES students than for their high-SES peers.

Thesis (M. Ed. (Education Management)) - Central University of Technology, Free State, 2013
The study focuses on the challenges facing principals of high-poverty schools in the Lejweleputswa Education District in the Free State. This study moreover deals with the strategies employed by principals of high-poverty school in addressing these challenges. It further profiles the leadership qualities as exhibited by the principals of high-performing, high-poverty schools. An in-depth literature review which covered typical problems faced by such schools and the leadership styles generally employed when managing them, was conducted. An empirical investigation using a qualitative research design was conducted and data was gathered through interviews with the principals and focus group discussions with teachers of the five selected schools. In the final analysis, findings and recommendations were made to officials in the Department of Education, teachers and the principals of high-poverty schools on how to confront challenges in the disadvantaged communities while at the same time moving towards maintaining academic excellence.

There is an extensive amount of research on academic success and career development, but most of the literature has focused on the process of White participants. While some of the studies have examined samples from ethnic minority populations, the majority of studies use these populations as comparison groups, studying between-group differences as opposed to within-group differences. The literature is especially lacking in the area Latino academic success and career development. The current study examined how family and culture, specifically socioeconomic status, acculturation, and the quality of the parent-emerging adult relationship, influence the academic success and career development of Latino emerging adults. Eighty-three Latino undergraduate students ages 18 – 24 were recruited for participation in this study. Results indicated that valuing the role of work (career salience) significantly predicted the maturity and positivity of attitudes toward work (career maturity) in Latino emerging adults. Additionally, while family demographic and cultural variables did not seem to have a significant impact on academic success and career development, first-generation college student status, career salience, and conflict in the parent-emerging adult relationship lent some insight into the variation of levels of career maturity in a Latino sample. Furthermore, first-generation student status also impacted the relationship between career maturity and GPA.

Bibliography: leaves 135-143. An anthropological analysis of an industrial dispute that occurred within the East Gippsland forest industry, 1997-1998 and how the workers strove to acheive better working conditions for themselves, and to share in the wealth they had created.

This thesis examined the impact of teacher quality and the socioeconomic status of students on school performance on the Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills Test. The data were obtained from the Academic Excellence Indicator System (AEIS) 2005-2006 Report. Disparities in education were used to examine the use of teacher quality in the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001. A multiple regression model was used and included other factors such as socioeconomic status of students, teacher salary, school funding, and student-teacher ratio. Using an ordinary least squares regression, I found that socioeconomic status of students had the most significant impact school performance. Two other variables, teacher salary and student-teacher ratio, had a significant effect on school performance suggesting alternative means of eliminating inequality in education.

This study looked at the environmental factors present during testing for the spring 2004 administration of the California High School Exit Exam (CAHSEE) in an attempt to quantify some of the factors that were previously only qualitatively reported. Five factors were examined for their ability to predict passing percentages of students on the CASHSEE at the school level. The results indicated that socioeconomic status was the only significant predictor.

The problem addressed in this study can be stated thus: There are extremely limited numbers of students from the lowest economic class graduating from our nation's institutions of higher education. The challenge to institutions of higher education is how to improve access, support, and successful completion of higher education for students experiencing the most extreme poverty barriers. Weber's (1946) social-class theory was selected to determine the meanings and interpretations of students from poverty backgrounds in regard to their success and perceived barriers to success in completing college. This theoretical construct is based on the idea that collectively held meanings arise from three distinct although related dimensions of life including, lifestyles, context, and economic opportunity. Focus group interviews with a representative group of 24 people who grew up in generational poverty were the main source of data (Merton, Fiske, & Kendall, 1990). The focus group interviews were open-ended and designed to reveal the participants' subjective experience of completing a college degree (Schatzman & Strauss, 1973). A demographic questionnaire administered to 56 respondents was used to complement the focus group interviews. The grounded theory approach guided the data collection and analysis process (Glaser & Strauss, 1967; Strauss & Corbin, 1990). According to its objectives, the study results provided: (a) a description of the poverty-related conditions, (b) an overview of the early educational experiences of the participants, (c) a demographic profile, (d) an overview of perceived challenges and barriers to higher education and (e) a discussion of success factors. The findings from this study would suggest five areas for educational improvement: (a) development of a campus climate sensitive to social class and poverty issues; (b) implementation of faculty, staff, and student social-class sensitivity training programs combined with curricular reform; (c) facilitation of connections to informal mentors; (d) articulation of connections between obtaining a college degree and earning a higher income; and an (e) exploration of expanding college partnerships with social service agencies that are geared to helping people in poverty.

This study examined the differences between eighth grade athletes and non-athletes in terms of mathematics and reading achievement based on standardized test scores from direct cognitive assessments in mathematics and reading. The data for this study came from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study Kindergarten Class of 1998-1999 (ECLS-K). Data were collected from student and parent surveys in conjunction with direct cognitive assessments. The research questions were as follows: 1. To what extent is there a difference in mathematics achievement between eighth grade athletes and non-athletes while controlling for self-reported future educational goals and socioeconomic status? 2. To what extent is there a difference in mathematics achievement between eighth grade athletes and non-athletes while controlling for self-reported weekly time spent on homework and socioeconomic status? 3. To what extent is there a difference in reading achievement between eighth grade athletes and non-athletes while controlling for self-reported future educational goals and socioeconomic status? 4. To what extent is there a difference in reading achievement between eighth grade athletes and non-athletes while controlling for self-reported weekly time spent on homework and socioeconomic status? Factorial ANOVA's were used answer each research question. An additional variable, gender, was utilized to further evaluate differences in mathematics and reading scale scores. Based upon the results, no statistical significance was found in the three-way interaction effects for any of the research questions. As the two-way and main effects comparisons were evaluated, statistical significance was indicated within each question based on the multiple independent variables. Overall, the athletes did not outscore non-athletes. There were consistent differences in mean scores in reading and mathematics based upon self-stated future educational goals where students maintained higher mean scores in reading and mathematics as their educational goals increased. In addition consistent differences in mean scores in reading and mathematics were indicated where students below the poverty level had lower mean scores than students at or above the poverty level. Finally, students' mathematics and reading achievement significantly increased as their self-reported weekly time spent on homework increased.
ID: 030646210; System requirements: World Wide Web browser and PDF reader.; Mode of access: World Wide Web.; Thesis (Ed.D.)--University of Central Florida, 2011.; Includes bibliographical references (p. 133-150).
Ed.D.
Doctorate
Educational and Human Sciences
Education and Human Performance
Educational Leadership

The thesis is divided into three parts. Part One is headed by a fairly broad historiographic review into past works on the Chinese in Australia. This is followed by a brief introduction to the historical and cultural background of the immigrants and the character of their migration. An examination of the passive and proudly in different responses of the Chinese to Victorian anti-Chinese legislation concludes this section. The stress of this final chapter is on the overall lack of influence of the White Australian Policy on the behaviour of the Chinese. Part Two examines the sojourning sentiments of the Chinese and how they affected the sex and age distribution of the population, their choice and method of work, their accommodation and quality of life. Part Three begins by contrasting the impact of science and technology on Australia and China and the focus will be on China’s peripheral position in the industrial world. The insecurity of the Chinese in the industrialising environment of Australia will be considered. This will be contrasted by the more accommodating cultural milieu of Southeast Asia and the important thread of Chinese culture and traditions throughout the region’s history. The importance of the ‘modified’ or ‘mixed’ version of the family business in assisting the rise of the Chinese in the Southeast Asian region will be discussed. The final part of the thesis will suggest that the decline of the Victorian Chinese in the four occupations of alluvial mining, furniture-making, market-gardening and laundering was significantly affected by an inflexible attitude to technology. It is argued that the Chinese did not apply science and advanced equipment when it was prudent to do so. The conclusion will summarise the main argument and suggest its relevance for the modern overseas Chinese communities.

Victoria University together with Tourism Victoria conducted a research project titled The Impact of Overseas Students on tourism in Victoria. The main aim of the study was to find out about the tourism interest and tourism information needs of overseas students, as well as to identify the importance and value of overseas students to tourism in Victoria. Altaf Patel and Ian Michael, from the Graduate School of Business, Victoria University under the supervision of Dr Anona Armstrong, undertook this project as part of their Master in Business Administration (MBA). A total of 600 questionnaires were distributed randomly to seven tertiary institutions in Victoria. Of those 600 questionnaires 219 were received completed by students. There is a continuing growth in the business of Australian education export to Asia. In 1995 there were approximately 70,000 Asian students studying in Australia yielding $2 billion directly in export income, of this about $400 million a year is contributed to the Victorian economy by about 17,900 students. This research into the impact of overseas students on tourism in Victoria has produced a number of key findings. The major reasons for students to study in Australia were Quality of education and Improvement of English language. Friends and relatives were key influences in students decision making as to where to study. Sixty four percent of all students researched took holidays while studying in Australia, New South Wales and Victoria were the highest visited destinations. Forty four percent of the respondents who travelled, liked making their own arrangements. The most visited places/attractions in Melbourne were Victoria Market, South Gate and Crown Casino, with regards to attractions outside Melbourne the Twelve Apostles and Sovereign Hill outshone others. Private transport was the most popular means of travel for touring purpose. Driving and Shopping were activities they enjoyed most. Sixty seven percent of students wanted to revisit places they had seen. An average of $225 was spent by students on their last trip around Victoria, they however stated that they could spend up to $392 per person. Using the number of students (overseas) in Victoria ie. 17,900 and taking into consideration 64.4% would travel, they can spend approximately $4,518,819 per annum. Thirty six percent found it convenient to undertake travel during the summer break, it should also be mentioned that 60% of all students go home for this break. Word of mouth played a significant mode of sourcing travel information, 73.1% said so. 65 % stated that gathering information on tourism was easy. Students found Victoria to be an interesting tourist destination. There were 54.8% of students whose friends and relatives visit them while studying. Of these 54.8%, 46.2% said they visit them once a year, 39.7% twice a year and 9.9% thrice a year. The average expenditure of a friend/relative is $527 in turn generating almost $8.0 million. Around 63.5% of students will visit Melbourne & Victoria after completion of their studies, this brings around 11,300 new inbound tourists per year. In turn these tourist numbers generate $6 million. Melbourne and Victoria will benefit tremendously in terms of attracting newer tourists, as 76.7% of students say they would recommend it.

This thesis is a study of the responses of supply to the surges in the demand for imports which occurred in Victoria during the gold rushes of the 1850s. The growth of gold-mining income and the growth of population raised the demand for imports, and the organization of a supply response to this was an important element in the reaction of economic activity to the gold rushes. The principal contribution of this thesis is an increase in the understanding of the institutional and economic processes involved in the adjustment of the supply of imports to the surges in demand. In addition, the thesis enlarges the understanding of the commercial sector more generally, of the role of government, and of the nature and influence of transaction costs in the economy. At each stage in the writing of this thesis, the analysis has been hampered by a lack of detailed and systematic data, and an important contribution consists of the estimation and compilation of numerous new data series. The central argument of the thesis is that, while the demand for imports increased enormously under the impact of the gold discoveries, the supply response, under the influence of various endogenous and exogenous factors, involved a complicated process of adjustments and institutional adaptations. To develop this argument, it has been necessary to document the changes in demand and supply, to examine the composition of importers and methods of imports disposal, and to analyse the influence of these on the supply responses. It has also been necessary to make a preliminary analysis of the penetration of imports into the interior, using price differentials between the coast and the interior as an initial indicator of the extent to which markets in the interior were integrated with those on the coast. Further, the thesis considers the extent to which the supply of imports matched the demand, the connection and distinction between the import situation and the situation in relation to commerce and the economy in general, and the interplay of the various factors affecting the adjustment of supply to demand in each of the two major fluctuations in imports during the 1850s. This study examines three aspects of the supply response in turn: the demand for imports and the flow of imported goods into the colony as a whole in the 1850s; the processes involved in the movement of imports from their entry to their initial sale and their distribution to the interior; and the process of the adjustment of supply of imports to demand through two major fluctuations. These three aspects are developed around the central argument in three parts of the thesis that consists of 8 chapters. A basic demandsupply model is used as the basic theoretical framework of the thesis. Three contributions have been made to the study of the economic history of the 1850s in Victoria. First, the process by which the supply of imports adjusted to the demand has been analysed in detail through an examination of the two fluctuations of imports, through an estimation of the value of imports per head, of prices and of the incomes of the working population, and through a discussion of the influence of endogenous and exogenous factors on the supply responses. Second, knowledge of a number of questions has been considerably deepened: who the importers were and what was the role of auctioneering. The ways in which transaction costs (tariff rates, the pace of information transfer, and transport costs) affected the adjustment are made clear. The efforts made by the government to improve land communications and the results of these efforts have also been investigated. Third, detailed data-sets relating to a large number of aspects of the economy of Victoria in the 1850s have been compiled and these will constitute a useful database for other historians.

In Melbourne between 1880 and 1907, the construction and propagation of a vagrant stereotype and its manifestation in law, constituted an important means of controlling the behaviour of individuals and groups who were perceived to be socially undesirable or economically burdensome.

This thesis investigates aspects of the formation and evolution of capitalism in colonial New South Wales. Four principal themes are addressed throughout the discussion: first, the role of British imperialism in establishing and shaping colonial capitalism; second, the role of the British and colonial states in expanding commodity relations; third, the dominant areas and agents involved in capital accumulation, and last, the nature of the class relations and property connections that underpinned these processes. The structure and dynamics of class relations, especially the relations of production, are both the premise and conclusion of this study. The approach adopted to realise these objects is both theoretical and empirical. The study proceeds through three major parts. The first part is a critical investigation of the historiography pertinent to my principal themes and the specification of the problems discussed in the subsequent parts. Here, the rudiments of marxist historiography are introduced and a sustained critical discussion of Australian economic historiography is presented. By the close of Part One, the approach to be pursued, the themes to be investigated, the departures from non-marxist historiography and the sequence of empirical analyses are made explicit. Part Two of the thesis is concerned with the formation of colonial capitalism. Capitalism depends on the commodification of economic relations: thus this process of commodification is examined in the context of the land, labour and capital markets. Because the initial process of securing capitalist relations of production is as much political as economic, and consequently as much imperial as colonial, the forms of political or state power are discussed. The dominant relations of production before 1860 are defined as ascendant, though contradictory, Anglo-colonial merchant capital. Part Three investigates three dimensions of colonial capitalist development. These investigations pre-suppose the dominance of commodity relations and pursue their intensification and expansion into colonial landed property, the transformation of colonial pastoralism and the forms and directions of public economic activity. In all these cases the focus remains on the four major themes identified above. Part Three closes with an analysis of dominant class relations, a demonstration of the fundamental argument advanced throughout the thesis concerning the prominence that should be given to Anglo-colonial finance capital. Between 1860 and 1890 the major economic relations and class structure were shaped by Anglo-colonial finance capital. The thesis concludes with an assessment of the implications of this study for Australian historiography, including marxist historiography, and indicates possible directions for future investigations.

The general objective of this study is to measure and analyse the impact of tourism development on Vietnam's economy. The study will concentrate on the activities of the tourist industry in 1994 in Vietnam as a whole. The measurement will be done by using the latest input-output tables for Vietnam, which were developed for the year 1989. However, during the five-year period it has been assumed that the input-output structures have been unchanged significantly, therefore, the results of the analysis are expected to be applicable to the current situation. Moreover, if they do change, or if the direction of the changes is known, the economic outcomes of the analysis can be interpreted to indicate current conditions.

Tang, Mun Yu.
Thesis (M.Phil.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 2007.
Includes bibliographical references (leaves 473-493).
Abstracts in English and Chinese; appendices in Chinese.
Abstract --- p.i
摘要 --- p.iii
Acknowledgments --- p.iv
Table of Contents --- p.vi
List of Figures and Tables --- p.xiii
Chapter Chapter One --- Introduction --- p.1
Chapter Chapter Two --- Literature Review on Adolescent Development with Particular Reference to Poor Adolescents --- p.11
Chapter 2.1 --- Theories of adolescent development --- p.11
Chapter 2.1.1 --- Micro theories --- p.11
Chapter 2.1.2 --- Macro theories --- p.15
Chapter 2.1.3 --- Ecological model --- p.17
Chapter 2.1.3.1 --- Introduction --- p.17
Chapter 2.1.3.2 --- Application to understand the development of adolescents experiencing adversity ´ؤ Resilience Model --- p.18
Chapter 2.1.3.2.1 --- Definitions of resilience with specific to children and adolescents --- p.18
Chapter 2.1.3.2.2 --- Models of resilience --- p.20
Chapter 2.1.4 --- Summary --- p.22
Chapter 2.2 --- Existing findings on the development of adolescents growing up in poor families --- p.22
Chapter 2.2.1 --- Poor adolescents perceive poverty --- p.23
Chapter 2.2.1.1 --- Conceptualization of beliefs about causes of poverty --- p.23
Chapter 2.2.1.2 --- Review of previous studies --- p.29
Chapter 2.2.1.3 --- Limitations --- p.34
Chapter 2.2.2 --- Development of adolescents experiencing poverty --- p.38
Chapter 2.2.2.1 --- Development of poor adolescents in their present lives --- p.38
Chapter 2.2.2.1.1 --- Psychological well-being and magnitude of having behavioral problems --- p.38
Chapter 2.2.2.1.2 --- Educational outcomes --- p.45
Chapter 2.2.2.1.3 --- Limitations --- p.52
Chapter 2.2.2.2 --- Perceptions of future lives --- p.56
Chapter 2.2.2.2.1 --- Review of previous studies --- p.56
Chapter 2.2.2.2.2 --- Limitations --- p.64
Chapter 2.3 --- Directions for future research --- p.69
Chapter Chapter Three --- Research Questions and Research Design --- p.77
Chapter 3.1 --- Research questions --- p.77
Chapter 3.2 --- Proposal for a qualitative research approach --- p.79
Chapter 3.3 --- Research design --- p.81
Chapter 3.3.1 --- Sample --- p.87
Chapter 3.3.2 --- Data collection --- p.92
Chapter 3.3.3 --- Data analysis --- p.95
Chapter 3.3.3.1 --- Reliability of the findings --- p.99
Chapter 3.3.3.2 --- Validity of the findings --- p.100
Chapter Chapter Four --- Findings --- p.106
Chapter 4.1 --- Perceived economic disadvantage experienced by their families --- p.107
Chapter 4.1.1 --- Beliefs about the causes of their families in need for financial support from the Government --- p.108
Chapter 4.1.1.1 --- Individualistic causes --- p.108
Chapter 4.1.1.1.1 --- Causes in relation to parents --- p.108
Chapter 4.1.1.1.2 --- Causes in relation to mother --- p.109
Chapter 4.1.1.1.3 --- Causes in relation to father --- p.110
Chapter 4.1.1.1.4 --- Causes in relation to children --- p.111
Chapter 4.1.1.2 --- Societal causes --- p.115
Chapter 4.1.1.3 --- Fatalistic causes --- p.117
Chapter 4.1.1.4 --- Summary --- p.119
Chapter 4.1.2 --- Perceptions of being a CSSA recipient --- p.119
Chapter 4.1.2.1 --- Personal views --- p.120
Chapter 4.1.2.2 --- Perception shaped by mother --- p.125
Chapter 4.1.2.3 --- Perceptions related to peers --- p.126
Chapter 4.1.2.3.1 --- Perceptions related to peers' financial circumstances --- p.126
Chapter 4.1.2.3.2 --- Perceptions related to peers' reactions towards their financial backgrounds --- p.127
Chapter 4.1.2.3.3 --- Perceptions related to the level of closeness with peers --- p.129
Chapter 4.1.2.4 --- Perceptions related to the views of general public --- p.129
Chapter 4.1.2.4.1 --- Views of general public influenced by the Government --- p.130
Chapter 4.1.2.4.2 --- Views of general public influenced by the media --- p.130
Chapter 4.1.2.4.3 --- Views of general public influenced by with or without personal experiences of receiving CSSA or personal contacts with CSSA recipients --- p.133
Chapter 4.1.2.4.4 --- Views of general public influenced by the dominant societal ideologies --- p.134
Chapter 4.1.2.5 --- Perceptions related to CSSA claim procedures --- p.138
Chapter 4.1.2.6 --- Perceptions related to special policy for CSSA recipients --- p.139
Chapter 4.1.2.7 --- Perceptions related to attitudes of staff in CSSA unit --- p.140
Chapter 4.1.2.8 --- Summary --- p.141
Chapter 4.1.3 --- Perceived quality of life under the CSSA and the related factors --- p.142
Chapter 4.1.3.1 --- Perceived quality of life under the CSSA --- p.143
Chapter 4.1.3.1.1 --- Primary school --- p.143
Chapter 4.1.3.1.2 --- Secondary school --- p.145
Chapter 4.1.3.1.3 --- University --- p.146
Chapter 4.1.3.2 --- Perceived quality of life under the CSSA in relation to mothers' financial management --- p.150
Chapter 4.1.3.2.1 --- Ways of monitoring family finance --- p.150
Chapter 4.1.3.2.2 --- Ways of fulfilling unmet needs --- p.151
Chapter 4.1.3.3 --- Perceived quality of life under the CSSA in relation to self financial management --- p.153
Chapter 4.1.3.3.1 --- Being self-disciplined of spending money --- p.153
Chapter 4.1.3.3.2 --- Saving money --- p.155
Chapter 4.1.3.3.3 --- Doing part-time jobs and summer jobs --- p.157
Chapter 4.1.3.4 --- Perceived quality of life under the CSSA in relation to other sources of financial support --- p.161
Chapter 4.1.3.4.1 --- Financial support from relatives --- p.161
Chapter 4.1.3.4.2 --- Financial support from non-relatives --- p.163
Chapter 4.1.3.5 --- Summary --- p.166
Chapter 4.1.4 --- Comments on the staff in the CSSA unit --- p.166
Chapter 4.1.4.1 --- Positive comments --- p.166
Chapter 4.1.4.1.1 --- Attitudes --- p.167
Chapter 4.1.4.1.2 --- Performance --- p.167
Chapter 4.1.4.2 --- Negative comments --- p.169
Chapter 4.1.4.2.1 --- Attitudes (from personal experiences) --- p.169
Chapter 4.1.4.2.2 --- Attitudes (from mothers' experiences) --- p.171
Chapter 4.1.4.2.3 --- Performance --- p.172
Chapter 4.1.4.3 --- Summary --- p.176
Chapter 4.1.5 --- Comments on the CSSA scheme --- p.177
Chapter 4.1.5.1 --- Positive comments --- p.177
Chapter 4.1.5.1.1 --- Nature of the CSSA scheme --- p.177
Chapter 4.1.5.1.2 --- Strict policy for preventing abuse of the scheme --- p.179
Chapter 4.1.5.2 --- Negative comments --- p.180
Chapter 4.1.5.2.1 --- Amount of support in the CSSA scheme --- p.180
Chapter 4.1.5.2.2 --- Policy on the CSSA scheme --- p.183
Chapter 4.1.5.2.3 --- Claim procedures in the CSSA scheme --- p.187
Chapter 4.1.5.3 --- Summary --- p.191
Chapter 4.1.6 --- Circumstances of women in economic disadvantaged and female-headed families --- p.192
Chapter 4.1.6.1 --- Struggles on financial adversity --- p.192
Chapter 4.1.6.2 --- Consequences of receiving financial support from the Government --- p.194
Chapter 4.1.6.2.1 --- Influences on self-image --- p.194
Chapter 4.1.6.2.2 --- Influences on psychological state --- p.195
Chapter 4.1.6.3 --- Pressure of taking up the parental roles --- p.197
Chapter 4.1.6.4 --- Summary --- p.199
Chapter 4.1.7 --- Recommendations for improvement in the CSSA service --- p.200
Chapter 4.1.7.1 --- Staff training --- p.200
Chapter 4.1.7.2 --- Quality of the service --- p.201
Chapter 4.1.7.3 --- Other recommendations --- p.204
Chapter 4.1.7.4 --- Summary --- p.195
Chapter 4.1.8 --- Recommendations for improvement the policy in the CSSA scheme --- p.207
Chapter 4.1.8.1 --- Subvention policy --- p.207
Chapter 4.1.8.1.1 --- Subvention for students --- p.207
Chapter 4.1.8.1.2 --- Subvention for households --- p.209
Chapter 4.1.8.1.3 --- "Subvention for children, elderly, disabled and chronic illness patients" --- p.211
Chapter 4.1.8.2 --- Claim procedures --- p.214
Chapter 4.1.8.3 --- Employment-related policy --- p.216
Chapter 4.1.8.3.1 --- Employment-related policy for single parents --- p.216
Chapter 4.1.8.3.2 --- Employment-related policy for general able-bodied CSSA recipients --- p.219
Chapter 4.1.8.4 --- Other recommendations --- p.222
Chapter 4.1.8.5 --- Summary --- p.224
Chapter 4.1.9 --- Service gaps for economic disadvantaged and single-parent families --- p.225
Chapter 4.1.9.1 --- Services for CSSA families --- p.225
Chapter 4.1.9.1.1 --- Emotional support services --- p.225
Chapter 4.1.9.1.2 --- Household support services --- p.227
Chapter 4.1.9.2 --- Services for women in economic disadvantage and marital disruption --- p.229
Chapter 4.1.9.2.1 --- Employment-related support services --- p.229
Chapter 4.1.9.2.2 --- Counseling services --- p.230
Chapter 4.1.9.3 --- Services for the single-parent families --- p.232
Chapter 4.1.9.3.1 --- Emotional support services --- p.232
Chapter 4.1.9.3.2 --- Public education --- p.233
Chapter 4.1.9.4 --- Summary --- p.234
Chapter 4.1.10 --- Overall summary of Section 4.1 --- p.235
Chapter 4.2 --- Perceived past lives --- p.237
Chapter 4.2.1 --- Area 1: Perceived quality of life before receiving the CSSA --- p.237
Chapter 4.2.2 --- Area 2: Reactions towards economic disadvantage --- p.241
Chapter 4.2.2.1 --- Feelings about living under the CSSA --- p.241
Chapter 4.2.2.2 --- Perceived influences of economic disadvantage in their past lives --- p.246
Chapter 4.2.2.2.1 --- Experienced different from those of their peers --- p.246
Chapter 4.2.2.2.2 --- Influenced on their study plans --- p.248
Chapter 4.2.2.3 --- Summary --- p.253
Chapter 4.2.3 --- Area 3: Views on mother's employment status --- p.253
Chapter 4.2.4 --- Area 4: Perceptions of one's roles in the family --- p.257
Chapter 4.2.5 --- Area 5: Perceived source of influences on one's development --- p.265
Chapter 4.2.5.1 --- Aspect 1: Family backgrounds --- p.266
Chapter 4.2.5.1.1 --- Experiences of economic disadvantage --- p.266
Chapter 4.2.5.1.2 --- Single-parent family Other people --- p.278
Chapter 4.2.5.1.3 --- Summary --- p.289
Chapter 4.2.5.2 --- Aspect 2: Significant others --- p.290
Chapter 4.2.5.2.1 --- Mother --- p.290
Chapter 4.2.5.2.2 --- Other people --- p.298
Chapter 4.2.5.2.3 --- Summary --- p.304
Chapter 4.2.5.3 --- Aspect 3: Beliefs --- p.304
Chapter 4.2.5.4 --- Summary --- p.306
Chapter 4.2.6 --- Overall summary of Section 4.2 --- p.307
Chapter 4.3 --- Perceived experiences of their present lives --- p.309
Chapter 4.3.1 --- Area 1: Meanings of becoming a university student --- p.309
Chapter 4.3.1.1 --- Familial meanings --- p.309
Chapter 4.3.1.2 --- Personal meanings --- p.313
Chapter 4.3.1.3 --- Summary --- p.326
Chapter 4.3.2 --- Area 2: Perceived differences with the peers in university --- p.326
Chapter 4.3.3 --- Area 3: Economic circumstances --- p.333
Chapter 4.3.3.1 --- Personal financial circumstances --- p.334
Chapter 4.3.3.2 --- Perceived meanings of with or without financial support from the Government to their families --- p.347
Chapter 4.3.3.3 --- Summary --- p.350
Chapter 4.3.4 --- Area 4: Perceptions of one's roles in the family --- p.351
Chapter 4.3.5 --- Overall summary of Section 4.3 --- p.357
Chapter 4.4 --- Perceived future lives --- p.359
Chapter 4.4.1 --- Expected lives after graduation and the related contributory factors --- p.359
Chapter 4.4.1.1 --- Area 1: Work --- p.359
Chapter 4.4.1.2 --- Area 2: Life style --- p.369
Chapter 4.4.1.3 --- Area 3: Economic circumstances --- p.372
Chapter 4.4.1.4 --- Area 4: Marriage --- p.380
Chapter 4.4.1.5 --- Area 5: Spouse --- p.383
Chapter 4.4.1.6 --- Area 6: Quality of relationship in future family --- p.389
Chapter 4.4.1.6.1 --- Marital relationship --- p.389
Chapter 4.4.1.6.2 --- Parent-child relationship --- p.392
Chapter 4.4.1.7 --- Summary --- p.396
Chapter 4.4.2 --- Feelings about their future lives --- p.397
Chapter 4.4.3 --- Overall summary of Section 4.4 --- p.403
Chapter 4.5 --- Summary of the findings and findings deserving special attention --- p.404
Chapter Chapter 5 --- Discussion and Recommendation --- p.423
Chapter 5.1 --- Discussion of nine aspects of findings --- p.423
Chapter 5.1.1 --- Aspect 1 -- Role of education in life --- p.423
Chapter 5.1.2 --- Aspect 2 -- Absence of father as the main cause of economic hardship --- p.425
Chapter 5.1.3 --- "Aspect 3 -- Being a ""good child""" --- p.427
Chapter 5.1.4 --- Aspect 4 -- Difficult growth trajectory --- p.430
Chapter 5.1.5 --- Aspect 5 -- Poverty: Blessing in disguise --- p.434
Chapter 5.1.6 --- Aspect 6 -- Family of origin's influence on expectations of future life --- p.437
Chapter 5.1.7 --- Aspect 7 -- Five protective factors in development --- p.440
Chapter 5.1.8 --- Aspect 8 -- Mothers experiencing economic disadvantage: Long-suffering women guarding their children --- p.443
Chapter 5.1.9 --- Aspect 9 -- Balanced view of the CSSA scheme --- p.446
Chapter 5.1.10 --- Summary --- p.452
Chapter 5.2 --- Theoretical contributions and implications of the present findings --- p.455
Chapter 5.3 --- Practical implications and recommendations of the present findings --- p.459
Chapter 5.4 --- Limitations of this study --- p.461
Chapter Chapter Six --- Conclusion --- p.463
Chapter 6.1 --- Summary of findings --- p.463
Chapter 6.2 --- Evaluation of the quality of this qualitative study --- p.468
Chapter 6.3 --- Directions for further study --- p.470
Bibliography --- p.473
Appendix I: Written Consent Form --- p.494
Appendix II: Interview Guide --- p.495

M.Ed.
In spite of notable changes that have been made in education since 1994 in South Africa, many challenges are still being experienced in the education system. Not least of these are the academic challenges experienced by learners from contexts of poverty, and in particular, those who live in informal settlements and who attend public (former model C) suburban secondary schools. Inclusive education, founded upon the principles of human rights, aims to provide equal and quality education to all learners in South Africa. A process of addressing and responding to the diversity of learners, its objective is to reduce exclusion from education, however, many learners either fail to achieve or drop out of the education system altogether. In the changing educational climate, and with limited research in this sector of education being found, the researcher, wished to explore, interpret and describe these academic challenges. To achieve this, a qualitative approach was chosen with a phenomenological design and a constructivist paradigm. The methodology was selected according to the research question. Data collection was based on semistructured, conversational interviews and projective techniques, namely, the sentence completion method. The data analysis approach was qualitative in nature. Data from both the interviews and incomplete sentence sets were compared with connections sought between the data. Attention was paid to trustworthiness and ethical considerations in the study. The results of the study revealed four themes: Learning Challenges; Relationships; Lack of Resources; Family Support. Firstly, the study revealed that learning and academic achievement was of great importance to the participants, secondly, relationships played an important role in learning, thirdly, a lack of resources was a major challenge, and finally, the importance of family support was indicated. Guidelines and recommendations were provided to educators and other learning support professionals in order to support participants and other learners so that they can achieve their potential in school.

This study investigates the experiences of at-risk secondary school students in the Chitungwiza District, Zimbabwe. At-riskiness is defined as a condition in which students are likely to produce poor academic achievement, irregular school attendance, grade retention or dropout due to various individual and social factors. At-riskiness has increased in Zimbabwe’s school population since the adoption and subsequent failure of the Economic Structural Adjustment Programme (ESAP) which has contributed to poverty and concomitant poor social conditions. A literature study explored at-riskiness in the light of socio-cultural perspectives on at-riskiness and also discussed contextual factors in the Zimbabwean schooling system which influence students’ vulnerability to at-riskiness. A qualitative inquiry using a narrative approach explored at-riskiness in the life stories of three male and three female secondary school students attending two selected schools in Chitungwiza, an economically deprived area close to Harare. Selection of schools was based on high levels of absenteeism and sustained poor performance in the national school leaving examinations. Purposeful participant selection was based on school records on grade repetition, absenteeism and poor behaviour. Semi-structured Interviews with participants, based on the Dan MacAdams framework for life story research, were used to gather rich data. Ethical compliance included written parental consent and participant assent and the assurance of anonymity, confidentiality and the right to refuse information. Findings were categorized under family related factors, school related factors and resource limitations. At-riskiness was exacerbated by parental unemployment, poor socio-economic conditions at home and a lack of cultural capital. Participants were compelled to undertake casual work to supplement household income in addition to the fulfillment of academic responsibilities. Poor school conditions comprising poor discipline and unprofessional teacher conduct increased at-riskiness especially among female participants. Resource limitations included poor nutrition, lack of basic necessities required for personal hygiene, in adequate parenting and the absence of psycho-social support mechanisms. Based on the literature study and empirical inquiry, recommendations were made for a more inclusive educational model, poverty alleviation and special support for disadvantaged students to reduce at-riskiness among students in Zimbabwe.
Educational Foundations
D. Ed. (Socio-Education)

Since the democratic transition, South Africa has come a long way in paving a path that enables citizens to take advantage of education. Within universities, certain overlooked socio-economic and food security factors affect academic performance. The prevalence of food insecurity and factors affecting academic performance was investigated in the context of underperforming first year students. A mixed methodology was used where questionnaire, focus group discussions and key informant interviews were used to collect in depth information. The individual dietary diversity score (IDDS) and household food insecurity access scale (HFIAS) were used to assess the severity of food insecurity. Fifty-three per cent of students came from disadvantaged socio-economic backgrounds characterised by unemployed parents and a high dependency on government grants. Twenty per cent of students regularly send remittances home, diverted from their scholarships/ bursaries and study loans thus leaving little for students to survive on. HFIAS results showed majority of students were food insecure as 80% experienced anxiety about food availability and accessibility and 54% had periods of complete inaccessibility to food. The majority of students proved to lack skills in grocery listing and financial management skills. Affordability and storage facility challenges led to students consuming nutritionally poor foods which compromised their health status. The IDDS showed 92% of students consumed bread, rice and maize; 70% ate foods with high levels of sugar, 71% ate foods made with oil, fat or butter; 66% ate meat; 58% ate vegetables, 50% ate fruits. This showed students’ diet is lacking in diversity as they resort to rich, energy-dense and cheap foods found at cheap prices. This robbed students of essential nutrients. Students who lived in university-owned residences were at higher risk of food insecurity. A significant proportion of study participants had substandard secondary school education. The shift in the Language of Learning and Teaching (LoLT) created challenges evident in lack of classroom engagement and lack of efficiency in communicating answers in tests and exams. Student accommodation and its proximity to learning facilities also affected performance negatively. The study therefore recommends, among other things, that university-owned residences reintroduce and/or subsidize dining halls to increase food accessibility, availability, quality, quantity and dietary diversity challenges. Food coupons could be introduced to low socio-economic students to purchase food from supporting grocery stores. Mandatory attendance of first year students to specialized programs organized by faculties and Student Counseling Centre to improve preparedness of students is needed. The UKZN LoLT policy needs to be implemented effectively so that the performance of second and third language speakers is improved. Translated material and academics who can speak the main local language is encouraged. The use code-switching techniques for the benefit of second and third language speakers are also encouraged when academics can use the main language.
Thesis (M.Sc.Agric.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2013.

While it is well established that White students have positive experiences in taking diversity courses, little is known about the experiences of first-generation college students of color in these courses. This study addressed this gap by examining the learning experiences of 10 first-generation college students of color in two diversity courses in a 4-year public university. The study aim was to explore whether and how these first-generation college students of color drew from their prior knowledge and experiences to engage with the courses’ subject matter, and whether and how they used the knowledge gained in these courses in their lives beyond school. This study was informed by a three-part conceptual framework emphasizing faculty teaching practices, sociocultural features of students’ lives shaping their classroom learning, and transfer of knowledge from one learning site to another. I interviewed 10 first-generation college students of color, enrolled in one of two diversity courses and observed their learning. I learned that participants drew from their classmates’ prior knowledge and experiences to engage with and get a foothold on the diversity course content since often classmates’ lives offered examples for new ways of thinking about diversity issues and concepts. Moreover, participants drew from their own prior knowledge and experiences to offer counterarguments challenging classmates’ inaccurate views of class topics, thus relying on their lives as valuable resources for framing such arguments. Additionally, participants thought about how the knowledge they gained from the courses related to their lives beyond school; they did this by sharing knowledge with family members and friends as a way to expand their thinking of their world. They also used the knowledge gained from the courses to think about the circumstances of their neighborhoods, how to help their neighbors, and how to better support those they want to help in their future careers. Recommendations were made for (a) new research on the experiences of first-generation college students of color in diversity courses, (b) changes in institutional policy toward supporting these students’ learning in college classrooms, and (c) development of classroom (instructional) and institutional practices for supporting these students’ learning.

陸根書.
論文(博士)--香港中文大學, 1999.
參考文獻 (p. 194-205)
中英文摘要.
Available also through the Internet via Dissertations & theses @ Chinese University of Hong Kong.
Electronic reproduction. Hong Kong : Chinese University of Hong Kong, [2012] System requirements: Adobe Acrobat Reader. Available via World Wide Web.
Electronic reproduction. Ann Arbor, MI : ProQuest dissertations and theses, [200-] System requirements: Adobe Acrobat Reader. Available via World Wide Web.
Mode of access: World Wide Web.
Lu Genshu.
Lun wen (Bo shi)--Xianggang Zhong wen da xue, 1999.
Can kao wen xian (p. 194-205)
Zhong Ying wen zhai yao.

Social class encompasses the preferences, lifestyles, and behaviors of people in various social class groups in conjunction with the structural privileges that accompany certain social locations (Smith, 2010). Class-privileged college students typically come to campus with greater amounts of cultural capital (Bourdieu, 1980) that afford them the luxury of understanding how to navigate the middle-class environment of college (Tett, 2000). Students from poor/working- class backgrounds are, on the other hand, often without the benefit of knowing the behavioral codes and expectations of college, which can lead to negative psychological outcomes in the form of lowered self-esteem, depression, and stress. As a construct, resiliency provides a framework for understanding how some poor/working-class students are able to succeed despite these potential negative outcomes and persist through college. The study aimed to measure the class-related challenges and resiliency factors that correspond to different levels of psychological outcomes using a scale called the Poor/Working-Class Challenge and Resiliency Factor Scale (P/W-CRF). Data was collected using a sample of 253 four-year college students who identified as coming from a poor/working-class background. Participants filled out an online survey consisting of a demographic survey, original challenge and resiliency factor items, psychology outcome measures (self –esteem, depression, and stress), a social desirability scale, and previously validated classism and resiliency scales. Through factor analysis, two scales were generated. The first scale represented the challenges faced on campus, which was a 20-item, four factor scale with a good fit. The second, resilience scale, was a 24-item, eight factor scale with a poor fit. The overall challenge scale was found to show convergent validity with the depression, stress, and classism scales, and divergent validity with the self esteem and social desirability scales. The resilience scale demonstrated convergent validity with the self esteem and resilience scales and divergent validity with the depression and stress scales. In an effort to explore a stronger model fit for the two models, post hoc analysis offered a possible 18-item, six- factor resilience model, with a slightly improved model fit. The document will explore potential strengths and weaknesses of using these models. Finally, implications and suggestions for future research are provided in the following areas; a) Research; b) Theory; c) Clinical Practice; d) Student Affairs or Services; e) Policy; and f) High School College Counseling.

A longitudinal analysis of transactional data for an entire college cohort was mined from administrative student records systems to identify individual student behaviors and establish correlations between individual students’ behaviors and academic outcomes. Conducted at one large urban community college, this study determined curricular peer association behavior between individual students, and also evaluated late registration and course schedule change behaviors. Findings demonstrated a strong correlation between these three behavioral patterns and a lasting influence on academic outcomes, such as: semestrial GPA and cumulative GPA, credit accumulation, persistence and graduation rates. Finding also indicated a correlation among the three behaviors themselves. Furthermore, conducting a longitudinal analysis of individual students made it possible to identify the temporal tipping-points which differentiated at-risk behavior from otherwise benign behavior. The intrinsic factors associated with individual students’ behaviors were followed over a period of thirteen consecutive semesters. Mining Transactional Student-Level Data at the scale achieved in this study, when compared to traditional methods of data collection, provided the precision needed to determine the actual proximity among specific peers, and the identification of registration behavior patterns. The extraction of transactional data from the records of each student in an entire cohort resulted in a method of inquiry immune to the negative effects of student’s non-response or selection bias. Complimenting previous research, this study provides a detailed descriptive analysis of those behaviors not only at the semestrial level, but also cumulatively across consecutive semesters. This study demonstrates that curricular peer association can be measured directly from common, ubiquitous, transactional records. The rates of Peer Association among individual students was very dynamic: While the majority of students had some peer associations while enrolled, in the aggregate two thirds of students had no peer association (were soloists) at some point in time, while more than a quarter of all students were soloists for at least half of their entire enrollment period. Soloists differed from students with peer associations. They were likely to be older, international students, African Americans, transfer students, or those entering fully prepared for college level coursework (no remedial coursework). Peer association was positively correlated, both in the semester in which it occurred and cumulatively, with: GPA, credits earned, and retention or graduation rates. These correlations to academic outcomes varied with the number of peer associations established, and the intensity of peer encounters. The study revealed that nearly a quarter of all students practiced late registration at least once; and more than 10 percent have registered late multiple times during their studies. Nearly three quarters of students made modifications to their course schedule at least once after the semester began. Overall, two fifths of students changed their initial schedule every semester. These behaviors were unrecorded in previous studies that were limited in the evaluation of longitudinal behaviors, used subsets of students and were subject to non-response bias. Late registration and student schedule changes was correlated with lower semestrial and cumulative academic outcomes. Late registration behavior subsequently increased the likelihood of a student being a soloist. When compared to previous studies, the analysis conducted here not only accounted for academic, demographic and financial variables at baseline, but went on to perform updates at key points in time each semester to reflect changes over time. The exhaustive revisiting of the covariates each semester provided enhanced control to the ‘order of time’ influence. All covariates were re-measured each semester allowing to better evaluate the correlation of student behavioral indicators for a given semester, and cumulatively. This enhanced the study’s ability to account for common unobserved variables inherent to academic, demographic and financial attributes that might influence student outcomes correlated with peer association, late registration and schedule changes. This study contributes to the literature by showing that peer association can be evaluated in the setting of an open admission commuter institution, and that peer association has consistent and positive correlation with academic outcomes. It provides new insights regarding the magnitude of late registration and schedule changes, as well as their negative immediate and longitudinal correlation with student outcomes. Further implications to community colleges’ faculty, administrators, researchers and policymakers, as well as future directions for research employing transactional level data are discussed.

Human capital has become a key driver of individual employment and economic growth over the past few decades. The Republic of Korea in particular has experienced rapid and sustained economic success due to a marked rise in educated human capital over the past thirty years, but this status has begun to falter as glaring inefficiencies in the South Korean educational system, particularly concerning higher education, have emerged. The high-performing academic curricula at Korea’s higher education institutions fail to reflect the needs of industries, and the subsequent high unemployment rate among university graduates has led to a high incidence of voluntary college leaves of absence (LOAs) aimed at acquiring and reinforcing those skills required by the labor market, suggesting that Korea’s educational progress and the labor market are not well matched. This dissertation is the first study aimed at understanding this voluntary break in college schooling while controlling for self-selection bias using propensity score matching (PSM) estimates. This study contributes to exploring the causal effect of a college LOA on labor market outcomes and heterogeneous effects across family background based on the 2011 Graduates Occupational Mobility Survey (GOMS), the results of which may be useful for policymakers. Distinguishing between engaging in a college LOA to gain skills or experience and engaging in an LOA because of financial difficulties, I find significant positive effects of a college leave of absence on earnings and employment status for college LOAs motivated by employment preparation for both males and females. Considering that there is high financial dependence on parents in South Korea, both for funding one’s education and for covering the monetary costs of taking a college LOA, there is a strong link between family socioeconomic status (SES) and access to extra career-related activities through a college LOA. Families with low SES do not have the same opportunities to participate in college LOAs for employment preparation as do high SES students. Although low SES students have higher heterogeneous effects of a college LOA to prepare for employment, students with low parental income have limited returns to education. The close relationship between parental wealth and the ability to invest in experience and on-the-job training through an LOA may play a significant role in achieving successful labor market outcomes. This means that college LOAs can become a new channel for intergenerational transmission of earnings and even social inequality. The impact of a college LOA due to financial difficulties on monthly income is not statistically significant for both males and females. However, statistically significant negative effect for males are found after controlling for work experience while enrolled in college, implying that student employment during college for male students who take an LOA for financial reasons has a significantly negative effect on wages in the labor market. This could be because the types of jobs that students might work may not be oriented toward labor market preparation and may even impede the development of increased human capital or have negative signaling properties, thus inducing negative labor market payoffs after graduation. Interestingly, even LOAs due to financial difficulties have a positive impact on female employment status. Given that South Korea has high barriers to labor market participation for women in South Korea, a college LOA contributes to a reduction in temporary female workers, indicating that more women are participating in the labor market with stable employment status.

The need to improve early mathematics education in the United States is very clear, given the importance of early mathematics learning and the consistently poor math performance of children from low-SES backgrounds. It is crucial to engage these disadvantaged children in meaningful math learning as early as possible. With the continuous infiltration of technology into our lives, the powerful affordances of tablet computers may enable the development of powerful math applications. Given the limited evidence of using well-designed math applications to enhance young children’s math learning, the primary goal of this dissertation was to examine the efficacy of a research-based math software application on low-income preschoolers’ number sense performance. Twenty-eight 4- to 5-year-old intervention participants completed MathemAntics (MA) training 15 minutes a day, 3 days a week for 4 weeks. The other 28 control participants stayed in their classroom and received general class instruction. All participants were given a pretest and a posttest to evaluate their number sense performance. Results indicated that the intervention group outperformed the control group on number sense assessment, and the intervention participants’ mean standardized Addition & Subtraction gain was the highest among the seven subtests, with the mean Standardized Compare Quantities gain being the lowest. Results also indicated that prior knowledge of identifying numerals predicted the overall post-assessment performance and the lack of knowledge on Addition & Subtraction predicted the standardized overall gain. The MA training analyses showed that the participants improved adequately on most of the MA activities during intervention. The use of MA tools was also discussed. The results provided direct evidence for demonstrating the efficacy of MA and added valuable information to the field of math software design. The results of this study also suggested that future studies can examine how the MA activities can be effectively integrated into the math curriculum and whether the MA activities are appropriate for home numeracy development.

A report on a research study presented to The Department of Social Work, School of Human and Community Development, Faculty of Humanities, University of the Witwatersrand, in partial fulfilment of the requirements of the degree, Masters of Arts in Social Development, 2016
Prior to 1994, education in South Africa was formally and legally segregated according to race. The post-1994 democratic government had the task of implementing educational policies to promote and facilitate equal access in the educational sector. Twenty-one years later, the expectation is that every citizen should be enjoying equal access, regardless of their socio-economic conditions. However, this is not the case, as most people are still excluded in the education sector by one factor or another. This study attempts to understand the factors that contribute to the slow transformation and access of rural learners to institutions of higher learning. Ten Grade 12 learners, consisting of five males and five females from the Vhembe District in Limpopo, were interviewed for the study. A qualitative research method was used with data collected using in-depth interviews supported by a question guide, to facilitate a discussion with the participants. From the findings of the research, three themes emerged, which participants indicated were constraints in accessing institutions of higher learning. These included educational factors, economic factors and socio-cultural factors. The research found that these factors cannot be treated in isolation from one another. This is supported by General Systems Theory, which argues that everything is connected to everything else (Dawson, 2006). Therefore, in addressing the issue of access to institutions of higher learning, improving the quality of school teachers will not automatically lead to access, as factors such as poverty and unemployment will still be prevalent. Thus, a broader more purposeful approach to social reform, as well as more comprehensive and equitable strategies of redistribution of wealth and income are required, to empower disadvantaged communities to access institutions of higher learning in South Africa.
GR2017

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between gifted students’ perceived parents’ parenting styles living in a residential academy and socioeconomic status. It was also the purpose to investigate if a relationship exists between students’ perceived parents’ parenting styles and their gender. Parenting style was measured by a validated 60-question Parenting Style Questionnaire. The findings were unlike previous research and suggest that residential gifted students may perceive their parents’ parenting styles more negatively than average ability students. Participants did not perceive their parents’ parenting styles differently among socioeconomic status (SES) which is unlike previous research which uses socioeconomic status as a predictor of parenting style among non-gifted students (Pinderhughes, Bates, Dodge, Pettit, & Zelli, 2000) . Statistically significant differences were also found between gifted students’ perceptions of their mothers and fathers. It is the intention of this study to use the results as a starting point for others to investigate residential gifted students and dedicate more studies to gifted research.
Department of Family and Consumer Sciences

This dissertation contributes to the ongoing debate on how educational inputs make a difference and how to allocate them efficiently. Educational inputs could be broadly defined as any personnel inputs such as teachers and career service staff, learning environment that includes peers and school facilities, and policies that facilitate learning. This dissertation explores three topics: peer effects in higher education, the consequences of college expansion, and the impacts of school closures. Chapter I estimates the peer effects of non-cognitive skills. I show how peers’ non-cognitive skills influence students' academic outcomes and own non-cognitive skills. I use a unique dataset that includes information on student non-cognitive skills, course grades, and friendship from a university in China that randomly assigns students to dormitories. My first main finding is that peers’ non-cognitive skills affect students’ academic outcomes positively but differentially. All students benefit from exposure to “persistent” peers, while students with low baseline academic ability also benefit from exposure to “motivated” peers. My second main finding is that peers also affect the development of students’ self-control and willingness to socialize. These findings have important implications in evaluating the social returns to interventions that improve non-cognitive skills and education policies that change peer group composition. Chapter II summarizes the current literature on college expansions, which change the education resource for many students. Studies have explored the impact of College Expansions that happened worldwide and this chapter summarizes literature in the field of economics of education. This chapter pays special attention to studies that explore the impact on wages and employment and how current studies identify causal relationships. Meanwhile, this chapter reviews how current studies examine the impacts of college expansion in China starting from 1999, which was unparalleled in magnitude. Finally, I discuss how future studies could improve to identify causal effects of the impact of the tremendous college expansion in China. Chapter III, a joint work with Ying Xu, estimates the effect of school closures causedby wildfires. School closures are a common and disruptive feature of education systems when sudden shocks from weather, natural disasters, or infectious disease require that students remain at home rather than in the classroom. Indeed, since January 2020, school closures have happened all around the world due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In the United States, more than 50 million students are currently out of school due to COVID-related closures. This raises an important question: How do sudden school closures affect student development in the short and medium term? In this chapter, we use administrative data to examine the causal effect of unexpected school closures, exploiting sudden variations in these closures due to wildfires in California. We show that unexpected closures have negative effects on student test scores, and the loss of school time is one of the most important mechanisms of decline in student achievement. Meanwhile, minority students and students from school districts with low socioeconomic status experience larger negative effects from such unexpected closures. We argue that these results can help inform policy to identify and address the negative impacts of such closures.

Poor urban learners' long walks to school and the influence on their school activities. My study is about poor urban learners who walk long distances to school. I explore how their school trip affects their participation in school activities - co-curricular and extra curricula activities, and their understandings about the educational implications. The purpose of this study is two-fold: to understand poor urban learners' school trips through their own voices; and to reflect on the school management implications of the findings. In a case study of one school located in the Cato Manor redevelopment area of Durban, I explore Grade 10 learners' accounts of their walks to and from school and how this affects their early morning and afternoon school activities and what they understand might be the reasons and consequences in their futures. My findings are that poor urban learners encounter security risks daily on their way to school and they use various strategies to navigate those risks; learners experience unsympathetic and negative responses from some staff relating to their long walks to reach school; and the learners say that school regimes rather than the long distances they walk are jeopardising their educational aspirations. At the outset my theoretical perspective was that the school trip is an obtacle to poor urban learners' education capabilities. However my conclusion is that some school regimes are unresponsive to poor urban learners' needs and may obstruct the educational opportunities for learners to better their futures more than does their walking long distances to school.
Thesis (M.Ed.) - University of KwaZulu-Natal, Edgewood, 2012.

Huang, Xiaorui.
Thesis (Ph.D.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 2011.
Includes bibliographical references (leaves 84-103).
Electronic reproduction. Hong Kong : Chinese University of Hong Kong, [2012] System requirements: Adobe Acrobat Reader. Available via World Wide Web.
Abstract also in Chinese.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the socio-economic impact of learners’ achievement at public schools in Nkangala District in the Mpumalanga Province. The benefits of the study were highlighted within the narrative of the study. The study was qualitative in nature and included a literature study, observations and semi structured interviews. It was discovered from the data that the socio- economic conditions in the district, the learners’ home environment, the school environment and the Department of Education impacted on learners’ achievement. Based on the findings, recommendations were made for improvements to assist in addressing the socio economic impact on learners’ achievement.
Educational Management and Leadership
M. Ed. (Education Management)

The dropout of students funded by the National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) is a perennial problem in many higher education institutions (HEIs) in South Africa. Despite this, little research has been conducted to investigate this phenomenon, and this study sought to address this gap by investigating the dropout of NSFAS-funded students from HEIs in Northern Gauteng. The study adopted a qualitative methodology and a phenomenological design to explore the lived experiences of students who dropped out of HEIs. Thirty-one NSFAS-funded students, three senior management officials from three HEIs and one NSFAS senior official were purposively selected to form part of the study. Semi-structured interviews, document analysis and observations were utilised as reseach instruments and interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA) was employed to analyse data. The findings of the study established that a lack of support for students, and personal, socioeconomic, institutional and health factors contributed to the dropout of students from HEIs. It was further established that the majority of students who dropped out did so because of the inefficient operations of NSFAS and the new student-centred model. The study also found that insufficient funding, late allocation of funds, stringent NSFAS requirements, lack of communication, late payment or nonpayment of allowances contributed to students’ dropout. To address these shortfalls, the study recommends that the student-centred model should be overhauled and replaced with an integrated system including departments such as DOH, SARS, DSD and DOL to identify students who are eligible for funding and assist in the efficient administration of NSFAS. It is further recommended that funding administered by both the national and provincial government departments be centralized and administred by the NSFAS to circumvent double dipping. Finally, it is recommended that students who fall within the R0 – R350,000 per annum household income category including SASSA beneficiaries be flagged by the system to automatically qualify for funding.
Educational Management and Leadership
D. Ed. (Education Management)

The number of unemployed young university graduates in South Africa is annually on the rise. This is due to a combination of factors which include a lack of the right skills, work experience, type of qualification, low number of available jobs and other macro-economic factors. Different stakeholders have proposed entrepreneurship as a possible solution to graduate unemployment. This study explores the feasibility of entrepreneurship as a way out of unemployment for jobless graduates. It does this by investigating the perceptions of young graduates of the University of KwaZulu-Natal who are engaged in entrepreneurship in Pietermaritzburg. The qualitative method of interviews is used for data collection. Two major areas of investigation in this study are that of the challenges that graduates encounter in their various business ventures as well as their perceptions about the effectiveness of entrepreneurship education at university. Generally the findings of this study seem to suggest that entrepreneurship, if developed properly, could be one of the solutions to the challenge of graduate unemployment. However a number of factors determine successful entrepreneurship. These include personality traits, intelligence, access to finance, good business management skills, family background as well as the general economic environment. The findings could also generally suggest that, in its current form, entrepreneurship education is not effective enough in producing graduates who are successful in business.
Thesis (M.Com.Dev.Studies)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 2012.

The purpose of the study was to explore the factors that contribute to poor academic achievement in TVET Colleges in the North West Province. A qualitative method of one-on-one interviews was utilised to collect data from participants. The study revealed that poor funding or late payment of NSFAS constitutes the demotivation of students, which results to poor performance. On the other hand, the lecturers also blame the poor results on students’ lack of motivation. The quality of students that register for NC(V) programmes do not match the curriculum as the mainstream schools do not adequately prepare them for the college curriculum. Based on the findings of the study, it is recommended that the top achieving students be awarded with incentives to motivate them. The NSFAS Bursaries ought to pay-out early in the year so that students may have enough funds for their transport and other college related needs. The students’ support services ought to be made available for the low performing students.
Educational Management and Leadership
M. Ed. (Education Management)