Education Commons^™

Understanding The Impact Of The Kalamazoo Promise From The Perspectives Of Parents And Community Group Members, Charles Pearson

Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to uncover the emerging views of parents and community group stakeholders in regards to The Kalamazoo Promise, and what they believed were the important issues that must be understood by implementers of The Promise in order to provide more effective implementation.

The Kalamazoo Promise is a full-tuition scholarship provided to all eligible graduates of the school district. The qualification criteria are simple, and all graduates attending at least the four years of high school are eligible.

A case study was conducted in one representative school in this midsized, urban district. A multiple-phase approach was …

Exploring The Relationships Between White Racial Consciousness, Feminist Identity Development And Family Environment For White Undergraduate Women, Kara E. Wolff

Dissertations

Although the literature has emphasized the importance of understanding between White racial consciousness, feminist identity development and family environment. Based on the relationships described by the canonical functions considered noteworthy in the analyses three main findings appeared to emerge. First, family environments that were perceived by White undergraduate women to promote engagement with a variety of outside perspectives were related to more actively antiracist worldviews and well-developed feminist identities; while family environments perceived to reflect a more insular focus (i.e. less exposure to divergent opinions) were related to more prejudicial racial attitudes and less feminist identity development. Second, the more …

African-American Girls And Scientific Argumentation: Lived Experiences, Intersecting Identities And Their Roles In Constructing And Evaluating Claims, Phyllis Haugabook Pennock

Dissertations

Scientific argumentation can be traced back to ancient times; yet has seen a recent upswing over the last decade in the area of science education. This is due to current national education standards that ascribe this practice as a way of promoting scientific literacy for all. Current literature reflects an evolution of scientific argumentation – accommodating emerging research that uses socio-scientific issues. National standards highlight the need to teach argumentation, yet also recognize the urgent demand for educational equity of all students.

The purpose of this research was to narrow the gap dividing argumentation studies from other science discourse research. …