Education Commons^™

Apprenticeship And Literacy Model For Women In Afghanistan: A Grounded Narrative, Mohammad Iqbal Halimi

Master's Capstone Projects

This study reviewed the Learning for Community Empowerment Project (LCEP-2), a five-year project designed by UN-Habitat and funded by the United States International Agency for Development (USAID). The project’s major goal was to empower marginalized communities in Afghanistan through activities in integrated literacy, community saving and investment groups, apprenticeships, and business development training.

The study examined the empowerment model of this project. It first investigated the work the social organizers did with the men and women residents of the project implementation locations in transforming patriarchal norms in conservative areas to improve women’s access to public space. It then looked at …

Aid Fragmentation, Commitments And Progress: A Textbook Provision Case Study From Afghanistan, Zia Andar

Master's Capstone Projects

This study reviews aid fragmentation and implementation effectiveness using a textbook production and distribution project in Afghanistan as a case study. The aid effectiveness debate has been part of the development discussion for both academics and practitioners since the beginning of modern aid. An overall consensus exists that development aid programs are not as effective as they should be. The debate over aid effectiveness has intensified in the last two decades and a series of international forums on aid effectiveness convened in this period, the most prominent of which are the High Level Forums on Aid Effectiveness, hosted by the …

A Review Of The Literature On Civil Society Funding For Education: Models For Zimbabwe, Vongaishe Changamire

Master's Capstone Projects

Humanitarian aid, development assistance and government budget allocations to education continues to dwindle resulting in an increase of the number of children out of school especially for low resourced countries. (GMR, 2015). Due to this, Zimbabwean education has become expensive and thus inaccessible to children in low income communities and rural areas. In 2012, more than 500, 000 students were recorded to be out of school in Zimbabwe. This paper, a comparative literature review, sought to identify challenges in current education funding, document various indigenous alternative models of funding and attempt to develop a Zimbabwean education financing framework from lessons …

Perceptions Of Quality In Higher Education In Afghanistan: A Case Study Of Shaheed Rabbani Education University, Homayoon Taheryar

Master's Capstone Projects

This study investigates how the concepts of quality and quality assurance (QA) standards are understood in the Afghan higher education system. First, I carried out a literature review of the available literature globally and then reviewed the available literature about Afghanistan’s higher education quality assurance system. Second, I conducted a case study at Shaheed Rabbani Education University (SREU), a public higher education institution in Afghanistan, to explore how academic staff at this university understand the concepts of quality and the QA standards. The study included qualitative interviews with seven key respondents at SREU. The findings from the case study suggest …

Problematizing Entrepreneurship (Education) In International Development: A Case Study Of A Youth Program In Burkina Faso, Nolizwe Mhlaba

Master's Capstone Projects

Entrepreneurship education and training (EET) has become more prominent on the international development agenda as a strategy for inclusive growth and poverty alleviation. Proponents of EET argue that it has reached marginalized groups - such as unemployed youth - in non-formal education settings, equipping them with the skills, mindsets, and knowledge to secure better economic outcomes for themselves. However, critics assert that the human capital focus of EET reflects a neoliberal orientation that essentially glosses over structural problems and shifts the burden of development onto the target populations of such programs. This tension underlies the dilemma of development work, whereby …

Jordanian Teachers' Opinions Of Effective Peace Education With Syrian Refugees, Michael Acosta

Master's Capstone Projects

This research highlights Jordanian teachers' perspectives on good peace education practices with Syrian refugees in Jordanian public schools. Since the start of the Syrian conflict, many International organizations invest time and money into integrating Syrian refugees into the Jordanian community, including public schools. However, many challenges still exist. In order to understand this phenomenon, Jordanian public school teachers participated in qualitative surveys and in semi-structured group interviews, where they discussed challenges and best practices used in their classrooms. From the surveys and semi-structured interviews, teachers discussed six categories of issues they face daily: societal, physiological, political, religious, and the role …

Responding To Complexity: A Case Study On The Use Of "Developmental Evaluation For Managing Adaptively", Kayla Boisvert

Master's Capstone Projects

Over the past 15 years, the international development field has increasingly emphasized the need to improve aid effectiveness. While there have been many gains as a result of this emphasis, many critique the mechanisms that have emerged to enhance aid effectiveness, particularly claiming that they inappropriately force adherence to predefined plans and hold programs accountable for activities and outputs, not outcomes. However, with growing acceptance of the complexity of development challenges, different ways to design, manage, and evaluate projects are beginning to take hold that better reflect this reality.

Many development practitioners explain that Developmental Evaluation (DE) and Adaptive Management …

Sources Of Influence On Perceptions Of South Korean Youths About Unification Of North And South Korea, Surl Hee Kim

Master's Capstone Projects

The purpose of this research is to explore what information sources are influencing the perception of south Korean youths about unification between North and South Korea. The Research Examined the sources and the tone of message which the youths receive from non-school sources such as family, peers, teachers, religious institutions and media.

The research methodology combined a survey with interviews. Questionnaires were collected from a total of 273 students in 3 high schools located in metropolitan ares of Seoul in South Korea. Interviews with a student and a unification education lecturer who is a North Korean defector were also conducted. …

Through The Camera Lens Of Development: An Exploration Of Ngos' Representations Of Africa, Sebastian Lindstrom

Master's Capstone Projects

The purpose if this qualitative research is to acquire new knowledge in the African visual representational landscape, a digital space carefully filmed and edited by some of the most celebrated and acknowledged, mostly Western, NGOs in the world. The most watched Africa-related video from 50 NGOs were selected, downloaded and analyzed. After continuous re-watching of a 3.5 hour long set of visual data tree themes emerged. One segment relates around the NGOs intervention, another about the term or statement ‘help’, and the last theme is HIV/AIDS. The findings include the realization that the beneficiary was never explaining the intervention of …

Through A Critical Sociocultural Lens: Parents’ Perspectives Of An Early Childhood Program In Guatemala, Yaëlle Stempfelet

Master's Capstone Projects

The present case study is on an Early Childhood program in Guatemala based on participant parents’ feedback. The Early Childhood program is non-formal, focuses on emergent literacy and nutrition, and takes place in a community-run library in a poor, semi-rural town in the mountainous regions of Quiche, Guatemala. The library was set up by a Non-Governmental Organization (NGO) that works in Guatemala as well as another neighboring country.

Using a critical sociocultural lens, this study assumes that the parents’ perceptions reflect the state of the program and that involving their feedback through this research will ultimately help to bolster the …

Ingos In The Mirror: Critical Reflections Of Practitioners Implementing Psychosocial Support Programs, Stephen M. Richardson

Master's Capstone Projects

The purpose of this qualitative research is to learn from the professional wisdom of practitioners involved in implementing school-based psychosocial support in conflict-affected contexts. Practitioners from four different International Non-governmental Organizations (INGO) working in three different contexts—the Congo Basin region, the South Asia region, and the Sudan region—reflect on the concepts and realities of the psychosocial support models that their organizations use. A common theme emerging from these interviews is that the approach to psychosocial support has the potential to do harm. The practitioners provide real examples of the ways in which harm may occur and their possible causes. These …

The Problem With Problem Identification In The Process Of Educational Reforms In The Kyrgyz Republic, Gulzat Kochorova

Master's Capstone Projects

The purpose of this paper is to expose issues that are being identified as ‘problems’ or ‘challenges’ of the Kyrgyz education in general, and of higher education in particular. Drawing on the specifics of the identified problems, this paper will also analyze theoretical assumptions upon which they are based. This is important because identified problems and their projected solutions are going to constitute further reform attempts, and ultimately shape the future of the educational system of the Kyrgyz Republic.

A Comparative Analysis Of The Effectiveness Of Teacher Support Approaches In Afghanistan, Noorullah Noori

Master's Capstone Projects

This research explores the effectiveness of three teacher professional development (TPD) approaches in the context of Afghanistan: 2-year in-service teacher education; short-term (ad-hoc) teacher training; and teacher learning circles (TLC). In this research, I compare these three models, their impact on improving teacher quality and subsequently student outcome. I applied the mix-methods approach by using three different research tools: classroom observations, self-administered questionnaires, and semi-structured interviews. I also reviewed student performance records over four semesters; from 2010 to 2011. Despite many challenges, the results show three core strengths of each of these models: the 2-year in-service teacher …

Resilience In School, Milka Ndura

Master's Capstone Projects

This study explores the factors that motivate students to perform well in the national examination at their basic primary education level despite the unlikely environment to support this success in Kibera slums, Kenya. In the current situation in Kenya, national examinations are used as a basis of distributing the fewer than students slots in secondary school, despite the different circumstances facing each candidate, passing of the Kenya Certificate of Primary Education is still an important factor that determines a child’s eligibility to attend secondary school. Students enrolled in Kenyan primary school system take the same national exams regardless of the …

Feeding Students? Examining Views Of Parents, Students And Teachers On The World Food Program’S School Feeding Initiatives In Chamwino District In Tanzania, Benjamin Ngaji Oganga

Master's Capstone Projects

School feeding programs have become a worldwide phenomenon and an agenda pushed by the International Development Agencies such as the World Food Program (WFP) with the assumption that it may contribute towards addressing barriers to poor students’ enrollment and retention in primary schools in developing countries. The assumption is that, because of hunger and low income, parents are mostly likely not motivated to send their children to school; and on the other hand, children too may not effectively concentrate in learning and therefore are likely to drop out of schools. Different studies have shown the effectiveness of the school-feeding program …

Teacher Attrition: Why Secondary School Teachers Leave The Profession In Afghanistan, Hassan Aslami

Master's Capstone Projects

This study examines factors influencing teacher attrition in public secondary schools in Kabul, Afghanistan. Substantial increments in the school-age population, the Education for All (EFA) mandate, and a “seven-fold” growth in number of students during the last decade have collectively increased the demand for teachers in Afghanistan; whereas, teachers from the public schools are leaving the teaching profession in large numbers. The lack of teachers poses serious challenges for the education system especially for Ministry of Education.

This exploratory study focuses on the reasons for the departure of both current and former teachers. It also explores and suggests some strategies …

Strengthening The Education Management Information System (Emis) In Tanzania: Government Actors’ Perceptions About Enhancing Local Capacity For Information-Based Policy Reforms, Assela M. Luena

Master's Capstone Projects

Strengthening the Education Management Information System (EMIS) in Tanzania is an important task, as the government needs quality data and information to support the creation of sound policies, making plans and managing educational resources. Well-functioning EMIS can ensure achievement of national goals to provide quality education, which is the basis for facilitating economic growth and sustainable development. The government also needs quality data and information in order to enhance monitoring and evaluation of the education sectors’ performance and ensure the right direction for achieving the intended goals and objectives.

Creating a sustainable and efficient EMIS is a challenge that requires …

Contemplative Education: How Contemplative Practices Can Support And Improve Education, Judith Johannes

Master's Capstone Projects

The purpose of this study is to explore how contemplative education can have a viable role in education. In the first part of this thesis I will share my own personal experience with contemplative practices and how they led to my personal growth and transformation.

The second part will give some brief insights about the benefits the ancient wisdom traditions Hinduism and Buddhism attributed to contemplative practices. They claim that those practices help to reach a state of expanded awareness and stillness of the mind. Contemplative practices such as mindfulness, which is a Buddhist meditation technique, were used to better …

Description Of A Species For International Education: Zoos A Literature Review, Thomas A. Coon

Master's Capstone Projects

Zoos are an international phenomenon and are behaving strongly as complex multifaceted educational institutions. With hundreds of institutions around the world and hundreds of millions of annual visitors zoos, as a community, have a tremendous international and educational reach. However, despite these characteristics, zoos consistently remain off the radar of the comparative and international education field. The strongest reason for this, perhaps, is that literature, research and discussion about zoos, education and learning has largely remained confined to literature published by and for zoo professionals and within zoo industry journals. With regards to the international education field this is unfortunate …

How The Chameleon Overcame Its Complex: Engage And The Formation Of A Prefigurative Social Movement, Philip W. Mangis

Master's Capstone Projects

U.S. students who participate in justice-oriented study abroad programs face great challenges reintegrating to life in the United States. In addition to working through culture shock, these students ultimately confront the dilemma of putting into practice a newfound transformed worldview that runs counter to hegemonic norms. Faced with the challenge of negotiating this dissonance, students can choose to blend in and conform to the status quo while struggling internally with their un-actualized perspective transformation – like a chameleon with a complex – or they can find ways to resist assimilation by acting on their transformation and taking action in the …

“We Lost Our Culture With Civilization” – A Critical Analysis Of The Internalization Of The Development Discourse Vis-À-Vis Systems Of Knowledge In Senegal, Karla Giuliano Sarr

Master's Capstone Projects

Critical analysis of the complex interplay between development ideals and local conceptualizations of knowledge forms and education methods are essential if we are to promote holistic, responsive, and culturally appropriate development efforts. Since the end of World War II, and the independence movements that greatly changed geopolitics in the 1960s and 1970s, development prevails as the dominant paradigm in current relations between countries of the North and South (Escobar, 1995; Rahnema & Bawtree, 1997). Development, intrinsically linked with neo-liberal policies and globalization (Peet, 1999), defines not only how Northerners perceive the South, but also, how Southerners perceive themselves, their ways …

Theatre Of The Oppressed A Manual For Educators, Gopal Midha

Master's Capstone Projects

Promoting social equity and justice, I think, are not just important but essential qualities in a good educator. My experience as a graduate student at University of Massachusetts helped me understand and practice different ways in which this could be done. For instance, I learnt how I could promote social justice through changes in curriculum, co-operative learning, inter-group dialogues or multicultural education. However, my search was for a method that did not require literacy as a pre-requisite and that went beyond mere conversations about social justice. One of the key elements of the power structures which lead to oppression, I …

Assessment Practices: Student’S And Teachers’ Perceptions Of Classroom Assessment, Sayed Ahmad Javid Mussawy

Master's Capstone Projects

The primary aim of this study is to explore pre-service teachers’ perceptions of classroom assessment. A secondary purpose is to explore the faculty members’ perceptions of classroom assessment and their expectations of students’ learning. This study examines what assessment approaches are being used in Baghlan Higher Education Institution, School of Education. In addition, the investigator was interested in learning the extent to which assessment results were used to improve students’ learning and classroom instruction.

Education Faculty Math Curriculum And In-Service Teachers Needs, Sayed Sarwar Yaqubi

Master's Capstone Projects

This study accomplished as an education master thesis and addresses the following issue- the education faculty math curriculum in Jowzjan University in Afghanistan and the in-service teachers’ needs. I conducted this study on third-year in-service teachers who are studying at the Jowzjan University in Afghanistan. This study was conducted as qualitative study; there were 11 participants from the third-year in-service teachers. The methodology system was interview with participants. Because of the lack of time I did just one time interview with the participants. There were not class observation and group discussion. The finding from this study revealed some important and …

Farmer Literacy Practices: A Comparative Study Of Farmers In Kurnool District Of Andhra Pradesh, India, Konda Reddy Chavva

Master's Capstone Projects

ABSTRACT The goal of the study was to understand farmer literacy practices, and how farmer participants perceive the usefulness of Farmer Water School (FWS) training. Studying the farmer literacy practices was to help identify farmer friendly methods, and design effective messages for dissemination on crop choices, decisions, and sustainable groundwater management. To understand the usefulness of FWS training to farmers, a comparative study of FWS participants and non-FWS pa11icipants' perceptions on crop-water management, crop choices, and agriculture practices was undertaken. The study focused on the farmers of Kurnool district of Andhra Pradesh, India.

The research questions driving this study included: …

"I Can See Now" Understanding Literacy Practices In The Context Of Afghanistan, Anita Anastacio

Master's Capstone Projects

I have structured my paper as follows:

Chapter 2 of this paper provides an overview of the historical, political and educational context of Afghanistan out of which a project like Learning of Life, a health focused literacy project and the focus of my study emerged.

Chapter 3 familiarizes the reader with the theoretical discussions that have shaped the concept of literacy. I will do that by using a framework used by UNESCO (2006) that presents the theory using four approaches to understand the meaning of literacy.

Chapter 4 presents the methodology of the research I carried out by looking at …

Education As A Political Act: Drawing From Critical And Feminist Pedagogies To Build And Implement An Adult Education Curriculum, Wendi Carman

Master's Capstone Projects

This paper is part reflection on the curriculum building experience and part analysis of the experience with regards to the academic literature on adult education. Reflection on the experience and discussion of some theories in AE are followed by a collection of suggested resources for the curriculum, many of which speak to the issues I highlight in the paper. Adding a gender perspective to the curriculum will not only touch on issues that are commonly overlooked, but it will provide a more complete picture of issues discussed. Because the curriculum will undergo a process of constant evolution, I do not …

Prospects And Challenges: Teaching An Introductory Course On International Education In U.S. Classroom, Manaslu Gurung

Master's Capstone Projects

The purpose of this research is to explore the experiences of teaching an introductory course on International Education in a US classroom. The study focuses on some of the leading challenges of discussing links between international education and international development from a variety of global perspectives, particularly the Third World perspective. The underlying goal of this reflective research is to address the importance of International Education is today’s world where education continues to be political and where what we see, understand, and value in the First World impacts the Third World more directly and severely than ever before. Free Market …

What Do We Think About Them? Stereotypes In Russia About U.S. High Schools., Svetlana Pivovar

Master's Capstone Projects

No abstract provided.

Assessing The Impact Areas Of An International Study Tour For Teachers, Raymond Y. Young

Master's Capstone Projects

In the mid-1970’s, the Commonwealth of Massachusetts became federally designated refugee settlement location for many of the people displaced by violence and conflict in Southeast Asia. Since the, large numbers of individuals and families from Vietnam, Cambodia, and Laos, often escaping horrific conditions, have found new homes in cities and towns across the commonwealth. Today, Massachusetts ranks seventh in the national for the number of Southeast Asian Immigrants and refugees that have resettled in the United States, and is home to the second largest Khmer American population outside of California.

Despite federal, state, and local assistance to the communities and …