Education Commons^™

Neoliberalism And Kazakhstan's Emerging Higher Education Sysytem, Nazgul Bayetova

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The Republic of Kazakhstan is one of the Central Asian countries of the former Soviet Union (USSR). The Kazakh Social Soviet Republic's Supreme Court declared the transition from a planned economy to a market economy in the early 1990s. The new market model in Kazakhstan has had a significant impact on its evolving higher education system. Less government spending and the creation of private universities in Kazakhstan were the core strategies that have been implemented under the neoliberal policies (Sabzalieva, 2017; Sagintayeva & Kurakbayev, 2015; Smirnova, 2014; Smolentseva, 2012; Smolentseva, Huisman, & Froumin, 2018). This study’s central question is how …

Student Reflections On Study Abroad: A Collective Case Study Exploring The Experiences Of Pre-Service Teachers During An International Student Teaching Program, Holly D. Hutton

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

As classrooms in the United States grow more culturally and linguistically diverse, schools of education are challenged to prepare more culturally responsive, globally minded educators. International student teaching (IST) programs provide a unique opportunity for pre-service teachers to develop cultural competencies in a global context. However, in order for these programs to effectively meet ambitious global and intercultural learning objectives, multiple curricular and programmatic components must be considered, and on-going research exploring individual student experiences must be conducted.

The present collective case study explored the experiences of five, pre-service teachers during a semester-long, IST program at Florida International University. A …

What Factors Influence Affirmative-Action Students' Achievement In Brazilian Federal Universities?, Gabriela Martinez Gillespie

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study aims to determine what personal and family characteristics, pre-college factors and environmental variables, contribute to affirmative action student success in Brazilian federal universities, as measured by the final college exam. In 2012, Brazil implemented an aggressive and controversial quota-system in federal universities which reserved half of the incoming class spaces to students who graduated from public high schools, followed by prioritization based on income and race. The study used secondary data collected by the Brazilian Ministry of Education; the population includes 6,557 graduating students from the sampled federal universities majors who completed the 2016 ENADE exam (final college …

The Relationship Between Information Literacy And Global Learning, Valda J. Adeyiga

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between undergraduate student performance on an information literacy assessment activity and their performance in global learning assessment activities for three global learning outcomes: global awareness, global perspective, and global engagement.

Global learning is the process whereby people from varied backgrounds collaboratively analyze and seek solutions for complex problems that go beyond borders. Important components of global learning are the acquisition, analysis and use of information, relating to complex problems which may include, but are not limited to, poverty, environmental protection and food security. These components of global learning are analogous …

Travel Education: A Phenomenological Study On Self-Directed Learning And Personal Enrichment Through Foreign Travel Experiences, Richard Jason Dapko

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

In the broad field of education, studies have been done to understand the ways in which adult learning, development, and transformation are fostered in travel contexts. Such studies mainly used the experiential learning and transformational learning theoretical frameworks to look at participants’ lived learning experiences from travel. However, there is a void when one searches for studies that examine the intersection of self-directed learning and travel. This study used self-directed learning theory to explore the essence of learning from foreign travel experiences. The aim of this study was to understand the role of self-directed learning as a learning process that …

Efficacy And Implementation Of Automated Essay Scoring Software In Instruction Of Literacies To High Level Ells, Aaron J. Alvero

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This thesis explored the integration of automated essay scoring (AES) software into the writing curriculum for high level ESOL students (levels 3, 4, and 5 on a 1-5 scale) at a high school in Miami, Fl. Issues for Haitian Creole speaking students were also explored. The Spanish and Haitian Creole speaking students were given the option to write notes, outlines, and planning sheets in their L1.

After using AES in the middle of the writing process as a revision assistant tool, 24 students responded to a Likert Scale questionnaire. The students responded positively to the AES based on the results …

Hospitality Education Assessment: A Case Study On The Learning Experience Of Chinese Students In A 4-Year Program At A U.S. Institution, Rossy Ambe-Cohen

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to investigate the learning experience of Chinese hospitality students in a 4-year program at a U.S. institution in order to bridge the gap between Chinese and American education. This study could challenge traditional education and produce more culturally savvy and diverse graduates, in a field as personal and interactive as Hospitality Management, it could also help American students who want to study, work or teach in China, as they would be knowledgeable of the cultural and educational differences. This study used a qualitative approach. The researcher conducted in-depth, semi-structured interviews with Chinese hospitality students …

An Exploration Of The Reasons And Purposes Of Non-Japanese Undergraduate Students For Taking A Beginners’ Japanese Language Course, Asuka H. Mashav

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study took place at Florida International University (FIU), a large public research university in Miami, Florida and one of largest Hispanic serving institutions in the United States. The purpose of this study was to explore the motivations of non-Japanese undergraduate students for taking a beginners’ Japanese language course. In-depth one-hour semi-structured interviews were conducted with 12 participants before the fall semester of 2014 (Phase I) and 10 after the semester (Phase II). Two major themes emerged from the inductive analysis of the data: attraction to Japanese culture and utility of using the Japanese language. Sub-themes for attraction to Japanese …

Comparison Of Linear Functions In Middle Grades Textbooks From Singapore And The United States, Linda D. Fowler

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Many U.S. students do not perform well on mathematics assessments with respect to algebra topics such as linear functions, a building-block for other functions. Poor achievement of U.S. middle school students in this topic is a problem.

U.S. eighth graders have had average mathematics scores on international comparison tests such as Third International Mathematics Science Study, later known as Trends in Mathematics and Science Study, (TIMSS)-1995, -99, -03, while Singapore students have had highest average scores. U.S. eighth grade average mathematics scores improved on TIMMS-2007 and held steady onTIMMS-2011. Results from national assessments, PISA 2009 and 2012 and National Assessment …

The Relationship Of Instructor Technical Literacy To The Academic Performance Of Students In Career Academies, Jorge Gomez

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Career Academy instructors’ technical literacy is vital to the academic success of students. This nonexperimental ex post facto study examined the relationships between the level of technical literacy of instructors in career academies and student academic performance. It was also undertaken to explore the relationship between the pedagogical training of instructors and the academic performance of students.

Out of a heterogeneous population of 564 teachers in six targeted schools, 136 teachers (26.0 %) responded to an online survey. The survey was designed to gather demographic and teaching experience data. Each demographic item was linked by researchers to teachers’ technology use …

Teachers’ Experiences In And Perceptions Of Their12th-Grade British Literature Classrooms, Keisha Simone Mcintyre-Mccullough

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to understand the experiences and perceptions of 12th-grade literature teachers about curriculum, Post-Colonial literature, and students. Theories posed by Piaget (1995), Vygotsky (1995), and Rosenblatt (1995) formed the framework for this micro-ethnographic study. Seven teachers from public and private schools in South Florida participated in this two-phase study; three teachers in Phase I and four in Phase II. All participants completed individual semi-structured interviews and demographic surveys. In addition, four of the teachers were observed teaching.

The analysis yielded three themes and two sub-themes: (a) knowledge concerned teachers’ knowledge of British literature content and …

Women Of African Descent: Persistence In Completing A Doctorate, Vannetta L. Bailey-Iddrisu

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study examines the educational persistence of women of African descent (WOAD) in pursuit of a doctorate degree at universities in the southeastern United States. WOAD are women of African ancestry born outside the African continent. These women are heirs to an inner dogged determination and spirit to survive despite all odds (Pulliam, 2003, p. 337).This study used Ellis’s (1997) Three Stages for Graduate Student Development as the conceptual framework to examine the persistent strategies used by these women to persist to the completion of their studies.

Achievement Motivation Attributes Of International Students Attending A Postsecondary Institution, Paula Chernoff Epstein

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to identify and compared the causal attributes of achievement motivation for academic success possessed by international students to those causal attributes of achievement motivation by other legal immigrant student groups attending a postsecondary institution. In this study, F-1 international students have obtained permission from the federal Department of Immigration and Naturalization Services to attend Miami-Dade Community College in Miami, Florida. There were two additional groups of students selected to participate in this study: Permanent Resident students and Others comprised of asylees, refugees and paroles, which are specific categories of legal immigrant students.

From the …