Education Commons^™

Special Education And Massachusetts Charter Schools: Examining Issues And Practices Associated With Enrollment, Placement And Compliance, Jennifer C. Baribeau

Doctoral Dissertations

Over the last ten years, charter schools have become a viable choice for parent’s seeking an alternative to traditional public schools. However, research shows this is not the case for students with disabilities. The purpose of this dissertation was to examine special education in charter schools and traditional public schools located in Massachusetts. I examined three key areas specific to special education; enrollment, placement and compliance, to determine if differences exist between charter schools and traditional public schools located in the state. Logistic regression analyses were conducted to examine differences between Massachusetts charter schools and public schools with respect to …

Examining The Capacity Of Instructional Support Networks For The Diffusion Of Computer Science For All (Csforall) In An Urban District, Rebecca Mazur

Doctoral Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to understand the capacity for diffusion of computer science instruction in an urban school district. Two types of networks, general instructional support and computer science-related support, were described and investigated. Social Network Analysis was used as the primary method to examine the structure of and relationships between the networks. Results suggest that even in schools with dense and distributed instructional support networks, sparse and centralized systems of ties are characteristic of DLCS support networks. Further, an analysis of networks with and without team-supported ties indicates that formal structures for collaborative teaming are critical sources …

Maximizing Test Efficiency: The Effects Of Test Format On Nonsense Word Reading, Amanda Kern

Doctoral Dissertations

A repeated measures study was conducted to determine the effects of test format on accuracy and fluency performance on a computer-based, nonsense word, decoding task. Decoding is a phonics skill that is highly predictive of overall reading performance (Fletcher, Lyon, Fuchs, & Barnes, 2007). Therefore, identifying students who are struggling with decoding and providing instruction to remedy skill deficits is of high importance to teachers. A possible way for teachers to determine the instructional needs of their students is through testing (Hosp & Ardoin, 2008). However, time dedicated to test completion in classrooms limits the time available for instruction. Therefore, …

Biomedical Research Data Management Open Online Education: Challenges & Lessons Learned, Julie Goldman

ACRL New England Chapter Annual Conference

The Best Practices for Biomedical Big Data project is a two year collaboration between Harvard Medical School and University of Massachusetts Medical School, funded by the NIH Big Data to Knowledge (BD2K) Initiative for Resource Development. The Best Practices for Biomedical Research Data Management Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) provides training to librarians, biomedical researchers, undergraduate and graduate biomedical students, and other interested individuals on recommended practices facilitating the discoverability, access, integrity, reuse value, privacy, security, and long term preservation of biomedical research data. This poster highlights lessons learned from the first year of this project.

Built upon the New …

The Process To Political Mobilization In Five College Capitalism: Forms Of Antiracism, Personal Reflection And Community-Building, Caitlin B. Homrich

Masters Theses

The town of Amherst, Massachusetts is home to the flagship campus of the University of Massachusetts, Amherst College, and Hampshire College, institutions that have greatly influenced the town’s prolific history of political activism as well as the high educational attainment and economic status of the majority of its residents. Often hailed as a liberal utopia, research on the political mobilization occurring in this town provides insight into the process and limitations of ally politics: when most of the residents of Amherst are White, how do they engage in racial justice activism? When most of the residents are wealthy and/or highly …

Master's Tools And The Master's House: A Historical Analysis Exploring The Myth Of Educating For Democracy In The United States, Timothy Scott

Doctoral Dissertations

Over the past forty-years, neoliberal education reform policies in the U.S. have spurred significant resistance, often galvanized by claims that such policies undermine public education as a vital institution of U.S. democracy. Within this narrative, many activists call to “save our schools” and return them to a time when public schools served the common good. With these narratives in mind, I explore the foundational and persistent power structures that characterize the U.S. as a means to reveal the fundamental purpose of its public education system. The questions that guide my research include: (1) With an understanding that capitalism, white supremacy, …

Seguimos Luchando: Women Educators’ Trajectories In Social Movement Based Popular Education Projects In Buenos Aires, Argentina, Jennifer Lee O'Donnell

Doctoral Dissertations

Through a multisite ethnographic investigation, I provide a look at the vision and practices of women teaching in the popular education sector, particularly those who impact social, economic, and political public spaces in Buenos Aires, Argentina. As an alternative to Freirean based education theory, which may overshadow the collective work of women in popular projects, this work highlights women’s commitments to education that contests neoliberal reform, transforming not only curriculum and pedagogies, social practices, and discourses inside classrooms, but the communities where they live as well.

Transformation Of Kabul Based Universities From Using Classic Content Management System To Web Content Management System: Key Issues And Challenges, Siddiqullah Barikzai

Conference Proceedings & Collected Papers

The aim of this research is to find problems and challenges resulted from using classic content management system and replacing it with Web Content Management System in Kabul based universities. The study will find answer to the following questions:

Do stated universities have necessary facilities such as electricity, computers, projectors, LCD, and the Internet? Are deans of faculties, chairs of departments, directors of student affairs, and students of these universities ready to use WCMS? What are the main problems and challenges that classic content management system has resulted yet? Finally, which of these two stated systems are most cost-effective, quick, …

Case Study Report: Norwegian Refugee Council, Dadaab, Kenya, Jenn Flemming

Education in Crisis and Conflict Network

The AEWG is a working group made up of education partners working in Accelerated Education (AE). The AEWG is currently led by UNHCR with representation from UNICEF, UNESCO, USAID, NRC, Plan, IRC, Save the Children, ECCN and War Child Holland.

Based on the aim for a more standardised approach to accelerated education provision globally, the AEWG has begun to develop guidance materials based on international standards and sound practice for AE. In 2016, the AEWG developed a set of 10 principles for effective practice (i.e. “the principles” or “AE principles”), and also accompanying guidance to these principles (known as the …

Case Study Report: Ret International Kenya, Kayla Boisvert

Education in Crisis and Conflict Network

The AEWG is a working group made up of education partners working in Accelerated Education (AE). The AEWG is currently led by UNHCR with representation from UNICEF, UNESCO, USAID, NRC, Plan, IRC, Save the Children, ECCN, and War Child Holland.

Based on the aim for a more standardised approach to AE provision globally, the AEWG has begun to develop guidance materials based on international standards and sound practice for AE. In 2016, the AEWG developed a set of 10 Principles for effective practice, as well as an accompanying Guide.

The purpose of this case study was to more fully understand …

Aewg Guide To The Accelerated Education Principles, Kayla Boisvert, Jenn Flemming, Ritesh Shah

Education in Crisis and Conflict Network

A large number of donor agencies, non-governmental organizations and governments have set up AEPs to meet the needs of over-age, out-of-school children and youth. These programs vary widely and are of differing quality and effectiveness. While there is guidance on quality education and education in emergencies generally, prior to this Guide, no AEP-specific Principles have existed to support these stakeholders in designing, implementing and evaluating their AEPs.

With the goal of strengthening the quality of Accelerated Education (AE) programming

through a more harmonized, standardized approach, the Accelerated Education Working

Group, led by UNHCR and with representation from nine member organizations, …

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 …

Investigating Patterns Using Analyzing Digital Images (Adi) Software, Jennifer Welborn, Wayne Kermenski

Patterns Around Us

The mean and variation of a population are easily seen by graphing the number of individuals that have a trait of a given value. In this experiment, we will investigate color variation found in a mealworm population using ADI.

In this investigation, we will use digital images and ADI to measure the increased surface area created by villi located in the small intestines.

Wrinkling Of A Floating Sheet, Narayanan Menon

Patterns Around Us

The objective of today’s work will be to generate wrinkle patterns on very thin polymer films using the forces generated by the surface tension of a water drop. You’ll do a few sizes of water drop and we’ll give you a couple of thicknesses of film. Digital images of the pattern will allow us to make observations of the number and size of the wrinkles generated. We will try to develop an understanding of the dependence of the pattern on the materials used and the forces applied

Branching In Nature, Jennifer Welborn, Wayne Kermenski

Patterns Around Us

No abstract provided.

Wrinkling In Nature, Jennifer Welborn, Wayne Kermenski

Patterns Around Us

This lab experience is separated into four investigative segments:

1. Human saliva and enzymes

2. Osmosis and Dialysis Tubing

3. Analyzing dry and imbibed weights of wrinkled and smooth pea seeds

4. Putting it All Together, What makes Wrinkled Peas?

Overview, Benjamin Davidovitch, Narayanan Menon, Jennifer Welborn, Wayne Kermenski

Patterns Around Us

No abstract provided.

A Brief Introduction To Stemtec, Morton Sternheim

STEMTEC

No abstract provided.

The Open Hub: Six Years Of A Collaborative Oer Initiative, Jeremy Smith

University Libraries Presentations Series

Presentation at the 2017 New England Faculty Development Conference

Closing The Digital Divide: Sharing Oer With Libraries, Schools, And Public Health Facilities In Africa And The World, Jeremy Smith

University Libraries Presentations Series

Nearly 5 billion people around the world lack basic internet access, putting them at a severe disadvantage in terms of economic, educational, health, and social opportunity. While a number of providers are attempting to address this global digital divide, our panel will explore a collaborative effort to bridge this divide using several low-cost technological solutions, offering enormous potential for reaching the developing world. We will discuss our experiences using Outernet, Keepod, and RACHEL (Remote Area Community Hotspot for Education & Learning). These technologies allow our team to distribute open content to information-poor communities in a cost-effective and efficient way. In …

Role Of Student Affairs In International Student Transition And Success, Christina W. Yao, Chrystal A. George Mwangi

Published Work

International student mobility has grown significantly in recent years, with over 4.1 million students in 2013 who studied abroad around the world (Institute of International Education [IIE], 2016). With the changes in student demographics and increased mobility, student affairs professionals are in a unique role to support international student transition and success. Unfortunately, current research and practice in higher education tends to place a high level of responsibility on the international student to successfully transition to a new campus environment or places the responsibility on the international student affairs/student services office to solely work with these students. Given the multi-faceted …

Engaging Disability: Trajectories Of Involvement For College Students With Disabilities, Ezekiel Kimball, Rachel Friedensen, Elton Silva

Published Work

This study draws on the narrative accounts of eight students with disabilities at a small liberal arts college in order to understand the connections between disability and student engagement. We found that disability plays a mediating role in the classroom; there are variations in access to institutional support; supportive peer networks are important’ and disability identity has a variable salience for these students. We also found that engagement for students with disabilities is multi-dimensional and multi-faceted. We include recommendations for supporting engagement for students with disabilities as well as suggestions for future research.

A Qualitative Toolkit For Institutional Research, Chrystal A. George Mwangi, Genia Bettencourt

Published Work

This chapter provides tools, resources, and examples for engaging qualitative inquiry as a part of institutional research and assessment. It supports the development of individual ability and organizational intelligence in qualitative inquiry.

Geographic Mobility And Social Inequality Among Peruvian University Students, Ryan S. Wells, Ricardo Cuenca, Gerardo Blanco Ramírez, Jorge Aragón

Published Work

The purpose of this study was to explore geographic mobility among university students in Peru and to understand how mobility patterns differ by region and by demographic indicators of inequality. The ways that students may be able to move geographically in order to access quality higher education within the educational system can be a driver of equality or inequality, depending on who is able to take advantage. Using data from a university census, we examine how demographic indicators of inequality are related to geographic mobility for university attendance, how prior geographic mobility predicts later mobility for university attendance, and how …

Being Black (And) Immigrant Students: When Race, Ethnicity, And Nativity Collide, Chrystal A. George Mwangi, Shelvia English

Published Work

While Black immigrants share some of the racialized experiences of native-Black Americans, they also have distinctive experiences. U.S. education presents an important environment to investigate these experiences as immigrants have the fastest growing child population and these children are increasingly entering the education system. This paper engages a systematic review of the growing body of literature centering on Black immigrants across the U.S. P-20 pipeline (preschool through graduate school). Findings reveal that the presentation of Black immigrants is incomplete in terms of the frameworks and research designs used to examine their educational experiences, pointing to a larger issue of a …

Mirror On The Field: Gender, Authorship, And Research Methods In Higher Education’S Leading Journals, Elizabeth A. Williams, Ethan A. Kolek, Daniel B. Saunders, Alicia Remaly, Ryan S. Wells

Published Work

Framed conceptually by gender equity, gender homophily, the contest regime of blind peer-review publishing, and the gendered nature of the quantitative–qualitative debate, this study investigated the intersection of authorship, gender, and methodological characteristics of 408 articles published from 2006 to 2010 in 3 major higher education journals. Nonbinary coding of author gender based on pronouns identified via Web searches virtually eliminated missing data and likely reduced error. Results suggest movement toward gender parity over time; however, women’s representation among authors does not appear commensurate with representation in the field. Findings revealed gendered use of research methods, with qualitative articles more …