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Full-Text Articles in Sociology

Economic Disadvantage, Nativity, And Academic Performance And School Punishment Among Latino/A Children, Yolanda Chavez May 2022

Economic Disadvantage, Nativity, And Academic Performance And School Punishment Among Latino/A Children, Yolanda Chavez

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Cultural explanations of how familial resource inequality negatively impacts the academic well-being of a Latino/a child saturate the literature. This study examines the relationship between economic disadvantage and academic performance and school punishment through Family Stress Process Theory, providing a contextual analysis of resource instability. The additional myriad of legal and social constraints that parental nativity provides for family members can moderate this relationship. Data was drawn from the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study, a longitudinal measure of U.S. couples and their children in 20 large U.S. cities. Regression models indicate the relationship between economic disadvantage and academic performance …


Cultural Capital, Habitus And Academic Achievement, Tevin Vaughan Apr 2020

Cultural Capital, Habitus And Academic Achievement, Tevin Vaughan

Sociology & Criminal Justice Theses & Dissertations

Education in the United States is directly tied to social mobility for students with low socioeconomic status. The fact that these same students are less likely to succeed academically and that the interaction between cultural capital (knowledge, skills, mannerisms, etc.) and habitus (dispositions and attitudes) are understudied has led to the formulation of this study. This study looks to identify a mechanism that can be leveraged by low SES students for educational attainment. This research will follow an exploratory, cross-sectional design, that will use quantitative methods to examine the influence that cultural capital and habitus on low income student academic …


How Race, Socioeconomic Status, And Gender Shape Feelings Of Competition Within The Pre-Med Department At A Small Liberal Arts College, Amanda B. Deming Jan 2020

How Race, Socioeconomic Status, And Gender Shape Feelings Of Competition Within The Pre-Med Department At A Small Liberal Arts College, Amanda B. Deming

Honors Theses

This study aims to understand how students of color navigate feelings of competition in the pre-medical (“pre-med”) track at a small liberal arts college. I argue that there are differences in navigational strategies by race, socioeconomic status (SES), and gender. Respondents in my sample (9 women and 6 men) were interviewed for 30 to 60 minutes about their relationships with fellow pre-med students, mentors, alumni, advisors, and professors. The primary findings of this project were that students who are more competitive dominate the culture among pre-med students; less competitive individuals persist through the pre-med track by forming study groups with …


“I’M Going To Help You Become A Better You”: Teacher-Student Dynamics In Special Education, Sophie Sadovnikoff May 2019

“I’M Going To Help You Become A Better You”: Teacher-Student Dynamics In Special Education, Sophie Sadovnikoff

Honors Projects

This study explores teachers’ roles in special education in terms of how they interact with students with disabilities. In the struggle against oppression and disempowerment, teachers can play a crucial role in employing education as the great equalizer, or else not. The question this research seeks to answer is: how do special education teachers interact with their students with disabilities, and how does this teacher role fit within a society that seeks to marginalize these students? I argue that special education teachers reproduce ableism by disciplining, normalizing, and controlling their students, but teachers express a deep sense of caring for …


Evaluation Of A Learning Community Program For Developmental Reading Students At A Two-Year College., Tonya Scott Lanphier May 2019

Evaluation Of A Learning Community Program For Developmental Reading Students At A Two-Year College., Tonya Scott Lanphier

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Learning communities have become an integral part of higher education. Numerous studies have examined the effectiveness of learning communities at colleges and universities. This study, extended over two years, is an in-depth analysis of a learning community program serving developmental reading students at a public, two-year college. A primary aim of the program was to improve students’ reading skills to increase student persistence. In this dissertation, mixed methods were used and data came from six sources: in-depth interviews with students, instructors, and administrators, focus groups with students, a content review of internal and external program documents, pre-post reading test, a …


The Relationship Between Fraternity Recruitment Experiences, Perceptions Of Fraternity Life, And Self-Esteem, Kendall Ladd Jan 2016

The Relationship Between Fraternity Recruitment Experiences, Perceptions Of Fraternity Life, And Self-Esteem, Kendall Ladd

Undergraduate Honors Thesis Collection

Self-esteem on its own has been studied extensively, including as part of a study examining the effects of sorority recruitment on the self-esteem of the female participants (Chapman, Hirt, and Spruill, 2008). However, there is relatively little research on men’s self-esteem and no studies examining the potential impact of the fraternity recruitment process on students’ self-esteem. The present study examined this through a longitudinal study utilizing two surveys. The initial survey was completed the day before the fraternity recruitment process began to establish a baseline for 155 participants. The follow-up survey received a total of 99 responses from the original …


Teacher Retention And Student Achievement: Environmental Factors, Social Capital And Interventions In Urban, Pre-Dominantly Latino Schools, Luis Xavier Benavides Jan 2015

Teacher Retention And Student Achievement: Environmental Factors, Social Capital And Interventions In Urban, Pre-Dominantly Latino Schools, Luis Xavier Benavides

Master's Theses

The quality of education in high poverty areas is often blamed on a number of factors - poor teaching, inadequate resources, an environment of hopelessness and mediocrity, lack of perseverance in the learner, lack of social programs and social capital. These factors are often compounded by effects of systemic racism in the student’s surrounding environment and in education system. This study focuses on one aspect of investigation: the impact of increased social capital for teachers on students’ school performance and interventions focused on building social capital between students, parents and teachers in urban, pre-dominantly Latino schools. Improving links between students, …


The Brutal Reality Of Bringing Kids Up To Level: Are Critical Thinking And Creativity Lost In The World Of Standardized Testing?, Jamie M. Carroll May 2013

The Brutal Reality Of Bringing Kids Up To Level: Are Critical Thinking And Creativity Lost In The World Of Standardized Testing?, Jamie M. Carroll

University of New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

Since the passage of No Child Left Behind, the output of education has been measured through student achievement on standardized tests. School ratings, student graduation, teacher jobs and school charters are all tied to these tests. This study analyzes the extent to which math and science public high school teachers in New Orleans focus on critical thinking and creativity, skills needed to be successful in the future. Through a framework of Richard Paul’s model of critical thinking and Theresa Amabile’s social psychology of creativity, this study evaluates support for critical thinking and creativity through classroom observations, analysis of instructional materials …


Becoming An Administrator, F. Patrick Lattuca Iii May 2012

Becoming An Administrator, F. Patrick Lattuca Iii

Master's Theses, Dissertations, Graduate Research and Major Papers Overview

This study is part of a limited but growing body of research that examines and describes the social side of pulic school administration. Most training programs that prepare public school administrators are highly effective with regard to providing students the theoretical foundation that surrounds administrative roles, but as the literature illustrates, there is a gap between theory and practice. This autoethnographical dissertation addresse this gap by providing an analytical description of what individuals do when acting as a public school administrator. Specifically, this study follows the transition into an assistant principalship and how the author was socialized into that role


Beyond The Black Horizon, Aaron Bruce Jan 2012

Beyond The Black Horizon, Aaron Bruce

Master's Theses, Dissertations, Graduate Research and Major Papers Overview

Although U.S. colleges and universities continue to discuss creative ways to increase the number of African American collegians participating in study abroad, this research is limited when revealing the unique perspectives of African American collegians who have studied abroad. Traditionally an emphasis on program success has been placed on the quantity of study abroad participants rather than the quality of African American student support and engagement; the personal reflections through the lens of African American race and identity are often overlooked. A series of culturally responsive, guided interviews were conducted with African American collegians from a variety of institutions across …