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Barriers In Educating Homeless Children And Youth, Gloria Elaine White Adams

Dissertations

Across America, homeless students face a myriad of barriers that impede education and school access and success of homeless children. The purpose of this study was to determine the barriers to enrollment and school success for homeless students. The ultimate goal was to provide information to parents, teachers, administrators, and school districts that could serve as a vital resource tool in educating homeless students while removing barriers.

The participants consisted of 215 certified teachers, school administrators, and homeless liaisons in 23 school districts representing the populations that provide afterschool instruction to homeless students. The study was conducted in the spring …

Sustainability Evaluation: Development And Validation Of An Evaluation Checklist, Daniela C. Schroeter

Dissertations

Sustainability permeates many levels of human activity. Interest in sustainability is grounded primarily in the sustainable development field which is concerned with the survival of humans on planet earth, and with the growing demands of meeting people's long-term needs. In the North American evaluation literature, however, sustainability is primarily thought of in terms of continuing program activity beyond initial funding cycles via diversification of funding streams or institutionalization.

Two distinct perspectives for evaluating sustainability were identified. The first is concerned with micro-level issues related to the continuation of programs, policies, and other types of human action. The second is a …

Collective Bargaining In Public Schools: Superintendents' Perspective, Kyle W. Mayer

Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to explore how selected superintendents are experiencing the collective bargaining process. Exploration included an examination of the various roles that selected superintendents have played in the collective bargaining process within rural and suburban school districts in Michigan.

Furthermore, exploration included thematic areas of greatest challenges facing superintendents in recent collective bargaining negotiations. Particular emphasis was given to the style of collective bargaining environment that superintendents reported as most conducive to successful contract negotiations. In addition, the rising cost of health care benefits was a significant point of emphasis within this study.

Twenty-six superintendents from …

International Aid Evaluation: An Analysis And Policy Proposals, Thomaz Kauark Chianca

Dissertations

Evaluation has been intertwined with international aid work since its inception in the late 40's-early 50's, but it is still an area with considerable room for improvement. If, as is often alleged, evaluations of international development efforts are methodologically weak they are misleading international agencies about the real impact of the sizable amount of resources being spent. A recent study by Chianca, described in this thesis, with a sample of 50 US-based international non-profit organizations (INGOs) illustrates the serious situation of the structure and practice of evaluation in those agencies.

A number of efforts to improve this situation have been …