Education Commons^™

"For A Future Tomorrow": The Figured Worlds Of Schoolgirls In Kono, Sierra Leone, Jordene Hale

Doctoral Dissertations

Current research in Sub-Sahara Africa suggests that young women face challenges in accessing and completing schooling, due among other things to gender related school based violence (Bruce & Hallman, 2008; Dunne, Humphreys, & Leach, 2006; Lloyd, Kaufman, & Hewett, 2000). These studies, while valuable in providing documentation on school enrollment and school leaving, do not explore the motivational framework where young women remain in school. The purpose of this dissertation is to trace how schoolgirls’ identities or “figured worlds” (Gee, 2011) are co-constructed in particular contexts by the same cohort of schoolgirls, their teachers, households, and communities through an ethnographic …

Tennessee Teachers' Support For The Curriculum Component Of State Accountability Policies, Shannon Lee Strahan

Doctoral Dissertations

The existing research on accountability policies rarely examines individual components of an accountability policy (i.e., curriculum, assessments, use of assessment results, and stakes). This mixed-methods study investigated the curriculum component of Tennessee’s accountability policies from the perspective of middle-grades, TCAP-tested subjects teacher participants from three East Tennessee districts. The Accountability Policies Supports and Stressors Questionnaire (Berryhill, Linney, & Fromewick, 2009) measured the support for the curriculum component of the state’s accountability policies. Further, interviews with sixth grade science and eighth grade social studies teachers examined how the curriculum component of the policies influenced teachers’ self-efficacy (Bandura, 1977), one of three …

An Examination Of The Effectiveness Of The Louisiana Gear Up Program In Promoting Self-Efficacy, Improving Academic Achievement And Increasing Teachers' Aspirations For Their Students, Candi Hill

Doctoral Dissertations

Students are likely to avoid academic pursuits if they lack academic self-efficacy (Bandura, 2000). Furthermore, past poor academic performance contributes to the development of low academic self-efficacy. Students who participate in extracurricular activities, like LA GEAR UP, demonstrate better academic achievement and less risk-taking behaviors than non-participating students (Barber, Stone, & Hunt, 2003). Research supports the notion that LA GEAR UP is an effective way to improve students' academic performance and to reduce the number of disciplinary referrals students receive (Beer, 2009). Additionally, within the academic literature research has demonstrated that teachers' attributions about students are based upon their perceptions …

The Approach, Methods And Impact Of A Non-Governmental Organization In Education Of Child Workers In India: A Case Study, Rajul Shah

Doctoral Dissertations

Child labor is an extremely prominent and complex socio-economic issue in many developing countries. Obtaining an adequate education is the only way child workers may escape lives filled with poverty and exploitation. There is a strong indirect relationship between education and child workers. Compulsory primary schooling may provide a pathway to success.

This qualitative study explored the issue of children in India who work rather than receive a formal education, and the various resources that were provided to them by a local non-governmental organization, the Learning Foundation. It offered an informal educational opportunity, known as the New Beginning Project, to …