Education Commons^™

Learner Persistence In English For Speakers Of Other Languages (Esol) Programs, Elyse Waksman

International Development, Community and Environment (IDCE)

Persistence – or continued, intense study – is a common challenge for adults in English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) programs because of various institutional, situational, and dispositional factors. The current state and federal funding standards for adult ESOL programs are driven by human capital theory, and therefore most funders require demonstrated employment outcomes for students. These top-down objectives do not always align with English learners’ own motivations and goals. ESOL organizations must consider the complexities of these interacting forces to develop effective persistence strategies for their constituents. This case study of an ESOL organization in central Massachusetts is …

What's The Vibe? Curriculum, Atmosphere, And Youth-Adult Partnerships, Jacob Folsom-Fraster

International Development, Community and Environment (IDCE)

This paper explores the concept of the atmosphere of a space, specifically related to educational and goal oriented spaces housed in Youth-Adult Partnerships, and guided by curriculum. Through participatory action research, myself and the peer leaders of Worcester’s HOPE Coalition have engaged in a deep reflection on our experiences in these spaces together. Through our dialogue we came to conceptualize the atmosphere or “vibe,” and theorized how it is created, how it changes, and how it impacts space and the people in it. We created a vibe identification system, and used it to analyze stories of particular experiences. Out of …

Exploring Existing Innovative Education Models: A Best Practice Guide For A New School Design In Lewiston, Maine, Katie Bosse

International Development, Community and Environment (IDCE)

The purpose of this research is to both identify best practices in innovative school design and then identify a guide to assist new school design teams on how to make the transition out of current practices of traditional education. First, I describe the current structure of traditional education, the challenges schools face in regard to school structure, community, and academics. Then I examine six public schools that are working to create strategies to address the challenges stated in traditional schools. Through school site visits and interviews with teacher and faculty, I explore the strategies of existing innovative school models and …

Sexual Violence Prevention Education At Clark University: A Study Of First Year Programming, Elyana Kadish

International Development, Community and Environment (IDCE)

This is a study of the sexual violence prevention education programs offered at Clark University. The data analyzed were anonymous feedback forms, evaluation forms, and Pre and Post-Tests. The researcher examined this data, along with literature on the subject of campus assault and violence prevention programs, to understand if Clark's programming (1) creates a set of community expectations, (2) provides students with language and conceptualization tools and (3) influences social norms and intent to intervene in violent situations. The findings indicate that Clark's programs are providing a set of community standards and influencing social norms and intent to intervene in …

Identifying Reasons For Attrition At The Clemente Course In The Humanities, Worcester, Ma, Mollie Rayner-Haselkorn

International Development, Community and Environment (IDCE)

This paper identifies reasons for attrition and possible solutions to higher retention at the Clemente Course in the Humanities, Worcester (Clemente). Over the last four years, since the re-launch of the Clemente, the retention rate of students completing the program has remained around 50%. Clemente is an alternative, adult education program that provides college level humanities classes to majority low-income, minority adults. In this paper qualitative research methods are used to interview students, professors and an administrator at Clemente. Based upon qualitative research, supported by retention theory, three main reasons for attrition are identified: student academic self-esteem, diversity of student …

Academic Engagement And Learning Experience Of English Learners: A Case Study Of Chandler Magnet Elementary School, Worcester, Ma, Clara J. O'Rourke

International Development, Community and Environment (IDCE)

Drastic increases in English Learner (EL) populations in public schools have prompted districts to investigate ways to improve programs for EL students to support their academic growth. This study explores academic engagement of ELs at Chandler Magnet Elementary School to understand how student success may differ among three distinct EL programs. This study incorporated teacher and EL student interviews, however, limitations prevented this study from making conclusions about student success by program. The findings of this study reveal that student learning experience is unique and academic engagement is influenced by many factors that are not necessarily associated with the EL …

Conditional Cash Transfers For Education: A Comparative Analysis Between Funder And Country, Wesley Marcum-Mullins

International Development, Community and Environment (IDCE)

Educational Conditional Cash Transfers (CCT) are market driven poverty alleviation interventions, which have been growing in popularity throughout Latin America and the Caribbean in the last 25 years. These are multilateral interventions with many different participants such as funders, national governments, municipal governments, school, teachers, students, and parents. This paper addresses the question: How are educational Conditional Cash Transfer (CCT) programs discussed and rationalized by various state and funder participants? This paper compares funders, The World Bank and Inter-Americas Development Bank, and country CCT programs, Jamaica’s Program of Advancement through Health and Education and Brazils Bolsa Familia. The paper concludes …

Searching For Ourselves: African Cultural Representation In Children’S Books In The United States, And Implications For Educational Achievement, Lulama Moyo

International Development, Community and Environment (IDCE)

Using documentary and discourse analysis of children’s literature I explore the extent to which there is a multicultural gap in children’s literature to reveal the prevailing challenges of the colonized and Eurocentric values embedded in the contemporary education system that supports the monocultural socialization of young children in their early formative years. I translate my research through examining four thematic ways on how the multicultural gap is manifested which are subject matter, the lack of African writers, degree of complexity of diasporic experiences, and confronting whiteness. By focusing more specifically on the gap in African diasporic children literature, I review …

Impact Of Two Wars On The Educational System In Nigeria, Helena Onyemelukwe-Waziri

International Development, Community and Environment (IDCE)

Since the 1960's Nigeria has continuously been in a state of internal conflict, with different ethno-religious groups vying for social, economic, and political control. The situation has played out in extreme violence and has been on the international world's radar since the emergence of Nigeria's militant Islamist group Boko Haram in the late 2000's. Boko Haram translates to "Western education is forbidden," and the group has been behind the destruction of over 2,000 schools in Nigeria, killing hundreds of teachers and students, while displacing entire communities. As Nigeria holds the highest African population, it also has the highest number of …

Reconstruction Of The Destroyed Sinjali Secondary School, Isabella Kaganowski

International Development, Community and Environment (IDCE)

This practitioner paper chronicles my involvement of the grant writing proposal that was designed on behalf of a non-for-profit organization, the Association of Dalit Women’s Advancement of Nepal (ADWAN), in order to secure funding and donations for the reconstruction of the destroyed Sinjali Secondary School in Gorkha district, Taklung village, after a 2015 earthquake struck Nepal. The proposal was guided by and collaborated with Professor Jude Fernando of Clark University, as Professor Fernando was able to visit Taklung village and gather information about the needs in the educational sector damaged by the earthquake. Literature review and research was gathered to …

Contextualized Education In Global Schools: Conceptualizing School Systems In A Global World, Loren Guerin

International Development, Community and Environment (IDCE)

Education has been prioritized by global agencies as a universal right and current trends in the United Nations global benchmarks and development agencies call for education for all and a set of global values to guide educational policy and practice. This paper aims to problematize the current understanding of schooling and educational systems in a globalized world while demonstrating the need to move away from a global curriculum based on homogenized values and towards a contextualized education system. By looking at the evolution of Western Education, the use of education by colonial powers, and an in depth case study of …

Aiddata Gis International Fellowship: Ghana West-Africa, Jason N. Ready

International Development, Community and Environment (IDCE)

My internship, or fellowship as it was commonly referred to, was funded by a non-profit organization out of Williamsburg Virginia called AidData. This fellowship took place in in the country of Ghana, West-Africa beginning in May of 2016 and continued for 14 weeks with 40 hours each week. The objective of this internship was to provide in-depth training on the use of geographic Information Systems to Private and Public sectors within the country to allow for increased efficiency, and transparency through data visualization. In accordance with the requirement of Clark Universities GISDE master’s program this paper will delve into the …

Let’S Build Together: Expanding Comprehensive Sex Education In The United States, Olivia Cecchi

International Development, Community and Environment (IDCE)

This paper seeks to critique the current state of sex education in the United States by examining the history of funding and the perceived effectiveness of some programs. In the past the American government has overwhelmingly supported abstinence-only methods of sex education through several federal funding streams. Yet there is little evidence to show that abstinence-only programs even work, thus there has been efforts to shift support to comprehensive sex education programs. This paper analyzes the results of several studies, which compare and evaluate the effectiveness of different types of sexuality education programs. Although these studies provide measurable evidence in …

Stay Woke: Creating A Path Towards Critical Consciousness And Self-Awareness, Florcy Romero

International Development, Community and Environment (IDCE)

This paper examines a social justice based curriculum that was designed to promote a process towards critical consciousness and self-awareness in youth of color. This was done through a participatory paradigm infused with observational data. The findings indicated that in order to direct youth of color towards a path of critical consciousness and self-awareness, certain elements were required. These elements focused on shifting away from traditional styles of teaching and instead emerging in creating an environment that prides itself in diverse knowledges, engaged pedagogy, and connecting the personal within the political and social context

The Ethics Of Care And Refugee Education: Promoting Caring Envrionments In U.S. Urban Schools To Address The Needs Of Unaccompanied Refugee Minors, Tina Meetran

International Development, Community and Environment (IDCE)

The United States has resettled more than 2 million refugees since 1975 and approximately one third of them are children. Some of the children who arrive in the U.S. are unaccompanied refugee minors (URMs), meaning they arrive without a parent nor guardian. The absence of a parent figure heightens the adversities of escape and acculturation for URMs. However, due to the lack of available information on URM experiences, their physical, emotional and psychosocial needs in the U.S. are continually unmet. This paper considers the role that schools and teachers have as agents of care to foster positive growth and acculturation …

Inadequacy Of Benin's And Senegal's Education Systems To Local And Global Job Markets: Pathways Forward; Inputs Of The Indian And Chinese Education Systems., Kpedetin Mignanwande

International Development, Community and Environment (IDCE)

This paper explores the historical legacy that shapes the current higher education system in most sub-Sahara African countries. It further analyzes various specificities in terms of production of graduates in many sub-Sahara African higher educational schools, as well as the rate, process, and conditions of employment of newly graduated students. Inspired by the comparative advantage offered by the Indian education system in Information, Communication and Technology (ICT), and the Chinese education system in terms of Technical Skills and Work Readiness, the paper suggests an educational pathway that selects, orients and empowers students in these science related areas. It strongly emphasizes …

Disrupting Eurocentric Education Through A Social Justice Curriculm, Joanna Cidalia Miranda Dacunha

International Development, Community and Environment (IDCE)

This paper will illustrate the project conducted to disrupt Eurocentric education through a social justice curriculum. Eurocentric education has silenced and misconstrued the history and truth of marginalized communities. There is a need for curriculums that challenge the dominant narrative and help students of color acknowledge the triumphs and challenges their people face. This curriculum was created to assist students of color towards the process of developing critical consciousness and self-awareness. Through Critical Race Theory and other frameworks we were able to conduct a series of workshops. Through these workshops youth began a process of self-awareness and critical consciousness through …

Refugee Youth Challenges And Unique Needs In Worcester Public Schools That Are Satisfied By African Community Education, Heidi L. Biron

International Development, Community and Environment (IDCE)

The influx of refugee youth in United States challenges the structure of the US formal school system, as it struggles to manage the unique needs of refugee youth. This research explores African refugee youth needs in the formal school system in Worcester, MA, and how some of these needs are better supported in a supplementary education institution, African Community Education (ACE). The research draws on individual interviews and focus group discussions with refugee youth and ACE’s staff to analyze the complexities and challenges refugee youth are confronted within formal schools and how they are motivated to seek supplementary education. The …

Summer Internship At African Community Education, Stephen A. Chiavaroli Iii

International Development, Community and Environment (IDCE)

My internship at African Community Education (ACE) took place from May to December 2015, where I worked with GISDE alum, Joshua Plisinski. My summer was split as a volunteer at ACE and GIS Analyst in partnership with a Worcester nonprofit Cultural Exchange Through Soccer (CETS). My duties at ACE included tutoring, mentoring, and leading the students in homework assignments and various recreational activities. I also completed several GIS tasks and instructed a GIS tutorial for the high school students of ACE. The other time during my summer was spent conducting a spatial network analysis of Worcester soccer fields for CETS …

The Shape Of Youth Work To Come: City Year's Approach To Youth Worker Development, Jeremy M. Joseph

International Development, Community and Environment (IDCE)

The concept of youth work as a profession is slowly gaining legitimacy in the United States and features varying approaches. In order to maintain the growth of the field, youth worker training programs must be examined through the lens of a theoretical framework to better understand best practices and ways in which the youth are impacted by the services. I have chosen to use the case of the non-profit organization, City Year to highlight ways in which young leaders from varying backgrounds are introduced to the field of youth work. Through this study I have found that City Year is …

An Integrated Strategy For Strengthening Worcester's Regional Food System: Key Roles For Education And Information, Joel Simonson

International Development, Community and Environment (IDCE)

Food security and access to healthy food are public health issues that continue to persist in the United States and are ones that are strongly influenced by social and environmental factors. In Worcester, Massachusetts there are many organizations that contribute to alleviating the resulting effects, but do not always have the capacity to reach full potential and expand upon current initiatives. Students can provide existing human resources and knowledge that would benefit all parties. This would allow for organizational capacity development, ultimately impacting local residents, and for students to gain deeper connections to the greater Worcester community while learning vital …

Garden-Based Learning In Worcester, Massachusetts: Addressing Science And Health Curriculum Gaps Through Summer Youth Programming, Julia Groenfeldt

International Development, Community and Environment (IDCE)

This research examines the role of experiential garden-based “food citizenship” education for improving school year health and science curriculum retention and to further influence broader social and environmental awareness. Studies demonstrate the importance of these educational models to teach children the processes of food production to consumption. Through new knowledge on food systems education, children will learn to become more mindful and conscious consumers that will ultimately impact personal health outcomes as well as broader global sustainability. Education is a key component to the emerging alternative food network (AFN) that is challenging the modern agro-industrial food system. This research provides …

Resident Advisors React: Autoethnographic Reflections On High-Intensity Situations, Brenna A. Merrill

International Development, Community and Environment (IDCE)

Resident Advisors (RAs) are paraprofessional peer leaders who are trained to respond to high-intensity incidents. Upon witnessing a crisis situation, I found it difficult to reflect and maintain my own personal wellness. The intent of this research has been to learn of and to give voice to the multiple ways in which RAs respond to such scenarios.

Utilizing autoethnography, I incorporate my experience with the perspectives of my coworkers and multidisciplinary literature. Seven current RAs, who had self-identified experiencing such an incident, volunteered to be interviewed. These narratives are embodied in the text in order to establish a dialogue between …