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Full-Text Articles in Social and Behavioral Sciences

"Parent Trigger" Legislation In The United States: A Key To Parent Empowerment In The Local Context, Julie A. Zoellin Cramer Phd May 2014

"Parent Trigger" Legislation In The United States: A Key To Parent Empowerment In The Local Context, Julie A. Zoellin Cramer Phd

Dissertations

Parent involvement in public education has changed over time in the United States. Recently it has taken on a more radical dimension aimed at shifting the role of parents. These efforts are identified by some as parent empowerment and arguably may be part of a larger policy movement to secure parent voice in equity-focused education reform. The policy innovation allows parents with students in persistently underperforming schools to force a change in school governance. Since the passage of the first parent trigger law in California in 2010, three parent petition campaigns have forced a turnaround in school governance. The purpose …


Parental Support Of Latinos In Higher Education, Maria Lorena Meza Phd May 2011

Parental Support Of Latinos In Higher Education, Maria Lorena Meza Phd

Dissertations

Many universities grapple with Latino student retention issues. Latinos are the largest and fastest-growing ethnic group in the United States, yet they also are the group that has the least amount of formal education. The literature suggests that parental support helps Latinos succeed academically in elementary, middle, and high schools. However, there has been little research on how or even whether Latino parental support influences academic success at the postsecondary level. Consequently, there is a lack of knowledge about (a) Latino parental behavior and attitudes during the years their children attend college and (b) the relationship between parents' behavior and …


More Power To You: Parental Experiences With The Public School Choice Option Provided By The No Child Left Behind Act Of 2001, Roslyn Williams Woodard Edd Aug 2009

More Power To You: Parental Experiences With The Public School Choice Option Provided By The No Child Left Behind Act Of 2001, Roslyn Williams Woodard Edd

Dissertations

The No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) of 2001 was the federal government's commitment toward providing an equitable education for all students. Recognizing the impact parents had on the academic achievement of their children, provisions for increased parental involvement were emphasized, especially when children attended low achieving schools. One way parents could exercise their newfound power to improve their children's educational experience was to use the federal policy's public school choice option to enroll them into higher performing schools which met or exceeded NCLB standardized testing goals. This study examined the experiences parents and their middle school aged children had …


Academic Achievement Of Students In A Charter Homeschool, Mary A. Leeds Edd Nov 2008

Academic Achievement Of Students In A Charter Homeschool, Mary A. Leeds Edd

Dissertations

A recent development in education is the public charter school as a homeschool model. In several states across the nation, a child may enroll in an independent study program of a public charter school and base his or her studies in the home. This model in the realm of education is called charter homeschool. The state of California has over 120 operating charter homeschools, also known as independent study programs or non-classroom based charter schools. The delivery of instruction from non-classroom based programs has begun to challenge traditional definitions of public schooling. The increased state accountability demands of student academic …


School Web Sites Within The Educational Marketplace: A Case Study Investigating The Parents As Engaged Consumer-Users, Claudia Jane Beeman Edd May 2008

School Web Sites Within The Educational Marketplace: A Case Study Investigating The Parents As Engaged Consumer-Users, Claudia Jane Beeman Edd

Dissertations

Schools -- like their corporate counterparts -- recognize the many advantages that the Internet affords. Today's schools vie for students, and thus use the web to market their services and showcase their management team (administrators, teachers, staff) and academic accomplishments. In a sense, then, web sites are the public face of education; those that are well-designed and multi-featured can enhance a district's public image and create the perception of excellence and competence. This case study explores how one suburban, K-8 school district approaches web site development, specifically, the process by which decisions about design, development, and maintenance are made (and …


An Investigation Of The Community-Based English Tutoring Program (Cbet), Barbara J. Pongsrikul Edd May 2007

An Investigation Of The Community-Based English Tutoring Program (Cbet), Barbara J. Pongsrikul Edd

Dissertations

Currently in the California K-12 public schools, approximately 25% (about 1.5 million) of the students know little or no English, and their numbers are increasing. Because of this diverse student population, a research study by the Gevirtz Research Center in 2005 reports that it is necessary to develop educational programs that help language-minority families understand and participate in the school system in ways that will support the academic success of their children. As a result of the Proposition 227 Initiative in California, statewide family literacy programs were established as Community-Based English Tutoring (CBET) programs to provide adult English language instruction …


Stakeholders’ Perspectives Of A Catholic K-8 School As A Caring Community, Marci-Anne Hanks Edd May 2007

Stakeholders’ Perspectives Of A Catholic K-8 School As A Caring Community, Marci-Anne Hanks Edd

Dissertations

Many educators and researchers have found that caring school communities positively affect students’ behavior, academic achievement, and socioemotional development. Students’ basic needs of feeling cared for must be met for them to realize their full potential. The purpose of this study was to investigate stakeholders’ perceptions of a Catholic K-8 school as a caring community. Stakeholders included parents, teachers, administrators, staff members, and sixth through eighth grade students. The following research questions were posed for this study: (1) What are the different stakeholders’ perceptions of the school as a caring community? (2) Are there significant differences in perceptions between the …


The Balancing Act: Work Environment Issues For Women With Children In Student Affairs, Mary Kimberly Braun Padulo Edd Jan 2001

The Balancing Act: Work Environment Issues For Women With Children In Student Affairs, Mary Kimberly Braun Padulo Edd

Dissertations

Increasingly in the past two decades, student affairs work at American's universities has been undertaken by women. This work with the co-curricular life of the students in higher education requires administrators at all levels to have a flexible schedule with the ability to commit evenings and weekends to their work. Challenges for academe and for women in the profession have emerged as more women enter the field. One of the most problematic areas is the retention of highly educated and experienced female administrators once they have children. Workplace environment, including work schedule, job demands and employer support, have been suggested …


School-Based Management In Alberta: Perceptions Of Public School Leaders, 1994–1997, Robert James Wilson Edd Jan 2001

School-Based Management In Alberta: Perceptions Of Public School Leaders, 1994–1997, Robert James Wilson Edd

Dissertations

In 1994, the Government of Alberta, Canada, instituted major fiscal measures designed to reduce operating costs and a large provincial debt. In tandem, Alberta Education restructured public education by: reducing the number of school districts, redefining the role of school boards, increasing the involvement of parents, initiating Charter schools, expanding student testing, downsizing Alberta Education, improving delivery of services to children, and mandating the implementation of school-based management in all public schools (Alberta Education News Release, January 18, 1994). The purpose of this study was to develop an understanding of how the implementation of school-based management, through the first three …


An Historical Case Study: The Pregnant Minor Program At Garfield High School, 1975–1999, William E. Law Edd Jan 2000

An Historical Case Study: The Pregnant Minor Program At Garfield High School, 1975–1999, William E. Law Edd

Dissertations

The researcher conducted an historical case study of the Garfield High School Pregnant Minor Program (1975–1999) which is one of three pregnant minor programs in the San Diego Unified School District. The primary purpose of this study was to provide data about the history and background of this program which may be significant to the decision makers who develop policies regarding pregnant minor programs in the district. The second purpose of the study was to provide data which may be helpful to community members, educators, policy makers, and student-parents about the issues and problems faced by students-parents which would, hopefully, …


Career And Family: A Qualitative Study Of Working Mothers, Barbara Crummer Lincoln Edd Jan 2000

Career And Family: A Qualitative Study Of Working Mothers, Barbara Crummer Lincoln Edd

Dissertations

The purpose of this dissertation was to explore the lives of working mothers. The dramatic increase of mothers in the workforce in the past 40 years has led to an increasingly common lifestyle: women filling the roles of mother and professional concurrently. This dissertation used the personal narrative qualitative methodology to examine the lives of working mothers. Ten female graduates of the University of San Diego's Law School (JD), Business School (MBA) and Educational Administration Programs were interviewed by the researcher. These women have been in the workplace for an extended period of time, are currently raising at least one …


Market Values In Education: A Case Study Of Its Effect On The Principal's Model For School Governance In Alberta, Dean G. Lindquist Edd Aug 1998

Market Values In Education: A Case Study Of Its Effect On The Principal's Model For School Governance In Alberta, Dean G. Lindquist Edd

Dissertations

Political bodies, facing, increased pressures to improve the quality of education offered to students, are shifting to a philosophy that imposes large scale market forces such as parental choice and school competition onto educational systems in order to coerce school improvement. This shift may be prompting school-based administrators to shift school governance practices to reflect these market values. This shift, occurring in Alberta (Canada), is founded in government policy that articulates the option of educational choice for parents. Presently the government policy promotes these market values in education by providing full funding to public, separate, and charter schools, and partial …


Enter The Water Carriers: Embracing Parenting Experience In Work Teams, Christine Cecil Edd Jan 1997

Enter The Water Carriers: Embracing Parenting Experience In Work Teams, Christine Cecil Edd

Dissertations

Parenting experience is rarely valued or integrated with the work of a competitive society such as that of the United States. Despite the implementation of family-friendly workplace policies, institutional structures and practices continue to preclude the substantive acknowledgment of how parenting experience might contribute to the American workplace (Borrill & Kidd, 1994; Jenner, 1994; Rodgers, 1993). The dynamic complexity of parenting and the concomitant necessity to make constant response shifts and navigate incessant uncertainty, is not acknowledged as collateral for the responsiveness required by complex organizations. Familial commitments are often viewed as antithetical to productivity and profit (Bailyn, 1993): babies …


The Role Of The Principal When Parents Are Increasingly Involved In Decision-Making, Inge Ellefson Edd Nov 1996

The Role Of The Principal When Parents Are Increasingly Involved In Decision-Making, Inge Ellefson Edd

Dissertations

The role of the principal has been changing in relation to the increasing parent involvement in decision making and the educational restructuring in Alberta, Canada. The purpose of this study is to describe and examine a selected principal in her role in a school, during the 1994-1995 year, where parents from the school council and staff from the school share some of the decision making. The school chosen for this study had the principal working collaboratively with the parents and staff. A case study methodology is used to describe and examine interviews with the parents, teachers, superintendent's designate and the …


Involving Latino Parents In The Middle-Level School: A Study Of First-Generation And Second-Generation Mexican And Mexican-American Parents, Elva Hernández Mora Edd Jan 1996

Involving Latino Parents In The Middle-Level School: A Study Of First-Generation And Second-Generation Mexican And Mexican-American Parents, Elva Hernández Mora Edd

Dissertations

The middle school level years demand critical attention in educational reform. Culturally diverse students in the United States show levels of academic achievement which are lower then those of other students. Children from oppressed minority groups often show high rates of dropping out as well as poor academic achievement. They are often profiled as students who are unmotivated and who have parents that are unresponsive to their growth and development in terms of educational attainment. However, this conception of poor academic achievement and lack of parental involvement is unfounded since research indicates that culturally diverse parents value education and have …


School Reform: Leadership Through Shared Decision-Making, Mary Juliet Martel Edd Jan 1996

School Reform: Leadership Through Shared Decision-Making, Mary Juliet Martel Edd

Dissertations

Educational reform has a long history and schools have gone through cycles of change. This study, however, focuses on the last ten years of reform, often referred to as the restructuring movement. Shared decision making is one of the fundamental changes promoted by this current reform effort. Restructuring the decision-making process to include teachers and parents is a significant change from the hierarchical process that has been in place in most of today's schools. It is time to recognize that schools are complex social institutions that experience change only through its people. By giving those closest to children a stronger …


An Evaluation Case Study Of The Effects Of A Learning Style Awareness Program For Ninth Graders At An Independent School, Dorene Casey Mclaughlin Edd Jan 1996

An Evaluation Case Study Of The Effects Of A Learning Style Awareness Program For Ninth Graders At An Independent School, Dorene Casey Mclaughlin Edd

Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to examine the implementation of a year-long learning style awareness program and its effects on locus of control and academic achievement in a ninth grade population. This study was also designed to collect subjective data from students on their perceptions of responsibility for their own achievement, ability to identify their individual learning style, a willingness to ask for help, and in addition, over parental conflict. This study was conducted, using a sample of 76 ninth graders, at an independent college preparatory school in a large Southern California city. All subjects were administered the National …


A Decade Of Home Schooling In Saskatchewan, Canada (1984-1994): A Case Study, Sandra Christine Hill Edd Jan 1995

A Decade Of Home Schooling In Saskatchewan, Canada (1984-1994): A Case Study, Sandra Christine Hill Edd

Dissertations

The efficacy of alternative education has had a significant impact on public education. The diversity of cultures, lifestyles, and needs of home-schooling families compelled the public educational sector to make available educational alternatives. The purpose of this study was to build upon previous research (Hill, 1988) by interviewing a sample of the same families and their children to investigate the longitudinal experiences for a follow-up study. The representative sample participated in a study entitled An Investigation of Home Schooling in Saskatchewan (Hill, 1988). Twenty families (18 parents and 25 children) were interviewed; 10 were selected as case studies. Home schoolers …


From Parent To Child: The Effects Of A Home Learning Program On Attitudes And Achievements, Linda Linstrom Baker Edd Jan 1989

From Parent To Child: The Effects Of A Home Learning Program On Attitudes And Achievements, Linda Linstrom Baker Edd

Dissertations

Literacy is shared value in our culture, yet many adults are unable or unwilling to read. Research indicates that the beginnings of literacy occur long before formal education. The purpose of this study was to determine the effects of the Preschool Reading Experience Program on the attitudes and pre-reading skills of four- and five-year-old children. The subjects were 96 children enrolled in four San Diego preschools, and their parents. The methodology was quasi-experimental with a treatment and a control group. Interactions of sex, age, and type of preschool were also considered. Results of the quantitative data indicated that children who …


The Impact Of The Father/Daughter Relationship On Women In Educational Administrative Leadership Positions, Marilyn Ann Skordas Edd Jan 1988

The Impact Of The Father/Daughter Relationship On Women In Educational Administrative Leadership Positions, Marilyn Ann Skordas Edd

Dissertations

Research studies by Cartwright (1970), Helson (1971), and Hennig (1976) have indicated and demonstrated that a father's influence is critical to the development of skills in women who successfully obtained a position in business, medicine, and math, male dominated occupations. The public school teaching profession in the United States is an occupation dominated by women; however, the administrative positions such as principal, assistant superintendent, and superintendent positions of school districts are male dominated. This case study investigated the father/daughter relationship experienced during middle childhood, early and later adolescence, and early adulthood of ten women who are currently in positions of …


The Involvement Of Parents Of Educable Mentally Retarded In Their Children's Educational Programs In Saudi Arabia, Ebrahim A. Fouzan Edd Jan 1986

The Involvement Of Parents Of Educable Mentally Retarded In Their Children's Educational Programs In Saudi Arabia, Ebrahim A. Fouzan Edd

Dissertations

The major purposes of this study were to identify the involvement level of parents in their EMR children's education in Saudi Arabia, and to investigate the effect of selected demographic variables on the parents' level of involvement. Subjects were (N=338) male parents of EMR boys and (N=252) female parents of EMR girls enrolled in EMR schools in Saudi Arabia. The study design was based on a questionnaire developed to identify the level of involvement of parents at school, with other parents, at home, and in the community, and to investigate the effect of selected demographic variables on parental involvement. The …