Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Collateral Damage: How Expanding Public Charge Policy Influences Adult Esl Enrollment, Allison M. Eckert

Master's Theses

This study used statistical analysis of enrollment records for ESL programs at community colleges throughout California from 2015-2019 to determine whether adult immigrants’ participation in public ESL programs was reduced under President Donald Trump. Immigrant families’ lesser use of public education services and means-tested federal benefits has been widely documented in the wake of Trump’s expansion of the public charge rule, which counted immigrants’ use of a wider array of public benefits against their case for residency in the United States than had any previous iteration of the rule. Failing the public charge test can block an immigrant’s entry into …

Do Conditional Cash Transfers Increase School Enrollment? Evidence From Brazil, Jeanette L. Silvernale

Master's Theses

Conditional cash transfer programs have been widely deployed across the globe. They seek to bolster human capital by providing benefits contingent upon a variety of actions such as school attendance and regular health checkups. Bolsa Familia is the most extensive conditional cash transfer program, serving 46 million Brazilian citizens. Despite its expansive size, there have been seldom large-scale micro evaluations of the program. Limited data has resulted in small sample sizes drawn from a single point in time. Our study diverges from the rest and utilizes a novel administrative dataset with an overall sample of nearly 60 million and a …

Do Conditional Cash Transfers Increase School Enrollment? Evidence From Brazil, Jeanette L. Silvernale

Master's Theses

Conditional cash transfer programs have been widely deployed across the globe. They seek to bolster human capital by providing benefits contingent upon a variety of actions such as school attendance and regular health checkups. Bolsa Familia is the most extensive conditional cash transfer program, serving 46 million Brazilian citizens. Despite its expansive size, there have been seldom large-scale micro evaluations of the program. Limited data has resulted in small sample sizes drawn from a single point in time. Our study diverges from the rest and utilizes a novel administrative dataset with an overall sample of nearly 60 million and a …

Meta Analysis Of Rct Interventions, Ayo Ellis

Master's Theses

External validity of an RCT intervention enables understanding of where interventions are successful.

Meta-analysis allows for more generalized statements to be made on the effectiveness of RCTs across countries of different geographic and national income profiles. By comparing the findings from similar studies carried out in different settings I seek to describe whether RCTs in certain sectors are more sensitive to high GDP growth or higher levels of GDP. I consider 402 health, education, and industry development RCT studies done between 1980 and 2015 in 201 countries compiled by development non-profit Aidgrade. I find no significant effect of income level …

Investigating The Impacts Of Usaid In Honduras: Narratives From The Honduran People, Bentley Cornett

Master's Theses

The funds provided by the US Agency for International Development to Honduras may not be providing the humanitarian assistance that many Americans anticipate it to. In fact, in numerous instances that are outlined in this article, monetary aid distribution to governmental agencies in Honduras has proven to be one of the many factors that are counterproductive to the country’s development. The aim of this study is to expand knowledge on the impact of USAID allocation to Honduras and highlight its links to migration. In order to effectively present this research, I ground my argument within the “counter-storytelling” (Solórzano and Yosso …

Narratives Of Black Identifying Newcomer Youth, Saniyyah Lateef

Master's Theses

This study seeks to explore and understand the unique and individual experiences of Black identifying newcomer youth in the United States. Current research related to the experience of newcomers is limited in regards to Black identifying newcomers. Through narrative inquiry methodology, this study seeks to share the experiences of Black identifying newcomer youth. It does this while recognizing the omnipresence of racism in the United States, and acknowledging the influence of life prior experience on identity development. The intent of this study is to help educators and community members better understand the integration and assimilation processes of Black identifying newcomers. …

The Integration Of Syrian Refugees In Turkey Via Education, Aysenur Hacioglu

Master's Theses

The Syrian conflict, which was initiated as a pro-democratic movement against Bashar Assad’s government, has displaced millions of people both internally and externally. Since the beginning of the conflict, 6.6 million people are internally displaced, while 5.6 million people seek refuge in other countries. Many Syrians scattered to neighboring countries, principally Turkey, Lebanon, Jordan, Iraq, and Egypt. Turkey, who shares the longest borderline with Syria, hosts 63 percent of the total number of Syrian refugees, currently at more than 3.5 million (UNHCR, 2018b). However, Turkey as the country with the highest number of refugees in the world does not legally …

Cnl As Outcomes Manager: Improving Communication During The Er To Icu Handoff, Amy Ho

Master's Projects and Capstones

Emergency room (ER) to Intensive care unit (ICU) handoff reports are often ineffective because the lack of an standardized guideline. The aim of the Clinical Nurse Leader (CNL) improvement project was to improve the nurse satisfaction survey scores in the ER and ICU microsystems within a mid-sized community hospital in northern California. Participates included registered nurses, and ER and ICU managers. The failure mode and effect analysis (FMEA), Strength, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats (SWOT) analysis, and the Plan-Do-Study-Act (PDSA) cycle were used for this project. Literature reviews were conducted to identify effective theories, patterns, and tools for handoff reports. Nurse …

The Impact Of Cleft Lip And Palate Repair Surgery On Cognitive And Academic Outcomes For Teens In India, R Jeremiah Maller

Master's Theses

India has a backlog of nearly one million patients in need of cleft lip and palate repair. Unrepaired cleft results in social stigma and diminished health, psychological wellbeing, and academic functioning. Cleft repair surgery has the potential to restore functioning in these domains. However, the magnitude of the social, educational, and economic impact of cleft repair surgery has not been evaluated using statistically rigorous methods. An estimation of the academic and educational impact of cleft repair has implications for the appropriate allocation of public health resources. We analyze original data gathered from teenagers in West Bengal, India using the difference-in-differences …

The Impacts Of Natural Disasters On Educational Attainment: Cross-Country Evidence From Macro Data, Lois Onigbinde

Master's Theses

Do natural disasters impact educational attainment? Education as a paramount factor of economic development suffers from the uncontrollable effects of these increasing events from storms to floods, earthquakes to wildfires. Globally, educational resources are destroyed, directly and indirectly, students and teachers are displaced or killed, parents’ income is affected because of natural disasters. Investments in human capital for rich- and low-income countries are exposed to the uneven impact of natural disasters that adjusts household and country-level decisions, leaving them to short and long-run losses. Exploring the influence of natural disasters on secondary school attainment across a sample of 85 countries …

The Impacts Of Natural Disasters On Educational Attainment: Cross-Country Evidence From Macro Data, Lois Onigbinde

Master's Theses

Do natural disasters impact educational attainment? Education as a paramount factor of economic development suffers from the uncontrollable effects of these increasing events from storms to floods, earthquakes to wildfires. Globally, educational resources are destroyed, directly and indirectly, students and teachers are displaced or killed, parents’ income is affected because of natural disasters. Investments in human capital for rich- and low-income countries are exposed to the uneven impact of natural disasters that adjusts household and country-level decisions, leaving them to short and long-run losses. Exploring the influence of natural disasters on secondary school attainment across a sample of 85 countries …

Education In Post-Conflict Colombia, Juliana Cabrera Pena

Master's Theses

After 52 years of civil war, Colombia now enters a period of precarious peace. The Colombian government and the largest guerrilla group, the FARC, signed a monumental peace agreement which ushered a period of change in a country which has yet to have sustained peace. Utilizing the power of civil society and social services, the Colombian government has the authority to maintain peace. Education, with its stabilizing power, has the capability of cultivating a society of peace. Thus, this thesis explores the level of value and importance the Colombian government is placing on the expansion of quality education to …

Implementing For Success And Sustainability, Michele Paulo

Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) Projects

Nurses, including those with additional education and training as professional development specialists, face challenges to implementing evidenced-based practice changes effectively and efficiently. Nurse bedside performance can drift away from evidence-based practice (EBP) and revert to methods previously taught when the strategy, planning and implementation lacks resources to support sustainable change. While knowledge and skills attainment are important, they do not ensure the successful transition in practice change at the point of care. An intervention has been developed that integrates several evidence-based implementation concepts and frameworks into a single framework named the Identify and DRIVE framework. Additionally, the Identify and DRIVE …

Inentives And Education: Experimental Evidence From Medellin, Colombia, Theodore D. Wisinski, Alessandra Cassar

Master's Theses

This research uses an experimental design to investigate how incentive structure influences goal achievement among disadvantaged high school students in Medellin, Colombia. Of particular interest is how treatment effects influence school performance as well as how this may vary with differing key characteristics of the participants. Medellin, Colombia, like much of South America suffers from high levels of inequality in the city proper. Improving educational outcomes in impoverished neighborhoods is essential for the growth of these neighborhoods and the greater community in which they are located. The model used in this experiment is inspired by the Family Independence Initiative (FII). …

Goal Effectiveness In Achieving Educational Outcomes: Experimental Evidence From 9th Graders In Medellin, Colombia, Daniel Salicath, Alessandra Cassar

Master's Theses

Does goal setting among low-income ninth graders leads to higher average goal achievements of educational outcomes? This question is explored by a field experiment motivated by the acknowledged California-based Family Independence Initiative (FII), to analyze the effectiveness of individual goal setting, incentives and self-help groups on the achievement of educational goals. By randomizing treatments and control with the cooperation of the Secretary of Education in Medellin, different classrooms were assigned to five different experimental groups that met systematically for five months. The results show that goal setting is a cost-effective method to help low-income students achieve educational outcomes. Setting a …

Aspirations As A Component Of Life Satisfaction: A Look At Female Microfinance Borrowers In Oaxaca, Mexico, Joseph E. Kemler

Master's Theses

This research is an extension to the Oaxaca Hope Project by B. Wydick and T.J. Lybbert. How does an individual gauge her own satisfaction with life? Previous research has noted that many domains make up overall life satisfaction, i.e. career satisfaction, family life satisfaction & social life satisfaction. A burgeoning topic in this regard is the role that aspirations play in life satisfaction. Using survey data from female microfinance borrowers in Oaxaca, Mexico this project attempts to analyze the affect previous aspirations have on life satisfaction. By creating an “aspirational window” we objectively attempt to gauge the relationship between “high” …

A Quantitative Analysis Of A Critical Pedagogy In Catholic Secondary School Religious Studies Teachers In The San Francisco Bay Area, Alex Porter Macmillan

Doctoral Dissertations

Scholarship has indicated that Catholic, secondary school religion teachers in the United States are often not adequately prepared pedagogically and theologically (Aldana, 2015; Ramey, 2014; Schroeder, 2013; Cook and Hudson, 2006; Cook, 2001, 2000; Lund 1997). Rossiter (2011, 2010, 2007) and Crawford and Rossiter (2006) described aspects of a pedagogy that can be summarized as “Critical Interpretation and Evaluation of Culture” (Rossiter, 2011), where a number of different criteria and examples are described that can serve as a relevant pedagogy for religious education.

In a researcher designed, online, cross-sectional survey, 18 questions from relevant literature using both binary “yes / …

San Francisco Bay Area School Districts Contracted With California Public Employees' Retirement System (Calpers) And The Impact Of The Patient Protection And Affordable Care Act Of 2010, Michael David Blanco

Doctoral Dissertations

San Francisco Bay Area school districts contracted with California Public Employees’ Retirement system (CalPERS) and the impact of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010

This qualitative study examined the impact of high cost CalPERS medical plans on the participant’s school district in regards to the 2020 Cadillac Tax, the types of administrative action the participants have taken to comply with the mandated reporting to the IRS, and the types of administrative measures the participants have taken to comply with the offer of coverage to employees working a minimum of 30 hours per week. The theoretical framework used …

Social Emotional Learning And Mindfulness: Learning To Be Human, Jena-Lee Rogers

Master's Projects and Capstones

I am a teacher. I always have been and always will be. As a little girl, I developed a passionate need to see fairness and justice in my world, which of course outside of my family of origin revolved around my life at school. If one of my friends could not understand something, even if I was not totally sure about it myself, I would endeavor to help them learn it in a way that made sense to them. A small act of friendship helped me learn and develop my own a belief in the oneness that connects all of …

The Food Education Project: Teaching Nutrition Through Environmental Awareness, Caren R. Pinto

Master's Projects and Capstones

This paper examines a 300-hour fieldwork internship that took place during a summer semester at a local non-profit called the Food Education Project (FEP). FEP provided a practical and hands- on opportunity, which allowed for the knowledge gained over the past two years at the University of San Francisco’s Public Health Program to be put to public health practice. The experience was invaluable for the author’s professional and personal growth.

The paper will explore the prevalence of obesity and type II diabetes in the nation’s youth today. Second, a literature review will be conducted to examine the relevance of in …

The Impact Of Migration And Remittances On Children's Education In El Salvador, Philip H. Jakob

Master's Theses

The effect that migrant remittances have on school enrollment is a challenging relationship to empirically define, requiring both an analysis of the circumstances that lead a household member to emigrate from their home and equally, but not always independently, how the family makes investment decisions in the education of one or more of their children. This study presents a new strategy to determine the nature of this relationship for households in El Salvador, using a 2SLS estimation with a wealth-stratified panel constructed from household survey data over a nine-year period. Employing this methodology to estimate the combined effects of both …

Effects Of Shoe Donations On Children’S Time Allocation Toms Shoes In El Salvador, Flor Calvo

Master's Theses

What are the impacts of TOMS shoe donations in rural El Salvador? This paper tries to answer the question by studying the changes in time allocation among children age 6 to 12 years in El Salvador. By taking advantage of a Randomized Control Trial performed between January 15, 2012 and February 21, 2013 I study time allocation differences between baseline and follow-up periods among treatment and control groups. The primary findings of the study show that children part of treatment communities reduced the time spent on school related activities by approximately 0.657 hours per day while increasing the time spent …

Migration And Children's School And Labor: Evidence From El Salvador, Zachary Intemann

Master's Theses

This paper examines the impact of parental migration on schooling outcomes for children left behind in El Salvador. Using cross sectional data collected in 2012, outcomes for children are observed for children with migrant parents. The outcomes are also analyzed by gender of the migrant parent who left his or her child behind. Results are observed using instrumental variable estimations, as well as a seemingly unrelated regression to estimate the impact of migration on a child’s time allocation. Outcomes are also analyzed measuring the impact of remittances. Results show that children with at least one migrant parent will complete more …

The Impact Of Water On Girls' Formal Education: A Study Of Kenyan Secondary Schools, Jennifer Emick

Master's Theses

This study applies a human rights lens to view how the lack of access to potable water in Kenya’s rural areas impacts girls’ education. This research is intended to serve as a baseline for iteration and expansion, with the long-term goal of developing a greater understanding of the ways in which water development projects and the smarter provision of basic resources can be used as strategies for achieving gender equality in both education and civic participation.

The Economics Of Parenting, Self-Esteem, And Academic Performance: Theory And A Test, Rajeev Darolia, Bruce Wydick

Economics

This paper develops a theory about how signals sent to a child by an altruistic parent affect a child's self-esteem, effort and long-term performance when a parent has better information about child ability than children do themselves. We carry out OLS, 2SLS, and 3SLS estimations of our model on a sample of 651 college students. Our results show some complementary actions before college, such as parental praise, foster academic achievement above what natural ability would predict. Conversely, we find some substitutionary actions before college, such as providing them cars as gifts, are associated with lower effort in college and underachievement. …

Tellin' It Like It Is: Disempowerment And Marginalization Of First-Generation, Low-Income College Students: A Participatory Research, Charlene P. Lobo

Doctoral Dissertations

This study examined the origins and outcomes of disempowerment and marginalization in five first-generation, low-income college students who were participants in Student Support Services, a federally funded TRIO program at a large urban commuter state university. Using dialogic introspection and participatory research, the participants reflected on their experiences in the areas of disempowerment, marginalization, educational equity, oppression and the needs and concerns of first-generation low-income students. Generative themes fell into three areas: creating conditions for learning; silencing the voice; and resistance, persistence and hope. Themes that created negative experiences for the students included disparities between academic and personal cultures, lack …