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During the 50 year existence of the doctoral program associated with the Center for International Education at UMass Amherst almost 300 students have successfully completed their doctoral degrees. The majority of their dissertations will be available on this site.
The topics of these dissertations reflect the experience and research interests of the students. They also provide a good indicator of the commitment of CIE and its associated degree programs to working with education of all kinds, especially in conflict or emergency contexts.
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Publication A Program Evaluation of a Policy Intervention to Increase Racial Diversity in the Sciences and Engineering(2013-09) Gomez Yepes, Ricardo LeonThis dissertation is an evaluation of an intervention designed to (a) increase the number of minority students who pursue graduate degrees in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) disciplines, and (b) to develop a cadre of qualified individuals from minority backgrounds who, upon finishing their training, are ready to take positions as faculty members and mentors. The Alliances for Graduate Education and the Professoriate (AGEP) is a program funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF) to support a pathway from undergraduate to graduate school and to a career in the professoriate. AGEP is part of an effort by the U.S. Government to keep the nations' competitive edge; redress historical gender and racial inequalities still prevalent at the higher levels of science and academia; and to use those who have reached the top of their professions as effective role models for the thousands of talented youth who are excluded from STEM fields due to real or perceived social, economic, or cultural barriers. As of September 2012, there were 178 colleges and universities grouped in 37 alliances nationwide and serving approximately 22,000 minority doctoral students. Specifically, this evaluation focuses on one alliance situated in the North Region of the United States, and presents the approaches, rationale, and findings of evaluation activities conducted during 2011 through 2012. The overarching goals of this evaluation were to assist program managers and staff in their efforts to improve the quality and effectiveness of the program, and to provide them with information related to the program's contribution to increasing the recruitment and retention of students from underrepresented minorities (URMs) in STEM graduate programs, their transition into the professoriate, and the strength of the program's theory of change. To achieve these goals the evaluation design included a) the reconstruction of the program's theory, b) a systematic review and meta-analysis of existing research; and c) analysis of primary data collected from a sample of current AGEP students, alumni, faculty, staff, and program officers. Primary data were collected through focus groups, interviews, and electronic surveys for current and former participants. The evaluation found evidence that the North Region program has been largely successful in contributing to the number of URM receiving STEM graduate degrees at both the master's and doctoral levels in North Carolina since its inception in 1999. Those who have received their graduate degrees are employed in academic and non-academic settings as practitioners, researchers, and as university faculty. Probably the most significant weakness was the absence of a systematic or coherent evaluation design of the program that could be found throughout the history of the program.Publication "Miss, Miss, I've Got a Story!": Exploring Identity Through a Micro-Ethnographic Analysis of Lunchtime Interactions with Four Somali Third Grade Students(2013-05) Kosha, Jean MarieThis study is an exploration of the ways in which four Somali students use language to express their identity and assert their views. The study explores the ways in which the Somali students' home culture and the school culture influence the development of their identity. Students participated in a lunchtime focus group on a regular basis over a period of several weeks. Using a micro-ethnographic approach to analysis, the students' interactions were reviewed while considering the ways in which knowledge was affirmed and contested, examples of intertextuality and intercontextuality were identified, and ideational notations or larger world view constructs were pinpointed. In this approach, specific events and interactions were linked to the broader contexts and connections that the participants were using in their communications. The result suggests a new and deeper understanding of the way in which these Somali learners use language to express their identity and negotiate the world. As a result of the examination of their interactions, educators can take from these participants' experiences some ideas about issues to consider when working with second language learners and their families. In this study students used language to assert their own identities as well as to position others in the group. These identities were continually negotiated by students and teachers alike. Students at times pushed back against ways in which they were identified. The Somali learners spoke of changing roles in the family as a result of learning English and being relied on to translate for parents who were non-English speakers. There were occasions where students used language in meaningful and contextually appropriate ways, but without understanding the power of the terms they used. Teachers have a significant role to play in shaping learners use of language and terms and guiding them to a more nuanced understanding of language. By examining children's language, it became apparent that teachers can provide critical information to help parents of second language learners negotiate the school and district resources. Students did express their Somali language and culture as they negotiated their school experience.Publication Demand- Side Financing In Education: A Critical Examination of a Girls' Scholarship Program in Malawi- (Case Study)(2012-09) Sineta, AbrahamDespite the push for universal education, many disadvantaged and poor children in developing countries still do not have access to basic education. This among other reasons is due to poverty where poor families cannot afford the cost of basic education even when it is `free' of tuition (McDonald, 2007). Demand-side financing interventions such as scholarship programs are promising to be viable financing interventions of reaching out to the poor and marginalized children in order for them to access basic education. Although such financing strategies have been praised as having worked in mostly Latin American countries, very little is systematically known about how these interventions would work in poor African countries such as Malawi. This study therefore examines demand-side financing strategy through an evaluation of a scholarship program implemented in Malawi. It uses qualitative mode of inquiry through in-depth interviews of 36 key participants as a primary method of data collection. In addition it reviews program documents and conducts some cohort tracking on beneficiaries in Zomba rural district which is the site of the study. The findings show that community based targeting was used in the program and proved successful in identifying the right beneficiaries in a cost effective manner. It seems to offer a model to be adopted for such interventions in low resource countries. Findings further show that beneficiaries who received scholarships were able to persist however there was a substantial number that dropped out. There were a number of factors that caused this but it seems the internal motivation of beneficiaries to persist was very critical. This puts under the microscope an assumption that once scholarship is received, beneficiaries would persist in school. Last but not least, the findings also show that an assumption that local communities will be able to sustain such programs might be but a mere illusion as communities view themselves too poor to do this. Overall the study praises such programs as effective in targeting the poor and marginalized children however it puts a caution on assumptions about persistence & sustainability. It suggests further scrutiny on these assumptions to improve on the effectiveness of such programs and demand-side financing strategies in general.Publication Goals, Principles, and Practices for Community-Based Adult Education Through the Lens of A Hatcher-Assagioli Synthesis(2012-09) Ayvazian, Andrea ShepardThis study examines how adult education can facilitate learning towards the full realization of human potential. It synthesizes two theories of human development, and applies this to the practice of community-based adult education carried out by trained facilitators who do not have formal degrees in the field of mental health. The first part of the methodology used modified analytic induction to carry out a synthesis between the works of William Hatcher (1935-2005) and Roberto Assagioli (1888-1974). The second part of the methodology works with the goals, principles, and practices which emerged from the "lens" provided by this synthesis, and applies these to an analysis of the Integrated and Systemic Community Therapy (CT) approach to community-based adult education, in Brazil. The impetus for this study was a desire to move beyond limitations of the humanistic orientation in adult education towards a more holistic theory, which draws on and combines both scientific and spiritual views of human reality. The study theorizes that learning which supports the full realization of human nature should actively seek to a) foster a person's ability to take action in the `outer world' of human social relations (interpersonal dimension) while b) aligning one's `inner world' (intrapersonal dimension) with an emerging implicate order, which is the origin of the structure of reality. Based on its relevance to the expanding Community Therapy approach, the conclusion of the study is that the "lens" of a Hatcher-Assagioli synthesis deserves to be applied and explored further.Publication A Professional Development Program for the Mother Tongue-Based Teacher: Addressing Teacher Perceptions and Attitudes Towards MTBMLE(2012-05) Paulson Stone, Rebecca JThis study investigates teacher attitudes about language and education. The purpose of the study is to help program designers develop professional development efforts that successfully address some of the major identified challenges teachers face when transitioning into Mother Tongue Based Multi-Lingual Education (MTBMLE), including negative attitudes. It also suggests protocols and issues that trainers should consider when designing professional development for MTBMLE teachers. The research question guiding this study is: 1. Do teachers' attitudes towards and knowledge about mother tongue-based instruction change after they participate in professional development that is consistent with good professional development practice? a. What were teachers' knowledge and attitudes about MTBMLE before the professional development program? b. Did teachers' knowledge and attitudes change after participating in the professional development program? c. Why did teachers hold particular attitudes towards MTBMLE prior to professional development and what factors influenced their change? I conducted this research during a three-month MTBMLE professional development program with a group of indigenous first grade teachers and their school principals in Save the Children's outreach areas in rural Mindanao in the Philippines. I used a Q sort methodology for initial interviews conducted with a subset of five first grade teachers followed by a second interview after the professional development program. The interview data showed that teachers came into the trainings with two distinct viewpoints; mother tongue supporters and one mother tongue resister. After the professional development program, however, teachers were all more positive about using the mother tongue as the language of instruction. Interviews revealed that teachers were more positive and confident in teaching the mother tongue when they had the opportunity to: 1) spend time learning about their own language, 2) create mother tongue teaching and learning materials, and 3) reflect on their early learning experiences and experience what it is like to learn in a language that is not familiar. This paper will discuss the research findings in depth and will provide a clearer picture of how to train and support teachers who are transitioning into MTBMLE.Publication Mitigating Negative Externalities Affecting Access and Equity of Education in Low-Resource Countries: A Study Exploring Social Marketing as a Potential Strategy for Planning School Food Programs in Malawi(2012-05) Magreta-Nyongani, MarthaSchool feeding programs enhance the efficiency of the education system by improving enrollment, reducing dropouts and increasing perseverance. They also have the potential to reach the poor, directly making them an effective social safety net. In many low-resource countries, school feeding programs are designed to protect children from the effects of hunger. Unfortunately, the continuity of such programs is threatened by over-reliance on external funding. Given the patterns of withdrawal of external support, countries that rely on donor funds to implement such programs need to develop plans that will move them from external to localized support. It is well documented that programs that involve community members are self-sustaining. Regrettably, even though community members are involved in school feeding programs in Malawi, their participation is restricted to food storage and preparation and doesn't include decision making. Thus the transition plan for Malawi has to deliberately involve community members and influence them to take ownership of the school feeding programs. This dissertation explored the use of Social Marketing, a strategy for influencing behavior change that applies traditional marketing techniques to persuade a target audience to adopt, adapt, maintain or reject a behavior for the benefit of individuals, groups, or society as a whole to plan school food programs in Malawian primary schools. Using focus groups and individual interview techniques, I carried out a qualitative study at a primary school in Malawi where the community has initiated a school feeding program with the aim of understanding the barriers and benefits of supporting such an initiative from the community members' perspective. The results show that the cost of producing food, particularly the use of chemical fertilizer, is the main barrier whilst ensuring that all children regardless of social-economic status have access to a meal at school is the drive behind this initiative. The Social Marketing campaign therefore focuses on promoting the use of eco-san toilets whose output is humanure in this school community so as to minimize the cost of producing food to ensure sustainability of this initiative.Publication Place and the Politics of Knowledge in Rural Bolivia: A Postcoloniality of Development, Ecology, and Well-Being(2012-05) Lennon, Karen MarieThis dissertation is a study of the dynamics of place and people in a rural municipality in southeastern Bolivia. A study of the dialectical relations between knowledge, ecology, and culture that are manifest through the daily life of the municipality, it is an ethnography that illuminates the multiple discourses of colonialism, nationalism, modernity and decolonization that overlay one another. The contradictions and tensions produced through these intersecting discourses represent major obstacles to the project of "decolonization" and the formation of viable and equitable "intercultural" relationships, as promoted by the indigenous leadership which is the governing party of the Bolivian state since 2006. This yearlong ethnography of everyday life, conducted together with semi-annual follow up visits, reveals how people within the municipality negotiate differing and conflicting life worlds: one sustained by traditional practices of barter and local knowledge about farming, food, health and ecology); and the other governed by bureaucratic agencies and professional expertise. These life worlds signify contrasting notions about development and well-being, culture, and politics; and how between both of these it enables an equivalence that moves us closer toward the decolonizing imperative. Taking a postcolonial approach, I argue that knowledge and the systems of education in which knowledge is largely disseminated (schools, health facilities, NGOs, municipal venues, television, Internet, etc.) are crucial places for moving toward critical reflections, social change, and justice. I also intertwine an analysis of food not only as an agricultural product, but as an integral component of communal livelihoods, interactions with others, and nutritional well-being (physical, mental, and spiritual). Using concepts of border crossings and analyses to perceive and interpret local knowledge occurring in and from the margins of development, ecology, and "well-being," I advocate for the need to disrupt systems of geopolitical values, racial configurations, and hierarchical structures of meaning and knowledge in order to see and validate multiple ways of thinking, knowing and doing. Therefore, rural localities such as this one are essential "places" to learn from and learn with, and to include in the critical discussions and debates on decolonization, inter/intra-culturality, development, and well-being.Publication The Role of Education in an Historically Challenging and Politically Complex Environment: The Response of Public Universities to the September 11 Attacks(2012-05) Khan, Nigar J.The dissertation critically analyzes the response of a major research public university to the attacks of 9/11 in order to gain a deeper understanding of public universities’ stance on the relevance of Middle East studies, particularly in the context of the serious and far-reaching impact of 9/11. The absence of an articulated position of the U. S. universities in recognizing this need suggests the perpetuation of the dominant discourses of power and centrality of Western knowledge in the academy—the discourses that historically led to the marginalization of Middle East studies in the U. S. universities during the Cold War period. The study, underpinned largely by a critical theoretical perspective, employs a qualitative case study strategy to explore and analyze the presence of dominant Western ideological discourses that may have contributed to producing particular stance of the university’s leadership on the relevance of Middle East studies in the aftermath of 9/11. More specifically, a critique is developed from the perceptions and insights of the senior administration and faculty based on their views of the pertinence of Middle East studies, and whether they think the university’s response has been rather deficient. The evidence drawn from this enquiry highlights that the thinking and practice that had arisen and prevailed during the Cold War still persists, ostensibly in the dominant academic discourses.Publication Reaching the Poorest Through Microfinance: Learning from Saving for Change Program in Mali(2009-05) Acharya, MukulThis study used secondary data to analyze the Saving for Change (SfC) program of Oxfam America in Mali. SfC uses a model of microfinance that is based on education and savings-led approach and self-help methodology. The program teaches the poorest women how to form and manage a group to handle savings and credit related needs. The group learns to systematically collect savings from its members; lend the money to its members with interest and keep a record of all transactions. SfC has created an oral recordkeeping system which is helpful for groups that have mostly or all illiterate women. The SfC women also learn about other social components such as malaria through their participation in the program. This study, however, focused only on the financial activities of the women. The secondary data analyzed in this study were collected by Oxfam America in two rounds of surveys that used mixed methods instruments. Both surveys were conducted in October and November, one in 2005 and the other in 2006. Most of the data collected from the surveys were quantitative. They were collected for Oxfam America's own purposes and only some of them were used for this study. The study used three aspects of outreach--depth, scope and worth to the user--as the framework to explore the extent to which SfC had reached the poorest women. Three overarching questions were constructed, one to explore each of these aspects of outreach. They were: Were the women served by SfC poorer than other women who were not served? Did the SfC women utilize the program benefits? Did the utilization of the program benefits vary based on the women's economic levels? Each overarching question also had a set of main and specific questions. Some key economic indicators such as the women's literacy and schooling at the individual level and the ratio of school age children in school, food security, assets and the ratio of income contributors at the household level, as well as select program benefits such as savings and loans were used for determining the main and specific questions. Various statistical tests including one-way ANOVA, paired samples t-tests and bivariate correlations were performed to answer those questions. Most of the results of the statistical tests did not provide a clear answer whether or not SfC reached the poorest of the poor. Out of the four indicators, three showed that the women reached by SfC were as poor as the women in the control group. The SfC women were statistically significantly better off, as measured by household assets, compared to the other women in the area. The results of the paired samples t-tests showed that the SfC women utilized the benefits offered by the program, and their utilization was higher in 2006 than in 2005. Except for a few instances, the women's utilization of the program benefits did not appear to have been influenced by their economic levels. None of their saving activities were significantly affected by their household economic levels. Their willingness to take loans also did not appear to be influenced by the difference in their household economic levels in a meaningful way. Although mixed, these findings adequately rejected the notion that Oxfam America had failed to reach the poorest of the poor. However, the results did not show that the women reached by SfC were the poorest. Future studies and collection of additional data may provide more conclusive findings about the level of poverty of the women reached by the program and the extent to which the very poorest benefitted equally from the services. Whether or not the results were statistically significant and all women were the poorest, the experiences gained by the women and the groups from their participation in SfC spoke directly to the core purpose of the program and to the economic benefits for the clients by any international standard. When their context was taken into consideration, poor women of one of the world's poorest countries in the villages where there are very few or no opportunities became economically active in the SfC program. The level of engagement of the women was an important step forward toward reducing poverty. Regardless of their economic levels, those poor women saved a remarkable amount of money; borrowed money from the group; repaid loans with interest; and, most importantly, managed a financial system as a group to serve their financial needs.Publication Beyond School Inputs and Resources: An Assessment of the Effects of Program Intervention on Learning Achievement in Rebep Schools in Sierra Leone(2011-05) Mbayo, Aiah ASThe EFA conference in Dakar 2000 ushered in new momentum for ensuring universal access to education and advocacy for improved educational quality in all aspects (UNESCO, 2000). While significant progress has been made in expanding access in sub-Saharan Africa, particularly for girls, efforts to ensure improved educational quality in terms of learning, have not matched the drive for universal educational access. Rather, educational quality in most countries in sub-Saharan Africa has been seriously compromised by rapid expansion given the limited resources. In many attempts to ensure the delivery of quality education in developing countries, the thrust of delivery strategies has focused on increased allocation of inputs/resources to infrastructure development and supply of textbooks. However, the literature on the effect of such resources on student achievement is rather mixed and inconclusive with many studies noting that resources make little or no difference. While such approaches may be theoretically sound, most fail to focus on microelements at the school or classroom level such as capturing the teaching and learning experiences of both students and teachers and students. In an attempt to fill this gap, a new line of research has emerged which looks more closely at how resources are used by schools to support and improve instruction. This study follows this trend and examines the extent to which the Rehabilitation of the Basic Education Project (REBEP) in Sierra Leone contributed to improved learning and academic performance of students in five target schools after a series of interventions. Using a case study approach, the study revealed that while REBEP contributed to a significant increase in educational access, particularly for girls, performance in the terminal National Primary School Examination (NPSE) did not improve despite huge investments in the target schools. The study concludes that, in the context of Sierra Leone, and perhaps in many more countries in sub-Saharan Africa, unless and until critical school-level factors are appropriately and comprehensively addressed by policy makers, educational standards and quality will continue to be eroded particularly in terms of learning and that achievement of critical EFA goals and MDG by 2015 would remain an unfulfilled dream.Publication Issues of Access in Public and Private Higher Education Institutions in Islamabad Pakistan(2010-02) Khan, Muhammad MajidThe study examined the issues of access in public and private higher education institutions in Islamabad, Pakistan. The policies and institutions currently in place to deal with access related issues are not effective, therefore, not providing students with the support systems to help them succeed at the institutions of higher learning. The study analyzed student perspectives on access, examined access related systems in place at public and private institutions, and kind of students that have access to higher education. The study also analyzed the growth of higher education institutions and their impact on access related issues particularly in last eight years. Continuous planning, support and development needed to provide higher education is discussed. In addition, the research discussed opportunities and challenges experienced by students before entering college, processes involved entrance at college and after arriving at college. Moreover, similarities and dissimilarities between public and private institutions are also discussed. The study makes suggestions to improve access related systems to help students be successful and the need and ways how can they be further developed and strengthened is also discussed. The hope is that this research will contribute to well in-formed policy making that takes into account the complexities of the forces that shape higher education and the development of Pakistan.Publication Policy Options to Finance Public Higher Education in Afghanistan(2009-09) McNernery, FrankWhile recovering from decades of conflict and trying to adjust to an incipient free market economy, public higher education in Afghanistan is currently confronted with rapidly increasing enrollment and inadequate government financing. The imbalance between high demand for and insufficient supply of higher education has led to a decrease in the quality of education and an urgent need to develop non-state sources of funding. Using Johnstone’s (1986) diversified funding model as the conceptual framework, this exploratory case study reports actors’ attitudes and perceptions of the financing policy options for Afghan public higher education and the impediments to introduce this model in Afghanistan. Data were collected from documents and semistructured interviews with Afghan administrators, politicians, instructors and students during four months in Kabul in 2008. The findings show that: a) the state has most likely reached the maximum financial contribution to public higher education and that little more can be expected; b) that the existing funding for this sub-sector is not managed well; c) that the current legal framework does not support expansion of the entrepreneurial activities that are developing at the higher education institutions; c) that the legal system does not provide incentives to develop Afghan national donor support; d) that the introduction of user fees, though currently under consideration, is confronted with significant technical impediments, and e) that the introduction of tuition is not on the agenda because the higher education institutions have found the introduction of “night school” as an alternative means that allows the charging of tuition under the guise of “extra” services. In light of the aggregated actors’ attitudes towards these funding options, this study identifies considerable legal, technical and political blockages that hinder the creation of a functioning diversified funding model. The findings indicate that one significant pre-requisite for any development of these new funding sources will be increased institutional autonomy. Without devolution in power from the centralized ministry to the institutions, the necessary incentives and mechanisms will probably be missing for the development of these alternative sources of funding.Publication Accreditation of Teaching and Research Universities in Afghanistan: A Policy Implementation Analysis(2023-02) Mussawy, Sayed JavidThe quest for quality has encouraged many countries to establish quality assurance and accreditation models to sustain and improve quality. While some established their own procedures, a great majority of the countries including those in the developing world have adopted quality assurance policies developed in the Global North to respond to internationalization and to participate in the knowledge economy. However, most universities in developing countries lack adequate infrastructure to implement accreditation standards. Thus, investigating the implementation of accreditation policies in developing nations provides new insight into the opportunities and challenges posed by internationalization of quality assurance and accreditation. This study used a multi-case study design to describe and analyze the implementation of institutional accreditation at public teaching and research universities in Afghanistan. The investigator used sensemaking and sensegiving as a theoretical lens to collect data through 35 semi-structured individual interviews and two focus group discussions, archival analyses, and site observations. The findings revealed that research universities utilize both horizontal and vertical sensemaking/sensegiving approaches to make sense of accreditation. However, teaching universities primarily relied on top-down sensemaking/sensegiving approaches leading to only partial stakeholder engagement in accreditation process. The study also highlighted the role of peer reviewers as boundary spanners – shaping the meaning of accreditation between and within institutions. While some university leaders were successful influencing the sensemaking of stakeholders utilizing both structured and informal mechanisms, the research found that sensemaking and sensegiving of accreditation did not reach the entire community. The evidence shows that primary stakeholders such as faculty members continue to perceive accreditation as a foreign process, which affects their participation in the implementation process. Additionally, the findings unearthed the limitations of a one-size-fits-all accreditation strategy and concludes that the internationalization of quality assurance and accreditation produces the optimum results when adapting policies and practices fit the local context. Another outcome shows that a lack of autonomy, scarce resources, lack of funding, and limited awareness are major challenges in implementing accreditation in under-resourced contexts. Based on research findings, the study offers several recommendations for policy, practice, and future research at the national and institutional levels.Publication THE SCHOOL AND MY HEALTH: (RE)CENTERING YOUNG WOMEN’S VOICES IN PEER-LED SEXUAL AND REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH (SRH) EDUCATION IN MACHAKOS, KENYA(2021) Changamire, NyaradzaiThis dissertation examines young women’s school-based sexual and reproductive health (SRH) experiences in relation to a peer-led education program at a vocational school in Machakos, Kenya. The phenomenological study centers their voices to understand their SRH challenges and the program designed to meet them. Studies have noted the importance of school-based peer education programs in improving young people’s health behaviors. However, there is a dearth of evidence on how SRH peer-led education programs address SRH challenges in developing countries from young women’s perspectives. Additionally, while certain gender and cultural norms contribute to some of the unique SRH challenges that young women face, they are not the only contributing factors. Yet research about young women’s situations in Africa often reduces the challenges that young women face to “harmful” cultural and traditional practices. Guided by a Postcolonial feminist theoretical lens, this study recognizes that forces influencing women’s education and health operate at many levels; “the body, home, communities, nations, international political economies” (Stahaeli & Lawson, 1994, pp.98). In the study, participants revealed that their experiences are influenced by a range of factors related to contemporary and historical social, political, religious and cultural structures in their contexts. At the macro level, poverty is a daily reality for young women and profoundly shapes their lives, including the choices they make to combat its effects. The SRH challenges that young women face include school dropouts, early pregnancies, lack of income opportunities, menstruation management problems, abortions and limited access to comprehensive SRH education and services. Additionally, teachers and parents experience discomfort in providing young women with holistic and comprehensive sex education due to religious, moral and cultural reservations. Through participants’ narratives, the study shows that when seeking to address SRH issues through peer education programs, there many cross-cutting issues emerge. These include poverty, gender dynamics, cultural and religious practices. Overall, the intersections of young women’s experiences underscore the need to have SRH education approaches that are participatory and inclusive of their voices to mitigate the impact of poverty on SRH.Publication UNDERSTANDING CHINA’S DISCOURSE ON SOUTH-SOUTH COOPERATION AND CHINA-AFRICA HIGHER EDUCATION EXCHANGE: A FIELD RESEARCH STUDY AT ZHEJIANG NORMAL UNIVERSITY’S CHINA-AFRICA INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS SCHOOL(2019-09) Sun, YiThis dissertation research attempts to distinguish China’s model from that of the traditional North-South relationship, with a focus on how China’s philosophy articulates its foreign policy and the nation’s higher education engagement with African countries. It examines the China-Africa higher education partnership in response to China’s discourse on South-South Cooperation (SSC), Africa’s human resource flows, and the benefits and constraints of current China-Africa cooperation. In order to achieve these goals, the dissertation uses one of the China-Africa partnership universities in China, Zhejiang Normal University (ZJNU) as a site for its field research. The fieldwork looks at both a student level (e.g., studying experience and human capacity building) and an institutional level (e.g., university policy for foreign student management), aims to gauge the partnership’s potential effects on African countries by examining the African students’ motivation for and perceptions of studying and living in China, their plans after graduation, and opinions on cooperation and development. Research data came from national and institutional statistics, and 75 interviewees from ZJNU, including African students, students of other nationalities, Chinese students, and Chinese faculty members. The dissertation has six chapters. The first three chapters provide background information, discuss theoretical framework, and describe the methodologies applied for the fieldwork research. The following chapters attempt to deconstruct research questions and explore China’s discourse on SSC, and to analyze its engagement with Africa’s higher education and human capacity building by looking into China’s Africa policy and China’s alternative model of development (with Chinese characteristics). Since each research component is inextricably linked with China’s socio-economic development and policy changes, the analysis for the field research has the potential to open up areas of knowledge that have been overlooked in the past few decades.Publication The Image of the Teacher In Rural Colombia: An Inquiry into Themes, Metaphors, and Implications for Education(1995-02-01) Arbab, HalehThis dissertation explores the meaning the rural inhabitants of the North of Cauca region in Colombia make of the rural primary school teacher. It examines the themes and metaphors used by rural teachers, community members, and youth to describe the teacher's present image, their perspectives on the possible changes, and the implications of these perceptions for future educational interventions. The themes and metaphors that emerged alluded to two general images. The researcher has named these the portrait of the teacher as a hero and as an ordinary human being. The first, she proposes, is an ideal image that comes from people's collective memory. The second, she attributes to their real life experiences. The heroic image of the teacher is depicted through metaphors such as that of an apostle, a pillar of society, a second parent, and a community catalyst. The real image refers to the short-comings of teachers to fulfill this heroic image. The point of reference for the heroic image is the teacher's archetype that comes from a glorified perception of the past. It contains symbols, archaic images, and motifs that are embedded in people's collective memory. The researcher suggests that the teacher's true image is neither its ideal and heroic image nor its real and descriptive one but an amalgamation of both. She recommends the incorporation of this complex and dual image in teacher training programs. She suggests that, beginning teachers be encouraged to reflect on their own impressions of the teacher figure, to analyze the sources of these perceptions, and to situate their viewpoints in the cultural context in which they are embedded. This process of critical reflection allows teachers to become aware of their own contradictions and prepares them for the complex reality of their profession.Publication Training Needs of Village-Level Leaders for Participatory Rural Development: Focus on Sri Lanka(1986-09-01) Gajanayake, D. Stanley D.People's participation at the grassroots level in development is a major concern of policy-makers, development planners, research workers and practitioners in the field of rural development. The ability and the willingness of the rural people to involve themselves actively in the development process depends on their level of motivation. The village-level leaders can play a central role in the process of motivating and igniting the enthusiasm of the people at the village-level. Strengthening the capabilities of the village-level workers in this respect is one of the crucial challenges faced by practitioners in the field of rural development. The primary purpose of this study is to identify, prioritize and operationalize the training needs of the village-level workers in performing their role effectively as facilitators in involving rural masses in the development programs. The design of the study combines a critical survey of literature, a case study, a needs assessment and an operationalizing process of prioritized needs. The survey of literature incorporates a critical appraisal of concepts of rural development and of people's participation. It also highlights the crucial role of village-level leaders in eliciting people's participation, drawing upon examples from selected development models. The case study inquires into the role of village-level leaders of the Sarvodaya Shramadana Movement in Sri Lanka, a unique example of a participatory rural development effort in the developing world and also evaluates the nature of its training efforts. The needs assessment explores the training needs of the village-level leaders of the Movement. The prioritization process highlights major training needs, and the operationalization process breaks down prioritized needs into more clear dimensions. At the conclusion of the study these major dimensions emerging from the prioritized training needs have been analysed and synthesized to present a general framework for the formulation of training program for village-level leaders. While the study is focused specifically on the Sarvodaya Shramadana Movement of Sri Lanka, the broad framework may be relevant to training programs for other developing countries.Publication Dissertation Abstracts 1969-2019(2019-11-01)This is the Seventh Edition of the Dissertation Abstracts of the Center for International Education (CIE). It contains abstracts of all the doctoral dissertations completed by students actively involved in CIE from 1969 through the academic year ending in June 2019. The abstracts in this document reflect research in the fields of Development Education, Nonformal and Adult Education, Literacy, Community Development, and Global Education in both international and domestic contexts. The abstracts reflect the values that inform the research and the practice of the Center: the theory and practice of liberation, consciousness-raising, literacy and popular education, empowerment, social change, gender issues in education, an emphasis on qualitative, participatory and action research methodologies, and education in crisis and conflict situations. The emphasis on the human component of development reflects the ongoing commitment of CIE to study and implement educational processes which increase the learners' control over their lives. The abstracts are presented in chronological order based on dates of graduation and are numbered sequentially. Abstracts are indexed by the author's name in the Author Index, by geographic location of the research, and by topic in the Subject Index. To locate relevant abstracts search one or more of the indexes and then use the sequence number/s to find the desired abstract/s in the text. The full text of many of the dissertations is available free from ScholarWorks, a public, online digital library for scholarly publications from the University of Massachusetts Amherst. Most the dissertations contained in this document can be accessed from the CIE section of Scholarworks (https://scholarworks.umass.edu/cie_diss/). A new section is included at the end of this document that includes abstracts of students who were affiliated with CIE beginning in 2019. These abstracts are numbered A1, A2, ...etc.