Browsing by Subject "Equity"
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Item Achievement and Opportunity Gaps in Mathematics Education in Turkey Compared to European Union Countries(2010-12-08) Yetkiner, Zeynep 1978-One of the main purposes of this dissertation was to examine gender- and socioeconomic status (SES)-related mathematics achievement gaps among Turkish middle-school students compared to achievement gaps in European Union (EU) countries. A further purpose of the present study was to investigate qualified mathematics teachers? distribution in relation to student SES among Turkish middle schools. Finally, relationships between mathematics teacher quality indicators and students? mathematics achievement within Turkish middle-school classrooms were explored. In this dissertation, Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study 2007 data were used. Sample countries were Turkey, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Hungary, Italy, Lithuania, Malta, Romania, and Slovenia. Achievement gaps by gender and SES were examined using Cohen?s d effect sizes and 95 percent confidence intervals. Relationships between mathematics teacher quality and students? mathematics achievement were investigated using hierarchical linear modeling. Results showed none or only negligible gender differences but substantial SES-related gaps in Turkish students? achievement in mathematics, overall, or in various content and cognitive domains. Correlations between students? SES levels and their achievement were the largest in Turkey compared to the sample EU countries. Among the sample EU countries, only Hungary had as large or even somewhat larger disparities as Turkey between low- and high-SES students? mathematics achievement. The current study also identified SES-related inequities in access to qualified mathematics teachers in Turkey. Low-SES students were more likely to be taught by mathematics teachers who had less than 3 years of experience or who did not hold a degree in mathematics or mathematics education. On the other hand, years of experience and a degree in mathematics or mathematics education were found to be substantially related to Turkish eighth-grade students? mathematics achievement. Low-SES students? mathematics teachers were also more likely to report lack of confidence in their preparation to teach various mathematics contents. To narrow achievement gaps, Turkish policy-makers can explore and benefit from policies of the countries identified in the present study as more equitable in terms of student achievement than Turkey. The current study also shows Turkish policy-makers importance of the equitable distribution of qualified mathematics teachers in closing the mathematics achievement gap in middle schools.Item Analysis of the equity arrangement of mutual funds(Texas Tech University, 1968-06) Pusey, John MichaelNOT AVAILABLEItem Composting opportunities for the city of Austin(2011-12) Mulholland, Katie Jean; Dooling, Sarah; Kahn, Terry DComposting is commonly thought of as practices urban residents can do as part of living sustainably in cities. However, it is also an effective strategy cities can reduce landfilling and move towards Zero Waste. A number of North American cities have already developed residential curbside composting programs, which collect and processes yard and food waste to create compost. The city of Austin is in the process of passing an Integrated Solid Waste Management Plan as a means of working towards its Zero Waste goal. Included in this plan is the charge to begin creating a residential composting pilot. To assist in these efforts, I researched the opportunities the City of Austin has for developing a residential composting program. Using a framework of sustainability, I focus on how the city can create a program that addresses issues of equity. Through interviews with representatives of cities with composting programs and local stakeholders, I identify a number of best practices and recommendations. These interviews also outline methods to address equity through increasing outreach, participation, access to the final compost product as well as incorporating input into program design. First, I begin with a brief history of waste management to examine the social drivers that prompt the creation of waste diversion programs. Then, I identify variables that influence individual behaviors with a review of the consumer behavior literature. Next, I provide an overview of what is currently happening in Austin and explain my organizing framework of sustainability. After outlining my methods, I present the findings of my interviews. Then, I discuss eight proposals the City of Austin could use to develop its residential composting program. Lastly, I conclude by identifying opportunities for future research.Item Comprehensive Equity Analysis of Mileage Based User Fees: Tazation and Expenditures for Roadways and Transit(2014-01-07) Carlton, Justin DavidLack of sustainable revenue generation for transportation infrastructure has created a need for alternative funding sources. The most prominent of which is the Mileage Based User Fee (MBUF), where drivers would be charged based on the number of miles they drive, thus holding them accountable for their use of the roadway. While numerous equity related issues have been addressed, the interrelation of transportation taxation and expenditures on all levels of government (State, County, and Local) is not well understood. Using National Household Travel Survey data and information collected from over one hundred agencies, roadway taxation and expenditures were assigned to individual households in the Houston core based statistical area (CBSA). Using both Gini Coefficients and Theil Indices to analyze equity relationships, the research demonstrated that implementation of a MBUF would not have a pronounced effect on the current distribution of transportation taxation and expenditures, with the number of miles traveled and the total transit ridership remaining mostly unchanged. This also means that the equity of a MBUF is mostly equivalent to the current fuel tax. The relative winners of the current system are rural and high income urban households, while the relative losers are all other urban households. Increasing the MBUF to meet the Texas 2030 Committee recommendations would decrease the average benefit to taxation ratio, causing households to receive less than they pay into the system. Additionally, it would decrease the total number of miles traveled by 22.8% and increase transit ridership by as much as 10.2%. Still, equity of this scenario changed little from the equity of the current transportation funding system. However, excluding public transit expenditures resulted in a statistically significant and undesirable change in the Gini Coefficient, indicating that public transit has a positive impact on equity when considering the transportation system as a whole. Due to relatively flat rate taxes (vehicle registration, property tax, sales tax, etc.), the higher the miles driven, the lower the effective tax is per mile. When miles traveled are decreased by 22.8%, the effective tax per mile increases, which is the reason why the average benefit to taxation ratio was reduced. If transportation related taxation were to shift towards user based methods, then the benefit to taxation ratio should tend towards a value of one, indicating that all users receive exactly the value they pay for. If revenues are increased while the methods of taxation remain the same, low income urban households will be negatively impacted to the greatest degree.Item The contradictions of smart growth: transit-oriented development, affordable housing and community vision - the case of the Lamar/Justin Lane TOD, Austin, Texas(2014-08) Asuncion, Kendal Kawaihonaokeamahaoke; Sletto, BjørnSmart Growth is a comprehensive approach to planning that aims to shape more compact and well-connected communities across the United States. Among its principles are leveraging existing infrastructure, developing around transit, providing a mix of housing types and price ranges, and increasing community participation in the planning process. However, research suggests the comprehensive approach at times obscures potential tensions between these principles, in particular when Smart Growth principles are applied to a specific property. This is the case in Austin, Texas’ Lamar/Justin Lane TOD, where the City of Austin is currently evaluating development scenarios for a publicly-owned 5.6 acre parcel located within the TOD area. How equity and access is addressed in Smart Growth comes to fore in conversations between the City and affluent, neighborhood residents. This report examines the history of Smart Growth, reviews its implementation in cities across the U.S., and considers how the City of Austin may learn from other cities.Item Demystifying the process : the selection of receiving schools in intra-district performance-based school choice(2015-05) Lee, William Christopher, active 21st century; Holme, Jennifer Jellison; Cantu, Norma; Gooden, Mark A; Heilig, Julian V; McCray, TaliaAlthough intra-district performance-based school choice as featured in NCLB and state laws has existed for over a decade, scant attention has been devoted to the study of how the policies and programs are operated by school districts. Policymakers and education practitioners have adopted performance-based school choice to address school achievement disparities, yet it is currently unclear if federal and state mandated choice programs are being managed with fidelity to the egalitarian design of the policy. Few researchers have examined whether these policies achieve their specified goals of increasing access to high performing schools for students residentially assigned to underperforming locations. This study utilizes a qualitative comparative case study design that contrasts school choice implementation in two large, socioeconomically, racially, and ethnically diverse school districts in the state of Texas. As the primary method of data collection, semi-structured interviews were conducted with: school district superintendents, school board members, choice program administrators, principals, community leaders, and parents. This study contributes to the school choice research literature through analyzing program operations, community influence in policy implementation, and the resulting implications for access and equity. The study concludes with policy recommendations to ensure maximum advantage to the students that school choice is designed to benefit.Item Equitable access to green space : management strategies in San Diego California and Austin Texas(2014-12) Steverson, Jennifer; Dooling, SarahThis report is focused on the implementation strategies used by municipal governments to provision communities in San Diego California and Austin Texas with public parks. Green space is an important amenity in urban areas that improves the quality of life for residents. Low income who experience sustained mental fatigue from the stress associated with acquiring basic necessities may experience stress alleviation in vegetated environments. Comprehensive planning documents, city budgets and interviews with parks department employees were used to investigate the methods used to ensure equitable access to public parks in urban areas. Digital cartography was used to measure the proximity to green space at the city and neighborhood scale. Green space was broadly defined to include public parks, conserved lands, community gardens, greenways, and school yards. This is in keeping with the comprehensive plans of both cities.Item Mitigating the impacts of fare increases on low-income transit-dependent populations(2014-05) Cortez, John-Michael Vincent; Zhang, Ming, 1963 April 22-This report discusses the effects of the Great Recession on US transit agency budgets, and the actions taken to cope with declining revenues, including increases in fares, which disproportionately impact low-income, transit-dependent populations. For a variety of reasons, US transit agencies have responded by establishing programs to mitigate the impact of fare increases on vulnerable populations. A scan of US transit agency websites identified five prevalent types of mitigation programs established by transit agencies. A case study of Capital Metro transit agency offers some insight on these issues. Finally, recommendations for additional research and action in this arena are discussed.Item The political economy of literacy in the 'post-racial' era : the common core state standards and the reproduction of racial inequality in the United States(2015-05) Williams Barrón, Courtney Elizabeth; Thompson, Shirley Elizabeth; Treisman, Uri; Marshall, Stephen H.; Browne, Simone A.; Brown, Keffrelyn D.This dissertation contextualizes The Common Core State Standards in English Language Arts and Literacy in History/Social Studies, Science, and Technical Subjects within the racialized neoliberal “post-civil rights” United States. It begins with an introduction to the standards, including an overview of the existing criticism surrounding the content, processes, and potential effects of the standards in practice. It then historicizes the standards’ brand of literacy within the context of literacy in U.S. history, including its discursive ambiguity and its potential as both a tool and a weapon for social control, rulership, and revolution. This is followed by an examination of the standards’ authority on the national conception of literacy, illiteracy, the literate, and the illiterate, including the definition of personal traits and characteristics for the literate person of the 21st century. The standards, fashioned within the larger national narrative of racial progress in conjunction with the social narrative of educational decline, seek to re-center the idea that higher, measurable standards will rationalize the inequalities of race and class. This project examines the political economy of literacy in a “post-racial” era, by historicizing the standards as a 21st century racial and cultural imperative. Appealing to individuals and communities across the political, economic, and cultural spectrum, the standards were initially adopted by as many as 46 states, Washington DC, and three U.S. territories. By investigating the origins, evolution, and implications of this literacy policy, we can see that the conception of literacy lends credence to aggressive capitalist ventures through the terms of race and class. The effect is a new politics of equality based on the consumption of literacy skills. Literacy, newly defined and valued as a commodity in the “knowledge economy,” is a political intervention into the pedagogies of citizenship for the 21st century, and currently serves as a primary mechanism for policing the boundaries of property, personhood, and privilege in the 21st century.Item Through their lenses: Exploring underrepresentation of women high school principals(2017-10-09) Malveaux, Shaleh Rene; Bustamante, Rebecca M.; Gray, Pamela L.; Polnick, Barbara E.Purpose The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore the experiences of women high school principals to uncover challenges contributing to the underrepresentation of women in secondary school leadership. Moreover, this work is situated within the larger movement of educational leadership for social justice, with a focused application of a feminist theory lens and Social Role Theory. The two research questions that guided this study were: (1) How do select high school principals who are women describe their lived experiences in the principalship? and (2) What do these select high school principals who are women believe contributes to the underrepresentation of women in high school principal positions? Methodology A phenomenological approach was chosen to explore the lived experiences of seven current high school women principals in Texas. The transcendental phenomenological research approach proposed by Moustakas (1994) was employed. Transcendental phenomenology has been summarized by Moustakas as “a scientific study of the appearance of things, of phenomena just as we see them and as they appear to us in consciousness” (1994, p. 49). Women principals who have led at their current school for at least three years were the focus of the study because they have demonstrated an ability to navigate the leadership role. Data in the form of background questionnaires and individual interviews from seven women high school principals were collected and reviewed. Findings Each participant described specific experiences, as a woman, serving in the role of high school principal. In this study, four common themes emerged: (a) Servant Leadership, (b) Facing Barriers, (c) Support Systems, and (d) Advice. Moreover, participants described the challenges they faced during their tenure as high school principals, and strategies they used to overcome the challenges. Additionally, participants expressed gender bias, a glass ceiling, and family responsibilities as most damaging to women for career progression, and thus underrepresentation in the high school principalship.Item Wealth equalization legislation in Texas and its impact on property wealthy districts' financial health from 1993-1994 through 2002-2003(2005-05) Robertson, Berhl Leo; Olivarez, Arturo; Hartmeister, Fred; Karr, DougThe 73rd Legislature passed Senate Bill 7 in 1993 that became known as "Robin Hood." This piece of legislation is the foundation for this study. The funding mechanism in this bill served to equalize the wealth between and among school districts by allowing the wealthy districts to keep local tax dollars only up to a certain property wealth, while equalizing the poorer districts up to another, but lower property wealth in an attempt to achieve equity. This study is about the impact that this and subsequent wealth equalization legislation had on property wealthy school districts' financial health from 1993-1994 to 2002-2003. Additionally, district performance indicators were analyzed to begin to establish a link between finance and performance. Districts chosen for this study were considered property wealthy in both 1992-1993 and in 2002-2003; therefore, this study analyzed the whole population and did not require any sampling. To determine the impact to the wealthy school districts' financial health, five financial indicators were analyzed: maintenance and operations tax rates, interest and sinking tax rates, comptrollers property tax division (CPTD) property values, audited fund balance and recapture amounts. Each of these was compared over time to determine trends, and t tests were done to determine if any significant changes occurred. Pearson correlations were computed on each variable to determine if any significant correlation existed between these five variables. Five performance variables were analyzed as well. Student/teacher ratio, teacher turnover rate, accountability ratings, Texas Assessment of Academic Skills (TAAS) reading scores, and TAAS mathematic scores were analyzed in similar fashion to the financial variables. Additionally, Pearson correlations were computed on these variables with the finance variables to attempt to determine if there was a link between the two sets of variables. This study also stratified the wealthy districts by size and growth. There were significant changes in four of the five financial variables with recapture amounts being the one that showed no significant change. In the performance variables, again, four of the five showed a significant change, as teacher turnover rate showed none. The study showed a correlation between most all the financial variables, but interestingly enough, maintenance and operations tax rate showed no correlation to any other financial variable. On the performance side, TAAS reading and mathematics scores and accountability ratings were correlated with one another, but the only performance variable correlated to the finance side was student/teacher ratio. When the study split the districts by size and growth, it did find that the smaller districts had declining property value, which lessens their revenue. There were four conclusions drawn from this study: (1) wealthy districts earned more money, retained more money, and sent more money away at the end of this study than at the beginning, while at the same time, student performance improved indicating no negative impact on these districts; (2) as the financial variables increased over time, the number of students per teacher went down, indicating additional staff were hired as the other financial variables went up; (3) districts with fewer than 2000 weighted average daily attendance (WADA) seem to have been less stable than larger districts with regard to their financial health; and (4) there was no significant link found in this study between finance and performance.Item Wealth equalization legislation in Texas and it’s impact on property wealthy districts’ financial health from 1993-1994 through 2002-2003(Texas Tech University, 2005-05) Robertson, Berhl Leo; Olivarez, Arturo; Hartmeister, Fred; Karr, DougThe 73rd Legislature passed Senate Bill 7 in 1993 that became known as “Robin Hood.” This piece of legislation is the foundation for this study. The funding mechanism in this bill served to equalize the wealth between and among school districts by allowing the wealthy districts to keep local tax dollars only up to a certain property wealth, while equalizing the poorer districts up to another, but lower property wealth in an attempt to achieve equity. This study is about the impact that this and subsequent wealth equalization legislation had on property wealthy school districts’ financial health from 1993-1994 to 2002-2003. Additionally, district performance indicators were analyzed to begin to establish a link between finance and performance. Districts chosen for this study were considered property wealthy in both 1992-1993 and in 2002-2003; therefore, this study analyzed the whole population and did not require any sampling. To determine the impact to the wealthy school districts’ financial health, five financial indicators were analyzed: maintenance and operations tax rates, interest and sinking tax rates, comptrollers property tax division (CPTD) property values, audited fund balance and recapture amounts. Each of these was compared over time to determine trends, and t tests were done to determine if any significant changes occurred. Pearson correlations were computed on each variable to determine if \any significant correlation existed between these five variables. Five performance variables were analyzed as well. Student/teacher ratio, teacher turnover rate, accountability ratings, Texas Assessment of Academic Skills (TAAS) reading scores, and TAAS mathematic scores were analyzed in similar fashion to the financial variables. Additionally, Pearson correlations were computed on these variables with the finance variables to attempt to determine if there was a link between the two sets of variables. This study also stratified the wealthy districts by size and growth. There were significant changes in four of the five financial variables with recapture amounts being the one that showed no significant change. In the performance variables, again, four of the five showed a significant change, as teacher turnover rate showed none. The study showed a correlation between most all the financial variables, but interestingly enough, maintenance and operations tax rate showed no correlation to any other financial variable. On the performance side, TAAS reading and mathematics scores and accountability ratings were correlated with one another, but the only performance variable correlated to the finance side was student/teacher ratio. When the study split the districts by size and growth, it did find that the smaller districts had declining property value, which lessens their revenue. There were four conclusions drawn from this study: (1) wealthy districts earned more money, retained more money, and sent more money away at the end of this study than at the beginning, while at the same time, student performance improved indicating no negative impact on these districts; (2) as the financial variables increased over time, the number of students per teacher went down, indicating additional staff were hired as the other financial variables went up; (3) districts with fewer than 2000 weighted average daily attendance (WADA) seem to have been less stable than larger districts with regard to their financial health; and (4) there was no significant link found in this study between finance and performance.Item Work, Nonwork, and Network: The Public and Private Lives of Women Chief Student Affairs Officers(2010-01-14) Spurlock, Rebecca L.Women make up a majority of those employed in higher education, yet they are still a minority in leadership positions. Completing a doctoral degree, relocating for career advancement, and working in demanding, high time commitment roles are typically required to achieve the chief student affairs officer (CSAO) position, as well as contributors to burnout and attrition in the field. This study sought to gain a deeper understanding of the intersection of career progression (work), balance (nonwork) and relationships (network) of women chief student affairs officers, specifically, how gender is an influence, understanding life roles and whether there is a cost of achievement in the field. The literature in the field suggests the achievement and constant maintenance of balance, which is viewed through a male construct, is the norm. It is evident that the need to understand the particular phenomenon of work and nonwork intersections of women, particularly in the chief role, gives voice to an issue for women that have been rarely heard in the field. This study utilized the naturalistic inquiry paradigm of research. The author conducted in-depth interviews of nine women CSAOs at colleges and universities across the United States. Data were analyzed using a constant comparative method which allowed the findings to emerge. The results show that women CSAOs felt that gender had a clear impact on their career both in their choices and how they were treated by others. The impact of gender has been felt at all stages in their careers including in their roles as CSAOs on issues of discrimination, leadership style, spousal expectations, and choices regarding if and when - or whether - to have children. Respondents also articulated the different domains of their life in terms of roles, but did not seem them as distinctly separate in the manner in which they manage their lives. Additionally, all of the respondents felt their public and private lives intersected and that keeping them in separate domains was not only impossible, but unnecessary. Lastly, there were significant and ongoing costs of achievement in the field, mostly notably lack of friends and short and/or long term health problems.