The Metropolitan Council for Education Opportunity (METCO) has operated in the Boston and Springfield areas since 1966 and was developed as a means to fuel racial integration and provide students with greater educational opportunities. Since its existence, few studies have examined the social and emotional experiences of students participating in…

Regular school attendance is a key contributor toward student success. Lack of attendance by its very nature removes the student from time on learning that is essential for academic success (Estridge, 2009). The reality is an absence, whether it is excused or not, means that a child is not in benefiting from educational opportunities on that day.…

This dissertation focuses on the educational aspirations and expectations of a heterogeneous group of women who were enrolled in, or had graduated from, adult education and literacy programs in Boston, Massachusetts. The research questions guiding the inquiry are: (1) Why do educationally disadvantaged women value education--how are these values…

Since 1966, the Metropolitan Council for Educational Opportunity (METCO) has operated in suburban communities in Massachusetts as a voluntary desegregation program. In interviews, nine white educators revealed their perspectives of the METCO program in their district and discussed their beliefs about the ways that race and whiteness intersected…