UNT Speaks Out

This presentation is part of the faculty lecture series UNT Speaks Out on Unauthorized Immigration. This presentation discusses immigration in the United States, unauthorized immigration, and policies in place on immigration

UNT Speaks Out

This presentation is part of the faculty lecture series UNT Speaks Out on Unauthorized Immigration. This presentation discusses immigration in the United States, unauthorized immigration, and policies in place on immigration

The Politics of Latino Education: The Biases of At-Large Elections

This paper investigates the determinants and consequences of Latino political representation in the field of K-12 education. The first task is to examine the association between Latino population and the Latino presence on school boards. We then investigate if Latino representation is affected by the electoral structure of school boards, as scholars have reached differing conclusions on whether at-large and ward systems hinder or enhance minority descriptive representation. The next step exam-ines the consequences of Latino representation, specifically whether board membership is associated with the share of Latino school administrators and teachers. The regression results show that Latino population positively affects Latino board representation, but that at-large systems hinder descriptive representation. The primary determinant of Latino administrators is Latino school board member-ship, and the primary determinant of Latino teachers is Latino administrators. In sum, at-large elec-tions negatively influence Latino educational representation, which produces a ripple effect that ultimately reduces the share of Latino teachers. Latinos are now the largest minority group in the United States, but numbers alone are no guarantee of political influence. The traditional view of how minori-ties gain access to the benefits of the U.S. political system is via education, bu

Training as a social purpose: are economic and social benefits delivered?

This paper reports original research which measures the social and economic impact of training and skills development on individuals who participated in training provided by social purpose, nonprofit organizations. An implicit policy assumption is that such organizations contribute to social and economic regeneration. Examining the costs and benefits of training to trainees, an adapted Return on Investment methodology measures any economic benefit, while an Index of Social Benefit measures changes in individual well-being. The results demonstrate that while changes to both the economic and social wellbeing of trainees occur, it does not necessarily relate solely to the training they received. Instead, changes reflect other, often complex, aspects of trainees’ lives, although training may facilitate change. Furthermore, social purpose, nonprofit organizations need to evince the socioeconomic benefits of their training programmes to secure future funding, public or private, but proving their successful delivery may be difficult to determine

The politics of Latino education: The biases of at-large elections

This paper investigates the determinants and consequences of Latino political representation in the field of K-12 education. The first task is to examine the association between Latino population and the Latino presence on school boards. We then investigate if Latino representation is affected by the electoral structure of school boards, as scholars have reached differing conclusions on whether at-large and ward systems hinder or enhance minority descriptive representation. The next step examines the consequences of Latino representation, specifically whether board membership is associated with the share of Latino school administrators and teachers. The regression results show that Latino population positively affects Latino board representation, but that at-large systems hinder descriptive representation. The primary determinant of Latino administrators is Latino school board membership, and the primary determinant of Latino teachers is Latino administrators. In sum, at-large elections negatively influence Latino educational representation, which produces a ripple effect that ultimately reduces the share of Latino teachers