Bilingual, Multilingual, and Multicultural Education Commons^™

Amjambo Africa! (August 2018), Kathreen Harrison

Amjambo Africa!

In This Issue...

Rwanda Bean Coffee ............ Page 7

Congolese Celebration..........Page 8

Cape Verde Celebration........Page 9

South Sudanese Celebration Page 10

Service Listings - Cut Out & Keep! .....................................Page 13/14

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

Teaching A Second Language: Communication, Culture, And Collaboration, Diannylín Núñez De Paulino

All Graduate Plan B and other Reports, Spring 1920 to Spring 2023

This portfolio presents the author’s perspectives on the effective use of language teaching techniques, practices, and tools. The first section demonstrates the author’s teaching philosophy, which includes her perceptions as a foreign language instructor and learner, teaching observations of various foreign language instructors, and self-reflections about teaching. The following section contains three research papers, which explore foreign language anxiety, effectiveness of co-teaching a foreign language class, and refusals across different cultures. The last section consists of three annotated bibliographies in which the author analyzes journal articles and book chapters about communicative language teaching, the role of culture in the Spanish …

Breaking Traditions: Teaching Efl In The Dominican Republic, Farlin Paulino

All Graduate Plan B and other Reports, Spring 1920 to Spring 2023

This portfolio is a compilation of the author’s beliefs in regard to effectively teaching English as a Foreign Language and Spanish as a Second language. This work was completed for the Master of Second Language Teaching (MSLT) program at Utah State University. All the work compiled in this portfolio centers on the teaching philosophy statement, which contains what the author believes to be the most important aspects of teaching a second language. In the first section of the portfolio, the author presents the experiences that made him pursue the profession of teaching languages, his personal philosophy of teaching shaped by …

How Colonization Impacts Identity Through The Generations: A Closer Look At Historical Trauma And Education, Michelle Garcia-Olp

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Through the lived experiences of 26 New Mexicans, this inquiry investigates how colonization impacts identity through the generations, particularly looking at historical trauma and education. The findings demonstrate the importance of decolonizing spaces within educational settings. Furthermore, the findings demonstrate the need for viewing educational systems and spaces through a Tribal Critical Race Theory (TribalCrit) and Indigenous Storywork lens that lead Indigenous students in finding face (one’s identity), finding foundation (one’s greatest potential/full expression) and finding heart (one’s flow with the creator). The lens of TribalCrit enables the creation of a space where Indigenous students are empowered by their educational …

"I Refuse To Die": Exploring The Relationship Between Spirituality And Persistence Among African American Ph.D. Students And Graduates, Kerley Perminio Most

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

African American doctoral students experience the highest levels of attrition (60%) in the nation and the most social and academic challenges in higher education. Concurrently, research supports that African Americans are among the most spiritual people in America. This study applied hierarchical logistic regression to investigate the relationship between spirituality and persistence among African American doctoral students (N = 179). Tinto’s model of attrition, a systematic framework to predict degree completion based on suicide theory, was employed. Reliable instruments, the Institutional Integration Scale and the Spirituality Scale, were utilized. Results revealed that (a) different levels of spirituality were related to …

A Transcendental Phenomenological Study Of Novice Teachers Administrative Support Experiences In High-Poverty High-Minority Rural South Carolina Schools, Celestine Lavan

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this transcendental phenomenological study was to develop a deeper understanding of the lived experiences of novice teachers who remain teaching in high-poverty, high-minority rural schools in South Carolina in relation to the administrative support they received. The research questions guiding this study are: (1) How do novice teachers describe their administrative support experiences in high-poverty, high-minority schools? (2) How do novice teachers in high-poverty, high-minority rural schools describe administrative emotional and social support experiences? (3) How do novice teachers in high-poverty, high-minority rural schools describe administrative instructional support experiences in high-poverty, high-minority rural schools? This study intended …

Finding Their Place: An Ethnographic Study Of The Culture Of Students Attending A Rural, Self-Paced, Alternative Evening High School, Teena Atkins

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this ethnographic study was to provide a cultural portrait as well as identify methods of success of nontraditional students attending a self-paced, alternative evening high school in the southeast region of the United States in the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains. An ethnographic research design was utilized employing data triangulation through observations, interviews, focus group, and journals as methods of data collection. Participants included nontraditional students who were currently attending or recently graduated from an alternative evening high school in the southeast region of the United States. This study sought to better understand what factors contributed to …

Scholastic Liberation: Schools' Impact On African American Academic Achievement, Aaron M. Johnson

Language Arts Journal of Michigan

This article addresses some of the factors that contribute to low achievement observed in African American students. It is common that either schools or school districts are unable to fix the problem or they are unaware about how the beliefs and attitudes about African American students can contribute to their low performance in school. Furthermore, this article encourages school institutions to examine themselves and change school environments to align to the identities of African American students. African American students must be liberated from negative assumptions about them and to do that, individuals and the institution of school as a whole, …

Testing And Ideology: Policy Debates About Literacy Assessments For Colorado’S Bilingual Students, Luis E. Poza, Kara Mitchell Viesca

Department of Teaching, Learning, and Teacher Education: Faculty Publications

The Colorado Reading to Ensure Academic Development Act requires grade-level attainment in literacy in English for students in grades K-3. Its practical outcome, however, has been to pressure schools with bilingual programs to shift their instructional language allocations towards more English in the early grades. Proposed rule revisions debated by the state Board of Education sought to facilitate testing in students’ language of instruction for those in bilingual programs. Analysis of written and verbal opposition to the proposed rule revisions demonstrates the persistence of insidious ethnoculturalist discourses opposing bilingual education as well as the cooptation of liberal multiculturalist discourses that, …

Activating Schemata In Esl Writing, Uyen Dang

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

My research aims at exploring the contribution of various types of schemata to leaners’ text comprehension and text production, especially ESL (English as a Second Language) writing, to better understand how ESL learners, especially Vietnamese graduate students, use diverse resources in schema activation to facilitate their processes of learning to write in the academic setting. To better understand these processes, the researcher synthesized previous studies together with conducting interviews with four Vietnamese graduate students and analyzing their writing samples to investigate the relationships among types of schemata: formal, content, and rhetorical schemata, which can be significant in ESL writing and …

An Assessment Of The Factors That Increase The Likeliness Of Hispanic Students To Attend Higher Education In Northeast Tennessee, Denise Chavez Reyes

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

From 2000 to 2014 the number of Hispanics grew 230%, representing an 8.6% of the national's youth (Tennessee Higher Education Commission, 2016). Although the population is growing, the educational attainment does not reflect this growth. This research tries to identify what factors influence individuals' decision to pursue higher education in rural Tennessee. Intrinsic (grit, hardiness, and motivation to lead) and extrinsic factors (Status in the U.S., caregivers’ education, involvement in high school and others) were explored. Sixty-six complete responses were submitted to our online survey. Hypothesis testing with Pearson chi-square, difference of means (ANOVA and two sample t-test), and correlational …

Revealing Luz: Illuminating Our Identities Through Duoethnography, Carrie Diaz Eaton, Luz Marizza Bailey

Journal of Humanistic Mathematics

Hispanic Americans make up 15% of the current US workforce, but they only account for 7% of the STEM Education workforce [8]. One effective way to reach this population, particularly Latinas, is by providing stories and ethnographic biographies of successful Latinas they can relate to. It is important to note that Latinas have been earning PhDs in STEM disciplines outside of the US much longer than US-born Latinas have been earning them inside. Thus we offer the story of a mathematics educator, from Peru, Dr. Luz Antonia Mendizábal Gálvez de Rodriguez, a girl who was given a chance to be …

Designed Cultural Adaptation And Delivery Quality In Rural Substance Use Prevention: An Effectiveness Trial For The Keepin’ It Real Curriculum, Michael L. Hecht, Youngju Shin, Jonathan Pettigrew, Michelle Miller-Day, Janice L. Krieger

Communication Faculty Articles and Research

This study examined how cultural adaptation and delivery quality of the school-based intervention keepin’ it REAL (kiR) influenced adolescent substance use. The goal of the study was to compare the effectiveness of the multi-cultural, urban (non-adapted) kiR intervention, a re-grounded (adapted) rural version of the kiR intervention and control condition in a new, rural setting. A total of 39 middle schools in rural communities of two states in the USA were randomly assigned to one of three conditions (i.e., control, non-adapted urban kiR, and adapted rural kiR). Data included adolescent self-reported lifetime substance use and observers’ ratings of delivery quality …

Effects Of An Elementary Immersion Program On Academic Achievement In Core Subject Areas, Marlee Schmidt

Dissertations, Theses, and Projects

This study sought to find out if students who became bilingual score

higher, lower, or the same on standardized tests as their monolingual peers across

multiple disciplines. An answer was obtained by comparing the Minnesota

Comprehensive Assessment scores of Spanish language immersion students to

scores of non-immersion students for the following subject areas: reading in

grades 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, and 10; math in grades 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, and 11; and science

in 5, 8, and high school. The scores used came from a graduating class of 2018

with approximately 342 students. Data was analyzed …

Koreans, Americans, Or Korean-Americans: Transnational Adoptees As Invisible Asians, A Book Review, Tairan Qiu

The Qualitative Report

The book, Invisible Asians: Korean American Adoptees, Asian American Experiences, and Racial Exceptionalism, explores the personal narratives and histories of adult adoptees who were born between 1949 and 1983 and who were adopted from Korea by White parents. Using oral history ethnography, Nelson (2016) seeks to correct, complicate, and contribute to current discussions about transnational adoptions. In this book review, the author provides an overview, a personal reflection, and recommendations for potential audiences of this book.

Decolonial Gestures Of Andean Bilingual College Students Promoting Quechua: Community-Based Participatory Research With Photovoice, Yuliana H. Kenfield

Language, Literacy, and Sociocultural Studies ETDs

Andean college students in Cusco, Peru, struggle to overcome discrimination against bilingualism during their pursuit of higher education. To examine this situation and possibilities for change, I employed a participatory method, photovoice (Wang & Burris, 1994) within a community-based participatory research framework, to facilitate Quechua-Spanish bilingual college students’ exploration of Quechuan practices in their university. Participatory research methodology promoted critical dialogues to challenge ideologies that have obstructed the revitalization, maintenance, development of the Quechua language in higher education. Although university policies in Cusco formally promote inclusion of indigenous knowledge and practices, bilingual Spanish-Quechua practices on campus have remained largely symbolic. …

A Mile In My Shoes: A Website For First-Generation Immigrants, Chelsey Thomas

International Relations Summer Fellows

What are the most important variables to consider when applying for college? What really makes a school worth it? This project looks to tackle questions such as these by analyzing Pell grant rates, graduation and admission rates, and default rates among colleges as well as their social and cultural pros and cons. The overall goal of this is a push for transparency as well as bridging the gap between higher education and students.

Exploring Experiences, Perspectives, And Identity (Re) Formation Processes Of African High School Students In U.S. Public Schools, Brenda M. Muzeta

Doctoral Dissertations

This dissertation examines the experiences of African high school students in U.S. public schools. Specifically, the study explores how African students negotiate their identities in a new education environment. Drawing on Asante’s (1980) Afrocentric theoretical framework, Erikson’s (1968) theory of identity and Tajfel and Turner’s (1979) social identity theories, this interview-based qualitative study seeks to describe and interpret how African high school students make sense of their new schooling experiences. One of my major goals of the study is to honor, recognize and bring to life the voices of African high school students. Their experiences are often minimized, their voices …

The Effect Of A Multisensory Approach To Spanish Instruction On The Foreign Language Proficiency Of Students With Learning Disabilities, Linda Chui

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of the study was to investigate the effect of a multisensory approach to Spanish instruction founded in Orton-Gillingham on the (1) foreign language writing, and (2) foreign language reading comprehension of students with learning disabilities in the middle school Spanish classroom. Additionally, the study inquired about the students' satisfaction with the Orton-Gillingham approach to learning to read in Spanish. Four middle school Spanish students with SLD, three male and one female, participated in the study. A single subject ABAB design was used. During the baseline phases, students received Spanish instruction in the traditional mainstream classroom. During the intervention, …

Exploring The Moderating Effects Of Racial/Ethnic Socialization, Academic Motivation And African American Racial Identity On The Relation Between Microaggressions And Mattering Of African American Students At Predominantly White Institutions, Lawrence Chatters

College of Education and Human Sciences: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

African Americans remain underrepresented in higher education (Thompson, Gorin, & Chen, 2006) and experience subtle forms of racism called microaggressions (Sue et. al, 2007). The impact of microaggressions in post-secondary institutions may manifest in the achievement gaps that exist between African American and White people; moreover, they may influence the inequitable treatment of African American students by staff, teaching assistants and faculty (Ancis, Sedlacek, & Mohr, 2000; Becker & Luther, 2002). 108 African American undergraduate students at three Predominantly White Institutions (PWIs) participated. The current study employed an online survey to explore relationships of microaggressions, racial/ethnic socialization, African American racial …