Decolonization Of The Writing Classroom: Creating Space For Decolonial Theory, Tools, Anti-Racist Pedagogy, And Methods To Improve The Emerging Bilingual Student Experience, Desiree L. Brown

Masters Theses

In this thesis, the author addresses the colonial roots of the secondary writing classroom and the origin of standard academic English which enables strict standardized testing and writing assessment requirements that in-turn incite linguistic violence towards emerging bilingual students. The author frames her study within the framework of April Baker-Bell and Asao B. Inoue through a reflective/reflexive study of her teaching in a ninth grade writing classroom in a primarily Hispanic school district in South Texas, which is assessed by the state of Texas through STAAR. This study seeks to identify instances of linguistic violence being perpetuated in the writing …

Community And Safe Spaces For English Language Learners In Bilingual/Dual Immersion Settings, Miriam Pazos

Education | Master's Theses

This qualitative study explores teachers' understanding of English Language Learners and newcomer students' need for a sense of belonging and safe spaces in a bilingual/dual immersion classroom. The goal was to identify some best practices for teachers to create an inclusive classroom for multilingual students. This research uses the lens of two frameworks, Acompañamiento (Sepúlveda III, 2011) and Culturally Responsive Pedagogy. According to Sepúlveda III (2018), Acompañamiento is a response to globalization where there is a need to understand a student's humanity and the need to be part of a community. Acompañamiento is about engagement with one another without goals …

Examining Teachers' Referral And Placement Decisions Of Hispanic Children For Gifted And Talented Programs, Guillermo I. Mendoza

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This quantitative survey design study examined whether children’s ethnicity makes a difference in teachers’ referral and placement decisions in gifted and talented (G/T) programs. A total of 524 teachers from all over the United States who have taught or currently teach pre-kindergarten through 5th grade participated. The participants were randomly given one of six vignettes adapted from a previous similar study (Elhoweris et al., 2005). Participants answered whether the child described should be referred and placed into gifted and talented programs. All six vignettes described gifted and talented characteristics; the only differences were the children's ethnicity and socioeconomic status. Data …

Effects Of One-On-One Support For English Language Learners Through Collaboration, Compassion, And Engagement, Jocelyn Chiquito

Capstone Projects and Master's Theses

English language learners (ELLs) make up a huge student population in schools. As this trend continues, there is a need for educators to support these ELL students academically. Given this, one-on-one support for them is crucial for their academic success. The purpose of this capstone research project is to examine how one-on-one support for ELL students through teacher collaboration, compassion, and student engagement. Through the use of a literature review, a survey of four teachers, and an anonymous survey of sixty-two ELL fourth grade students in a fourth-grade class and two third-grade classes, the result findings revealed that one-on-one from …

K-12 Teachers’ Perceptions Of Preparedness And Training To Provide Instruction And Support To English Language Learners, Rebecca Doxsee

Ed.D. Dissertations

The increased number of English language learners in the general education classroom created the need for teachers to be knowledgeable about how to instruct and support English language learners. Due to the minimal extant literature related to K-12 teachers’ preparedness and training, specifically regarding English language learners, the purpose of this qualitative, interpretive study was to examine the perceptions of Tennessee K-12 teachers related to preparedness and training to provide instruction and support to English language learners in the general education classroom. I emailed the questionnaire to 63 potential participants and received questionnaire responses from 44 (69.84%) K-12 teachers. I …

Critical Consciousness, Social-Emotional Learning, And Serving Diverse Students, Brooke Poeschl

Masters Theses

Ensuring that adolescents get the care and support they need to be successful both academically and socially is crucial as an educator. A major part of this process is examining your personal biases and beliefs in order to identify areas that may negatively impact the students in your classroom. This is especially true for students who are high needs, either in terms of learning differences or cultural differences. The following addresses how teachers can impact their students and what practices observable within the classroom have shown beneficial to students of diverse backgrounds, with a specific focus on Muslim students. This …

Teacher Perceptions Of Preparedness To Teach A Diverse Group Of English Language Learners With Different Literacy Levels And Languages In The Mainstream Elementary Classroom, Jennifer Mehu

Theses and Dissertations

All across the United States, increased numbers of English language learners (ELL) are entering schools with limited formal education or proficiency in the English language at alarming rates. This new shift has affected school districts that are not prepared to address the needs of these ELL students due to the lack of preparation of mainstream teachers in their districts and schools. The problem addressed in this study was that many ELLs were not making adequate progress academically in mainstream classes. The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore teachers’ perceived preparedness to teach ELLs in mainstream classes in the …

English Language Learners In The General Education Classroom, Jolie Crane

Honors Theses

English Language Learners are often thrown into the mix of education without much support. This work takes a look into the different ways that general education teachers can support these students while maintaining a regular classroom function.

The Impact Of Funds Of Knowledge On Elementary Multilingual Learners’ Perceptions Of Their Connection To Their Teacher And The Classroom, Kelli Lowe

All Dissertations

The U.S. population is rapidly becoming more culturally and linguistically diverse, and the education system is ill-equipped to meet the needs of these diverse learners thus creating large achievement gaps. In South Carolina, two factors contributing to an inadequate education system are the lack of teacher preparation programs that address cultural diversity and a predominantly White teacher workforce for an ever-growing diverse student body. The combination of these two factors is particularly detrimental to multilingual learners in the most critical time of a child’s development. This qualitative study was part of a collaboration and combined improvement science with design thinking …

Belonging And Banding Together: Perspectives And Insights Of Newly Recruited Ell Musicians, Edward Francis Luckey, Edward Luckey, Edward Luckey

Education Doctorate Dissertations

The purpose of this research is to bring forward the lived experiences of English Language Learner (ELL) musicians who were new to the band program as of the Spring of 2021. This study was born out of previous coursework and reflection where it became apparent that more must be done to provide access to our band program for students who are in our ELL program. Therefore, the research question that guides this study is “What are the lived experiences of ELL band students?” The methodology is primarily a pursuit of the stories and lived experiences of the ELLs via a …

A Shared Language: An Examination Of School Interaction Experiences Of Hispanic Ell Students In Northwest Arkansas, Tricia Tice

ATU Theses and Dissertations 2021 - Present

A SHARED LANGUAGE: AN EXAMINATION OF SCHOOL INTERACTION EXPERIENCES OF HISPANIC ELL STUDENTS IN NORTHWEST ARKANSAS

Tricia Dawn Tice

Arkansas has one of the fastest-growing Latino populations in the country (Garcia Mont, 2015; Brown & Lopez, 2013). The Northwest Arkansas corridor has the largest concentration of Latinos to date due to the area being host to some of the largest companies in the United States (Garcia Mont, 2015; Brown & Lopez, 2013). Hispanic immigration into Arkansas has greatly increased since the late 1980s (Monroe, 1999). As a result of the area growth, public schools have seen tremendous increases in the …

The Effects Of Esl Training On High School Teachers And Their Response To Ells, Benjamin Watt

Theses and Dissertations

This study purposes to uncovering the deficits in secondary teachers’ understanding and practice in the classroom with ELLs. As the study developed it has become clear teachers vary widely on classroom practice and understanding their EL learners. Many teachers feel ill equipped and that the provided professional development is often inconsistent. The study intends to inform education systems of the positive affects of professional development, college courses and self-enrichment on how teachers work with ELLs. The study builds on the research to increase our understanding of the gaps in teaching and how professional development can be most useful for teachers. …

English Language Learners Of Chinese Immigrant Families In Canadian Schools, Jiayang Shi

Major Papers

Given the context that many Chinese immigrant families are settling in Canada, their children, as English language learners (ELLs), have encountered a variety of obstacles and barriers while studying at local schools. The purpose of this Major Research Paper (MRP) is to understand the obstacles and barriers that Chinese newcomer ELLs in Ontario have encountered and hence to offer some helpful suggestions. A series of official documents of Ontario ELL curriculum has been introduced to school educators by the Ontario Ministry of Education (2005, 2008), such as Many Roots, Many Voices: Supporting English Language Learners in Every Classroom and Support …

English Language Learner Teachers’ Perspectives Of Professional Development And Their Implementation Of Instructional Practices, Cara Nicole Scales-Judkowitz

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

An increasing number of U.S. teachers of English Language Learners (ELL) across the nation are not receiving adequate in-service training to provide instruction within students’ zone of proximal development (ZPD). Vygotsky’s ZPD is the difference between what a person can achieve when acting alone and what the same person can achieve when acting with support from someone else. ELL instructional practices should be implemented in ELL students’ ZPD to ensure adequate academic performance. A lack of training is a local problem for a school district in the state of Florida. The purpose of this basic qualitative study was to explore …

First-Year Mainstream Teachers' Perspectives On Preservice Preparation In English Language Learner Instruction, Sally Hernandez

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Although the number of English language learners (ELLs) in mainstream classrooms has significantly increased over the past decade, first-year teachers continue to begin their careers without adequate training in ELL instruction. The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore first-year mainstream teachers’ perspectives of their preservice course training and field experiences in ELL instruction. The study site was a small west Tennessee school district where 32 students are currently receiving English as a second language (ESL) services. Supported by Kolb’s experiential learning theory, this study was framed by the concept of hands-on experience for learning, which is used by …

Elementary Teacher Experiences With English Language Learners With Special Education Needs In New York, Colleen Ann Cahill

Theses and Dissertations

This qualitative study aimed to understand teacher experiences working with English language learners (ELL) with or suspected of having a learning disability. This study also addressed the current problem of ELL students concurrently being under and over classified as needing special education services. This study explored the experiences of elementary school teachers in the state of New York. The participants were from different school districts within New York State. The participants all had experience teaching students who were designated ELL who were currently in the process of response to intervention (RTI) or had already been referred and classified as having …

How Immigrant English Language Learners Used Internal Fortitude To Utilize Supports And Overcome Obstacles To Graduate From High School, Mark C. Peterson

Dissertations

Immigrants and English Language Learners (ELL) continue to receive attention in the research literature due in part to the continued immigration of families to the U.S. and the continued increasing number of students enrolled in U.S. schools under the ELL designation. The robust influx of immigrant’s school enrollment is reflected in schools across the country as classrooms are transformed from predominantly mono-cultural and mono-lingual environments to multi-cultural and multi-lingual ones. Unfortunately, the national average graduation rate for ELLs is a much lower than native-born students. The economic, social, and mental health ramifications for failing to graduate high school are dramatic; …

The Impact Of A K-8 Stem Program On Grades And Student Choice Of Stem And Advanced Mathematics And Science Coursework In High School, Astrid Rodrigues

Dissertations

The demands of today’s workforce call for schools to prepare their students to have problem-solving skills and be critical thinkers and collaborative colleagues. Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) learning has been known to cultivate, excite, and promote critical thinking and problem-solving skills in students from an early age.

This study explored the high school course selection of students who had participated in a compulsory Kindergarten to 8^th grade (K-8) STEM program, called Project Lead the Way (PLTW), while in middle school. Specifically, the study compared the number of STEM and advanced mathematics and science courses that students who …

Insights Into The Lived Experiences Of English Language Learners, Rina Kassem

Dissertations

The purpose of this research is to examine how schools can provide special language instruction to meet the increase in the numbers of English language learners (ELLs) and its effect on educators as well as students. This is a descriptive single case study that is focused on a public school, prekindergarten through fifth-grade located in a middle class suburb in a big metropolitan area in the Midwest. This study addresses the commonality problems that face a school system include academic performance, different cultural backgrounds, communication issues, professional development, and funding. To address these issues it is necessary to understand how …

English Proficiency At A Glance: A Literature Review And Qualitative Interview Analysis For First-Time Tesol For First-Time Tesol Volunteers, Molly Bebko

Honors Projects

The purpose of this literature review and these consultations is to present the demands and needs of ESL volunteers in order that they may be effective teachers. These demands of ESL volunteers will be categorized according to the eight domains of the 2008 TESOL International Association Standards for ESL/EFL Teachers of Adults Framework. The literature review comprised of a thematic search of past and current research. The consultation process was semi-structured, phenomenological, and qualitative. The primary investigator interviewed five professionals in the ESL field. After both the literature review and consultation process, themes were identified and results were categorized into …

English Language Learner’S Inequities And The Social Reproduction Theory, Cintia Khouzami

Honors Program Contracts

This poster explores the Social Reproduction Theory and connects it to the experiences of English Language Learners (ELL) among various social classes. The research looks into the inequity of resources and opportunities that ELL students receive and how it impacts the rest of their life.

Methods: Through interviews with ELL District Coordinators and ELL Alumni, the quality of education for ELL students will be assessed. Information from scholarly articles, charts, and course content will be used to further the findings and conclusions in the research.

Culturally Familiar Texts To Improve Reading And Writing Outcomes For High School English Language Learners: An Explanatory Sequential Mixed Methods Study, Taryn Courtney Robertson

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Research suggests that culturally relevant pedagogical strategies are essential for improving culturally and linguistically diverse student achievement. However, there is little research about which specific strategies provide the largest impacts. And there is even less research on which strategies help LatinX English Language Learners achieve academic success in the areas of reading and writing. The purpose of this study was to determine the impact of utilizing culturally familiar text, as compared to culturally unfamiliar text, on reading comprehension and summary writing outcomes for secondary LatinX ELL students. This study sought to determine if there were statistically significant differences in reading …

No Habla Español: Are Monolingual Teachers Getting The Support They Need?, Natalie Correa

Capstone Projects and Master's Theses

For this Capstone Project, the researchers investigated how monolingual teachers view the support and resources they received to teach English Language Learners (ELL) and what they thought could be done to improve their teaching effectiveness. An evidence based argument is offered that monolingual teachers were not being provided with effective support and resources. More specifically, three themes emerged from an analysis of the data obtained from interviews of monolingual teachers and administrators. Based on the emergent themes, an action was undertaken to help monolingual teachers better address the needs of ELLs. This is an important issue for monolingual teachers because …

Comstock House Tour Script Adaptation For Non-Native Speakers Of English, Aura Lee Mohror

Dissertations, Theses, and Projects

This project seeks to increase the accessibility of a historic site to non-native speakers of English. The ultimate goal of this project is twofold: to draw in more attendees from a currently non-museum-attending population to a particular historical site and to provide non-native speakers of English with an understandable local history and language learning experience. The Comstock House in Moorhead, MN is exploring ways to increase its attendance by reaching out to new Americans and immigrants. A focus group composed of students in Moorhead´s adult ESL courses participated in a tour experience after which they provided feedback regarding the content …

Using Phonics To Increase Reading Comprehension In English Language Learners, Lindsay Piekutowski

Dissertations, Theses, and Projects

Abstract

This paper discusses the implications phonics has on reading comprehension in the older English Language Learner. The subjects for this study were in the same Language Arts class in the Sheltered-Instruction Observation Protocol classroom, and they ranged from 15-20 years old. They were all in the same class because they were all Level III or IV with their language proficiency based on the WIDA ACCESS score in Speaking, Listening, Reading, and Writing. The study used Lexile scores from the Reading Inventory test used in the READ 180 classroom as the summative assessment of reading comprehension abilities. The focus for …

An Evaluation Of A Title One Elementary School's English For Speakers Of Other Languages Program, Kim L.P. Rigby

Dissertations

ABSTRACT

Enrolled at many public schools in the United States are students who primarily speak languages other than English and lack proficiency in the English language. These students are required to show language proficiency on end-of-year English-only state assessments. One public elementary school utilizes a support program to assist second language learners in acquiring a level of language skills necessary for proficiency on state assessments. My evaluation of this school’s program utilized mixed methods to determine the viability of support services provided to second language learners. The findings of my evaluation revealed some weaknesses within the provided services and indicated …

Response To Intervention For English Language Learners, Robin Adele Rivas

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Researchers in schools have had differing interpretations of effective implementation of response to intervention (RTI) models that have resulted in educators' confusion and misperceptions of the programs, especially with elementary English language learner (ELL) students. The purpose of this case study of 4 schools in an urban school district in the midwest was to explore how teachers used experiential, linguistic, and culturally responsive research-based instructional strategies in their classes to meet the needs of ELLs. Additionally, the RTI team process was explored to discover what experiential, linguistic, and culturally responsive research-based indicators they considered during the RTI decision making process …

Emergent Bilinguals And Academic Language Acquisition Through The Use Of Sentence Frames, Leah Clougherty

Cal Poly Humboldt theses and projects

Emergent bilinguals are a growing demographic in the United States, but little research has been completed on certain aspects of language acquisition, such as the commonly known practice of using sentence frames as a means for academic language acquisition in the middle school classroom. In order to learn more about practices being implemented within my own classroom and to add to the body of research on academic language acquisition, I analyzed the effectiveness of student writing with and without use of sentence frames within the existing curriculum in a pilot study utilizing a mixed methods approach.

Promotion And Retention Of English Learners (Ells) In A Large Urban School District: A Policy Advocacy Document, Hanan Matari, Ruqia Ali

Dissertations

This policy advocacy document argues for a fair and equitable retention and promotion policy for English language learners (ELLs) in elementary grades of a large urban school district. Increasing access and instructional opportunities within bilingual/ESL services combined with more accurate measures of English proficiency would help mitigate random or unfair promotion and retention practices. A needs analysis was conducted on educational, economic, social, political, and moral-ethical dimensions and arguments made in support of the recommended policy (Browder, 1995). This policy solidifies district accountability for the education of all ELL students by mandating schools provide equal opportunity and access to high-quality …

The Influence Of The Heritage Language On The Cultural Integration Of Second-Generation Hispanic Adolescents: A Phenomenological Study, Camille Schuler

CUP Ed.D. Dissertations

This qualitative study explored the influence of the heritage language on the cultural integration of 10 second-generation Hispanic adolescents, ages 15-19. Data were collected using in-depth interviews that asked participants to share their experiences with their heritage language, and in what situations they found themselves feeling more Hispanic, more American, and more bicultural, when speaking their heritage language. Participants also shared the formal course of language study they chose, such as Spanish, Heritage Spanish, and AP Spanish Language, why they chose it, and how that choice influenced their perceptions of the heritage language and their cultural integration. Berry’s (2005) Acculturation …