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Full-Text Articles in Education

Bilingual Refugee-Background Student Resilience, Meta-Linguistic Awareness, And Pride In Bilingual Skills, Tunde Szecsi Dr., Debra Giambo, Rachel Bledsoe Bass, William Buchanan Dec 2021

Bilingual Refugee-Background Student Resilience, Meta-Linguistic Awareness, And Pride In Bilingual Skills, Tunde Szecsi Dr., Debra Giambo, Rachel Bledsoe Bass, William Buchanan

Journal of English Learner Education

This qualitative phenomenological study sought to explore the experiences of emergent bilingual refugee-background [1] students in Florida and their self-perceptions as bilingual learners. Data were collected through in-depth, semi-structured interviews with seven participants learning English both in-person and virtually in high school or adult education programs during the pandemic. The researchers completed content analysis individually and, in subsequent collaboration, identified patterns, and themes. Findings indicated that students took pride in their bilingual skills, demonstrated metalinguistic awareness, and were resilient and proactive learners with strong determination to succeed in the new country. The following recommendations for teachers are offered: (1) building …


Making It To The Next Grade: How Elementary School Principals Make Sense Of Grade Retention Policies For English Learners, Lynmara Colón Dec 2021

Making It To The Next Grade: How Elementary School Principals Make Sense Of Grade Retention Policies For English Learners, Lynmara Colón

Educational Foundations & Leadership Theses & Dissertations

Critical approaches to policy suggest that policy, even in the most apparently democratic polity or institution, codifies and extends the interests of those who disproportionately wield power (Levinson et al., 2009). While many people are involved in conversations and decisionmaking processes related to the implementation of grade retention or promotion policies, the final decision is made at the school level. Critics of grade retention, meanwhile, also warn that retained students may be harmed by stigmatization, reduced expectations for their academic performance on the part of teachers and parents, and the challenges of adjusting to a new peer group (Schwerdt et …


Language Assessment Literacy: Analyzing The Perspectives Of Mainstream Teachers Toward English Learners, Tunde Szecsi, Janka Szilagyi May 2021

Language Assessment Literacy: Analyzing The Perspectives Of Mainstream Teachers Toward English Learners, Tunde Szecsi, Janka Szilagyi

Journal of English Learner Education

This qualitative phenomenological study explores mainstream classroom teachers’ language assessment literacy as it relates to English learners. In Southwest Florida, Fifty-five teachers were interviewed about their knowledge and use of English language proficiency assessments in mainstream classrooms. We conducted content analysis of the individual interviews and field note data. The findings indicated that teacher’s knowledge of language proficiency assessments includes: (a) awareness of language proficiency assessments, (b) one size fits all: misuse of content assessment, (c) language proficiencies confined solely to reading skills, and (d) preference for formative assessment. Findings also indicated that teachers’ limited use of language assessment results …


Examining The Value Of Online Intercultural Exchange (Oie) In Cultivating Agency-Focused, (Inter)Culturally And Linguistically Responsive Pedagogy: A Story Of One Collaborative International Project For English Learners, Zuzana Tomas, Margita Vojtkulakova, Nikola Lehotska, Marie Schottin Feb 2021

Examining The Value Of Online Intercultural Exchange (Oie) In Cultivating Agency-Focused, (Inter)Culturally And Linguistically Responsive Pedagogy: A Story Of One Collaborative International Project For English Learners, Zuzana Tomas, Margita Vojtkulakova, Nikola Lehotska, Marie Schottin

Language Arts Journal of Michigan

This article makes two contributions to culturally and linguistically responsive pedagogy for English learners (ELs). First, we argue for the value of expanding cultural responsiveness to include an intercultural framing that not only cultivates ELs’ pride in their multicultural heritage, but also fosters their identities and capacities as global citizens. Second, we make a case for foregrounding student agency as a necessary prerequisite for what has been conceptualized as the ultimate goal of Culturally Sustaining Pedagogy: to be able to maintain one’s cultural practices, while simultaneously learning how to critique dominant power structures (Paris & Alim, 2017). We illustrate how …