Education Commons^™

Teachers’ Knowledge, Perceptions And Practices Regarding Academic Literacy Development Of Long-Term English Learners, Daniel William Alamo

LMU/LLS Theses and Dissertations

Secondary educators must be knowledgeable in their content while increasing the academic literacy of their students, a process further complicated when working with students who are long-term English learners (LTELs). This mixed-methods study explored the knowledge, practices, and perceptions of six secondary teachers working to develop the academic literacy of LTEL students in content-specific classrooms. Set within a sociocultural framework, the study provides a greater understanding of the challenges and successes educators experience when working at the secondary level with students with diverse learning needs. The data were collected in two phases. Phase I included a quantitative survey of teachers, …

En Busca De Un Futuro Mejor [In Search Of A Better Future]: Understanding Charter School Selection By Immigrant Latina/O Families, Carlos Alberto Garcia

LMU/LLS Theses and Dissertations

This qualitative study focused on understanding the process immigrant Latina/o families in the greater Los Angeles area underwent when selecting a charter school for their children. Through narrative interviews, 13 participants shared their perspectives of how and why they chose a charter school, and detailed the factors they considered in their selection process. Through the theoretical framework of cultural community wealth, social and cultural capital, participants answered the research question why and how do immigrant Latina/o parents research and apply to charter schools, and what are the factors they consider in the decision-making process?

Participants described social networks as connections …

Transformative Urban Education Leaders In Los Angeles, Sarah Figueroa

LMU/LLS Theses and Dissertations

The job of an education system-level leader in urban environments is becoming more demanding, and the environment in which they operate more complex. Filling these very critical roles with individuals who possess the right characteristics could mean the difference between success and failure at improving the educational outcomes of students who are more often than not students of color and economically disadvantaged students.

Through seven interviews, this qualitative study focused on understanding the leadership dispositions that contributed to the success of transformative urban education system-level leaders in Los Angeles. The new transformative urban education leadership framework was developed using elements …

Navigating The Sexual Politics On The High School Campus: Testimonios Of Young Chicana/Latinas, Mayra Alejandra Lara

LMU/LLS Theses and Dissertations

By employing pláticas y encuentros, this qualitative study examined the testimonios of Chicana/Latina youth and their experiences with navigating the sexual politics on the high school campus. Six young Chicana/Latinas, all of whom graduated from the same high school in South East Los Angeles, participated in the study. The study used two frameworks: Chicana/Latina feminist theory and critical pedagogy to analyze the young women’s testimonios. Findings speak of their daily struggle with adults policing, objectifying, and containing their bodies; as well as the benefit of a third space, counterspaces, for self-actualization. This study contributes to this field by identifying how …

Writing Ourselves Into Existence: A Spoken Word Artist’S Autoethnography Of A Liberatory Hip-Hop Pedagogy, Kahlil Almustafa Gasper

LMU/LLS Theses and Dissertations

While there is growing research about the positive impact of teaching artists (TAs), these professional arts educators are an underused resource. As a TA, I have more than a decade of experience implementing spoken word and hip-hop as a pedagogical approach in urban public school classrooms. By conducting this autoethnographic study, I sought to explore insights from these 10 years of lived experience for understanding and documenting the critical principles of my practice as a TA. This autoethnography of my life as a TA tells stories from urban public school classrooms during my formative years as an educator. The research …

The Politics Of Ethnic Studies, Cultural Centers, And Student Activism: The Voices Of Black Women At The Academic Borderlands, Frederick Smith

LMU/LLS Theses and Dissertations

Through employing critical narratives, this qualitative study examined the experiences of Black women who utilized their scholarship and activism to address campus climates at a predominantly Chicanx Latinx institution in Southern California. Six Black women – two faculty, two staff, and two students – participated in the study. All participants were active with Ethnic Studies (Pan-African Studies), the campus Cross Cultural Centers, and Black Student Union student organization in some capacity. Literature on the three areas focuses on the history of and ongoing struggle to exist, significance to campus life, and meaning in the lives of marginalized and minoritized communities. …

A Critical Interrogation Of The Mind, Brain, And Education Movement: Toward A Social Justice Paradigm, Bibinaz Pirayesh

LMU/LLS Theses and Dissertations

Much attention has been given to “bridging the gap” between research and practice since neuroscience research first made claim to its potential impact in classrooms. With the inception of Mind, Brain, and Education (MBE) as a new interdisciplinary field, an unprecedented opportunity to explore the educational implications of new research coming out of neuroscience has presented itself. And yet, the gap between research and practice persists while new problems arise as education looks to brain science for answers with ongoing social and academic difficulties faced by students. A critical bicultural methodology, grounded in a decolonizing interpretive approach, is utilized to …