Education Commons^™

Pathways To Teaching: African American Male Teens Explore Teaching As A Career, Margarita Bianco, Nancy Leech, Kara Mitchell Viesca

Nancy Leech

The need for African American male teachers is clear; however their pathway to teaching is in disrepair. This article shares research findings and a description of a pre-collegiate course designed to encourage high school students of color, including African American males, to explore teaching. More specifically, drawing from survey and interview data, the researchers examine factors that influence 11th and 12th grade African American males' (N = 5) consideration of a teaching career and explore the impact of a pre-collegiate pathway to teaching program, The results of this mixed methods study expose the complexity of effective recruitment while also demonstrating …

The Relationship Between A College Preparation Program And At-Risk Students' College Readiness, Jennifer Cates, Scott Schaefle

Scott Schaefle

This study evaluates the relationship between elements of a college preparation program and the college readiness of low-income and/or Latina/o students at the completion of 6 years of participation in the program. Hours of participation in tutoring, mentoring, advising, college campus visits, summer programs, and educational field trips are examined in relationship to students' college-track course completion and Preliminary SAT (PSAT) participation. In addition, the relationship between students' expectations for college and their ranking of program activities is examined. Results indicate that key program elements related to college readiness include advising, college campus visits, and college information through booklets and …

Responding To Linguistic Diversity, Nancy Commins

Nancy L. Commins

Second language learners arrive at every grade level with a variety of experiences and differing academic backgrounds. Responding to their learning needs means accommodating the entire range of students from monolingual English speakers to monolingual speakers of other languages, and a variety of bilingual profiles in between. This article discusses how schools adopt a "blue pathway" mindset for improving instruction for all learners. The blue pathway, which also leads to academic competence, represents best practice for second language learners--strategies and approaches that from the outset account for language proficiency and cultural diversity. Instruction on the blue pathway can be summed …

A Descriptive Study Of The Linguistic Abilities Of A Selected Group Of Low Achieving Hispanic Bilingual Students, Nancy Commins, Ofelia Miramontes

Nancy L. Commins

A study investigated the notion that bilingual students' low academic achievement may be due to semilingualism (having limited language skills) in each of the two languages, and the cognitive deficits that presumably result. The subjects were two boys and two girls from the fifth and sixth grades with low proficiency in either English or Spanish. Data were drawn from observations and audiotaping of natural and structured conversations and interviews were conducted with each family to provide information on the students' language performance both within and outside school. No evidence emerged that any subject mixed Spanish and English, but all code-switched …

Affirmative Action: History And Analysis, Dorothy Garrison-Wade, Chance Lewis

Dorothy Garrison-Wade

From its inception, affirmative action policies were created to improve the employment and/or educational opportunities for members of minority groups and women. Even today, however, the debate continues over the future of affirmative action. Proponents offer empirical evidence illustrating that affirmative action has been favorable in aiding minorities and/or women to achieve parity in seeking education at the most elite institutions in this country. This empirical evidence has focused on descriptive statistics such as increasing enrollment for minorities (NCES, 2001). Research supports that affirmative action promotes academic and social development for all students; diverse classrooms do not weaken student quality …

The Impact Of White Teachers On The Academic Achievement Of Black Students: An Exploratory Qualitative Analysis, Bruce Douglas, Chance Lewis, Adrian Douglas, Malcom Scott, Dorothy Garrison-Wade

Dorothy Garrison-Wade

In today's school systems, students of color, particularly in urban settings, represent the majority student populations (Lewis, Hancock, James, & Larke, in press). Interestingly, the educators--teachers and administrators--that comprise these settings are predominately White, and, in turn, the students of color commonly face pressures that students who do not share the racial and cultural background of the educators do not (Landsman & Lewis, 2006). This study on black student perceptions of their White teachers is grounded in Milner's (2006) theoretical assumptions, which focus on problems that White teachers commonly experience when teaching students of color, particularly African American students in …

The Effect Of Parents' Child-Rearing Attitudes On High School Students' English Learning Motivation And Achievement, Eun-Kyung Park, Tae-Young Kim

Dr. Tae-Young Kim (김태영, 金兌英)

Does Religious Behavior Predict Academic Success For English Learners?, Jeanmarie Hamilton Boone

Jeanmarie Hamilton Boone

This study examined the religious practices and behaviors of predominantly Hispanic high school English learners to determine whether their religious behaviors, such as attending church, enjoying church attendance and wearing religious symbols were associated academic achievement. In the sample of 126 primarily Christian students, religiosity was determined not to be associated with academic achievement.