Education Commons^™

Bridging The Gap Between Teacher Efficacy And Culturally Responsive Pedagogy In The Private School World Language Classrooms, Cyrielle Maerten Anthony

Graduate Student Dissertations, Theses, Capstones, and Portfolios

The world language curriculum is not representative of the diversity of the world and therefore, not preparing students to face a culturally diverse work environment. There is a need to build an intentional curriculum about diversity and inclusivity in the world language curriculum and the sense of belonging and the impact on students’ outcomes. Considering that the majority of teachers in Independent private schools are not Black, Indigenous, People of Color (BIPOC) faculty members, there is a need to increase the number of BIPOC students in Advanced Placement and International Baccalaureate level world language courses and decrease the underrepresentation by …

Muslim Women: A Phenomenological Study Of The Effects Of Identity On Pursuing Higher Education, Rafael E. Harley

Graduate Student Dissertations, Theses, Capstones, and Portfolios

The purpose of this study was to examine and explore the meanings, patterns, and essence of the lived experiences of Muslim women pursuing higher education, while developing a foundation for Muslim Women's Educational Identity Theory. The goal of the study was to develop a thorough and inclusive description of how identity formation affects the pursuit of higher education in order to increase awareness and develop programs that could improve the rate of pursuit of higher education for Muslim women. The importance of lessening gender bias amongst Muslims motivated this researcher to undertake this study. The research study involved a qualitative …

The Impact Of Politics On Education In Haiti: 1988-2008, Gertrude Joseph

Graduate Student Dissertations, Theses, Capstones, and Portfolios

Education in Haiti has changed dramatically since 1988 as a result of political and social instability. Haiti has also experienced the exodus of families and children to other countries due to the country's instability. Many administrators, teachers, and policy makers who do not understand the changing elements in Haiti and its educational structure are not able to meet the needs of students in Haiti or Haitian students who relocate in other countries.

The research explored the impact of turbulent political changes in Haiti on education from 1988 to 2008; this period encompasses the first democratic election in 1990 and the …

School Counselors' Strategies Supporting Vygotsky's Theory And Affecting Behavior Of Hispanic English Language Learners (Ell) With Adhd In Second Grade, Margarita Santamaria

Graduate Student Dissertations, Theses, Capstones, and Portfolios

This study is proposed due to the growing population of Hispanics and English Language Learners (ELL) in United States schools, the need for research on the prevalence of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) on Hispanic population, in particular on ELL students diagnosed with ADHD, and the privileged position of school counselors to assist ELL students with ADHD. The purpose of this qualitative, phenomenological study is to identify school counselors' strategies supporting Vygotsky's theory and affecting behavior of Hispanic English Language Learners (ELL) with ADHD in second grade. Guided in-depth interviews, will be utilized with ten school counselors (five English Speakers …

Motivation, Language Learning Strategies, And Course Performance Among English Speaking College Students Learning A Romance Language, Kathia Flemens

Graduate Student Dissertations, Theses, Capstones, and Portfolios

Only 8% of American college students study a foreign language (Christian, Johnson, Malone & Rifkin, 2003). Part of the reason stems from a decrease in foreign language requirements from four to two years at many secondary schools, thus reducing the number of students exposed to foreign language learning (Brecht & Rivers, 2000; Congressional Hearing Document, 2001). This creates a shortage of qualified human resources proficient in a second language at a time when an influx of immigration and globalization have created an increasing need to learn a foreign language (General Accounting Office, 2002). Meeting the human capital foreign language deficit …

Effects Of Functional Diversity Training, Using The Mbti Instrument, On Workgroup Performance, Dale S. Sugerman

Graduate Student Dissertations, Theses, Capstones, and Portfolios

Little empirical research has focused on the personality and behavioral differences of individuals assigned to work together in workgroups. This study found that providing functional diversity training to a workgroup, using the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator' (MBTI), positively impacted workgroup performance when compared with the workgroup performance of those who did not receive the same training.

Over the last few decades, organizations have shown great interest in the concept of using teams in the workplace. Employees who work side-by-side in the same unit are routinely referred to as being part of a team. Often, organizations put groups of individuals together in …

The Brazilian Telenovela "El Clon": An Analysis Of Viewers' Online Vicarious And Virtual Learning Experiences, Elizabeth Barbosa

Graduate Student Dissertations, Theses, Capstones, and Portfolios

This research involves investigating Brazilian telenovelas as a medium to disseminate knowledge about different cultures and customs. Through a qualitative content analysis this study examines messages posted in the "El Clon" telenovela-world forum with reference to the Muslim cultural theme explored by the telenovela.

The theoretical framework overarching this study is the combination of Bandura's social learning/cognitive theory and Freire's dialogical/participatory communication. In order to operationalize the study, a qualitative content analysis is undertaken utilizing the sub-dimension parasocial interaction model proposed by Sood & Rodgers (2000). The messages are analyzed in order to explore how forum participants engage in the …

Factors Which Affect The Attitudes Of Teachers Of English Language Learners Enrolled In Mainstream Classrooms, Gail Ingrid Hirschfield

Graduate Student Dissertations, Theses, Capstones, and Portfolios

Increased immigration to the United States over the past fifty years has led to a dramatic increase in enrollment of language minority students in schools throughout the United States. Federal and state laws mandate that public schools accommodate the unique needs of these linguistically and culturally diverse students. English language learners (ELLS) require academic and affective support from their teachers when they are included in mainstream classrooms.

Teachers' attitudes toward their students have been shown to be a predictor of student success. Teachers with positive attitudes are more likely to have received training and are also able to modify their …

Relationships Between Non-Linguistic Variables In Second Language Acquisition And The Attained English Language Proficiency Of Taiwanese University Students, Chihming Hsieh

Graduate Student Dissertations, Theses, Capstones, and Portfolios

Second language acquisition (SLA) research, the study of how people learn to communicate in a language other than their native language, encompasses a broad range of questions from a wide variety of perspectives. One of the most widely recognized facts about SLA was that some individuals are more successful in learning a second language than are others (Gass & Selinker, 2001). Students with the same initial linguistic abilities, who receive the same education, even in the same institution, often do not achieve the same linguistic competency levels at program completion (Dornyei, 1998). This phenomenon cannot be explained purely by linguistic …

A Comparison Of The Level Of Anxiety And The Degree Of Acculturation Among Immigrant Esol And Mainstreamed-Esol Students In A Public, Rural High School In South Florida, Herminio Flores-Mulero

Graduate Student Dissertations, Theses, Capstones, and Portfolios

The level of anxiety and the degree of acculturation of a group of immigrant Haitian and Hispanic students who are enrolled in an ESOL program in a public, rural high school in South Florida were researched. The level of anxiety and the degree of acculturation of a group of immigrant Haitian and Hispanic students exited from the ESOL program and enrolled in English language mainstream classes were also researched. The purpose of this empirical study was to determine if there is a relationship between anxiety and acculturation among immigrant secondary students by investigating the level of anxiety and the degree …

A Case Study Of Secondary School General Education Language Arts Teachers' Attitudes Concerning Teaching Mainstreamed English To Speakers Of Other Languages (Esol) Students, Aurora Francois

Graduate Student Dissertations, Theses, Capstones, and Portfolios

The purpose of this case study was to explore, through naturalistic inquiry, the events that contributed to general education language arts teachers' attitudes regarding teaching mainstreamed ESOL students. Four sources of data were utilized to analyze five indicators which were: a) previous educational experience, b) specific ESOL training, c) personal contact with diverse culture, d) prior contact with ESOL students and e) demographic characteristics. This study employed a purposeful sample and included eight high school general education language arts teachers. The study's methodology included a demographic questionnaire, a self-assessment checklist, multiple observations and in-depth interviews. Participants in this study displayed …

The Effects Of Hamilton's Power Writing Strategy On The Writing Test Scores Of Fourth-Grade Hispanic And Haitian Esol Students, Ann Elizabeth Jackman

Graduate Student Dissertations, Theses, Capstones, and Portfolios

The writing test scores of linguistically and culturally diverse students in Southeast Florida have been consistently lower than those of mainstream students. This quantitative, experimental study investigated the effects of the Power Writing (Hamilton, 1997) strategy on the writing test scores of fourth-grade Hispanic and Haitian ESOL students. Four null hypotheses were tested: (a) There is no significant difference between the pretest and posttest scores of the experimental group. (b) There is no significant difference between the posttest scores of the experimental and control groups. (c) There is no significant difference between the scores of the Hispanic and Haitian students. …