Education Commons^™

The Quest For Equity: Multicultural Education, Corina Lieu

Capstone Projects and Master's Theses

The focus issue addressed in this Capstone Project is multiculturalism in education. This is an important issue because students deserve an education that reflects their living experiences inside and outside of the classroom. An argument is made that the lack of multiculturalism in education could foster an environment in which students would not receive an education that is equitable. Considerations of the issue should include the perspectives of the principal of a public school, and three staff members. This group of participants provide deeper insights into multiculturalism within the classrooms. After interviewing an administrator and staff members, three different actions …

Incorporating Multiculturalism, Mayra Garcia

Capstone Projects and Master's Theses

This paper explores the importance of including multicultural awareness in school classrooms. Multiculturalism has been defined as the process of recognizing, understanding and appreciating cultures other than one's own. This study answers the following research questions, What is multiculturalism? Why is multiculturalism beneficial to students? How can teachers incorporate multiculturalism into classroom instruction? In a review of literature on the importance of incorporating multiculturalism, the research shows that there are many benefits and reasons to why multiculturalism should be incorporated in classrooms. This qualitative research study investigated the understanding of multiculturalism by a cohort of pre-service teachers through a survey …

Exploring Taiwanese Creative Arts Therapists' Professional Identity After Returning Home From Studying Abroad, Rhona Jung Jung Chang

Expressive Therapies Dissertations

This study aimed to document Taiwanese creative arts therapists' career experiences after studying abroad and returning home, and how they perceive their professional identity as creative arts therapists in Taiwan. This qualitative study explores the experience of eight female professional Taiwanese creative arts therapists, including two art therapists, two dance/movement therapists, two drama therapists, and two music therapists. Interviews were conducted, and the participants were asked about their personal experience of art-making, the practice of creative arts therapies in Taiwan, and the understanding and awareness of their professional identity.

Data from this study was gathered by the interviews' transcripts and …

Cuban Immigrants’ Experience With Acculturation And How They Cope In The United States, Lourdes Araujo

Dissertations

Objective: This research examines how Cuban immigrants experience cope and adapt to the United States. Cuban immigration is associated with specific stressors related to the immigration experience and the necessary process of acculturation and assimilation. These major stressors can result in mental health concerns among Cuban immigrants; however, no studies have examined how acculturation may influence Cuban immigrants’ coping skills and resultant mental health concerns. This unique study is the first to examine the coping skills Cuban immigrants use during acculturation and the effects of these skills on Cuban immigrants’ mental health. Methods: Seventeen participants completed a semistructured interview and …

Elementary School Teachers’ Perspectives And Practices Of Multicultural Education In Indonesia, Robby Anggriawan

Theses and Dissertations

The main purpose of the study was to investigate multiculturalism and multicultural education perspectives and practices of elementary school teachers in Indonesia. The research was designed as a qualitative case study which focused on seven elementary school teachers as study participants. In this study, semi-structured interviews are used to evaluate teachers’ understanding of culture as defined by Creshaw (1989, 2008) and multiculturalism concept by using four levels of understanding multiculturalism as defined by Nieto (1994, 2017). As well as elementary school teachers’ practices of multicultural education implementation as outlined by Banks (1999, 2019). The results of the study showed that …

Cultural Integration In Newly Formed Public-Private Partnership Organizations, Scotty O. Izevbigie

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) formed public-private partnerships (PPPs) with local and international private companies during the construction of the Port of Miami Tunnel (POMT) project. These PPPs had employees from different cultural backgrounds who brought new cultures, ideas, innovation, and experiences to their PPPs. The limited PPP literature did indicate that different cultures should be properly integrated to avoid challenges and conflicts in the new organization. If not properly managed and integrated, cultural conflict can create communication problems, increased employee dissatisfaction, higher turnover, and poor employee performance. Using Risberg's communication theoretical foundation, the purpose of this phenomenological study …

An Exploratory Study Of Acculturation Experiences Of Graduate Student Immigrants At The University Of San Francisco, Courtney Lamar

Master's Theses

This study explores the shared challenges during the acculturation process of graduate student immigrants pursuing higher education in the United States. 13 graduate student immigrants at the University of San Francisco discuss their experiences of cultural adjustment into U.S. culture. Through qualitative interviews and thematic analysis, this study seeks to understand the acculturation experiences of graduate student immigrants in the San Francisco Bay Area of the United States. This analysis is based on the individual-level experience examining attitudes and acculturation strategies in the dominant society. Analysis, possibly policy implication for institutions of higher education, and possible directions for future research …

Co-Creating Our Lives, Performing Our Multi-Cultural Worlds, Aidah Nalubowa

Theses and Dissertations

In his Foreword for Theatre and Migration (Cox 2014), director Peter Sellars writes, “None of us are the picture in our passports” (viii). Neither are we the person that we look or sound like at first glance or the first meeting. Rather, who we are is shaped by among other factors our environment and cultural upbringing. Because traditionally people from different places perform and participate in social and cultural events that are naturally “scripted” differently, we are so much more than the pictures and names we carry on our identification documents. Migration, Sellars continues, is “one of the most basic …

Intersecting Stories: Cultural Reflexivity, Digital Storytelling, And Personal Narratives In Language Teacher Education, Julie Vivienne Dell-Jones

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This narrative inquiry dissertation explores stories from three students over a two-year trajectory as they develop into language educators in diverse contexts. The study begins in a teacher education course focused on technology for language teaching in English as a second language (ESOL) and foreign language education (FLE) classrooms. As instructor, I implemented a digital storytelling (DS) project with the pedagogical goal of supporting the much-needed practice of reflexivity, and specifically, reflexivity of intercultural competence (IC) and culturally-responsive pedagogy (CRP). The DS, as an autoethnographic multimodal narrative activity, provided a creative outlet for undergraduate and master’s level students to explore …

Reflections Of Diverse Voices: A Narrative Study Exploring The Relationship Between Multicultural Dual Language Experiences And Cultural Competence, Helen M. Tinsley

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this qualitative, narrative inquiry was to explore and analyze the narrative stories of native English speaking adults who matriculated through a multicultural, dual language program from prekindergarten to 6th grade to understand the influence of the program on their lives, and the relationship between those experiences and their cultural competence. Their stories beginning with their initial experiences and early connections in the program were analyzed using multiple data analysis methods, including: thematic, structural, and theoretical analysis. I developed the Multicultural Interactive Competency Framework (MICF), which merged Vgotsky's sociocultural historical theory with an adaption of Sue's (2001) Multidimensional …

Heritage Language Education In South Korea: Challenges And Demands, Mihyun Jo

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

South Korea has long been considered one of the most homogeneous counties not only ethnically but also linguistically. However, over the past few years, it is rapidly becoming ethnically, culturally and linguistically diverse for the influx of foreigners and immigrants.
The purpose of this thesis to study how Korean society deals with the recent change to multicultural population of immigrants, especially in terms of heritage language education. This thesis will begin by providing background information of South Korea, and reviewing a great deal of resistance toward heritage language learning. Then, I will examine some benefits of the heritage language learning …

An Empirical Assessment Of Multicultural Education Programs In Reducing Islamophobia On A College Campus, Amin Asfari

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Anti-Muslim prejudice has increased precipitously since the attacks of September 11, 2001, including prejudicial effects related to socio-cultural differences on college campuses. The purpose of this quasi-experimental exploratory research was to understand the effectiveness of multicultural education programs (MEPs) in reducing anti-Muslim prejudice in higher education. Grounded in intergroup threat theory and frame analysis, it was hypothesized that students who are not engaged in multicultural affairs will perceive Muslims as more threatening and will therefore hold more prejudiced views than would students who active in multicultural affairs. The sample consisted of 125 respondents (N = 51 from a group participating …

A Critical Analysis Of Multiculturalism, Cultural Competence, And Cultural Humility: An Examination Of Potential Training Opportunities For Pre-Service Teachers, Elizabeth A. Nolan

Doctor of Education (EdD)

This dissertation is a critical analysis of the concepts of multiculturalism, cultural competence, and cultural humility. The intent is to examine the historical background of these concepts, the changing demographics of the United States that are forcing an assessment of the meaning of these terms (especially the frequently used notion of multiculturalism), and comparison of cultural competence and cultural humility. The dissertation also engages in a reflection on new possibilities and opportunities offered by a focus on cultural humility for pre-service teacher training.

Multiculturalism In United States Higher Education Institutions: The Lived Experiences Of Enrolled International Students, Loretta Arian Ragsdell

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Since 2006, international student enrollment in U.S. higher education institutions has increased significantly, which has precipitated an increase in the institutions' multiculturalism. A mechanism to facilitate the integration of students of different cultures within a multicultural institution would be valuable to fostering positive educational experiences for all students. The purpose of this phenomenological study was the inclusion of multiculturalism within U.S. higher education institutions. Banks' multiculturalism theory provided the study's conceptual framework. Six international students were interviewed, and their responses were analyzed to answer 2 research questions concerning the lived experiences of international students enrolled in U.S. higher education institutions …

Exploring Leadership In A Multicultural School, Sonia Amarisse Matthew

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The educational problem addressed in this study was the lack of empirical research of the effects of how principal leadership characteristics and style influence the culture of multicultural schools. This qualitative case study identified and explored the leadership strategies used by a reputedly successful principal of a multicultural school. A successful principal was the case being studied. The conceptual framework was anchored in Burns' transformational leadership theory. Three research questions focused on the principal's leadership characteristics, the participants' perceptions of how the principal applied the leadership style, and the influence of the principal's leadership style on school culture. A principal, …

Cross-Cultural Bridges : Closing The Gaps In Direct Services With Immigrant And Diverse Populations, Lucy Chen

Graduate Student Independent Studies

The shifting cultural, racial, ethnic, and linguistic makeup of the United States is expected to become more diverse in the coming decades. This has important implications for direct service professionals, including social workers and educators. An overview of culturally sensitive, responsive, and competent practices is provided for work with immigrant and diverse populations to assist professionals in the process of crossing cultural bridges, overcoming privilege, and building bridges.

Teaching Respect, Inclusion, And Acceptance In Ethnically And Culturally Diverse Early Childhood Classrooms, Romina S. Sapinoso

Master's Projects and Capstones

Given the increasingly diverse demographics of American public schools, it is necessary for teachers who are interested in exposing their students to concepts of inclusion, respect, and acceptance to have access to a resource guide and model for implementing a curriculum that is culturally and ethnically inclusive. This project sought to develop a resource guide for teachers of early childhood in schools to teach about inclusion, respect, and acceptance in a diverse classroom setting. This resource will be useful for teachers in grades Transitional Kindergarten, Kindergarten, first and second in creating a safe space to celebrate students’ differences and increase …

A Comparison Study Of Parents’ Perceptions Of Quality In Early Childhood Programs, Juanita Ortiz

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Research has demonstrated that high quality early childhood education (ECE) programs result in short and long-term benefits that are critical for children to reach their full potential and narrow the achievement gap. Parental involvement has been accepted as integral to quality ECE programs, and parental perception drives parental involvement. Perceptions and contributions of parents and caregivers including those who do not speak English have not been adequately addressed in the research. Furthermore, research has not addressed how parental perception regarding quality in ECE programs may vary according to whether their child has or does not have a disability.

This study …

A Curious Passport: The Impact Of World Language Immersion Education On Adult Alumni, Hannah Nicole Parks

Chancellor’s Honors Program Projects

No abstract provided.

An Assessment Of Diversity Competence Among College Seniors: An Exploratory Study, Lung-Chiuan Chiang

University of New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

In our increasingly diverse global workforce, both employers and institutions of higher learning want to know if colleges and universities equip their students with adequate cultural competence skills. Reliable instruments to measure cultural competence levels for a general student body are not widely available, however. In this report, a self-developed 33-item instrument was designed to assess college seniors’ cultural competence levels, including sub-scales for cultural awareness and cultural knowledge. An expert panel was selected to establish content validity. A pilot study was conducted to improve the design of survey format. The Cronbach’s alpha was .770 according to the reliability test. …

Muppets Abroad: Globalization Of Multiculturalism And The International Co-Productions Of Sesame Street, Julianna Carlson Palm

Master's Theses

In recent years globalization has been cited as the cause or force changing our world, making it more interdependent and "smaller" through new means of technology and communication. As such a force, globalization is seen as pervasive in all aspects of contemporary life. Sesame Street has been used as an educational tool in the United States since 1969 and since that time, the producers of the program have created a presence in various countries throughout the world, using the technology of television to communicate with preschool audiences. In particular in the last decade, new productions have begun and been funded …

A Descriptive Study Of Multicultural Sensitivity At Two Rural Higher Education Institution Settings Through A Survey Of Those Institutions' Faculty, Sumeeta Patnaik

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

The study examined the placement of faculty on the Continuum of Multicultural Sensitivity at two rural higher education institutions located in the Appalachian region, which includes the states of Maine, New York, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, North Carolina, and Georgia. This placement determined whether there were any significant differences among faculty members based on age, race, gender, income level, educational level, length of time at the institution, length of time in higher education and tenure. By measuring these differences along a continuum, the researcher was able to identify areas where faculty needed to improve their multicultural sensitivity and multicultural responsivity. The …

Factors Influencing The Institutionalization Of Diversity In Higher Education, Kelly S. Meier

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

To understand the impact of diversity in higher education, it is important to consider the critical role that diversity plays in the educational process. This requires a broader understanding of the influence diversity can have on the curricular, co-curricular, and interpersonal experience of a developing college student (Denson & Chang, 2009). Strategies for anchoring diversity as a core value or relating it to the inner workings of an institution are in demand (Chun & Evans, 2008). The purpose of this study was to identify highly actualized diversity initiatives and practices that can be replicated at other institutions meeting the sample …

Female North African-French Students In France: Narratives Of Educational Experiences, Donna L. Murray

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The study focused on the narratives of educational experiences of female students of North African heritage in France, and on their success as they see it in the French school system, which states that it is committed to diversity and promoting equal chances among students for academic success in the universities. The study will help to contribute to the growing research on students of immigrant origins and their successes (or lack thereof) in French school systems, asserting a vow to social diversity. I examined the current social educational issues that affect female ethnic minority students in France, as well as …

Classroom As Text: A Study Of The Integration Of Multiculturalism, Penny Marie Drake

Theses Digitization Project

No abstract provided.

A Process For Selecting Multi-Cultural Instructional Material, Edward E. Brown

All Graduate Projects

The purpose of this present study is to obtain data related to textbooks used by personnel within the Renton School District, i.e. teachers at all levels, librarians, Directors of Social Studies and Language Arts curriculums, Library Specialists, etc., perceptions of the multi-ethnic effectiveness of the Social Studies and Language Arts curriculum and to assess the discrepancies in perceptions of these curriculums.