Education Commons^™

“We Take Crises And We Make Them Work”: Platicas And Testimonios Of Undocumented Latina/O/X College Students To Engage In Critical Race Feminista Praxis, Fernando Villalpando

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

Undocumented Latinx college students have experienced and continue to experience challenges to earn their American dream (Pentón, Herrera & Obregón, 2018). Their aspirations and resiliency are facing one of the biggest challenges yet with the rhetoric and actions of the Trump Administration. These actions may have major implications on their journey through higher education and society. In California alone there are approximately 38,000 undocumented college students who could be in jeopardy of their future, and the implications of the current presidency’s actions could have enormous impacts on their lives (Gonzáles, 2009). By wanting to rescind Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals …

Composing From The Margins: The Breaking Of Writing Barriers, Empowering Voices & Broadening The Work Of Feminist Composition Studies, Jasmin Salgado

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

The concept of identity politics within Composition Studies acknowledge how a writer’s social identity (race, gender, sexuality, disabilities, etc.) influences their writing style and shapes their language. Understanding the relationship between social identity and writing practices means recognizing the diverse perspectives writers bring to the writing classroom. In alignment with this perspective, feminist composition studies emphasize the importance of centering marginalized voices and creating inclusive learning environments where students can safely express their identities through writing. However, research reveals that diverse perspectives haven’t always been welcomed in academic spaces. Feminist compositionists unveil how discourse around writing conventions and language norms …

Cezzartt: Building Community Through The Arts, Cesar Aguiar

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

In this project, I propose Building Community through the Arts in San Bernardino California. In the recent decade, the city of San Bernardino has lost so much of its motivation and dedication to care for the art community. The local art community has always been present, however, overseen by the lack of resources and efforts in bringing the art community back to life through events, art shows, gatherings, or awareness within the city. The purpose of this project was to educate and bring awareness to the city and its people regarding the forgotten art community in the city of San …

From The Lens Of (In)Visibility: A Photovoice Inquiry Into How Community Colleges Can Advance Filipino/A/X American Student Resilience, Rangel Velez Zarate

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

The dearth of research on Filipino/a/x American (FilAm) community college students perpetuates the narrative that they are regarded as “invisible,” receiving limited academic and social support. The outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic and the subsequent violence and discrimination against Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders (AAPI) has exacerbated the already distressing academic and racialized experiences of FilAm students.

In this qualitative study, nine FilAm students who attended a community college in the Western United States participated in an online photovoice project which visualized their personal reflections and specific academic needs through digital photos and written narratives. Findings from this study indicated …

Tblt: Authentic Tasks Designed For Second-Language Learners, Salma Ahmad Khan

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

Thesis proposal structure: My thesis, which will be an alternative style thesis, will be organized as follows: I will define what TBLT is in my own words and how scholars define this term 2.) I will review research other scholars have done on TBLT 3.) .) I will describe the class I intend to teach, including the texts assigned, writing projects, and supporting TBLT tasks.

Language Ideologies In First Year Composition Textbooks, Joanna Clevenger

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

This thesis examines how standard language ideologies are perpetuated in the five most frequently assigned first year composition textbooks from four higher education institutions in Southern California’s Inland Empire. Standard language ideologies position one variation of a language as superior, correct, appropriate and the normal variation of a language which everyone should be able to speak. Using Critical Discourse Analysis, the five textbooks were analyzed in order to uncover the embedded power and hegemony over women, people of color, and those from a lower socioeconomic status which are prevalent throughout society because they are unchallenged and widely accepted as the …

Barriers To The Use Of Palliative And Hospice Care Among The Latino Population, Diana Ramirez

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

Patients suffering from irreversible and terminal illnesses may benefit from the services provided by Palliative and Hospice Care to control any symptom burden and assist in navigating complex medical decisions. Many patients may express hesitation in accepting and enrolling to this service due to misconceptions. Language barriers may add an additional layer of complexity. This study explored the challenges Palliative Care providers encounter when introducing concept of hospice to Spanish-speaking patients their families for the first time. This study implemented qualitative research methods by using semi-structured one-on-one interviews. Ten members of an In-patient Palliative Care Team at a University Hospital …

Improving Veteran Access; Status Of Operations Of The United States Department Of Veteran Affairs Work-Study Program, Kirk Allen

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

The usage status of The U.S. Department Veterans Affairs Work-Study Program is examined. Beneficiary numbers from the Global, Unites States, State, and Local/County perspective are reviewed. While of essential value, the program suffers from a lack of scholarly research and government oversight, and is further hindered by restrictive administrative rules lived first-hand. Research suggests that the program is operating outside of accountability to the taxpayer, presents as unnecessarily/overly-restrictive in accessibility, and is underutilized. The program appears to not be serving all veterans to full potential.

The Work-Study Program is codified in Veterans Benefits', Title 38 United States Code, Part III, …

Enhancing The Relationship Between Students And Teachers In A Socially Distanced World By Humanizing Online Education: A Guide For Higher Education Instructors, Gilma Linette Ramirez Reyes

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

To maintain and continue to build long-lasting professional, educational, and personal relationships, this project provides a formal academic way of teaching for instructors, but it also that reflects what the heart of teaching should be about. It shows how instructors can facilitate care and demonstrate genuine positive intentions to their students when facilitating learning in an online environment. This goes beyond the only course content materials presented and moves to an educational experience that is cultivated through the student-instructor community.

The humanizing approach to online instruction for this project is defined as the center of communication and presence which includes …

Reframing The Pedagogical Underpinnings Of To Kill A Mockingbird: Queering A High School Text, Hovsep Hovannesian

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

Given the current climate for social and political change in relation to identity and being, traditional high school texts like To Kill A Mockingbird are being rejected as degrading, out of touch, and even regressive and are being taken off the pedagogical shelf. This article pushes back on this outlook by suggesting that a more critical approach to such texts can make them not only useful but enlightening for the high school population asked to read them. Specifically, by proposing that high school pedagogy apply the foundations and frameworks of critical, identity-focused theories, like queer theory, to traditional high school …

Kinesthetic Language: A Dialect Of Kinesics, Terrill Suzanne Corletto

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

Human communication requires the disciplines regarding physical fitness, codified language, and the performing arts to overlap, and exist symbiotically. Within the realm of artistic performance, the three disciplines working together deliver a deliberate message in a way unique to performing artists. The general tendency to compartmentalize sports, communication, and the performing arts into their pigeonhole categories of Kinesiology, Linguistics, and Theatre Arts is impractical, particularly for performing artists simply because all of the disciplines are mutually dependent in the context of all kinesthetic communications.

The purpose of this paper is to define and discuss several concepts and the ways in …

Graduate School Awareness For First-Generation Latinas: Cracking The Glass Ceiling - A Validation Study, Deborah D. Grijalva

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

At this time, the Latinx population is the fastest-growing population in the United States. Latinas account for one in five women in the United States, and by 2060 Latinas will likely make up one-third of the nation’s females. Education is the foundation for both personal and economic well-being, especially as the job market continues to demand higher levels of educational attainment. The Latinx population continues to make up a large portion of the workforce. Latinas’ attendance and admission rates at the graduate level are low. Studies have found that Latinas have obtained the lowest percentage of graduate degrees compared to …

Revolución De Identidad: An Autoethnography On Spanish Heritage Language & Identity, Cristina Velazquez

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

This autoethnography narrative examines my journey as a first-generation Mexican immigrant woman from birth, through completion of the doctorate degree at California State University, San Bernardino. The purpose in writing this autoethnography is to present a personalized account of my experiences growing up, in communicating between two languages, the structural and personal motivators behind maintaining a heritage language (Spanish), and to reflect, in my experience, how I have negotiated with multiple social identities, including ethnic, academic, and bilingual identities. In this self-study, I bring the reader closer to Mexican-American identity, language, and culture. Specifically, this qualitative analysis of Spanish Heritage …

English Language Learners In K-12 Classrooms: Problems, Recommendations And Possibilities, Trisha Henderson

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

Since California is the state with the highest number of English Language Learner (ELL) students in the nation (Abedi and Levine, 2013; Estrada, 2014), there is clearly a need for what Abedi and Levine (2013) call "accommodation" in educating ELLs in K-12 classrooms. This paper is an attempt to synthesize the current scholarship surrounding K-12 educational practices of ELLs nationally, but with special emphasis on key states: California and Arizona. It begins by describing the achievement gap between the growing number of ELLs and their native English speaking peers (NSP). The paper will first discuss possible reasons for this achievement …

A Communication Guide For Ex-Offenders, Richard Anthony Contreras

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

Incarceration rates and the release rate of ex-offenders into the community are both increasing. Studies have shown, on a consistent basis, that, while incarcerated, ex-offenders experience lower literacy levels than the general population, suffer emotional and mental distress from a harsh prison life, and suffer from the negative effects of public perception. Ex-offender anger abounds. These factors interfere with an inmate’s ability to communicate effectively. Notwithstanding, upon release from custody, how do we help such ex-offenders communicate? Many handbooks exist to help former inmates. However, the vast majority only offer assistance with locating government social services agencies, obtaining documents, and …

Correctional Officers’ Perceptions And Attitudes Toward Mental Health Within The Prison System, Alexandra Rose Serafini

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

This research explored correction officers’ perceptions and attitudes in relation to inmates with mental health issues. In a qualitative fashion, semi-structured interviews were conducted with five correction officers in Southern California (N = 5) during the Winter 2018 Quarter. Using thematic analysis, this study identified six major themes from the interview data: mental health has remained a prominent issue within the prison population; correction officers were fairly knowledgeable about mental health; correction officers perceived themselves as having to play a limited role in the rehabilitation of inmates with mental health problems; constant prompts in daily activities and medication management were …

John Spaghotte, Peter C. Schuler

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

Author Peter Schuler discusses his thoughts on how ideas of creativity, literature, and pedagogy helped to develop into his first novel, John Spaghotte of Crumb. Schuler is a native of the Coachella Valley in Southern California and writes from a middle-class appreciation of working and living in an area where everything is catered to the wealthy class. Through personal injury and his experience in undergraduate and graduate studies he fought to develop a healthy critical mind and a grasp as to the true nature of identity. As a result, his riveting debut novel about a young, nerdy California version …

A Dream In Limbo: The Challenge Among Undocumented Latino College Students, Liset Salcedo, Aleena Maria Vargas

Theses Digitization Project

The purpose of this project was to examine the proposed Dream Act legislation and gain awareness into the challenges among undocumented Latino college students. Undocumented college students are foreign nationals who illegally arrived in the United States and continue to reside in the United States without legal documentation. The undocumented status of Latino students continues to be an ongoing political debate in America.

Cultural Arts And Diversity: Rainbow Multicultural Theater Troupe, A History And Education Model, Maria Antoinette Olivo

Theses Digitization Project

This study will explore ethnic and cultural theater history offering a point of view of theater from the African American, Chicano Latino American, Asian American, and Native American experience; as well as a view by international theater artists who influence many artists and educators of color, and who influence cultural arts and diversity programs. information about student persistence and perseverance in attaining and education is explored ans evidence supporting the notion that cultural arts and diversity programs do in fact help students to achieve their goals.

Exploring The Essence Of Trust Through The Lived Experiences Of Jazz Educators, John Newell Canfield

Theses Digitization Project

The purpose of this phenomenological study is to contribute to the body of knowledge on trust, educational leadership, and jazz by exploring the lived experiences of jazz educators with regard to the phenomenon of trust in the educational environment.

Exploring Bullying In Elementary School Using Theatre In Education Techniques And Agusto Boal's Forum Theatre, Andrea Marie Arealo Poblete

Theses Digitization Project

The basis of this project was to create a workshop to using theatre in eduction (TIE) techniques and Augusto Boal's forum theatre in order to open discussions about bullying in elementary school. Using these techniques in the workshop gave the students a clearer idea of the different roles being discussed: the bully, the bullied, and the bystander.

Script-Based Reading Lessons And Socialized Language Usage, Joseph James Spencer

Theses Digitization Project

This study focuses in particular on the connections students make to their reading as seen through contextualized language usage. Many educators and curriculum developers suggest that using these new script-based curriculum will help teachers systematize and close gaps in teaching and learning. If unwritten teacher questions and statements are used to redirect students' comprehension about texts occur during the reading lesson, these will be described and analyzed for their effects on the lesson goals and objectives.

Theatre Across The Curriculum: Playing A Role In Multicultural Identity, Literacy Acquisition, Special Education, And Beyond, Fergus James Loughnane

Theses Digitization Project

The purpose of this thesis is to examine the benefits of theatre and theatrical practices across the curriculum. it is a counter weight to the pervasive argument that theatre does not offer adequate training and prospects to our students. Theatrical practices have been show to dramatically improve literacy acquisition by reinforcing the lesson.

Musical Linguistics: How Music And Artistic Creativity When Delivered As A Linguistic Practice, Help Students Master Academic Skills In English Language Arts, Cynthyny Ann Lebo

Theses Digitization Project

This Masters project consists of two elements: 1) an integrated after-school program to improve student English language reading and academic outcomes for third graders' vocabulary development by incorporating music, artistic creativity and linguistics; 2) a pilot sample curriculum that demonstrates the approach for building student comprehension through musical theater and Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) content experiences. Called "Water Buddy", this is an after-school program uses singing, dancing, writing, and play to build reading and vocabulary skills. The goal is to improve learner academic outcomes by mastering the elemental building blocks of words, letters, symbols by making memorable the …

Thunder Rock: The Play, And Enriching The High School Curriculum, Jason William Bayless

Theses Digitization Project

This thesis is a position paper developing an argument for the advancement of the play Thunder Rock, by Robert Ardrey, into consideration for the California Reading List for Public High Schools. To support the validity of the argument the thesis explores three key elements: the content of the play itself; connections to the California Content Standards for California Public Schools; as well as related instructional methods appropriate to the task of teaching the play. The goal is to develop in this thesis not only an argument for the inclusion of Thunder Rock into the California Reading List, but also create …

Learning Through Literature Versus Scripted Lessons, Leticia Aviles-Parsons

Theses Digitization Project

The purpose of this project was to create a guide for planning literature lessons connected to the state mandated curriculum, including today's standards for a fifth grade class and the recently adapted Common Core Standards in Language Arts. This project explains the reading comprehension problems that students in elementary school are facing, especially English learners.

Pass The Roles Please, Dana Christy Klopping

Theses Digitization Project

This thesis project is a study of the process and development of a Career Development Creative Drama unit for first grade students which any teacher can reapply in their own classroom. The goal of this project was to create and polish a program which teachers may use in the classroom to benefit their students. This interactive and creative platform enhanced a career development program for early education students.

A Special Dvd Homework Project To Assist At-Risk Students With Reading Practice, Mary Kathleen Kronemeyer

Theses Digitization Project

The purpose of this project was designed to give students and their family's additional support in language arts through a technologically facilitated means to review the skills and strategies that are covered in one theme of the first grade Houghton Mifflin Reading Program. This project provides this additional instruction via a DVD which models ways for the students to practice spelling, practice sight words, reinforce the grammar shills of nouns and verbs and review definitions of vocabulary words.

A Critical Discourse Analysis Of Language Policy In California, Steven Gomez

Theses Digitization Project

This thesis aims to investigate the issues surrounding California's Proposition 227, an important language policy passed in June of 1998 which drastically limited bilingual education. This proposition requires that all public school systems be in English only. Using a method known as Critical Discourse Analysis, this study exposes the underlying bias embedded in the discourse of newspaper articles from: the Los Angeles Times, the Orange County Register, and the Sacramento Bee. After analyzing articles from these newspapers various themes emerged which indicated that each newspaper adhered to either assimilationists' position which is conservative, or a pluralist position which is backed …

Theatre In Education: A Cyber Bullying Prevention Curriculum, Jonathan Douglas Moline

Theses Digitization Project

The purpose of this project is to provide teaching tools that include a two-session curriculum with educational materials for high school teachers on cyber bullying prevention. This project provides tools and curriculum materials to high school teachers on cyber bullying prevention using applied, interactiive, and conflict resolution theatre techniques as the main teaching method.