Bilingual, Multilingual, and Multicultural Education Commons^™

A Testimonio Reclaiming Acceptance Of My Esl Experience: Trauma, Tex-Mex And Third Space, Cinthia E. Bernal

Theses and Dissertations

Language is a tool that brings all of us together, yet at the same time it also sets us apart. For many of us, it is important to be bilingual and biliterate, but for others, bilingualism is something that is pulling this country apart. Many people, after all, view Spanish as a powerful language that can harm this country, a language that has motivated people to attempt to make English the only language. Ana Celia Zentella tell us “Latina/os, who also have a long history in the United States and became the largest minority in the nation in 2003, are …

Language Learning And Metacognition: An Intervention To Improve Language Classrooms, Rebecca Elise Knoph

Graduate Theses/Dissertations

In the USA, the trend of increase in foreign language enrollments at the college level has suddenly begun to decline since 2009, despite the notion that learning multiple languages is becoming essential for effectively communicating with others from diverse native language backgrounds. This new decline may be due in part to inefficient and outdated foreign language courses. The current study examined the effect of how we assess our current knowledge and learning techniques (metacognition) on educational outcomes in hopes to improve the effectiveness of the university classrooms. College students were exposed to new metacognitive strategies that could benefit their language …

Facing Diversity In Early Childhood Education: Teachers’ Perceptions, Beliefs, And Teaching Practices Of Anti-Bias Education In Korea, Yerim Hong

Graduate Theses/Dissertations

The changing composition of early childhood classrooms challenges teachers to be more responsive to the diverse needs of all children. This study explores the challenges and successes early childhood teachers experience with facing diversity in their classrooms. The purpose of this qualitative interview study was to investigate kindergarten teachers’ perceptions, beliefs, and teaching practices concerning anti-bias education in Seoul, South Korea. There were two groups of in-service kindergarten teachers, four teachers in each group, who participated in one-on-one interviews with structured and open-ended questions. The teachers in one group had more experience with teaching in diverse classroom settings than the …

Music, Politics, And Sociality: Ethnic Tensions And The Performance Of Gikuyu Nationalism, Peter Njagi Mwangi

Foreign Languages & Literatures ETDs

This thesis examines how some selected Gikuyu popular music propagates ethnic tensions in Kenya by promoting Gikuyu nationalism at the expense of Kenyan nationalism. This music derives its themes from the historical period of the Mau Mau armed struggle against British colonists and connects this struggle with everyday experiences of the Gikuyu people. Memory and the performance of everyday life in this music solidifies the Gikuyu community as tied to a common destiny and distances other Kenyan communities from this destiny. The music consolidates Gikuyu ethnic nationalism and authenticates the position of the community as superior and a dominant force …

Letters From Spice, Ashley Huizinga

Student Work

"From now on, I expect the unexpected. The internet doesn’t have all the answers."

Posting about ­­­­­­­­one student's cross-cultural experience from In All Things - an online journal for critical reflection on faith, culture, art, and every ordinary-yet-graced square inch of God’s creation.

http://inallthings.org/letters-from-spice/

Oral History: John Bartosiewicz

Zycie w Ameryce: A Collection of Polish-American Oral Histories

This conversation is an oral history interview with a former member of Worcester’s Polish-American community. The interview touches on a variety of aspects of life in the community, from school and parish life, to Polishness and the significance of language, and the effects of suburbanization.

Interview keywords: St. Mary’s, church / parish, all Polish, PNI, women’s guild, basketball, immigrant, Polishness, language, John Paul II, I-290, suburbs.

Multilingual Literacies: Invisible Representation Of Literacy In A Rural Classroom, Lydiah Kananu Kiramba

Department of Teaching, Learning, and Teacher Education: Faculty Publications

In many countries, educational policies typically mandate school activities that promote a homogeneous and narrow range of academic literacies for all learners despite the diverse nature of human learning. This ethnographic case study examines how a 12-year-old Kenyan fourth-grade student performing below average on all standardized tests used multiple invisible literacies while documenting his knowledge and life experiences in a rural context. Invisible literacies are covert meaning- making literacy practices that are not privileged in the classroom. Examination of these practices shows a convergence between school and home literacies, suggesting a need for education stakeholders to identify literacies that are …

Translanguaging Supports Reading With Deaf Adult Bilinguals: A Qualitative Approach, Dan Hoffman, Ju-Lee Wolsey, Jean Andrews, Diane Clark

The Qualitative Report

Translanguaging is a pedagogical theory and an approach to teaching language. It conceptualizes the dynamic ways in which bilinguals use their linguistic repertoire and language practices in both languages for learning, meaning-making, reading, and writing. This study reports on the results of a qualitative study using Grounded Theory. The research question posed was, “what insights do bilingual Deaf readers provide regarding their metalinguistic processes and reading strategies used during translanguaging? To answer this question, responses were gathered from Deaf adults who were interviewed on their language and literacy histories. Further, they were queried about their reading comprehension practices using translanguaging. …

Oral History: Richard Lewandowski

Zycie w Ameryce: A Collection of Polish-American Oral Histories

This conversation is an oral history interview with a former member of Worcester’s Polish-American community. The interview discusses much about the Polish-American experience, from the Polish diaspora, the effects of I-290 and discrimination on the community in Worcester, as well as the effect of global events such as the rise of Solidarity on the Worcester parish.

Interview keywords: St. Mary’s, English, displaced people, I-290, Polish-American parish, Solidarity, Polishness, John Paul II, discrimination, education, Church

A Portrait In Black And White: An Analysis Of Race In The Adult Education Classroom, Tealia N. Deberry

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Adult education is a reciprocal relationship between adult learners and adult education practitioners. As such, it is essential to understand the experiences of adult educators and adult education practitioners as they teach adults. This study focuses on how ideas about race and racism are examined in the graduate-level classroom and the adult learners’ experience as they focus on subject matter that challenges their assumptions and forces them to create new understandings about race. This study examines, through the portraiture methodology, the experiences of a White researcher and the adult learners engaging in dialogues about race in a CRT course.

The …

Oral History: ​Carol Fredette

Zycie w Ameryce: A Collection of Polish-American Oral Histories

This conversation is an oral history interview with a former teacher at the Polish-American high school in Worcester, Saint Mary’s. The interviewee is not Polish, but of Lebanese descent, so provides the point of view of someone who came from outside the community yet still became a part of it. The interview touches on the rising importance of the English language, the Church’s centrality, ethnic parishes, school life, and high school basketball.

Interview keywords: English, ethnic parish, church, nun, club, basketball

Functions, Forms, And Accessibility Of English As A Second Language Courses In South-Central Kentucky, Mollie Todd

Mahurin Honors College Capstone Experience/Thesis Projects

In the South-Central region of Kentucky there are several facilities that teach English as Second Language (ESL) courses. This thesis examines the forms and styles of these classes, as well as problems refugee students face in the classroom and the functions the classes may serve beyond the teaching of English. To accomplish this, I used anthropological field work methods, including semi-structured interviews with local ESL teachers, volunteers, and professionals in refugee services and participant observation. I will focus on the interviews I have conducted; what content has been collected, structure of the interviews, and what questions were asked. This paper …

A Pedagogy Of Care For Adolescent English Learners: A Formative Experiment, Mary Amanda Stewart, Alexandra Babino, Katie Walker

TAPESTRY

In the case of educators of adolescents in the dynamic process of English acquisition, it is our goal to increase the fulfillment and success of the students we are privileged to serve through nurturing their academic, emotional, personal, social, and civic development. It is, therefore, essential that educators understand the implementation and impact of teaching through a framework of care.

Oral History: Anonymous 1

Zycie w Ameryce: A Collection of Polish-American Oral Histories

This conversation is an oral history interview with a longtime member of Worcester’s Polish-American community. The interview discusses aspects of community life, the neighborhood’s ethnic composition, as well as the effect of I-290 on the neighborhood.

Interview keywords: festivals, non-Polish, White Eagle Club, PNA, PNI, Booster’s, crime, expressway, Polish language

Oral History: Irene Rojcewicz

Zycie w Ameryce: A Collection of Polish-American Oral Histories

This conversation is an oral history interview with a longtime member of Worcester’s Polish-American community. The interview discusses aspects of life in the parish of Czestochowa, from festivals to clubs, to tensions within the diocese, as well as trips organized by the parish to travel to Poland.

Interview keywords: festivals, clubs, English, tension, Poland, John Paul II.

Oral History: Charlene Zimkiewicz

Zycie w Ameryce: A Collection of Polish-American Oral Histories

This conversation is an oral history interview with a longtime member of Worcester’s Polish-American community. This interview touches on difficulties the parish faced, tensions between different groups, school life, and the transition from an ethnic community to a public college.

Interview keywords: ethnic communities, festivals, Irish, fire, I-290, White Eagle Club, basketball, languages, college, immigrants, universal, June Show.

If Not Us Then Who? Exploring The Role Of Hbcus In Increasing Black Student Engagement In Study Abroad, Megan Covington

College Student Affairs Leadership

Black students are alarmingly underrepresented in participation in study abroad experiences. The reasons for this vary, but are most often consists of barriers, such as financial constraints, lack of support from family, and fear of racial discrimination. Historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs) are regarded as sanctuaries for Black students with emphasis on their commitment to providing low-income Black students with positive and nurturing educational experiences. As such, HBCUs are believed to be positioned to assist in overcoming the barriers to participation in study abroad for Black students. However, because they receive significantly less resources, they are limited in their …

Latino Mothers’ Responsiveness And Bilingual Language Development In Young Children From 24 Months To 36 Months, Rica Ramirez

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This longitudinal study examined the role maternal responsiveness had on shaping Spanish and English language development in bilingual two year-old children. Because children who are bilingual language learners are oftentimes coming from low socioeconomic families it is essential that we investigate the ways in which they develop language in order to better serve this population. Maternal responsiveness is one source in which we can examine early language development of young bilingual children. Eight Latino mother-child dyads were observed and assessed at three time points. Each observation was coded for maternal responsive behaviors. Regression and multilevel modeling was used in order …

Benchmarks Of Equality? School-Wide Positive Behavior Interventions And Supports And School Discipline Risk And Disparities For Black And Hispanic Students, Christopher M. Barclay

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

In U.S. schools, Black and Hispanic youth receive discipline in the form of office discipline referrals and out-of-school suspensions at a rate greater than their White peers. Contributing factors to this “discipline gap” may be found across a number of ecological variables. Therefore, multifaceted and systemic interventions such as school-wide positive behavior interventions and supports (SWPBIS) should be evaluated for their effectiveness in producing more equitable school discipline rates. In light of mixed evidence for the relationship of SWPBIS with discipline equity, the purpose of this study was to examine the merits of five critical elements of SWPBIS for reducing …

Freshman Student Perception Of Institutional Engagement Strategies, Donald J. Comi

CUP Ed.D. Dissertations

Technology, socio-economic disparities, and an increasingly diverse population base have changed the nature of American communities and thus the educational and occupational landscape. Access to higher education is functionally the gatekeeper for technical and professional careers. The gap between the number of students starting a four-year degree and the number completing a degree is discouraging. As a student transitions to college, many factors influence personal resiliency. Familial support, pre-college preparation, peer-to-peer relationships, and institutional connection all influence a student’s resiliency. However, higher education’s traditional engagement and transitional programming does not always engender connection nor promote academic success. This qualitative case …