Digital Commons Network^™

Reducing Food Scarcity: The Benefits Of Urban Farming, S.A. Claudell, Emilio Mejia

Journal of Nonprofit Innovation

Urban farming can enhance the lives of communities and help reduce food scarcity. This paper presents a conceptual prototype of an efficient urban farming community that can be scaled for a single apartment building or an entire community across all global geoeconomics regions, including densely populated cities and rural, developing towns and communities. When deployed in coordination with smart crop choices, local farm support, and efficient transportation then the result isn’t just sustainability, but also increasing fresh produce accessibility, optimizing nutritional value, eliminating the use of ‘forever chemicals’, reducing transportation costs, and fostering global environmental benefits.

Imagine Doris, who is …

Application Of Multicultural Literature In The Early Childhood Classroom, Deborah Wheeler, Jennifer Hill

Journal of English Learner Education

Culture equates to identity; therefore, the implementation of multicultural literature in the early childhood curriculum is an essential method for securing children’s concept of self and cultural identity. This qualitative study explored the implementation of multicultural literature in early childhood classrooms, and the research included questions pertaining to multicultural literature training, instructional methods, and barriers encountered. The purpose of the study was to answer questions regarding teachers use of multicultural literature in the classroom, how often teachers read multicultural literature and how teachers integrated multicultural literature into instruction. An additional question inquired about what multicultural books titles were teachers reading …

Language, Cultural Knowledge, And Privileged Practices: A Case Study Of Understandings That Shape Family Engagement For Parents Of Spanish-English Emergent Bilinguals, Alissa Blair

Journal of English Learner Education

This research examines the ways in which parents of Spanish-English emergent bilinguals perceive and navigate the implicit and explicit expectations for family engagement through analysis of contrasting case studies of focal students from two 4^th grade classrooms, one characterized by English-medium instruction and the other by a developmental bilingual program. One case sheds light on the language barriers that hampered parents’ participation in their children’s education at school, while the other case highlights discrepancies in the understandings of parental and teacher roles and expectations. Findings demonstrate that parents’ capacity to meet school-based expectations was constrained by assumptions about their …

Best Practices For English Learners With Disabilities In Us Schools – A Systematic Review, Samiratu Bashiru, Jennifer E. Smith

Journal of English Learner Education

This systematic review investigated best practices for enhancing academic achievement among English Learners with Disabilities (ELDs) in US schools. By examining 17 peer-reviewed articles and comparing them to the CEC 2014 Quality Indicators, the study identifies significant practices, including culturally responsive methods, technology integration, evidence-based strategies, addressing service delivery challenges, and improving assessment tools. This review has limitations related to inconsistent terminology and highlights the need for standardized language and continued research. It recommends integrating culturally responsive practices, leveraging technology, and refining inclusive assessment tools. This review provides educators, policymakers, and researchers insights, emphasizing ongoing teacher development and policy alignment …

"Our Students Vs. Their Students:" Perceptions Of Teachers In English Language Learning, Leah Day

Journal of English Learner Education

The purpose of the study was to understand the perceptions of teachers on English Language Learners and how this shapes the educational paths of students. Data was collected in the form of interviews with the participants. The interviews were guided by a set of questions that were designed to interrogate perceptions and experiences with regard to language learning in the context of one student. Interviews were recorded and transcribed and the data was coded inductively. This study does not seek to generalize beyond this context but can provide insight into similar experiences and perceptions of the English Language Learning process. …

L2 Investment In The Transnational Context: A Case Study Of Prc Scholar Students In Singapore, Chang Liu, Guangxiang Liu

Journal of English and Applied Linguistics

Despite growing research on mainland Chinese international students’ intercultural language learning and adjustment experiences in Anglophone countries, few studies have delved into these students’ socially constructed language learning practices as an essential component of their study-abroad journey, especially in Singapore which shares linguistic and cultural affinities with China. As such, building on Darvin and Norton’s (2015) theory of investment at the intersection of identity, capital, and ideology, this case study focuses on Chinese foreign talent students in Singapore and aims to understand how they invest in learning English as an additional language (L2) and assert their legitimate place in the …

When Leadership Meets A Vision Of Love And Justice: The Art Of Leading For Social Justice, Aaliyah Baker

The Journal of Values-Based Leadership

No abstract provided.

The Latino Cultural Center: Higher Education And The Importance Of Community, Kamilah Mercedes Valentín Díaz

Purdue Journal of Service-Learning and International Engagement

The Latino Cultural Center (LCC) at Purdue University is 1 of 2 in the state of Indiana, with the other housed at Indiana University. Choosing to pursue higher education has its challenges, but not everyone has access to the same resources or community support that helps make the process easier. The LCC, like the other cultural centers on campus, is vital in distributing resources that aid in student success. They work to create an inclusive environment for the entire campus community by fostering meaningful dialogue and cultural understanding of the Latino/e/x community. They aim to support Latino/e/x faculty and staff …

Making Space For Adolescents Of Refugee Background In Public Libraries, Danielle S. Dejonge

Culminating Experience Projects

Refugee adolescents go through multiple transitions that affect identity while settling in their new country of relocation. The ability to recognize the complexity of identity in a healthy way is fostered by safe spaces of belonging that encourage agency. Libraries, as spaces already effectively serving diverse populations including refugee youth, have the resources to be a safe space for these adolescents. One resource that has been trending in libraries is a makerspace. Makerspaces offer multimodal activities, whether they be arts-based or STEM-based, that not only encourage critical thought, but also allow for development of belonging and agency for healthy dynamic …

Math Vocabulary & Number Sense: Instructional Strategies For Upper Elementary English Learning Students In The Math Classroom, Matt J. Cavanaugh

Doctorate in Education

Recent studies show that English learning students are a growing population within the United States school system. Language barriers have been shown to negatively influence reading scores as well as math scores, and math scores are a predictor of future academic success in many subject areas. This qualitative action research study demonstrates the difficulties many upper-elementary English learning students have understanding number sense (numeracy) in a math classroom setting in Minnesota, United States. The purpose of this study was to explore whether intentional teaching of math vocabulary could alleviate the difficulties upper-elementary English learning students have in understanding, applying, and …

Digital Literacy For Older Adult English Language Learners, Talley Caruso

Master's Projects and Capstones

When essential services transition to digital platforms, individuals with limited digital proficiency, immigrant English Language Learners (ELLs), and older adults aged 65 and above face challenges accessing these resources, leading to potential exclusion.

The COVID-19 pandemic accelerated the shift to online interactions and services due to lockdown measures, reducing face-to-face interactions. This sudden transition left individuals without digital skills unable to access healthcare, essential services, and maintain connections with their support networks. Addressing this issue presents an opportunity to promote inclusivity, empowerment, and community engagement through targeted digital literacy training.

Digital literacy encompasses the ability to navigate technology such as …

Finding Golden Threads Of Commonality: An Interfaith Dialogue Sharing Experiences During Troubled Times, Vicki G. Mokuria, Diana Wandix-White, Aakash Chowkase, Vicki Mokuria

The Journal of Faith, Education, and Community

This interfaith dialogue conducted between three educator/scholars offers insights into how they navigated through the troubled times of COVID 19 and the summer of racial uprisings in 2020. The collaborative auto-ethnography presented in this paper helps us gain insights into how people of very different faiths, a Buddhist, Christian, and Hindu, found points of convergence as they openly discussed their challenges during those troubled times in our world.

Overcoming Foreign Language Speaking Anxiety: Practical Approaches In The Classroom, Sarah Day

Honors Projects

Foreign language speaking anxiety is a prevalent issue impacting language learners' confidence, participation, and overall language acquisition. With personal experiences as a language learner, a Spanish teacher in the United States, and an English teacher in Spain, I have observed how foreign language speaking anxiety affects learners from various demographics. Using a combined approach of personal observations, experiences as a language learner and teacher, and secondary research this project aims to address the primary sources of foreign language speaking anxiety among high school students and how both students and teachers can work to lessen the negative effects of foreign language …

Book Review Rural Education In America: What Works For Our Students, Teachers, And Communities, Sunshine L. Brosi, Marilyn M. Cuch, Spencer Spotted Elk, Julie Stevens, Gustavo A. Ovando-Montejo

Journal on Empowering Teaching Excellence

Access the online Pressbooks version of this article here.

Book review of Marietta, G. & S. Marietta. (2020). Rural Education in America, What works for our students, teachers, and communities, Harvard Education Press. Statewide faculty teaching in rural Utah review this book and focus on actions to meet the specific needs of their demographic of rural students in rural communities. The reviewer’s reflections on the book developed from a Spring 2022 Empowering Teaching Excellence Learning Circle led by the primary author.

The Effects Of The Esol Program On African American Vernacular Speaking Students Reading, Marquice Clark

All Dissertations

South Carolina’s public education system is broken. For the past several years, the State of South Carolina and the nation have somehow managed to do the nearly impossible. Both have produced more English Language Learning (ELL) students to be proficient in English Language Arts (ELA) (i.e., reading, writing, and usage) than native English speakers. The issue of low black performance on state and national standardized assessments has always been a cumbersome task for America's public school system. Although Black students comprise more than 30 percent of the total student population in America, more Limited English students are demonstrating a higher …

Non-Native English-Speaking Teachers' (Nnests) Identities And Ideologies On The U.S.-Mexico Border: A Case Study, Gonzalo Hugo Favela Camacho

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

With a world population of 7.8 billion people, English language learners' number 1.5 billion, globally (British Council, 2019). This requires a substantial English language teaching force. Notably, 80 percent of the estimated 15 million English teachers worldwide are Non-Native English-Speaking Teachers (NNESTs). Despite the demand for English language education, anti-NNEST stereotypes persist, challenging the prevalent belief that native speakers are inherently superior language instructors, regardless of their educational backgrounds. This study, grounded in the LangCrit theoretical framework (Crump, 2014), employs a qualitative case study research design to explore the professional experiences, identities, and language ideologies of five NNESTs in a …

The Santa Ana Youth Media Project: Ypar And Media Advocacy, Jorge F. Rodriguez

Education Faculty Articles and Research

The Santa Ana Youth Media Project (SAYMP) was born during the summer of 2019 and grew from a need, expressed by youth, for more critical media literacy that could further amplify and focus on narratives that reflect how youth navigate their personal, cultural-social, and economic environments. Our media projects consist of intentional participative research and journalistic designs that document stories using tools such as narrative inquiry, Youth Participatory Action Research (YPAR) and video/media production to visually capture the narratives of youth and community within the city of Santa Ana and its larger Orange County context. Our goal is to develop …

Impact Of Using Gagne’S Nine Events Of Instruction On Student’S Academic Achievement And Satisfaction In An Online English Course For French Speakers, Yara Olive Paterne Loua

<strong> Theses and Dissertations </strong>

This dissertation explored the effect of Gagne's nine events of instruction on student academic achievement and satisfaction during an online English class for French speakers. A group of 30 Facebook users from French-speaking countries in North and Sub-Saharan Africa participated in the research. They were divided randomly into two groups: one receiving traditional instruction through an asynchronous online lecture with PowerPoint presentation, and the other using instruction utilizing Gagne's nine events of instruction integrated with an LMS designed for this purpose. This mixed methods study explored several hypotheses related to academic achievement and satisfaction in the two groups. While the …

Emergent Literacy And Early Reading Skills In Chinese-Mandarin: Evidence From Kindergarten And First-Grade Children, Yingshan Huang

<strong> Theses and Dissertations </strong>

The development of emergent literacy, a precursor to formal reading, has been linked to subsequent conventional literacy skills in Chinese children. The factors important for acquiring Chinese reading skills, such as phonological and morphological awareness, have primarily been studied in primary school children rather than preschoolers. The complete picture of factors contributing to early reading skills in Mandarin-speaking Chinese preschool children remains unclear. Objectives: The aim of this study was to explore emergent literacy and early reading skills in preschool and early school-aged children and investigate the connections between them to address gaps in existing literature. Methodology: A cross-sectional design …

Teaching Phonics Mastery Through The Use Of Differentiated And Instructional Strategies, Ashley Honeyman

Theses/Capstones/Creative Projects

This capstone reports the effectiveness of using differentiated instructional and assessment strategies to improve student understanding in phonics mastery. Based on pretest data that analyzed understanding of short u consonant-vowel-consonant (CVC) words, phonics instruction was implemented to meet the needs of students in whole-group and small-group settings. This unit consisted of five whole-group lessons over short u blending and segmentation. In addition to the whole group learning, specific students were pulled for small-group intervention. The unit concluded with a post-assessment that tested student understanding on real and nonsense CVC words; these assessments were implemented to assess if the integration of …

The Impact Of The Migrant Education Program On The Children Of Seasonal Farmworkers, Lorrie Lynn M. Sizemore

Capstone Projects and Master's Theses

It has long been understood that the children of migrant workers are among the most vulnerable populations of students in the U.S. educational system. In response to this, the federal government created the Migrant Education Program in 1966 and in 1979 placed the program under the auspices of the U.S. Department of Education. But is the program achieving its aim of providing equity to these children and young adults? Finding the answer to that research question is the purpose of this senior capstone, which is to examine the impact of the Migrant Education Program on children of seasonal farm workers. …

Benefits Of Learning Without Homework For Middle School Students, Ashley Garcia Marquez

Capstone Projects and Master's Theses

The focus of this senior capstone is to examine the benefits of learning without homework for middle school students. The research draws on the experiences of teachers in Monterey County, who provide personal input and teaching philosophies on this topic. Throughout the use of the literature review, three teacher interviews, and fifty anonymous student surveys, the findings indicate that learning without homework is essential, and in-class workshops have a positive impact on middle school student's academic success. Thus, teachers should recognize that learning without homework and in-class workshops plays a vital role in educating the growing minds of middle school …

Self Portraits: How The Arts May Be The Key To Equitable And Authentic Engagement For Culturally And Linguistically Diverse Student Populations, Betsy Sostak

Dissertations

As the linguistic and cultural diversity across America’s classrooms steadily increases, educators are searching for ways to meet the needs of their students. The linguistic and cultural resources our students bring are a tremendous asset, yet our country has not been able to fully realize the potential of a diverse population. While multilingual students are often perceived to lack background knowledge, connections to school, and linguistic resources, the arts have the capacity to increase engagement, connect to diverse cultural backgrounds, and transcend language barriers. In this study, I explore the ways in which educational equity may be achieved to a …

“I Became Myself”: Exploring Cultural Learning Through Stories And Storytelling., Leah Halliday-Johnson

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Despite broad acknowledgement in education that culturally responsive teaching is essential to meeting learners’ needs, defining and operationalizing culturally responsive teaching remains a challenge. Along with being designed to meet the needs of students from diverse racial and cultural backgrounds who have traditionally been underserved, one commonly identified feature of culturally responsive teaching is building on students’ cultural assets to promote their learning. And while stories and storytelling are among the most common teaching tools, storytelling pedagogies tend to use stories to deliver content or to assess student learning. This dissertation explores collaborative story sharing as an approach to helping …

The Use Of Culturally Relevant Pedagogy In Esol Classes, Beth A. O. Haddinger

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation is organized into five distinct chapters addressing multiple aspects of learning and engagement as it relates to English Language Learners (ELLs) in the classroom. First, the problem of practice is identified and explored. We, as educators, must look closely at instructional and systemic issues, actionable elements, broader strategies of improvement, and leverage, which refers to the ability of a program to motivate students and to generate a sense of practical value in academics. The next aspect of this dissertation proposal reviews the existing research literature. This literature review focuses on the specific learning needs of ELL students. Specifically …

From Experiences To Beliefs: An Exploratory Case Study On Science Teachers’ Attitudes Towards Emergent Bilinguals, Yamil Ernesto Ruiz

All Dissertations

Emergent bilingual (EB) students in the US are those who are in the process of developing academic English proficiency. EBs are some of the fastest growing populations of students in American public schools. There exists a great deal of research geared towards developing both curricular resources and instructional strategies to best support EBs in the science classroom, however many of these professional development studies lament the lack of growth in terms of achievement in science learning outcomes of EBs. It is possible that due to a lack of transformation in their beliefs that the teachers in these studies do not …

Investigating College Students’ Second Language And Computer-Mediated Communication Anxieties In A Philippine Comprehensive University, Marikah Devon Forro, Rachelle Ballesteros-Lintao

Journal of English and Applied Linguistics

The issue of classroom language anxiety, considered a significant factor that hinders language learning, has received an increasing amount of research in the field of language education. In the Philippines, despite the abundance of literature regarding students' language anxiety, the shift in the learning environment due to the pandemic may have significantly affected the language anxiety experienced by learners. Hence, this study sought to investigate students' language and computer-mediated communication (CMC) anxieties as they communicate through technology during online classes. Subsequently, it was aimed at identifying the relationship between language anxiety and CMC anxiety. Employing Krashen's Theory of Affective Filter …

Challenges Encountered In The Implementation Of The National Literacy Acceleration Program (Nalap) In The Abura Asebu Kwamankese District, Ghana, Julius Arhin-Asamoah

Library Philosophy and Practice (e-journal)

The National Literacy Acceleration Program (NALAP) aims to enhance early grade primary school pupils' literacy rates, yet national evaluations reveal widespread deficiencies in reading proficiency in both the local language and English. This study examines challenges in implementing NALAP in the Abura Asebu Kwamankese district, Ghana, focusing on the teacher and resource-related issues. A mixed-methods sequential explanatory design was employed. The study covered 12 basic schools in the Abura Asebu Kwamankese district. In all, 61 respondents comprising 50 teachers and 11 circuit supervisors were involved in the study. The findings highlight teacher-related issues such as inadequate pedagogical practices, low motivation, …

Crossing Schools, Language, And Migration Borders: The Experiences Of Latinx And Caribbean Emergent Multilingual Mothers In K-12 Public Schools, Michelle Angelo-Rocha

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Anti-immigrant sentiment and "English-only" ideologies have a significant impact on educational policies, practices, and processes. This includes parental engagement, the quality of education and life opportunities offered to immigrant children, and families’ well-being. The purpose of this study was to examine how Latinx and Caribbean mothers in Florida with various immigration statuses (i.e., undocumented, asylum seekers, refugees, international students, and mixed-status) and often with limited financial resources attempt to steward their children through the U.S. educational system. The research question was: How did emergent multilingual immigrant mothers experience the K-12 education system in Florida? The sub-question was: How did schools …

Teacher Anxiety And Resilience As Socio-Ecological Experience: A Critical Ethnography Of Early-Career English As An Additional Language Teachers In Post-Pandemic Ontario, Canada, Aide Chen

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

This critical ethnographic study investigated the anxiety and resilience experiences of English as an Additional Language (EAL) teachers in Ontario, Canada during their early careers after the pandemic. The study drew on literature regarding the TESOL profession’s precarious nature, resilience and anxiety concepts, pandemic impacts on language education, and debates on native-speakerism. It employed four-level theoretical frameworks, including the theories of critical praxis (Freire, 1970), reflexivity (Byrd Clark, 2020), ecological systems (Bronfenbrenner,1979), and the community of practice (Lave & Wenger, 1991) for its design and implementation. Four pre-service and three in-service English language teachers participated, providing weekly reflective journals for …