Digital Commons Network^™

Culturally And Linguistically Relevant Content Area Instruction For Diverse Students With Learning Disabilities, Shaqwana Freeman-Green, Melissa Driver, Peishi Wang, Jessica Kamuru, Dia Jackson

Faculty Articles

Culturally and linguistically diverse (CLD) students comprise a substantial population of students with learning disabilities, and are historically disproportionately represented in spe- cial education. To effectively teach CLD students with learning disabilities, teachers should integrate evidence-based practices and culturally sustaining pedagogy in their practice. This article highlights several practical examples of culturally sustaining evidence-based practices across the content areas of mathematics, reading, and writing. Suggestions for practice and future research are presented in the article.

Lessons From The Past And Challenges For The Future: Inclusive Education For Students With Unique Needs, William Evans, Robert A. Gable, Amany Habib

Communication Disorders & Special Education Faculty Publications

The school-age population of students is becoming increasingly more culturally and linguistically diverse. There is mounting recognition that English Learners (EL) represent a unique group of students who have special educational and linguistic needs. This article considered the needs of learners with diverse special needs such as (a) learning and behavior challenges and (b) English Learners identified as students with limited or interrupted formal education (SLIFE). We highlighted some potential lessons to be learned from past-to-present efforts to serve students with behavior problems. Selected evidence-based practices were featured that are applicable to learners with special needs, thereby supporting the development …

Manteniendo La Chispa: Testimonios Of Latina Veteran Urban Teachers, Monica K. Valencia

LMU Theses and Dissertations

As the student population in U.S. public schools becomes more diverse, with an increase of students of color and from low socioeconomic backgrounds, it is critical that the opportunity gaps in our education system are addressed to provide an equitable education for urban youth. To mitigate these gaps, there is a need for an experienced urban teacher workforce, but urban schools face staffing challenges that make this difficult. There is an exceptional need for Latina/o teachers, who demonstrate positive impacts on Latina/o students, the largest minority population nationwide, however, the retention rate amongst Latina/o teachers is lower than that of …

Investigating Outcomes For English Language Learners In Arkansas Better Chance (Abc) Pre-K, Sarah C. Mckenzie, Josh B. Mcgee, Emily Jordan, Charlene A. Reid

Policy Briefs

Students with limited English proficiency face a number of educational challenges, and there are dramatic achievement gaps between these students and their English proficient peers. This brief describes the 3rd, 4th, and 5th grade outcomes of English Language Learner (ELL) students who attend Arkansas Better Chance (ABC) pre-Kindergarten, a state-funded program that is free to income-eligible families. Results indicate that ABC has the potential to improve academic outcomes for ELL students in Arkansas.

Towards A Participatory Epistemology: Latinx Poetry In Us High School English Classrooms, Sarah Ceja

CMC Senior Theses

This thesis combines academic interests in Latinx literature (specifically poetry) and education. Focusing specifically on inner-city U.S. high schools with high Latinx student populations, I research how we can incorporate poetry written by Latinx authors in our curriculum to help foster student engagement and a sense of belonging in the classroom. The second half of this thesis explores the works of several Latinx poets. It provides a detailed analysis of their work, how it relates to various aspects of Latinx identities, and gives recommendations for educators on how to use these poems in class.

Teaching Race Through Multicultural Children's Literature, Kaley Bailey, Maiya Duthoo-Wolpert

Graduate Research Papers

There is considerable confusion in today’s society when it comes to talking about race. In result to this, race talk in schools can be overseen with challenges, leading to problematic conversations, disconnection, and ultimately student disengagement. This study is used by two Elementary educators one an Asian, the other a Caucasian - found in the Midwest, showing how teachers can break that uncomfortable barrier of the topic about race and navigate conversations through multicultural children’s literature books. The study demonstrated how to choose the most effective multicultural children’s literature to share to a classroom of students and how beneficial it …

Addressing Health-Related Myths In The Culturally Diverse African American Population: A Call To Action, Lucson Joseph

Internet Journal of Allied Health Sciences and Practice

African Americans (AAs) experience numerous challenges that socially, economically, and physically affect their communities. Recent studies have found that a diverse array AAs encounter many struggles as they navigate the United States (U.S.) healthcare system to access care and receive healthcare services. AA communities are significantly affected by the burden of chronic diseases. They face considerable barriers to healthcare services that contribute to adverse health outcomes. This paper explains the daily struggles many AAs face within their communities to access and navigate the healthcare system due to culturally held myths and barriers. This paper discusses commonly held myths among Afro-Caribbean …

Translanguaging To Understand Language, Marcela Ossa Parra, Patrick Proctor

Publications and Research

Translanguaging pedagogy is gaining widespread recognition as an approach that recognizes and builds on multilingual students’ linguistic resources. Research on translanguaging pedagogy has predominantly focused on classroom language practices, while studies on the design and enactment of translanguaged instruction are limited. This pilot study contributes to the knowledge base on translanguaged instruction through the design, implementation, and examination of students’ engagement with the content taught in a set of translanguaged lessons. These lessons were based on a language-based English reading curriculum for Spanish-English bilingual upper elementary students. Our approach to translanguaging pedagogy was characterized by: a) use of bilingual texts; …

English Learner Master Plan Playbook: Developing Equitable Local Policies For Multilingual And English Learners Students, Elvira G. Armas, Ed.D, Magaly Lavadenz, Ph.D., Natividad Rozsa, M.A., Gisela O'Brien, Ph.D.

Reports

The education of English Learners (ELs) is informed by federal, state, and local policies, research and practice. The EL Master Plan is the Local Education Agency’s (LEA) policy document that has the potential to positively impact the educational programs, practices and experiences of ELs. Aligned and informed by California’s English Learner Roadmap policy as well as federal requirements, this playbook is a guide for educational partners to use to achieve four goals in their LEAs EL Master Plans: (1) equitable, coherent, and sustainable systems; (2) equity-driven processes to deliver research-based programs and practices; (3) effective family-community engagement; and (4) accountability …

Comparison Of English Comprehension Among Students From Different Backgrounds Using A Narrative-Centered Digital Game, May Marie P. Talandron-Felipe, Kent Levi A. Bonifacio, Gladys S. Ayunar, Ma. Mercedes T. Rodrigo

Department of Information Systems & Computer Science Faculty Publications

This paper reports the continuation of the field testing of a narrative-centered digital game for English comprehension called Learning Likha: Rangers to the Rescue (LLRR) with a two-fold goal: first, identify the differences in terms of usage, attitudes towards, and perceptions of the English language between students from southern Philippines and the National Capital Region, and second, to determine how the LLRR in-game performance, post-test comprehension scores, engagement, and motivation of students differ between the groups. The participants who are grade school students from a province in southern Philippines answered questionnaires about their attitude towards and perception of English, played …

Reading In Kapampangan, Filipino, And English: A Look At Multilingual Children In An Economically Challenging Philippine Community, Portia Padilla

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

The present studies advance current understanding of the skills and processes involved in multilingual reading, especially in less researched alphabetic languages. These studies examined whether the dominant models in reading in English can explain the reading processes involved among low-income multilingual speakers of Kapampangan (L1), Filipino (L2), and English (L3) in the Philippines, a developing country. Kapampangan and Filipino use the same Roman alphabet that English uses. However, these two languages have transparent orthographies while English has an opaque orthography.

Study 1 examined the psycholinguistic grain size theory within the context of multilingual reading. There were three hundred twenty-six children …

An Lre Placement Loophole: A Critical Policy Analysis Of Lre Placement In Defining Disproportionality Of Culturally And Linguistically Diverse Students In Special Education, Arti Sachdeva

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The policies adopted by the Exceptional Children’s Education Act (2016) enabled disproportionality within LEAs by overlooking undocumented classroom removal practices, underestimating the monitoring and reporting criteria, and overlooking non-dominant cultural and linguistic groups within the Colorado community. In this critical policy analysis, I used quantitative methods to analyze and explore the difference between the odds ratio calculation of culturally and linguistically diverse students (CLDS) in special education with a least restrictive environment (LRE) of 40% and greater compared to Colorado’s acceptance of the federal mandate of the minimum requirement of the student LRE of less than 40% and alternate school …

Aviation English Assessment And Training, Robert Fowler, Elizabeth Mathews, Jena Lynch, Jennifer Roberts M.A.

Publications

Due to a significant global increase in demand for air travel, there has been a corresponding increase in demand for ab initio flight training. Thousands of international flight students seek admission to collegiate aviation programs in the United States and Canada every year. These international flight students come to the United States and Canada because flight training is nonexistent in their native countries. In fact, flight training in most of these countries is impossible due to airspace restrictions and onerous regulations. If there is flight training available in these countries, the cost is usually prohibitive compared to the cost in …

Self-Reported Multicultural Teaching Knowledge And Skills Of School Professionals, Julia Kedzior

Masters Theses

Diverse learners face a variety of challenges, such as achievement gaps, behavior problems, and absenteeism. Therefore, it is important for their educators to have both multicultural teaching knowledge and skills to address these challenges and work towards a successful school experience for all students. Although research has sought to measure the cultural competence of teachers, not many studies have examined cultural competence in other school professionals (administrators, school psychologists, social workers, interventionists, instructional assistants, and other individuals who directly work with students in the school environment). In the current study, 185 teachers and other school professionals completed an adapted version …

The Efficacy Of Peer-Assisted Learning Strategies (Pals) With Hispanic English Language Learners In The 2nd Grade, Sonia Duran

Masters Theses

The present study examined the efficacy of a reading instruction, Peer Assisted Learning Strategies (PALS), for Hispanic English Language Learners (ELL). Currently, the literature indicates that there is a surge in ELL students, most commonly Spanish-speaking ELL students, in the United States. This increase in ELL population created a need for academic support as many of these students are historically academically behind their non-ELL peers due to the negative impact of lack of exposure to the English language and cultural differences. The PALS program is a class-wide reading intervention where students engage in reading activities to promote reading skills; and …

Academic Writing Challenges Experienced By International Students In A Midwest U.S. University: A Phenomenological Inquiry, Padam B. Chauhan

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

The dissertation presents a research study designed using hermeneutic phenomenology to explore challenges of academic writing experienced by international undergraduate and graduate students admitted to a Midwest U.S. university. The study also explored the institutional level services, technological resources, and coping strategies employed by the participants to alleviate their academic writing challenges. Data were gathered from video-recorded Zoom interviews conducted with ten purposefully selected international undergraduate and graduate students, representing diverse linguistic, cultural, and academic backgrounds. The data were then analyzed following a thematic analysis approach. The study revealed that the international undergraduate students experienced academic writing challenges pertaining to …

Instructional Coaching For Culturally Responsive Pedagogy, Kelly Shorb

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Growing up with a global perspective and teaching in highly diverse schools has fueled my desire to understand how instructional coaching and Culturally Responsive Pedagogy work together in education. This case study examined the current practices of instructional coaches to understand how they incorporate components of Culturally Responsive Pedagogy. Through observations and interviews of three coaches and a director this study explored the interactions, behaviors and language of coaches as they engaged with teachers to explore and understand prior knowledge, beliefs and current incorporation of CRP with teachers. The literature review provides an in-depth description of each of the components …

Engaging English Learners In Purposeful Discourse In Elementary Mathematics, Karlyn E. Davis-Welton

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Teachers are experiencing a change in practice, from teacher-centered to student-centered, which affects their work with English learners (ELs) in third through fifth grade mathematics classrooms. The implementation of student-centered discourse practices is essential to orchestrating productive mathematical discussions. However, the common practice is teacher-centered instruction where teacher talk is prevalent. Although the school district in this study provided professional development (PD) to address student-centered practices, PD for teaching ELs to interact in English in their mathematics classrooms remained to be addressed. The purpose of this study was to gain an understanding of teachers’ experiences with new discourse practices and …

Pathways And Assessment Effects On Composition I For Hispanic Non-Native English Speakers, Tammy L. Perez

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The problem addressed in this study was the absence of a clearly defined pathway to Composition I for Hispanic non-native English-speaking students (HNNESS) testing below college level English at the study site. The purpose of the study was to identify an optimal pre-college English pathway for HNNESS using the college assessment of basic skills (CABS) and the pre-college English pathways (English for speakers of other languages (ESOL) pathway vs Developmental English pathway) on grade point average (GPA) in Composition I. Language acquisition theory framed the study. The research question focused on the effect of CABS performance and type of pathway …

Invited Dialogue: Mapping The Intersections Of Religion, Literacy, And Public Schooling For Displaced, Immigrant, And Refugee Children: A Conversation With Loukia K. Sarroub, Jennifer D. Turner, Loukia K. Sarroub

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

Drawing on her award-winning research, Dr. Loukia K. Sarroub explains how teachers can help displaced, immigrant, and refugee youth navigate literacy, religion, and success in public schools.

This column features Dr. Loukia K. Sarroub and her award-winning research on how Arab Muslim refugee and immigrant youth navigate religion, gender, and literacy in school. Dr. Sarroub is a professor of literacy studies, education, and linguistics, and she serves as the graduate programs chair in the Department of Teaching, Learning, and Teacher Education at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. She was the recipient of the LRA Edward B. Fry Book Award for All …

An Exploration Of College Students’ Self-Efficacy And Characteristics Of Good Language Learners In Learning Chinese As A Foreign Language, Cheng Chen

University of the Pacific Theses and Dissertations

China’s growing economic power has led to over one hundred million people speaking Chinese world-wide (Chai & Wang, 2017). Although the Chinese language may not replace English as the most popular language worldwide, it is acknowledged that the Chinese language is an indispensable part of the future world (Zhao & Huang, 2010). However, there appears to be a paucity of research into the role self-efficacy and establishing good habits as a language learner play in non-native speaking students experiencing success while learning Chinese. A phenomenological study was conducted to investigate college students who were early Chinese learners in a beginning …

Teachers’ Experiences Of Educating Eal Students In Mainstream Primary And Secondary Classrooms, Jessica Premier

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

Many schools in Victoria, Australia, are multicultural, with students coming from a variety of cultures and backgrounds. Content area teachers often educate EAL students in their classrooms, even though they may not have specialised EAL teaching qualifications. This paper presents the experiences of primary and secondary teachers working in multicultural schools in Victoria. It explores the way in which teachers meet the needs of EAL students in their classrooms, and the support that is available to assist them to do so. This paper reports that teaching practice, school leadership, professional learning, and identity, influence the way in which teachers educate …

Educating For Global Competence: Co-Constructing Outcomes In The Field: An Action Research Project, Kristina A. Van Winkle

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

Capacity building for globally competent educators is a 21st Century imperative to address contemporary complex and constantly changing challenges. This action research project is grounded in positive psychology, positive organizational scholarship, relational cultural theory, and relational leadership practices. It sought to identify adaptive challenges educators face as they try to integrate globally competent teaching practices into their curricula, demonstrate learning and growth experienced by the educators in this project, and provide guidance and solutions to the challenges globally competent educators face. Six educators participated in this three-phase project, which included focus groups, reflective journal entries, and an exit interview. Data …

Teachers Of Color's Perception On Identity And Academic Success: A Reflective Narrative, Lynette Suliana Sikahema Finau

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

Research and scholarship in multicultural education has consistently affirmed that as a result of the long standing racial academic achievement gap and the current teaching force not reflecting the changing demographics of students in the United States, students of color continue to be deprived from having teachers who look like them and who may bring similar life, social, and cultural experiences that can increase the value they place on academics. The purpose of this study was to explore the lived experiences of teachers of color and how they perceive their identity as significant and meaningful to their profession and its …

Bicultural Identity And Academic Achievement: The Second-Generation Immigrant Student Experience, Karimeh Haddad

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

By comparing the academic success and internal processes of immigrant groups, this study aimed to explore the impact of immigration status (first, second, and third-generation) and cultural backgrounds on academic achievement on a holistic level. By measuring acculturation, parental expectations, self-efficacy, goal adjustment, motivation, control beliefs, and vocabulary knowledge of university students, the combination of constructs best correlated to academic achievement was studied with determinants of demographics playing a key role. In addition to quantitative analyses, in-depth interviews supplemented the analyses and further gave insight to the backgrounds of the target population, second-generation immigrant students. The results indicated that there …

Languages, Cultures, And Identities: Cross-Cultural Experiences Of Hbcu Students In A Study Abroad Program In Costa Rica, Irina M. Tedrick

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

The goal of this dissertation was to illuminate how an immersive study abroad program enabled my Black and African American Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU) students to have meaningful language acquisition, cultural exploration, and identity expansion experiences. The methods used in this research reflect the qualitative narrative nature of the cross-cultural narrative inquiry (He, 2003, 2006, 2010; Phillion & He, 2008; Phillion et al., 2009; Sharma & Phillion, 2021). Thus, to accurately capture the participants’ stories, I employed a variety of methods, gathering data through semi-structured interviews and the collection of personal artifacts, such as journal writings, pictures, and …

Philosophizing In Tongues: Cultivating Bilingualism, Biculturalism, And Biliteracy In An Introduction To Latin American Philosophy Course, Alexander V. Stehn

Philosophy Faculty Publications

This article describes my ongoing attempts to more successfully engage the full linguistic repertoires and cultural identities of undergraduate students at a “Hispanic Serving Institution” (HSI) in South Texas by teaching a bilingual Introduction to Latin American Philosophy course in the “Language, Philosophy, and Culture” area of Texas’ General Education Core Curriculum. By uncovering the diverse identities, worldviews, and languages of those who were historically excluded from the Eurocentric discipline of philosophy through the conquest and colonization of the Americas, Latin American philosophers offer us new ways of thinking and living by challenging Anglocentric language, philosophy, and culture. As part …

Parents' Experiences Of A Language-Focused Home Visiting Scheme In Ireland, Aisling Ni Dhiorbhain Dr, Maire Mhic Mhathuna, Padraig Ó Duibhir Dr

Articles

This article reports parents’ experiences of the Tús Maith (Good Start) home visiting scheme in South-West Ireland. The goal of Tús Maith is to support parents who wish to speak Irish to their children at home in the Kerry Gaeltacht, an Irish-speaking heartland area. Home visitors spend an hour a week, over a period of six weeks, interacting with children and parents with varying levels of competency in Irish. Home visitors who are native speakers of Irish, offer individualised guidance on how to promote the use of Irish as a home language, while encouraging families to engage in activities …

Preparing Tomorrow's Teachers: A Program Analysis Of Teacher Education In Iowa And Its Role In Preparing Preservice Teachers For Emergent Bilinguals, Karrigan Alexandria Mentzer

Honors Program Theses

Throughout my time at the University of Northern Iowa, I have had the opportunity to befriend, live, and work with many future teachers studying a variety of fields. We have often discussed the things we were learning in class and what we saw in field experiences. Something we all noticed is that I, as a student majoring in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL), was the only one receiving any training about emergent bilingual students that went beyond a passing mention of the topic. This led me to wonder why I was the only one receiving this education, …

Speech And Language Development Of Bilingual Deaf And Hard Of Hearing Children, Joanne J. Ryu

University of the Pacific Theses and Dissertations

Due to gaps in literature exploring communication outcomes in Deaf and Hard of Hearing (DHH) children with access to more than one spoken language, limited agreement on optimal language use for DHH children, and an ongoing cultural and linguistic loss in this population, the aim of this pilot study was to further the literature and comprehensively explore the impact of oral bilingualism in DHH children. Participants were self-selected and recruited primarily through relevant social media. Speech and language development in children were observed and quantified at two time points (at the time of enrollment into the study and subsequently after …