A Phenomenological Study Of The First Year College Experience Of First-Generation Latinx Students, Ceil Scanlan

Dissertations

This qualitative study explored the first-year college experience of four first-generation Latinx college students and how they made sense of that experience. The participants were all graduates of a private independent high school in a suburban community, and research was conducted through interviewing the participants. Analyzing their perceptions garnered a deeper understanding of and insight into their lived experience in order to help develop strategies and programs to better support the enrollment, retention and graduation of first-generation Latinx college students. Study findings suggest that future practices at both the high school and the college level should include emphasis on providing …

Addressing The Needs Of Middle School English Learners Through Inclusion In General Education Classrooms: A Case Study Of A Midwestern Metropolitan Public School District, Mary Krista Schneider

Department of Educational Administration: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

A significant shift in student demographics in United States public schools has summoned the attention and action of public school educators to address the needs of English learners (ELs) who are required to meet the same academic standards as their English-speaking peers. Across the nation, school administrators, teachers, and other education specialists face challenges in fully meeting the academic demands of ELs, especially when including the students in general education classrooms. The purpose of this qualitative descriptive case study was to examine the implementation of inclusive practices, or specific instructional and academic supports that teachers provide to ELs, in middle …

Principles And Practices Of Teaching English Language Learners, Abha Gupta

Teaching & Learning Faculty Publications

This conceptual paper presents diverse approaches and strategies for preparing competent teachers who work with either English Language Learners (ELLs) or students who speak English as a Second Language (ESL). The pedagogical approaches discussed herein include practical and hands-on activities for teachers at any level. Bilingual learning improves ELL's cognitive development as well as their self-esteem. The paper outlines underlying principles for the best practices with an emphasis on ESL students and also to other learning situations and students. Teachers can modify their instructional methods to adjust ELL's learning needs. Specifically, even though the discussion is framed in the context …

Soft Skills That Employers Are Seeking, Adrienne J. Royo

Faculty Works

As a university professor who wishes to discover ways in which I can enhance my students/advisees knowledge on how to prepare and plan for their future, I have executed a literature search relevant to the soft skills that employers are seeking in the graduates of the 21^st Century. The following article summaries purposely seek to elucidate this question for today’s graduates. A summary is provided at the end.

Dilemma And Knowledge - Book Review Of Re-Imagining Utopias: Theory And Method For Educational Research In Post-Socialist Contexts, Jessica Zychowicz

Comparative and International Education / Éducation Comparée et Internationale

No abstract provided.

Teacher Education And Refugee Students, Ramona Fruja, Kevin Roxas

Faculty Contributions to Books

No abstract provided.

Understanding High School English Learners’ Chronic Absenteeism, Patricia A. George

Seton Hall University Dissertations and Theses (ETDs)

Chronic absenteeism has significant implications for both the individual student and society at large and has been receiving attention for over a century. Every school day counts. Regular attendance provides students with opportunities to learn and has a strong link to achievement. Conversely, poor attendance has serious implications for high school students. For each subgroup of students there is a similar pattern: the likelihood of chronic absenteeism increases as students progress through high school. Notably, the U.S. Department of Education found English learners experience higher chronic absenteeism than their non-English learner peers when they reach high school. Furthermore, compared to …

Spring 2019

Action in Education

Dean's Corner: Together We Grow; New Degrees Expand Career Options; DePaul Is a Game Changer: For the Second Year in a Row, a COE Graduate is Named National Counselor of the Year; Opportunity Knocks: Revised Credential, New Lab Benefit Alumni; Sister Act: Catholic Initiatives; Weaving Civics into Every Discipline; In Brief; Alumnus Profile: Marcus Campbell; Student Profile: Juliana Minasian

Cariño In The Clase: Understanding How Teachers And Staff In San José Navigate Caring, Protecting, And Empowering Undocumented Latinx High School Students In The Trump Era, Nancy Haro

Master's Theses

Latinx students in low-income public schools face structural oppression that limits their educational and career opportunities. Those opportunities are further limited when we consider how many of those students might be undocumented. The current political climate is replete with anti-immigrant sentiment and has already created further difficulty for undocumented students with the recession of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA). Public high school teachers and staff play an important role in the lives of these students, for they interact in a space in which preparation for adulthood is the goal. However, these spaces do not exist in a vacuum but …

Demystifying English Simple Past Tense: A Thai Teachers’ Guide To Teaching English Simple Past Tense To Thai Adult Learners, Chitkamon Tungkaburana

Master's Projects and Capstones

Similar to many English learners whose native language does not use tense-aspect system to describe events/ or actions, Thai learners find English tense-aspect system very challenging to fully acquire. Ineffective current pedagogical teaching approaches used and mother tongue influence inhibit English tense-aspect acquisition and pose learning difficulties. In this field project, I would like to show Thai teachers how to teach English Simple Past tense more effectively with application of Communicative Language Teaching (CLT) approach. I created a teachers’ guidebook solely just to prove that English tenses are not too difficult to acquire. It is relatively accomplishable if done right. …

Teacher Influence On Motivation Of Korean Efl University Learners, Marie Willyard

Dissertations, Theses, and Projects

Abstract

This study took place in South Korea over a four-week period in the first semester of the academic school year and focused on how professors influence the motivation of Korean EFL university students. Through faculty meetings, participants were able to share their ideas, trials and tribulations, and learn more about how teaching style and motivational techniques can be utilized to create or maintain the motivation level of their students. Participants noted that a more fluid teaching style, and techniques that create a fun and exciting environment are instrumental in motivating students. However, there is a fine line between motivating …

Multimedia Training For Novice Efl Teachers In East Asia, Franklin Hewins

Master's Projects and Capstones

Schools in East Asia have shown a preference for hiring young, native English-speakers from majority white countries as EFL teachers. In addition, the high demand for English language instruction has made it difficult to fill all positions with qualified teachers. As a result, there is an issue with undertrained and underqualified native English-speaking teachers in East Asian classrooms. The purpose of this project is to provide these novice teachers with training in the use of video clips as a way to help them overcome their lack of a pedagogical knowledge. The use of video clips allows teachers to personalize content, …

Using Phonics To Increase Reading Comprehension In English Language Learners, Lindsay Piekutowski

Dissertations, Theses, and Projects

Abstract

This paper discusses the implications phonics has on reading comprehension in the older English Language Learner. The subjects for this study were in the same Language Arts class in the Sheltered-Instruction Observation Protocol classroom, and they ranged from 15-20 years old. They were all in the same class because they were all Level III or IV with their language proficiency based on the WIDA ACCESS score in Speaking, Listening, Reading, and Writing. The study used Lexile scores from the Reading Inventory test used in the READ 180 classroom as the summative assessment of reading comprehension abilities. The focus for …

An Odyssey To The Self: Voices Of L2 Arab Writers And Institutional Practices, Majed Abduallah Alharbi

Language, Literacy, and Sociocultural Studies ETDs

The term ‘voice’ has been a pivotal metaphor in the fields of composition studies and applied linguistics, and it still has a strong implicit and/or explicit presence in the U.S. classroom. This critical case study examines 6 Saudi graduate student writers’ voices in various U.S. universities. Data were collected by analyzing texts of students’ papers and in-depth interviews with each participant. Using Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) as an overarching framework and analytical tool, this study examines the voices of Saudi students as they resist and/or perpetuate dominant ideologies both in the U.S. and Saudi Arabia when writing in their L2 …

A Study Of Marshallese Student Attendance In A Northwest Arkansas Secondary School, Paula Lynn Floyd-Faught

Theses and Dissertations from 2019

Northwest Arkansas has one of the largest populations of Marshall Islanders outside of the Republic of the Marshall Islands. The first know Marshallese immigrant arrived in the 1986, and the first Marshallese student in Northwest Public Schools arrived in the late 1980’s. Since that time, an estimated 10,000–12,000 Marshallese have settled in Northwest Arkansas (McElfish, 2016, p. 2). Almost 3,000 Marshallese students attend Northwest Public Schools, with Northwest High School having the largest population in the state. There is a perception that Marshallese students have lower attendance rates than peers, and this study was conducted to determine which factors most …

Transborder Testimonios Of Language Learning And Socialization, Maria Teresa Guevara Beltrán

Language, Literacy, and Sociocultural Studies ETDs

This qualitative study utilizes a Chicana/Latina feminist lens and the Latin American tradition of Testimonio to explore Spanish-speaking immigrants’ experiences of migration, language learning and socialization, paying close attention to the ways in which the multilayered intersections of identity, race, class, gender, nationality, language, citizenship and power shape these experiences. In the context of a grassroots English as a Second Language class, testimonios are elicited through multimodal data collection methods, including visual, oral and written forms. Critical perspectives of second language learning and second language socialization research in bilingual contexts provide a multidisciplinary framework for this study, bridging conceptual parallels …

Advances In Global Education And Research: Volume 3, Waynne B. James, Cihan Cobanoglu

University of South Florida (USF) - M3 Publishing

This is the third volume of the Advances in Global Education and Research Book Series. This volume has the following parts:

• Part 1: Adult Education
• Part 2: Curriculum and Instruction Development
• Part 3: Education in Other Specialties
• Part 4: Educational Technology
• Part 5: Global Competence
• Part 6: Higher Education and Educational Leadership
• Part 7: Human Resource Development
• Part 8: Inclusive Education
• Part 9: International Education
• Part 10: Pre K-12
• Part 11: Research Methods in Education

ISBN: 978-1-7321275-4-8

An Effective Methodology For Teaching Writing To Adolescent English Learners, Emily Hadfield

Senior Honors Projects, 2010-2019

This creative Honors project involves analyzing research in the area of second language acquisition and writing pedagogies for teaching English learners (ELs). The goal is to integrate several methodologies including the FIVES for Writing strategy and the process-writing approach to create a unit of lesson plans for teaching writing to 9th grade ELs. On examination of the research on pre-service teacher training and teaching writing to ELs, it is clear that there is a gap in the training and teaching of writing, particularly for ELs. This paper will synthesize research on best practices and find an effective methodology for teaching …

See And Be Seen: Young Adult Refugee Literature In The High School Curriculum, Patrice Splan

Senior Honors Projects, 2010-2019

According to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, there are more than 25 million refugees in the world today, over half of whom are under the age of 18. As these young people adapt to new schools and communities, it is essential that all students have opportunities to see themselves represented in literature and to develop understandings of the experiences of others. This project provides an analysis of young adult refugee literature with a unit plan for application of texts in a ninth-grade Virginia English classroom, stressing the importance of education as a tool for awareness, reflection, and empathy.

How Successful High School Boys Soccer Coaches Perceive And Develop Cultural Competency: A Grounded Theory Approach, Lauren Jefferson

Masters Theses, 2010-2019

The purpose of this study was to examine how high school athletics coaches conceptualize the knowledge, values, and skills of cultural competence, with specific attention to learning processes and influences. In order to serve the increasingly diverse U.S. student population equitably and to the full holistic potential of extracurricular programming, high school coaches must develop a greater comfort with and capacity for exercising cultural competency. A qualitative approach using a grounded theory was applied. Seven coaches and one athletic director were recruited by purposive sampling. The research suggests a process-oriented, chronological model of how experienced coaches begin to work with …

A Multiple Case Study On The Implementation Of The Bilingual Education Program In Private Schools In Oman, Florian Ciprian Baciu

CUP Ed.D. Dissertations

The purpose of this qualitative multiple embedded case study was to explore the implementation of the Ministry of Education (MoE) bilingual education program in private schools in the Sultanate of Oman in light of the factors that impact students’ sociocultural, linguistic, academic and cognitive learning processes in the dual language instruction context. Data gathered through semistructured interviews and classrooms observations from 26 different bilingual private schools nationally, were analyzed in light of a conceptual framework based on the prism model and on effective international bilingual education implementation approaches, presented through the literature review. The data collected were crosschecked with the …

More Than Just A Myth: How Shapeshifter Rhetoric Relates To Esl Students 2019, Amber Kent

Master's Theses

The academic analysis surrounding the shapeshifter, or shapeshifter mythologies has, so far, been related to modern issues of violence, militarization, feminism, gender studies, or studies simply focusing on the compilation of shapeshifter myths themselves. This essay will map out the current discussion surrounding shapeshifter mythology to illustrate that it has often fallen into two forms of analysis: that of an anthropological or sociological analysis, where shapeshifter myths were analyzed as a method for understanding different cultures and their development, and that of a poststructural analysis, where shapeshifter myths are analyzed as a means of deconstructing binaries such as good/bad and …

The Cultural Adaptation Experiences Of Chinese Higher Education Students In The American Deep South: A Comparison Across Disciplines, Xiaonan Song

Dissertations

In the past decade, Chinese international students have been found as one of the largest international student groups at American institutions across the country. However, the American Deep South was not less frequently studied in the past. Due to the distinctiveness of the Deep South, the researcher conducted this qualitative research on Chinese international students studying in this historically and culturally distinctive region. Mississippi was chosen as a representative state of the Deep South in the current study. The researcher collected data from in-depth interviews from three publicly funded institutions in Mississippi. Besides reporting many common issues regarding to cultural …

A Bilingual Approach To Pediatric Occupational Therapy: The Importance Of Communication Between Providers & Spanish-Speaking Families In Northwest Arkansas, Emily Ann Davidson

World Languages, Literatures and Cultures Undergraduate Honors Theses

Due to the demographic demands of Northwest Arkansas and the prevalence of disparities in health care, this study aims to assess the current practices, perceived need, and willingness to provide bilingual Spanish-English outpatient pediatric occupational therapy options in Northwest Arkansas. The hope of this study is to better inform pediatric occupational therapy providers of the growing need for bilingual services so that they may respond appropriately in order to better serve Latino and Spanish-speaking patients and their families or caregivers.

Effects Of Bilingual Education Programs On Elementary Latino English Language Learners, Linda Pinon Gutierrez

Capstone Projects and Master's Theses

Throughout time, bilingual education supports native language and transfers that knowledge to learn a new language. However, it has radically changed throughout the decades in the United States. Many researchers argued that bilingual education is effective, while others debated that it is not. This capstone research project examines the effects of bilingual education programs on elementary Latino English language learners through the use of literature review, interviews with principals and teachers and anonymous survey with students in the Monterey Bay area. While bilingual education has been controversial, the findings of this senior capstone reveal that bilingual education has positive effects …

La Universidad Unit In A Comprehensible Input Classroom, Bailey Morley

Theses/Capstones/Creative Projects

This capstone project looks at a specific unit taught in a Spanish classroom through the use of comprehensible input and the types of activities that were used in order to support comprehensible input in the classroom. It provides a collection of comprehensible input activities that may be used in the foreign language classroom along with providing rationale for the activities, research-supported assessment and instructional strategies, and examples of differentiation and assessment for the unit. A variety of activities were used including class story creation, running dictation, and nonverbal representation. Ways of assessment also varied throughout the unit, incorporating both formative …

American Sign-Language (Asl) For Audiologists, Colette Vossler-Welch

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

The goal of this project is to provide a means for Audiologists, Speech-Language-pathologists and related personnel to improve their ability to communicate and connect with culturally Deaf individuals through the use of video-animated sign-language interpretations. Arguments for or against the bilingual approach of using ASL and the spoken language with regards to Deaf education will be discussed through both a personal memoir and a review of current literature. This study will also shed light upon the history of the American Deaf population, American Sign-Language (ASL) and will conclude with a training module in ASL. The training module will be available …

(De)Legitimization: The Impact Of Language Policy On Identity Development In An Efl Teacher, David Martinez-Prieto, Kristen Lindahl

Bilingual and Literacy Studies Faculty Publications

Based on Bordieuan concepts of symbolic power and legitimization, this study analyzes the identity of a language teacher in Puebla, Mexico. Through a series of in-depth interviews, we examine how Mexican institutions may (de)legitimize the teaching expertise of an EFL educator by promoting a discourse of “native”-speakerism. In contrast with existing literature, this study is situated in the Puebla context, wherein the Poblano State government granted permanent teaching positions to Mexican bilingual transnationals with no formal teacher training. While our participant contested some of the dominant language ideologies, such as the use of language certifications, she also appeared to internalize …

Effects Of Multicultural Education On English Language Learners, Donna Dias

Capstone Projects and Master's Theses

It is no surprise to step into a classroom with little to no multicultural education being implemented in the curricula, but when there are English language learners (ELLs) in these classes, the stakes run high. In a predominantly Eurocentric society, the U.S. population has become more diverse. It is important for diverse ELL students to feel heard and understood in their classrooms. This senior capstone will examine and discuss the effects of the different types of multicultural education on English Language Learning students through the use of literature review, interview with teachers and principals, and student surveys. The findings indicate …

Centering Preservice Teachers Of Color Through Culturally Relevant Critical Teacher Care: A Critical Race Transformative Convergent Mixed-Methods Analysis, Tara Joann Plachowski

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The reproduction of white supremacist culture in schools continues to marginalize Students of Color in a variety of implicit, explicit, and systemic ways. As teachers are the one of the key arbiters of school culture, teacher education presents itself as a vital locus in need of critical inquiry and radical change. A diverse teacher workforce not only helps to disrupt the direct effects of racism on Students of Color, but also prepares all students for successful democratic participation in a diverse global society (Sleeter, 2011). This study of teacher education examines the teacher demographic diversity gap within a College of …