Digital Commons Network^™

African American English, School Demographics, And Literacy Achievement In Reading Recovery, Brandynne Thompson

Education Dissertations and Projects

African-American students continue to lag behind White peers in nationwide test scores, in part due to deficits in literacy skills which may be connected to use of African American English (AAE) in the school setting. The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between exposure to varying levels of mainstream American English (MAE) for AAE-speaking students and specific literacy skills during Reading Recovery intervention. Elementary schools were designated as high exposure or low exposure to MAE based on school racial demographics, and pre and postintervention scores of first-grade students in Reading Recovery intervention were analyzed to determine differences. …

Preparing Prospective Teachers To Teach Culturally Diverse Populations, Carrie Kondor, Angela Owusu-Ansah, Lynn Keyne-Michaels

CUP Faculty Research

Out of every three students enrolled in either elementary or secondary school in the United States, one is of a racial or ethnic minority, whereas about 87% of the teachers are White and female. The rate of increase in minority K-12 students, who are often also living in poverty, is projected to increase to 41% by the year 2020 (National Center for Education Statistics, 2007). In contrast, those coming into teaching, and those who teach prospective teachers [remain for the most part] White females who have been raised in middle class homes in rural and suburban communities, strengthening the persistence …

Impact Of Language Program Model On Third-Grade English Language Learners’ Proficiency In Literacy, Alecia Roberts

Education Dissertations and Projects

Demographics within U.S. public schools have seen a drastic change over the years from the ruling of Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka (1954) which integrated schools to the current increase in English Language Learners (ELLs) within the classroom. The U.S. is known to be a melting pot, and the present-day classrooms are a clear example of this phenomenon; however, with the increase in demographics of the U.S. classrooms, ELLs are falling significantly behind their peers in reading achievement. Thus, this study examined the impact of traditional, dual-language, and full immersion settings on North Carolina third-grade ELLs’ proficiency in …

An Investigation Of On Our Way To English®, A Reading Program For English Learners In A Rural Western Region North Carolina Public School District, Regina King

Education Dissertations and Projects

This study examined how a literacy program, On Our Way to English® (OWE), for English Learners (ELs) was implemented in one North Carolina public school district. The program contained the elements of phonics, vocabulary, reading, and writing instruction. The researcher collected documents from participants as well as conducted observations of teachers implementing the program with ELs while taking field notes. The data collected were analyzed to determine how competent the participants felt in implementing the program with EL students and how it impacted their academic success. The participants’ strengths were with using the vocabulary and writing instruction provided by the …

Culture And Language: An Action Research Study On The Impact Of Integrating Culture Into A Chinese Language Immersion Program, Haibin Li

Education Dissertations and Projects

Though a framework for foreign language education exists, the lack of guidelines, proper implementation, and benchmarks, along with scarce research on the effects of implementing cultural aspects in immersion classrooms leaves foreign language educators in the dark. An action research study design was utilized in a second grade Chinese immersion program at a language academy, investigating the impacts of the inclusion of culture activities in the classroom. Areas included were cultural exposure, teaching methods, teaching materials, cross cultural education, and challenges. Research data collected included students’ unit test scores, journals, parent surveys, and parent interviews. Time practicing is important, yet …

Islamophobia In U.S. Education, Shabana Mir, Loukia K. Sarroub

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

Anti-Muslim sentiment has grown in scale and visibility far beyond its association with the horrific attacks of 2001. The US government’s “War on Terror,” which began after the attacks, often pervades the domestic landscape as a war on Islamic religious “extremism.” The definitions and content of such religious extremism are so extensive that they encompass large numbers of Muslims, and they highlight Muslims as being inherently problematic. For example, the success of the 2016 presidential campaign can be said to have relied significantly on a right-wing Islamophobic fear-mongering that shariah was set to take over the US. As we grappled …

Critical Consciousness Of Educators: The Development And Psychometric Validation Of A Measure Using Structural Equation Modeling, Melissa Peterson Schneider

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study examines a measure of critical consciousness (CC) of educators created by the author, based on the concept of CC as seminally developed by Paulo Freire. A three-factor conceptual model and measurement scale are developed and validated through exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses. Findings and limitations are discussed, as well as implications for the fields of CC measurement and development in educators.

Interrogating Racialized Scripts: Parents And Students Organized For Leading Educational Justice, Stefanie Iona Gurulé

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This qualitative critical case study portraiture examines several racialized scripts found in family engagement, educational leadership, and social justice literature regarding under-resourced parents and students of color as leaders for educational justice. These scripts, or dominant narratives, discuss racially-minoritized parents and students as deficient in character and culture. They also deem that educational leadership for social justice is too complex an issue for these parents and students to have any positive effect. Therefore they are viewed in the literature as being only passively active in their own education. Analyzing a successful and authentic parent and student activist organization that focused …

Online Learning Through Libguides For English Language Learners: A Case Study And Best Practices, Megan Hodge

VCU Libraries Faculty and Staff Publications

Many of the international students in the U.S. first experience American education through English language programs, so the cultural norms taught by these programs are vital to the academic success of these students: without them, students struggle to recognize plagiarism in their writing, find reliable sources, and more, resulting in lower grades and honor code sanctions including expulsion. Librarians are uniquely equipped to meet this instructional need. This chapter introduces best practices for making the most of these opportunities for significant impact via Springshare's LibGuides platform.

Speech-Language Pathologists' Collaboration With Interpreters: Results Of A Current Survey In California, Terry Saenz, Henriette W. Langdon

Faculty Publications

One of the challenges of bilingual speech and language assessment, intervention, and conferencing is the effective collaboration with interpreters in such interpreted interactions when the professional does not share the same spoken language with the client. A survey of California speech-language pathologists who were members of the California Speech-Language-Hearing Association (CSHA) was performed to obtain information on their training to collaborate with, experiences with, and opinions of interpreters. In addition, these professionals were surveyed about the training of the interpreters and suggestions for improvement in interpreted interactions. Findings from 229 participants indicated that: (a) Most of the speech-language pathologists had …

Learning To Write In An Academic Genre: Adult English Learners’ Use Of Sociocultural Resources, Lyudmyla Ivanyuk

Theses and Dissertations--Curriculum and Instruction

In this multiple case study, I examined what types of sociocultural resources adult English learners brought with them from their previous contexts and what new resources they drew upon in the U.S. while learning to write in the essay genre. The study also identified how the participants chose to use previous and new sociocultural resources as mediated by the essay genre in the U.S. The following research foci shaped this study: (1) What types of sociocultural resources do adult English learners use while learning to write in the essay genre prior to and after their arrival in the U.S.? (2) …

Cultivating A Sense Of Critical Consciousness In Teacher Candidates Within A Community-Based Adult Esl Program, Sarina Chugani Molina

School of Leadership and Education Sciences: Faculty Scholarship

As more teacher education programs commit to developing critically conscious educators, it has become increasingly important to provide teacher candidates with opportunities to engage in critical actions within authentic contexts. To this end, the TESOL program in partnership with community stakeholders instituted a language program, where candidates were provided opportunities to explore the role of advocacy in their work through engaging in iterative dialogic reflections with their students. This chapter illustrates how the candidates came to embrace their role as agentive forces that strived to contribute to the empowerment of their learners to advocate for themselves within their own communities.

Deaf Education: The Past, Present, And Future, Diana Burke

Senior Honors Projects, 2010-2019

Back in the 1800's, sign language was banned from schools because of the prevailing view that sign language inhibited children who are deaf from interacting with the hearing society. Today, due to the growth of technology, children who are deaf can communicate using sign language and spoken language. These children can attend mainstream schools or schools for the Deaf. This paper will focus on the history of schools for the Deaf and my observations as a student observer at the Virginia School for the Deaf and Blind (VSDB). VSDB is a residential school providing students who are deaf and blind …

Identification Of Hispanic English Language Learners In Special Education, Gail I. Becker, Aaron R. Deris

Special Education Department Publications

Overrepresentation of English language learners (ELLs) in special education is a current problem. Urban school professionals indicated that inappropriate placement is linked to a multiplicity of factors. Scarce data exist regarding the relationship between school professional efficacy beliefs, the availability of bilingual programs and personnel for ELLs, and successful academic outcomes. School employees are still confused about the proper placement of English language learners (ELLs). What is enough time to acquire a second language and learn with success? Without other substantial program choices, children are referred to special education. Furthermore, many students in need of special education may be overlooked …

Parent Involvement In Contested Times: A Brief Analysis Of The Effects Of Anti-Immigrant Policies On Latinx Immigrant Parent Involvement, Maria Isabel Morales

CGU Theses & Dissertations

How do perceived community and school cultural values affect Latinx immigrant parents’ decisions to engage with their children’s schools? What lessons might their experiences have for our understanding of parent involvement beyond the parameters of traditional models of parent involvement? Engaging parents as advocates for school success in the home is particularly important for English Language Learners (ELs). Tapping into the experiences of EL parents is a resource educators can use to increase parental involvement and, consequently, student academic achievement.

This qualitative case study grounded in Critical Inquiry and Cultural Historic Activity Theory examined the perceptions and experiences of 5 …

The Effect Of Hyperarticulation On The Perception Of Palatalization In Russian By L1 American English Speakers, Ekaterina Kolshenskaya

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The current study investigates a relationship between the ease of perception of a feature of secondary palatalization in Russian and a speech condition (casual and hyperarticulated). Forty-one L1 American English speakers – the students of the Russian program at The University of Mississippi – took part in two experiments. In addition, the research aimed to explore the influence of a hyperarticulated speech condition on a level of language proficiency of students (beginner or intermediate) and investigate whether students of a certain level benefit from hyperarticulation more. The results of two experiments shothat none of the groups of students benefited from …

Preparing Content Teachers To Work With Multilingual Students, Kara Viesca, Annela Teemant

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

It is well‐documented that content teachers (e.g., math, science, social studies, etc.) have not been adequately prepared to address the increasing number of multilingual students in their classes (Freeman & Freeman, 2014; Lucas, 2011). While many teacher education programs strive to prepare teachers during initial licensure programs (e.g., de Oliveira & Yough, 2015; Freeman & Freeman, 2014; Levine, Howard, & Moss, 2014) and recent work has focused on secondary teacher preparation at both pre‐service and in‐service levels (de Oliveira & Obenchain, 2018; de Oliveira, Obenchain, Kenney, & Oliveira, in press; de Oliveira & Shoffner, 2016; de Oliveira & Wilcox, 2017), …

“I Felt Valued”: Multilingual Microteachings And The Development Of Teacher Agency In A Teacher Education Classroom, Theresa Catalano, Hanihani C. Traore Moundiba, Hadi Pir

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

Existing research has explored the value of multilingual pedagogies that focus on utilizing the linguistic / cultural resources of students (e.g., García & Kleyn 2016, Turner 2017); however, there is still a need to examine how the kinds of teacher agency that can lead to multilingual pedagogies actually being implemented can best be developed in teacher education classrooms. The present study incorporates collaborative auto-ethnography to examine microteaching activities / reflections of three researcher-participants in a teacher education course on schooling and multilingualism. The authors found that playing the role of students in the microteachings enabled them to reflect on their …

Language Ideologies And Identities Of Emergent Bilinguals In A Dual Language And A Transitional Bilingual Education Context: A Comparative Study, Lidia Herrera-Rocha

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

The purpose of this comparative study is to gain insight into the language ideologies and identities of emergent bilinguals as constructed in a dual language (DL) program and a transitional bilingual program (TBE) in a U.S. - Mexico border city. This study documented the ways teachers and school leaders appropriated, negotiated, and resisted macro-level policies in their everyday interactions and the impact this had on students' views about themselves and about language. This study intends to add to existing literature on emergent bilinguals and bilingual education by centering the voices of the students and using the theoretical lenses of (1) …

Implications Of Dual Language Scoring Of The Preschool Language Scale-Fifth Edition Spanish For Bilingual Preschool-Aged Children, Callie Mae Mathis

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Purpose: Spanish versions of standardized tests used in language evaluations are not well studied. The purpose of this study is to further examine the appropriateness of the Preschool Language Scale, Fifth Edition Spanish (PLS-5S) in a U.S./Mexico border community by comparing the Dual language scores versus the Spanish only scores and comparing the normative sample of the PLS-5S to the population of El Paso, TX.

Method: Twenty-three bilingual preschool aged children in the El Paso area completed the Spanish Edition of the PLS-5S. The parents and teachers of the participants completed two language proficiency questionnaires (Bilingual Input Output Survey; BIOS …

“Racism Doesn’T Exist Anymore, So Why Are We Talking About This?”: An Action Research Proposal Of Culturally Responsive Teaching For Critical Literacy In Democratic Education, Natalie Marie Giles

EWU Masters Thesis Collection

Culturally responsive teaching is a way for teachers to engage in equitable practices while offering a pedagogy of caring in the classroom. It takes a strength-based view of all learners while respecting the heritage, the family, the learners’ needs and wishes as well as offering a rigorous education for all learners. In this action research project, the author provides five original college composition units that contribute to learners’ critical thinking and critical literacy while asking them to (1) clarify values and examine their cultures of origin, (2) identify human rights that matter to them, (3) do a rhetorical analysis of …

Stylistic Imitation As An English-Teaching Technique : Pre-Service Teachers’ Responses To Training And Practice, Min Yi Liang

EWU Masters Thesis Collection

This action research case study project examines stylistic imitation as an English-Teaching technique and includes (1) a review of literature about the history of stylistic imitation and current college composition practice, (2) an analysis of the close imitation journals which were written by senior English majors and minors by following the model paragraph from Katharine Anne Porter’s “The Jilting of Granny Weatherall” (1965), and (3) writers’ comments and reflections on doing stylistic imitation. Stanley Fish (2005) argued: “[s]tudents can’t write clean English sentences because they are not being taught what sentences are” (as cited in Stodola, 2013, p. 57). Lacking …

“This Is The Oppressor’S Language, Yet I Need It To Talk To You”: A Critical Examination Of Translanguaging In Russian Speakers At The University Level, Nora Vralsted

EWU Masters Thesis Collection

The author critically reviews the TESOL practice known as translanguaging which incorporates the student’s acquired language(s) within the syntax of the target language (TL) as a means to foster understanding. It is suggested that the learner’s entire linguistic repertoire better fosters the learner’s understanding of the material. Within the last 20 years, the practice has gained popularity, and proponents’ advocacy for incorporating home languages within the writing classroom has come to be understood as a necessity for student success. Leonard (2014) identifies students' drawing upon all of their linguistic resources as "rhetorical attunement" and argues that multilingual writers become better …

Ela And Esl Educators’ Lived Experiences In Urban, Middle Level, Mainstream Classrooms, Georgia Danos

Masters Theses

This ethnographic qualitative study explores best practices for English Language Learning (ELL) students by analyzing one particular co-taught 8th grade English Language Arts (ELA) classroom where students received instruction from both a trained ELA teacher and one certified in English as a Second Language (ESL). The results suggest that the ELA mainstream teacher, Mr. Scott, was disengaged in class; disinterested in his students; unaware of his students’ backgrounds and needs; unaware of professional development offered; resistant and resentful towards new pedagogical approaches; tentatively interested in but unaware of best practices; displayed unprofessionalism; and indifferent about students' academic success. The ESL …

A Qualitative Study Of Instructional Practices For English Learners In Elementary Mathematics, Katie Corinne Baum

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

It is important for elementary teachers to provide quality mathematics instruction for English Learner (EL) students to close achievement gaps. Elementary mathematics teachers in the Keystone School District were struggling to implement instructional practices for EL students in mathematics as evidenced by communications with teachers, administrators, and documents from the state-required action plan. The purpose of this study was to explore the instructional practices and the challenges encountered by teachers related to providing mathematics instruction for ELs. The Sheltered Instruction Observation Protocol Model served as the conceptual framework. The research questions focused on the instructional practices that teachers were implementing …

Self-Efficacy And Quality Of Classroom Interactions Of Efl Teachers In Niger, Bong Gee Jang, Hyonsuk Cho, Peter Wiens

Teaching and Learning Faculty Research

This study explores the relationships between self-efficacy and observed quality of classroom interactions of EFL teachers in Niger and how they compare to their American counterparts. We collected and analyzed self-efficacy data from 609 EFL teachers using the Teachers’ Sense of Self-efficacy Scale (TSES). In addition, classroom interaction data were collected from 53 Nigerien EFL teachers using the Classroom Assessment Scoring System (CLASS). All the self-efficacy subscales were significantly correlated with the CLASS Instructional Support domain. When we compared the self-efficacy and classroom interactions scores of Nigerien teachers with those of American teachers, a significant difference was only identified in …

“Writing Is Hard, But I Think I Like It”: Identity (Re)Construction Of Female Refugee And Immigrant Adult Language Learners In The Us., Svenja Trommler

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

This paper examines how identity is reconstructed in second language literacy of adult female refugees and immigrants, and how their prior literacy and language experience influences their current literacy usage which develops slowly due to a lack of suitable education for them in the United States, causing difficulties during their integration process. Responding to the low representation of immigrant women in research, three major research methods to collect the qualitative data were used: (1) prompted journal entries as narrative inquiries, (2) observations and field notes, and (3) semi-structured interviews to understand the participants’ previous and current literacy development and identity …

The Mañana Complex: A Revelatory Narrative Of Teachers’ White Innocence And Racial Disgust Toward Mexican–American Children, Amanda Morales, Elvira Abrica, Socorro Herrera

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

This paper presents selected findings from an ethnographic case study of at a public junior high school. Analysis of White teachers’ discourse implicated a perspective of Mexican–American children that we describe as a mañana complex, a perceived association between Mexican–Americans and the term “mañana” (Spanish: “tomorrow”). We outline how this mañana complex among White teachers is indicative of historical racial tropes of Mexicans in the United States while also reflecting current anti-Mexican discourse emboldened and made more fervent by the current US presidential administration. Ultimately, the mañana complex is an example of both racial disgust toward Mexican–American children (Matias and …

Teaching English Language Learners To Vet Their Sources In The Post-Truth Paradigm, Megan Hodge

VCU Libraries Faculty and Staff Publications

According to the Institute of International Education's Open Doors report, the number of international students studying in the United States exceeded one million for the first time in 2016. Many of these students have insufficient command of the English language to pass the TOEFL or IELTS examinations required for enrollment at U.S. institutions of higher education, and as a result, programs designed to teach proficiency in the English language have been developed at some of these universities. In addition to English grammar and vocabulary, some programs also seek to acculturate students to Western academic norms such as critical thinking, academic …

Investigating Nonstandard Southern American English In Written Sources: A Historical Sociolinguistic Approach To The Tennessee Civil War Veterans Questionnaires, Juliana Norton

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to examine and describe vernacular speech in East Tennessee during the nineteenth-century. This study combines strategies and methodologies from both historical and sociolinguistics to examine dialect in written sources. Specifically, this study utilizes phonological and grammatical data from the Tennessee Civil War Veterans Questionnaires supplemented with data from other written sources to describe East Tennessee vernacular speech. Using both quantitative and qualitative methods, the geographic and social distributions of nonstandard past tense verbs to be and do are analyzed. The findings from this study suggest that nineteenth-century East Tennessee vernacular speech of white men …