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The Moonlight Schools : Adult Literacy Education In The Age Of Americanization., Samantha Hope Necamp

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation analyzing the rhetorical interplay between the Moonlight Schools-an adult literacy education program initiated in 1911-and two other literacy programs: the Americanization movement and U.S. college composition. Through my analysis, I demonstrate that the Moonlight Schools played a vital role in (re)defining literacy in the public sphere. In particular, exchanges between Moonlight Schools advocates and Americanizers helped to solidify public attitudes regarding the professionalization of literacy teaching-attitudes that remain entrenched in public discourse and that have had negative consequences for the disciplinary status of Rhetoric and Composition. I argue that incorporating the Moonlight Schools into our disciplinary imaginary can …

Is There A Correlation Between Differentiating Instruction And English Language Learner Achievement?, Melissa Monique Deangelo

Dissertations

Minority students and English language learners are underachieving. Schools with a culture of every student, every day, have the ability to break generational cycles and to change the future of these students that has been predicted by circumstances. This case study examined and analyzed the differentiated instructional practices and implementation at three elementary schools, and determined if there was a correlation between differentiated instruction and success of English language learners. More specifically, the purpose of this case study was to examine (a) the extent of the principles of differentiated instruction present in the classroom (b) differentiated instruction in response to …

The Effect Of Teachers' Cultural Proficiency Training On Sixth Grade Students' Reading Achievement, Diane Wells-Rivers

Student Work

This study evaluated the overall reading achievement of African American (n = 42) and White (n = 21) sixth grade students in an urban Midwestern school, after their teachers‘ engaged in culturally proficiency training provided by The Minnesota Humanities Center. Data for students in the study was collected for comprehension levels or acuity (CTB/McGraw-Hill, 2010), text gradient levels (Fountas & Pinnell, 2008), and oral fluency levels (Berglund & Johns, 2006; Fountas & Pinnell, 2008) during year two of their teachers‘ participation in the training.

A Clinical Practicum Experience To Prepare Teacher Candidates For Classroom Literacy Instruction, Karen C. Waters

Education Faculty Publications

There is a pervasive reading crisis in the United States. Critics, including policymakers, educators, literacy scholars, and professional educational organizations have openly accused university teacher preparation programs of not preparing candidates to deliver effective reading instruction. This qualitative study used narrative inquiry to explore ways in which teacher candidates' participation in a research-based university clinical practicum contributed to their pedagogical understanding of literacy instruction. Conceptually this study was based on constructivism and the ideas of Dewey, Freire, Vygotsky, and Schön. Data collection included multiple interviews and observations to determine how teacher candidates' participation in clinical practicum affects their assumptions about …

Home Literacy Factors Affecting Emergent Literacy Skills, Robyn Valerie Cassel

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study is to identify factors in the home literacy environment using the Stony Brook Family Reading Survey (SBFRS) in order to understand the extent to which these factors predict phonemic awareness and other basic reading skills, as assessed by selected subtests from the Woodcock-Johnson III (WJ III). The present study used archival data to examine the home literacy habits of a sample of parents and preschool children ages 3-5 years (range in months= 36-67) from a private and a public preschool with a combination of high- and low-income backgrounds and various ethnicities. Using exploratory factor analyses …

Buy The Book: Social Reproduction And The Middle-Class Family Outing To The Big-Box Bookstore, Benette Whitmore

Cultural Foundations of Education - Dissertations & Theses

This dissertation is a qualitative ethnography of a big-box bookstore that considers the relationship between book consumption, status, and social reproduction. The study draws from five years of fieldwork starting with three years of participant observation at 45 sessions of the weekly Story Time, where I observed 297 mothers or caregivers and 411 children. In the first three years of this research I also conducted informal interviews with 48 families at the store. Also in this phase of the study I conducted in-depth interviews at the store with nine bookstore workers and three managers. In the last two years of …

Visual Arts And Literacy: The Potential Of Interdisciplinary Coalitions For Social Justice, Melanie L. Buffington, William Muth

Journal of Social Theory in Art Education

In this article, we explore the possibilities of creating a coalition of the visual arts with literacy to work toward meaningful integrated learning experiences with a social justice agenda. We discuss the benefits of integrated curriculum and its potential to support learning at many levels. Following that, we introduce the Hope House mural project as an example of an integrated visual arts and literacy program. Through this project, children and their incarcerated fathers grapple with significant issues in their lives and to build a bond while doing so. We argue that this coalition results in learning that is inseparably tied …

Exploring The Principal's Role In High Poverty Schools With High Literacy Achievement, Jill E. Jay

All-Inclusive List of Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this qualitative study was to exploreEducational aspects which help explain high early-literacy acquisition in high-poverty elementary schools. Through this qualitative study, the perceptions of key staff members, including the principal, in four high achieving, high-poverty schools were explored in three areas: 1) contributing aspects of high-level, early-literacy achievement in their particular school setting; 2) role of the principal in a high-poverty school that attains a high level of early-literacy achievement; and 3) how high early-literacy achievement occurred in their particular school setting. The schools in the study were located in multiple states that the researcher had access …

Reading Development In Adolescent First And Second Language English Learners: A Comparison Using Age Match Design, Vahidehsadat Shahidi

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Fourteen Iranian-Canadian bilingual students were tested for language ability as well as cognitive and phonological processing skills in two languages: Farsi and English. They were compared to 30 Iranian monolingual chronological age matched students and 30 Canadian chronological age matched peers. Since there were not any standardized tests in Farsi, one of the aims of this study was to begin creating the language ability measures in Farsi, and to test their reliabilities. In general, from six developed and translated Farsi tasks, three of them were found to be reliable. It was found that bilingual students perform better on memory tasks, …

Health Literacy: A Community-Based Mixed Methods Study Of Prescription Medication Self-Management Among Community Dwelling Older Adults, Joy P. Deupree

All ETDs from UAB

During the next decade, it is estimated that 7,918 Americans will turn 60 years old every day. This increase is expected to impact future health care costs. The aging population must be knowledgeable about health care needs to self-manage chronic conditions requiring multiple medications. Nearly half of all American adults have limited literacy skills. Adults at the lowest literacy levels may misunderstand instructions from a health care professional. Confusion about health care instructions can put patients at risk for adverse drug events. The purpose of this two-phase, explanatory mixed methods study was to explore how community dwelling adults ages 60 …

Demands Of Dualism: Literacy And Content Area Instructional Beliefs In Alabama High Schools, Cindy Sager Adams

All ETDs from UAB

The purpose of this quantitative study was to examine differences in content area teachers' general educational beliefs and their attitudes toward teaching reading in their social studies, science, and English language arts classrooms in Alabama high schools when both content area and teacher certificate levels were considered. Such a study is important because teachers work with students ill-prepared for the demands of required high school reading, upcoming college reading, or workplace literacy, in a state in which nearly 39% of its youth fail to graduate from high school. Nearly 80% of all Alabama grade 11 students read below the 50th …

How “Struggling” Readers Engage In Literacy Events In Middle School Science: An Analysis Of Interactions In Literacy Events, Kristin Cartwright Palmer

Teaching & Learning Theses & Dissertations

This study examined opportunities for participation and learning for "struggling" readers in a sixth grade science classroom. Literacy practices, language differences, activity structures, and the social and cultural identities and associated practices and everyday funds of knowledge of both "struggling" and nonstruggling readers in one sixth grade science classroom were documented and analyzed using a qualitative research design. Over sixteen hours of audio and video recordings as well as numerous student work samples were transcribed and analyzed. Analyses of the classroom interactions and artifacts documented in this study revealed several important affordances available in the context of this classroom related …

Do They Get The Picture?: Visual Literacy And Low-Literacy Adult Esl Learners, Daniel J Bruski

School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Theses and Dissertations

Teachers of low-literate adult English language learners often use visual materials to teach content, but little research has been conducted on how these visuals are interpreted. This research explores the relationship between first language (L1) literacy and visual literacy, specifically the ability of adult ESL learners to identify the functions of graphic devices used in educational materials. The literature review examines how literacy and visual literacy are defined and discusses visual communication using the framework of semiotics. Through think-aloud interview sessions, Somali participants of varying L1 literacy levels interpreted illustrations from ESL materials. Results show lower than expected ability to …

K-12 Teacher Perceptions Regarding Hispanic Family Educational Beliefs And Language And Literacy Practices, Marisa Lee

Theses and Dissertations

Abundant research exists examining what occurs in Hispanic homes regarding educational beliefs and literacy and language practices before and after children enter the school system. What is not known is whether or not teachers are aware of these practices and beliefs. The research questions of this study focus first on what perceptions K-12 teachers have about Hispanic educational beliefs and practices, and second, on determining if those perceptions correlate with teacher training in English as a second language (ESL). To answer these questions, a questionnaire was written based on an extensive review of literature regarding three aspects: Hispanic educational beliefs, …

The Efficacy Of A Supplementary Literacy Program For Kindergarten Children With Language Impairment, Amy E. Mckinney

Student Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to determine the efficacy of a supplemental literacy program for children with language impairment. Ten kindergarten children that qualified for language therapy at a kindergarten center were divided into treatment and non-treatment groups. Children in the treatment group participated in 10 minutes of supplemental literacy instruction at the end of each language intervention session. The non-treatment group received language therapy without the supplemental literacy intervention. Mid-term scores indicated a significant between group difference in letter-sound correspondence, but not in word decoding and sight word recognition for children in the treatment condition. Twelve week post …

Factors Affecting Literacy Achievement Of Eighth Grade Middle School Instrumental Music Students, Johnny T. Brauch Kurt

Student Work

The purpose of this pretest-posttest comparative efficacy study was to analyze factors affecting literacy achievement of eighth grade middle school instrumental music students (n = 38) including (a) socioeconomic status (SES), (b) gender, (c) grade point average (GPA), (d) music motivation, (e) music involvement, and (f) instrument section. The findings of this study indicate that, utilizing the Iowa Tests of Basic Skills (ITBS) reading comprehension, reading vocabulary, and science subtests and the Northwest Evaluation Association (NWEA) Reading Measure of Academic Progress (MAP) as the dependent variables for each of the six independent variables, significant growth over time was made in …

Selected Students’, Parents’, And Graduate Student Tutors’ Experiences And Perceptions In A Community Of Interest Summer Literacy Camp, Kim G. Thomas

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

In this qualitative case study, I examined a local summer literacy camp in which

graduate student tutors tutored elementary and middle school students in reading and

writing. I focused the study on the primary stakeholders in the summer literacy camp:

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ts, and the course instructor/camp director because

their voices are limited in the current literature. In this Community of Interest Summer

Literacy Camp, the graduate student tutors moved from a position of fear and trepidation

to a position of empowerment in which they hoped to make changes in their classrooms,

schools, and communities. The tutees learned to appreciate the …

Preservice Teachers’ Developing Understandings About Culturally Responsive Teaching In A Field-Based Writing Methods Course, Susan V. Bennett

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

I investigated eight preservice teachers’ understandings about culturally responsive pedagogy as they participated in a writing methods course in which they tutored children from different ethnic, socioeconomic, cultural, and linguistic backgrounds in an afterschool program at a local community center. I also investigated how these preservice teachers demonstrated culturally responsive teaching within the writing curriculum. I recognized the need for research relevant to my own personal beliefs and how to strive for more equitable schools. I want to contribute further to the understandings and insights related to culturally responsive pedagogy. According to the literature, it appears teachers remain unprepared to …

Monolingual And Bilingual Spanish-English Children's Phonological Production On Rapid Automatized Naming Tasks, Adriana Maddalena Pennino

Electronic Theses and Dissertations Archive

Monolingual English and bilingual Spanish-English kindergarteners participated in rapid automatized naming (RAN) tasks with results quantified in terms of weighted phonological accuracy and accentedness. Fifty-six typically developing monolingual English children and 41 typically developing bilingual children were included in this study. Single-word speech samples were obtained to examine (a) total articulation time, (b) phonological accuracy, and (c) phonological transfer between L1 and L2. Findings indicated that similar phonological accuracy occurred in monolinguals and bilinguals in English, phonological transfer occurred between L1 and L2 in English and Spanish for bilinguals (resulting in accentedness in both languages), faster RAN was associated with …

Horizontal Inequalities And Violent Conflict In Nepal, Biswa Nath Tiwari

HIMALAYA, the Journal of the Association for Nepal and Himalayan Studies

The study advanced the argument that conflict could occur when there are horizontal inequalities (HIs) which sustain for a longer time, thus giving an opportunity to the leaders to mobilize the dissatisfied caste and ethnic groups. Using the data of 1990s and early years of the new millennium, the study validates the argument by presenting data on four dimensions of the HIs – cultural, economic, social and political. It looked into language and religion for explaining cultural HIs; poverty, income, employment related indicators for economic HIs; literacy rate, educational attainment, and human development index for social HIs; and participation in …

Gjr Volume 33 Number 1 Spring 2010, Elizabeth Pendergraft, Sheryl Dasinger

The Georgia Journal of Reading Archive

The Georgia Journal of Reading's Spring 2010 issue includes:

Message From the Editors by Elizabeth Pendergraft (pg.5)

President’s Page by Sallie Averitt Miller (pg. 6)

Using Children’s Literature as a Resource Within Middle Grades Social Studies Curriculum by Christine A. Draper (pg. 7)

Critical Literacy: From Theory to Practice by Katie Simon Kurumada (pg. 12)

Extra! Extra! Read All About It!: Tapping Students’ Popular Culture Interest Through An Elementary School Newspaper by Andrew Huddleston (pg. 16)

Can Digital Storytelling Improve Literacy Outcomes for Students with Autism? by Brent Daigle and Margaret-Mary Sulentic Dowell (pg. 25)

Project Pen Pal: A Win-Win …

"Good English": Literacy And Institutional Systems At A Community Literacy Organization, Charise G. Alexander

Department of English: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

This thesis explores the impact of institutions and the systems and communities of which they are a part on literacy instruction, practices, and rhetoric at a community literacy organization in Lincoln, Nebraska. A majority of students served by this organization are adult English Language Learners, many of whom receive instruction from volunteer tutors. In this unique context, a number of factors affect literacy learning, particularly the perpetuation of conservative, hegemonic discourses about literacy by the organizations which fund literacy education programming at this site.

The power dynamics at work in these granting organizations and in larger systems that control and …

Elementary Principals' Literacy Practices And Their Relationship To Student Achievement In Reading, Sandra Carper Cox

Teaching & Learning Theses & Dissertations

Principal behavior is under intense scrutiny, particularly in light of increased demands for higher and higher levels of student achievement. Reading achievement is the measure by which schools as well as principal leadership are judged. This study examined principals' literacy practices and their relationship to student achievement in reading. Measures used for analyses included a researcher-developed survey instrument, the Principal Quality Literacy Practices Survey, and results from the grade five Virginia Standards of Learning (SOL) English: Reading test.

Survey data from 109 principals and 160 reading specialists from Southeastern Virginia were utilized. Principals and reading specialists reported that overall principals' …

Spelling Errors In Children With Autism, Khalyn I. Wiggins

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The goal of this study was to examine the spelling errors of children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) when asked to spell morphologically complex words. Specifically, this study sought to determine if percent accuracy across morphological areas would be similar to patterns noted in typical developing children, correlate with participant age, and correlate to performance on standardized measures of achievement. Additionally, the study wanted to highlight the types of errors made by children with ASD on homonyms and the specific linguistic patterns noted when spelling derivational and inflectional word types.

Participants included 29 children diagnosed with Autism, PDD-NOS, and Asperger’s …

Knowledge Building And Vocabulary Growth Over Two Years, Grades 3 And 4, Yanqing Sun, Jianwei Zhang, Marlene Scardamalia

Educational Theory and Practice Faculty Scholarship

High-level literacy and productive knowledge work are central to educational reforms. In the research reported in this article, students were engaged in sustained, collaborative knowledge building in science and social studies. The vocabulary growth of 22 students over Grades 3 and 4 was traced, based on their entries to Knowledge Forum—a knowledge building environment used as an integral part of classroom work. It is the communal space where ideas, reference material, results of experiments, and other inquiry work are entered and continually improved. Analysis of lexical frequency profiles indicated significant growth in productive written vocabulary, including academic words. In a …

Why Your Academic Library Needs A Popular Reading Collection Now More Than Ever, Pauline Dewan

Library Publications

Do popular reading materials belong in college and university libraries? Although some librarians think not, others believe there are compelling reasons for including them. The trend towards user-focused libraries, the importance of attracting patrons to libraries in the age of the Internet, and, most importantly, the need to promote literacy at a time when it has reached its lowest levels are all reasons why academic librarians are reconsidering their ideas about popular reading materials. Librarians who decide to implement a leisure reading collection should consider a number of key issues.

Implementation Of Language And Literacy Practices By Prekindergarten Teachers In The West Virginia Universal Pre-K System, Leslie Papelier

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

This study investigated the perceived frequency of implementation of language and literacy practices for 217 West Virginia Pre-K teachers. Teachers were employed in public school-based and community-based classrooms for 4-year-olds. Respondents completed the Language and Literacy Practice Survey (LLPS), which measured their perceived frequency of implementation of 18 language and literacy practices. Their overall perceived ability level for implementing effective language and literacy instruction was also assessed. Respondents also rated their use of resources and materials to facilitate effective language and literacy instruction. Additionally, respondents answered open-ended qualitative questions to determine perceived constraints that may hinder their effective implementation of …

Interdisciplinary Theoretical Foundations For Literacy Teaching And Learning, Ruth Farrar, K. S. Al-Qatawneh

Elementary and Early Childhood Education Faculty Publications

This article presents an interdisciplinary approach to literacy teaching and learning. The approach views literacy as involving numerous functions, including linguistic, psychological, cognitive, social, and critical functions. Research on the teaching and learning of literacy that underlies the model is discussed first. The interdisciplinary approach is defined and discussed next. The article concludes with a discussion of conclusions and implications for literacy education.

Developing A Culturally Responsive Literacy Pedagogy: Preservice Teachers, Teaching Cases, And Postcard Narratives, Annmarie Alberton Gunn

USF St. Petersburg Campus Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

The Saga Of Diagnosing The Entry Behaviors Of Ghanaian First Graders, Francis Godwyll

Academic Leadership: The Online Journal (2003-2012)

In Ghana, on average, a child enters the first year of the primary school at the age of six because few manage to go to first grade at the age of five. About 30% of these children would have had access to kindergarten or nursery education for at least one year (Ministry of Education, 1995). There are some children who before entering first grade, would have had early education on a continuum from one to three years. Yet, the majority of children will enter the first year in the primary school with no prior exposure to early education. Therefore, they …