Education Commons^™

Narrowing The Opportunity Gap: Developing Culturally Sustaining Pedagogy For Culturally And Linguistically Diverse Students, Niles Engerman

Dissertations

As per Breeze and Laborda (2016), a culturally responsive curriculum addresses the integration of students into a new culture, as bilingual education traditionally receives minimal interest from the authorities. Akkari and Loomis (1998) explain that bilingual education is socially and historically situated, while van Lier (2004) posits that diverse linguistic groups will have an ominous future if the educational system ignores their linguistic needs. This demands a paradigmatic shift to meet the needs of culturally and linguistically diverse students (CLDs). Advocating for culturally responsive curriculum, this defense will examine the history of bilingual education in the United States, linguistic ecology, …

Mexican American Parents Of Elementary Students And Literacy Engagement: A Case Study Of A Bilingual (Spanish/English) Parent Book Club Using Children's Literature, Pablo Ochoa

Dissertations

This qualitative case study explored what occurred when seven Latinx parents and a bilingual coordinator engaged in a book club using the same historical fiction text as the school's fifth grade classroom. Research questions focused on Book Club participation, connections to the focal text(s), and new learning. Data included audiotapes of the sessions, parent written/artistic artifacts, participant interviews, retrospective field notes, and reflective journal entries.

Study findings suggest that positive partnerships between schools and parents can occur within familial text engagement opportunities built on existing relationships with school personnel; use of relevant literature, literacy activities that allow for parent choice …

Linguistic Interactions Of Spanish Speaking Mexican American Families, Adelfio J. Garcia

Dissertations

This study explored the bilingual linguistic interactions in Mexican families and their impact on children’s language and literacy development. This qualitative study gathered data using different methods, namely, interviews, direct observations, participant observation, and physical artifacts to examine parents’ perceptions of their own educational path in comparison to their children’s educational path in an American school system, together with their daily linguistic interactions in various social contexts, and the features, themes and roles of linguistic interactions participants. Study results assisted in gaining deeper understanding of daily conversations happening in different social contexts and their impact on the language and literacy …