Education Commons^™

Contradiction And Critical Consciousness: Engaging Canadian University Students In Racial Dialogue On Anti-Chinese Racism, Dan Cui

Journal of Comparative & International Higher Education

This study examines how Canadian university students perceived and engaged with anti-Chinese racism during the COVID-19 pandemic. Drawing on grounded theory and interviews and written reflections from 28 undergraduates at a predominantly White university, the study analyzes students’ contradictory understandings of racism shaped by media, national narratives, and prior educational experiences. Informed by Bourdieu’s concept of habitus, it conceptualizes these tensions as a contradictory racialized habitus, in which awareness and denial, empathy and distancing, coexist. Three themes emerged: contradictory orientations toward anti-Chinese racism, the transnational influence of U.S. political discourse, and the limited transformative impact of a social justice course. …

Equitable Science Instruction For Diverse Learners: Differentiation With Consideration For Multilingual Students, Alicia Reyelts

Masters Projects

Multilingual learners (MLs) continue to experience persistent achievement gaps in science, often due to the linguistic demands of academic language and the limited availability of instructional supports within general education classrooms. As classrooms become increasingly diverse, science teachers require practical instructional resources that promote equitable access to rigorous, standards based learning while supporting students' language development. This master's project addresses this need through the development of a differentiated seventh-grade chemistry unit aligned with the Michigan Middle School Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS). The project is grounded in the principles of differentiated instruction (DI), drawing upon the work of Tomlinson as …

Addressing The Absence Of Formal Curriculum In Dual Language Immersion Program, Janet Roque

FDLA Journal

This strategic research project (SRP) was designed to provide a comprehensive, actionable solution to the critical challenge of inconsistent instruction resulting from the absence of a formal, aligned curriculum within the district’s Dual Language Immersion (DLI) program. This gap had previously led to instructional variability, disparate student outcomes, and increased teacher frustration due to a lack of shared resources and pedagogical direction. The project’s central objective was to develop, implement, and evaluate a vertically and horizontally aligned DLI curriculum framework designed to ensure instructional fidelity, promote sustained academic achievement, and guarantee equitable opportunities for biliteracy development across all participating grade …

Multimodal Digital Libraries: A Response To Culturally And Linguistically Sustaining Classrooms, Abigail Lopez

Masters Projects

Poorly represented minority groups fail to connect reader identity backgrounds

with the characters in texts due to curriculum traditionally relying on English dominant

translations. This system challenge deficit fails students by placing limitations on the

exposure of rich vocabulary, cultural awareness and sets up lack of engagement. This

project is grounded in Culturally and Linguistically Sustaining Pedagogy, Sociocultural

Theory, Constructing Reader Identities and Engagement theories that transforms

student diversity into an instructional practice that empowers multilingual learners.

To empower students, this digital culturally relevant library optimizes educator

planning time. This digital library provides immediate access to multicultural books

alongside a …

Eksplorasi Pemanfaatan Aplikasi Miraa Berbasis Transkripsi Ai Dalam Pembelajaran Menyimak Bahasa Mandarin, Dewi Permatasari Mulyono, Aiga Ventivani, Iwa Sobara, Aisyah Yasmin, Aulia Miftahul Jannah, Keiza Jasmine Aprilanadja

Journal of Language, Literature, and Arts

This study explores the use of Miraa, an AI-based transcription application, in Mandarin listening instruction and students’ responses to its use in a Chinese Comprehensive 2 course. A descriptive qualitative approach was employed involving 21 students from the Mandarin Language Education Program at Universitas Negeri Malang. Data were collected through classroom observations, semi-structured interviews with 10 purposively selected students, documentation, and exercise scores as supporting data. The data were analyzed through data condensation, data display, and conclusion drawing and verification, supported by source and technique triangulation. The findings indicate that Miraa was used as multimodal scaffolding by integrating audio, automatic …

Slang In Tiktok Videos: A Study Of Linguistics And Its Implications On Bipa Informal Vocabulary Learning, Rahma Indri Cahya Havilah, Nuny Sulistiany Idris, Ida Widia

Jurnal Pendidikan: Teori, Penelitian, dan Pengembangan

Mastery of informal vocabulary is one of the main challenges for Indonesian as a Foreign Language (BIPA) learners, since slang on social media. Unfortunately, contextual and relevant teaching materials that cover slang for BIPA learners are limited. This study aims to identify the linguistic forms of slang language in TikTok videos, analyze their usage, and examine their implications for informal vocabulary learning in BIPA. The present study is descriptive-analytical with a linguistic approach, including phonological, morphological, pragmatic, and semantic analyses. Data were collected through observation and documentation of TikTok videos. This study reveals two particular linguistic forms, namely phonological and …

Ábreme La Puerta Y Entraré: Utilizing Hip Hop Pedagogy To Build Community For English Learners With Disabilities, Ebony Nicole Perez, Georgina Rivera-Singletary

Journal of the Arts and Special Education

English Language Learners (ELL) with disabilities face complex educational experiences due to their limited English-speaking ability, coupled with their unique learning challenges. Often, they are viewed from a deficit rather than an asset perspective, leading them to feelings of isolation and marginalization. Providing opportunities to engage in transformative learning experiences, ELL students with disabilities can experience a sense of belonging and empowerment in educational endeavors. Hip-hop can offer dynamic opportunities for ELL students with disabilities by creating an inclusive, affirming space that validates diverse linguistic and cultural backgrounds. Through Hip-hop cyphers, rap battles, and collaborative songwriting, students can grasp new …

Decentring Philosophical Education In African Tertiary Education: Integrating Global Perspectives In The Classroom, Isaac Mutelo

Comparative Philosophy

The philosophical discourse has been dominated by Western perspectives, an approach that continues to influence curriculum design and delivery in higher education. The historical dominance of the Western philosophical canon in university curricula has contributed to the marginalisation of other equally significant philosophical traditions from Africa, Latin America, Asia, and Indigenous cultures. This approach has contributed significantly to the narrow and limited scope and relevance of philosophy as an academic field globally. Rather than advocating for the dominance and superiority of the Western-centred curriculum, this paper acknowledges the centrality of integrating global philosophical perspectives in the philosophy curriculum and discourse …

Engaging Intercultural Philosophy In The Classroom: A Methodological Proposal, Gloria Luque Moya

Comparative Philosophy

The exclusion of non-Western philosophies from university curricula has been a persistent feature of academic philosophy, both in the United States and Europe. This marginalization reflects an enduring assumption that philosophy is a uniquely Western enterprise, originating in ancient Greece and developed exclusively within European traditions. This article challenges that assumption by arguing that the teaching of intercultural philosophy is not merely a pedagogical issue, but an urgent necessity in the context of globalization and cross-cultural exchange. Focusing on the limited presence of non-Western philosophical traditions in Spanish university programs, the article first analyzes the structural asymmetry in the historiography …

Teaching China Beyond Eurocentrism: Intercultural Pedagogy And The Case Of The República Del Reino De La China By Jerónimo Román Zamora, Miriam Diaz Belizon

Comparative Philosophy

Interdisciplinary approaches to teaching China in Western academic contexts often reproduce Eurocentric frameworks that reduce Chinese philosophical and cultural traditions to subordinate objects of analysis. This article proposes an alternative model grounded in intercultural philosophy and the Filosofías del Sur, arguing that China should be approached not as a distant object of representation, but as an epistemic interlocutor capable of transforming philosophical education. The article develops this argument through the recovery of the República del Reino de la China, included in the 1595 edition of Repúblicas del Mundo, as a key example of early intercultural mediation from the European South. …

Tracing The Philosophy Of Toleration Through An Intercultural Lens: Theory, Challenges, And Educational Implications, Xianzhe Hui

Comparative Philosophy

Toleration is usually defined as a permissive attitude toward disagreement or dislike concerning diverse beliefs and practices. In philosophical education, toleration is emphasized both theoretically and in the way teachers and students practice it. Scholars and philosophers are familiar with the connotations and justifications of toleration attributed to Enlightenment philosophers. Toleration has often been regarded as a uniquely Western idea or virtue, rooted in the European Enlightenment values of individual rights and freedom of thought. Recently, however, this viewpoint has been challenged by scholars, who argue that the approaches to diversity in non-Western intellectual traditions should be taken into consideration. …

Intercultural Questioning: Teaching Report On A Question-Oriented Pedagogy In Teaching Chinese Philosophy, Sai Hang Kwok

Comparative Philosophy

Language and cultural barriers pose major obstacles to teaching Chinese philosophy to Western philosophy students. Without a cultural and linguistic background, students often struggle to read the original Chinese philosophical texts. Translation also involves issues of interpretation that are difficult to be settled in undergraduate-level courses. To address this situation, this paper introduces a question-oriented pedagogy called “intercultural questioning”. Instead of aiming at a comprehensive understanding of the entire Chinese philosophical tradition, the question-oriented pedagogy reveals the implicit assumptions in one’s conceptual frameworks and unexamined questions in Western philosophy through the East-West dialogue. Students can obtain philosophical insights from Chinese …

Objectives And Methods Of Teaching Intercultural Philosophy: Introduction, Zaida Espinosa Zarate, Mario Wenning

Comparative Philosophy

No abstract provided.

A Constructive Engagement With Confucian Gender Ethics: Reinterpreting The Three Obediences And Four Virtues In Contemporary Vietnam, Vo Van Dung

Comparative Philosophy

This paper examines the influence of the doctrines of the Three Obediences and Four Virtues on the moral thought of Vietnamese women in contemporary society. The study addresses the central question of whether and how these doctrines remain relevant within current social and cultural contexts. It traces the historical introduction and transformation of these doctrines in Vietnam. It analyses their dual impact on women’s moral values, highlighting both their enduring ethical contributions and their role in sustaining gendered constraints. The findings suggest that while certain elements of the Four Virtues have been reinterpreted and selectively integrated into modern ethical frameworks, …

Language Learning Under Pressure: Rethinking Anxiety, Assessment, And Support In Second Language Classrooms, Bryn C. Cole

All Graduate Reports and Creative Projects, Fall 2023 to Present

This portfolio examines the role of anxiety in second language acquisition (SLA) and its impact on student performance, assessment, and overall participation. Drawing on both the author’s classroom experience and SLA research, it argues that language anxiety should be understood as a structural feature of classroom environments rather than an individual learner deficit. The paper explores how traditional assessment practices may obscure students’ underlying competence by prioritizing performance under pressure. It proposes two key shifts in response: reformatting assessments as a more flexible and context-sensitive process, and integrating peer mentorship as a form of interpersonal instructional support. Together, these approaches …

Praise That Empowers: Training Preschool Teachers To Linguistically Adapt Behavior-Specific Praise For Hispanic Students, Claudia Abril Ochoa

Dissertations

Children’s engagement in early ages is critical for promoting behavioral, academic, and social-emotional outcomes. However, engagement in classroom activities may be difficult for young children who have not mastered the primary language used in early childhood education settings (i.e., English). Research regarding engagement in English Language Learners (ELLs) in preschool settings, as well as cultural and/or linguistic adaptations of classroom interventions to serve this population is limited. Behavior-specific praise (BSP) has been an effective strategy to improve behavior in preschool classrooms. The current study used a multiple-baseline design across three Head-Start teachers to test the efficacy of in situ training …

Iniciativas Transfronterizas Informe De Border Fellows 2025-2026, Elise Free Ma, Tori Luna Ma, Jonathan De Vicente Encarnación Mtro., Yolanda Viridiana Chávez Flores Dra., Korina Odet Cortés Uribe Dra., Jessie Valcin, Cristina Solano Díaz, Etienne Mulumeoderhwa Mufungizi Dr.

Kroc IPJ Research and Resources

El Informe Border Fellows 2025–2026 documenta seis proyectos comunitarios realizados en la región Tijuana–San Diego en el marco del Programa Border Fellows del Kroc Institute for Peace and Justice. Desde la academia, la sociedad civil y el sector público, las y los fellows abordaron retos distintos atravesados por un mismo contexto: el tráfico de armas y la violencia armada contra mujeres y personas LGBTQIA+; la violencia juvenil y el riesgo suicida en una secundaria pública; la discriminación en una preparatoria federal con más de 4,300 estudiantes; la capacidad organizativa y los derechos lingüísticos de comunidades indígenas en Baja California; el …

Cross-Border Initiatives Border Fellow Report 2025-2026, Elise Free Ma, Tori Luna Ma, Jonathan De Vicente Encarnación Ma, Yolanda Viridiana Chávez Flores Phd, Korina Odet Cortés Uribe Edd, Jessie Valcin, Cristina Solano Díaz, Etienne Mulumeoderhwa Mufungizi Phd

Kroc IPJ Research and Resources

The 2025–2026 Border Fellows Report documents six community-led projects carried out across the Tijuana–San Diego region under the Kroc Institute for Peace and Justice's Border Fellows Program. Working in academia, civil society, and the public sector, the fellows addressed distinct challenges shaped by a common context: firearms trafficking and armed violence against women and LGBTQIA+ people; youth violence and suicide risk in a public middle school; discrimination in a federal preparatory school serving more than 4,300 students; the organizational capacity and language rights of Indigenous communities in Baja California; academic accompaniment for Haitian adolescents excluded from formal schooling; and intercultural …

Lesson Plans, Teacher Self-Efficacy, And Ml Achievement: A Quantitative Study Of Teachers Incorporating Language Acquisition Within Lesson Plans To Improve Multi-Lingual Learner Achievement, Patrick R. Withers

All Dissertations

South Carolina’s public schools are increasingly facing the challenge of addressing the needs of a growing number of multi-lingual (ML) learners. ML learners are increasingly marginalized in society and schools, and show lower rates of achievement within schools. Schools are faced with providing effective tier 1, universal instruction for all students, including ML learners. This quantitative study seeks to improve ML achievement through incorporation of language acquisition skills within the classroom lesson plans. It is also the goal of this study to measure teacher self-efficacy of the selected study cohort.

This study takes place in a large suburban high school …

Using Assessments Intentionally With Consideration For English Language Learners, Elizabeth Ropp

Masters Projects

Assessment systems in the United States are failing English Language Learners (ELLs), and it has become apparent that action must be taken to try and right this injustice. There is a wide achievement gap between native English speakers and non-native English speakers when it comes to performance on state, local, and classroom assessments. Unfortunately, many teachers report that they do not feel adequately prepared to support ELLs both on classroom assessments and on mandatory state or local tests. With an ever-growing increase in ELL enrollment in American schools, it is imperative that teachers are given tools to help them better …

Voices From The Classroom: A Multiple Case Study Of Early Childhood Educators Implementing Science Of Reading Curriculum With Multilingual Learners, Alecia Clamp

All Dissertations

This multiple case study examined how first-grade teachers implemented Science of Reading (SoR) aligned literacy instruction with MLs in two Title I elementary schools. As SoR-aligned curriculum and policies continue to expand across the United States, questions remain regarding how these approaches address the linguistic and literacy needs of MLs. This study explored teachers’ perceptions of SoR-aligned curriculum, the instructional adaptations they made to support MLs, and the challenges and successes they experienced during implementation.

Grounded in constructivist and sociocultural perspectives, this study employed aholistic multiple case study design situated within a mixed concurrent dominant status framework. Five first-grade teachers …

Brief Insights: Learning, Leading, And Growing Together: Highlights From A Multilingual Learner And Mathematics Focused Research, Practice, Policy Partnership, Elvira G. Armas, Ed.D., Magaly Lavadenz, Ph.D., Kaivan Yuen, Ed.D., Miguel Valencia

Education and Policy Briefs

Building on a longstanding partnership, the Center for Equity for English Learners (CEEL) at Loyola Marymount University and Montebello Unified School District (MUSD) expanded their Research, Practice, Policy Partnership (RPPP) to examine Spanish academic oral language development among TK–5 Dual Language Immersion students engaged in Cognitively Guided Instruction (CGI) in mathematics. Teacher-researchers analyzed video samples of students explaining their mathematical reasoning using a rubric aligned with the California Spanish Language Development Standards.

Findings demonstrate meaningful growth in students’ Spanish academic oral language across the school year, particularly in their ability to support opinions and select language resources to communicate mathematical …

Navigating Dual Standards: Secondary Educators Integrating English Language Standards To Achieve English Proficiency, Calleigh Herrell

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

English Learners represent one of the fastest-growing student populations in the United States, creating increased demands on secondary educators to support both language development and academic achievement. As accountability expectations continue to emphasize grade-level proficiency in English Language Arts (ELA), educators serving English Learners must navigate the intersection of English language proficiency standards and content-area instructional requirements. While English Language Proficiency Assessment for the 21st Century (ELPA-21) standards are intended to support language acquisition and access to academic content, educators often face challenges integrating language development goals with grade-level ELA expectations. As such, secondary educators play a critical role in …

"Fenomeno Frontera:" Family Language Policy As Lived Experience At The U.S.-Mexico Borderlands, Alejandra Sanmiguel-Lopez

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Family language policy (FLP) research expands the understanding of how families' language ideologies, language management, and language practices shape children's bilingual development. However, limited research has examined these processes among transfronterizo families living along the U.S.-México border. This qualitative narrative inquiry explores how transfronterizo families describe and negotiate their family language policies and how these policies relate to their experiences in the borderland, including their relationships with schools. Guided by family language policy and borderlands theory, this dissertation employs Seidman's (2006) three-interview series with five transfronterizo mothers raising children enrolled in dual language programs in the El Paso, Texas, region. …

You Can't Teach Kids From A Book: Language, Authority And Revitalization In Jicarilla Apache Life, Mariann Skahan

Anthropology ETDs

This dissertation examines how Jicarilla Apache is learned, taught, and used across community life, with particular attention to contemporary language revitalization. Based on ethnographic research with elders, educators, language workers, families, and community institutions, it follows language practices across classrooms, culture camps, homes, ceremonial settings, and collaborative archival projects. I show that linguistic knowledge does not carry the same authority or consequences in every setting. Words may be recognized without being taken up, speakers may possess linguistic knowledge without being authorized to teach or correct, and archival texts may preserve linguistic forms without preserving the relations needed to interpret and …

Breaking The Mold: An Examination Of Student Perceptions With Faculty-Led Native American Student Research Experiences, Caitlin A. Johnson

The Interactive Journal of Global Leadership and Learning

In recent years, Native American students in Minnesota have experienced the state’s widest equity gap. In response, a faculty advisor guided students through an immersive Indigenous research experience using the medicine wheel as a learning model focused on culturally relevant topics. Culturally relevant teaching uses methods and techniques that are building from a student’s interests, values, and strengths helps them to have a more meaningful educational experience by connecting home with school (Gay, 2000). Grounded in culturally relevant teaching theory, this approach connects students’ lived experiences to academic learning, making the exploration of equity gaps particularly meaningful for Indigenous students …

What I Brought With Me: Bilingualism, Resistance, And Identity In U.S. Doctoral Education, Xiao Hu

Journal of Educational Research and Innovation

In U.S. higher education, the bilingualism of international doctoral students is often reduced to a measure of English deficiency rather than recognized as a linguistic and cultural resource. Drawing on Anzaldúa's borderlands theory, this autoethnographic study examines the lived experiences of a female Chinese international doctoral student negotiating bilingual identity in U.S. academia. Using personal journals, written correspondence, field notes, and memories of significant encounters as data, this inquiry explores three dimensions of experience: the ways bilingual identity is misread or appropriated in academic spaces; the relationships that offered recognition and belonging; and the cultural and pedagogical knowledge that bilingualism …

Vocabulary Acquisition Through Developmental Play, Amy Storlie

Graduate Teacher Education

As the population of English learners in the United States grew, there was a greater need for linguistically and developmentally appropriate instructional approaches for young learners. The question that guided this research on appropriate instructional approaches was: How does developmental play support the acquisition of academic vocabulary among early-emergent multilingual students in kindergarten and first grade? The research review examined peer-reviewed research across three interconnected bodies of literature: play-based learning, interactions in developmental play, and vocabulary instruction. The findings indicated that purposeful, guided play strengthened executive function, expressive language, and academic growth. In addition, collaborative practices such as translanguaging supported …

Bilingualism And Literacy Development: A Systematic Review Of English-Italian Bilingual Children, Francesca Cocilovo

Electronic Theses and Dissertations 2020 - Present

This systematic review examines the cross-linguistic effects of English-Italian bilingualism on the early literacy development of children ages 4 to 10. Nine studies published between 1995 and 2021 are included following a systematic search, screening, and quality appraisal process. Evidence supports that cross-linguistic transfer effects influenced grammar, metalinguistic, reading fluency, comprehension, spelling, vocabulary, writing, and memory skills across English and Italian. English-Italian bilingualism generally results in neutral or positive literacy outcomes. However, case-by-case variations appear depending on orthographic depth, bilingual presentation, language exposure, and reading status. Children with reading difficulties are particularly sensitive to orthographic differences during second-language acquisition. Although …

Zoom In And Zoom Out: (Re)Telling Our Cultural Literacy Practices Through Engaged Learning, Isela Almaguer

Bilingual and Literacy Studies Faculty Publications

Empowering bilingual learners to engage in the Zoom In and Zoom Out approach is a way to enrich and validate students' cultural identity and support students' linguistic and academic development while fostering rich writing opportunities for students. Teachers will discover a genuine way that empowers students to explore vocabulary, build comprehension, and acquire a love for writing. This effective multifaceted strategy approaches writing by leveraging students' cultural background and literacy practices. Students will capitalize on their funds of knowledge and use their experiences to further propel their writing efforts. By starting from within, diverse learners make stronger connections with the …