Education Commons^™

With The Highest Ideals: The Florida State Normal College At Defuniak Springs, 1887-1905, Sharon Y. Clifford

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The urgent need for teachers led the Florida legislature in 1887 to establish the Florida State Normal College at DeFuniak Springs. The college closed in 1905 with passage of the Buckman Act, which mandated a complete reorganization of state-supported higher education and ended coeducation for white students. This small college, open for eighteen years, was uniquely situated in time and place to examine larger questions in American educational history as well as contribute to the history of higher education in Florida, which developed differently than in other states.

This historical case study used archival sources to examine this institution, and …

Entering An Academic Discourse Community: A Case Study Of The Coping Strategies Of Eleven English As A Second Language Students, Cheryl Benz

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This case study follows eleven non-English speaking students as they adapt to community college, content courses. The three classes examined are required freshman classes--Humanities, Social Environment, and Individual in Transition. In order to cope with the demands of these classes, students must penetrate the academic discourse community and have effective relationships with their instructors and their peers. The results of the study are based on interviews with eleven non-native speaking (NNS) students and their instructors and on an analysis of student writing assignments, course syllabi, and exams. Three general areas are examined: (a) students' first-language (L₁) education, (b) …