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Full-Text Articles in Education
Striving To Increase Bipoc Family Participation In Early Childhood Family Education, Ayuko Boomer
Striving To Increase Bipoc Family Participation In Early Childhood Family Education, Ayuko Boomer
School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Theses and Dissertations
Boomer, A. U. (2023). Striving to Increase BIPOC Family Participation in Early Childhood Family Education. Early Childhood Family Education (ECFE) is a public education program designed and available for all parents and families in Minnesota. Despite these intentions, many Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) families remain unaware of ECFE's existence and its significance. The purpose of this study is to understand the current methodologies of parent education outreach and collaboration with other programs, in particular, BIPOC communities, and explore and process what efforts have been made to increase BIPOC participation in traditional ECFE parent education group classes (non-affinity …
The Disappearing Of The Hmong Language, Choua Yang
The Disappearing Of The Hmong Language, Choua Yang
School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Projects
Within my personal and professional experience, I have observed that the Hmong oral language has declined since the Hmong people arrived in the United States. Over the past 50 years in the United States, there have been growing concerns regarding the decline in usage of the Hmong language within Hmong children. In my personal experience, my children who are second generation Hmong, only the five older children are bilingual while my three younger children only speak English. As for my seven grandchildren, who are third generation Hmong, they only speak English. They do not understand nor speak the Hmong language. …
Social And Emotional Learning Resource To Reinforce Skills For 1st Grade Families And Caregivers, Jemmy Vasquez Sermeno
Social And Emotional Learning Resource To Reinforce Skills For 1st Grade Families And Caregivers, Jemmy Vasquez Sermeno
School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Projects
Social and Emotional Learning continues to grow and take part at all times in schools. This capstone project extends social and emotional learning (SEL) to time outside of school. The project discusses the relationship between schools and families/caregivers with the common goal of extending learning outside of school. This project creates a website as a resource to aid families/caregivers in reinforcing social and emotional skills outside of school. The following question is proposed: How can we make Social and Emotional Learning more accessible for 1st grade families and caregivers in order to reinforce social and emotional skills outside of school? …
Accessibility To Infant And Toddler Programming At A Nature-Based Zoo Preschool, Eileen Garcia-Sanchez
Accessibility To Infant And Toddler Programming At A Nature-Based Zoo Preschool, Eileen Garcia-Sanchez
School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Projects
Settings that differ from the typical four-walled classroom have increased due to the recognition of nature-based learning from educators and researchers. With a strong focus on the rise in nature-based preschools, we see a lack of accessibility to quality experiences in nature-based programming for infants and toddlers. Through this project, I wanted to answer the question: how can an infant/toddler program designed to explore the benefits of nature-based learning reach San Antonio, TX families when created by a nature-based zoo preschool? To answer the research question, I explore resources highlighting key components in infant and toddler development, nature-based learning benefits, …
How Can Culturally-Responsive Instruction Help Middle And High School Teachers Address Muslim Students' Needs?, Mona Aly
School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Projects
This capstone project explores how middle and high school teachers can create positive relationships with Muslim students by using culturally responsive instruction. Educators must understand that Muslim students have unique cultural identities based on their religious beliefs. Regardless of nationality, language, skin color, or cultural background, all Muslims are bound by these Islamic cultural practices. These practices directly impact students’ academic progress, social life, and self-esteem. By familiarizing themselves with these cultural and religious practices, teachers can better relate to Muslim students and address their social and academic needs. I seek answers to this research question by discussing four main …
Effective Teacher-Parent Communication Tools To Empower Families To Be Active In Their Children’S Learning, Ellis Richardson
Effective Teacher-Parent Communication Tools To Empower Families To Be Active In Their Children’S Learning, Ellis Richardson
School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Projects
Creating an environment that is conducive for learning is an essential component of education. In search of ways to achieve this goal through family engagement the question was posed, How can educators effectively communicate with families to empower them to take an active role in their child’s learning? Research has demonstrated that there is a link between student success and teacher-parent partnerships through one way and two way communication methods. The project involved creating a set of resources for educators to foster and maintain teacher-parent partnerships with the goal being student success. The resources are accompanied by a professional development …
Maintaining And Retaining The Home Language While Learning English, Panhia Vang
Maintaining And Retaining The Home Language While Learning English, Panhia Vang
School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Projects
The Hmong are an Asian ethnic group that has been living in the United States for over 50 years now. Given the history of the Hmong, many Hmong parents have had no formal education or the highest education attainment they have is a high school diploma. Having little to no formal education, many parents do not know how to navigate the American school system to support their children with their academics. With the influence of American media and the school system, many Hmong American students are fluent in English, however, they are losing their cultural identity and home language. Despite …
The Impact Of Home Language Maintenance And Acculturation Gaps Amongst Somali-American Families, Morgyn Wade
The Impact Of Home Language Maintenance And Acculturation Gaps Amongst Somali-American Families, Morgyn Wade
School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Theses and Dissertations
The research question addressed in this thesis was: What impact does home language maintenance and acculturation gaps have on Somali-American families? The purpose was to understand the impact of language loss and acculturation gaps and to see what teachers and others could do to help encourage home language maintenance amongst Somali-American families. It discusses previous research in the field; such as Brown and Carpenter’s (2018) study of a community of Somali-Americans in Barron, Wisconsin, and Gonzalez and Mendez-Pounds’(2018) study on Mexican-American families and parents’ approaches to home language maintenance. In addition, this thesis explores the various connections between language, culture, …
Promoting Early Literacy Learning, Margaret Baird
Promoting Early Literacy Learning, Margaret Baird
School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Projects
This capstone addresses the importance of early literacy exposure for later literacy development and academic achievement. Literacy levels when students enter school have been shown to be related to later reading achievement and academic success. Caregiver involvement is a significant part of early literacy development. The influence of caregiver involvement is the primary focus of the project. The website created for this project provides caregivers of children birth to age 5 with activities to facilitate the development of early literacy, and community resources dedicated to promoting early literacy. The project is intended for anyone who spends an extended amount of …
Building Collective Ownership In The School Community Through Authentic Engagement Of Latino Families And Students: A Professional Development For School, Molly Barajas
School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Projects
Research has shown that students who have parents that are involved in their education have higher school attendance, school participation and graduation rates. The professional development series developed for this project focuses on the most effective methods teachers and support staff can utilize to authentically engage Latino families in their child's education. In the past, teachers and support staff have expressed frustration at what they perceive as lack of participation in school activities by English Language Learner families. This project discusses traditional and non traditional methods for authentically engaging Latino parents in their children’s education. These methods first require staff …
Virtual Distance Learning: How Teachers And Parents/Guardians Can Help Increase Elementary School Students’ Engagement, Joceline Rita
Virtual Distance Learning: How Teachers And Parents/Guardians Can Help Increase Elementary School Students’ Engagement, Joceline Rita
School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Projects
Although distance learning has existed since the 1700s, it was not until the COVID-19 pandemic that the general public was introduced to it. UNESCO (2020) estimated that there are 290.5 million elementary and secondary students in 184 countries whose education was derailed as a result of school closures caused by the pandemic. Due to the suddenness of the situation, teachers along with parents/guardians had to find tools and resources in order to make sure that students could get a high-quality education during virtual distance learning. The key to achieving that is student engagement. Now that the general public has been …
Somali Family Priorities And Perspectives Regarding Middle School Engagement, Joanna Fischer
Somali Family Priorities And Perspectives Regarding Middle School Engagement, Joanna Fischer
School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Theses and Dissertations
The purpose of this research was to investigate Somali families’ priorities and perspectives regarding middle school engagement. A survey was used which asked parents to rate the importance of different school engagement efforts, both at home and at school. Parents were then asked to answer open-ended questions regarding school engagement. Findings suggest that Somali parents prioritize those events and activities that directly benefit the child’s academics, more so than events and activities related to school-wide information and involvement. Furthermore, parents asked for better communication, more resources, and more equitable practices from educators. They also saw the importance of the education …
The Importance Of Sleep For Learning And Behavior, Alison D’Antonio
The Importance Of Sleep For Learning And Behavior, Alison D’Antonio
School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Projects
Sleep is a necessary action humans need in order to survive, yet often it is neglected. The importance of sleep ranges from poor health defects to lack of performance in schools. The research question addressed in this project is “How does sleep affect a student’s behavior and learning?” The rationale for this topic was the lack of information provided about sleep’s importance in schools. The project associated with this capstone is a website. The goal of the website is to enlighten educators and parents/guardians on the importance of sleep and show ways to implement changes within schools and at home. …
A Family Approach To Family Literacy With Latino Parents, Jessica L. Davies-Lopez
A Family Approach To Family Literacy With Latino Parents, Jessica L. Davies-Lopez
School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Projects
The research question addressed in this project is, How can Latino parent involvement and direct teaching of literacy skills help to improve their child’s reading skills? Over the years, research has demonstrated the importance of parent involvement in the success of students’ achievement. Furthermore, Latino parent involvement has demonstrated benefits that far exceed expectations. When families and schools work together utilizing different Family Literacy programs, students and families succeed. This Capstone reviewed different literature to help understand Latino family involvement, in addition to reviewing different family literacy programs to help answer the research question. The Capstone also included a project …
Trained Home Literacy Program And Its Advantages In Pre-Kindergarten Through First Grade, Zachary Singleton
Trained Home Literacy Program And Its Advantages In Pre-Kindergarten Through First Grade, Zachary Singleton
School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Projects
The research question covered in this project was: how will a Trained Home Literacy Program provided with a curriculum, implemented in a child’s home, help improve literacy skills for students pre-kindergarten through first grade? The research indicated a need for more literacy intervention in the home setting. This project addresses this need through a fifteen week literacy curriculum written for parents, to be implemented in the home literacy environment. The curriculum consisted of a series of literacy based activities, designed to help parents support their children’s literacy development at home. The researcher used the Understanding by Design model when developing …
African American Parent Perspectives On School Segregation And Integration, Beatrice Rendon
African American Parent Perspectives On School Segregation And Integration, Beatrice Rendon
School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Theses and Dissertations
This capstone thesis explores the question: What are African American parent perspectives on segregation and integration in a large urban district in the Midwest? I review the literature on Critical Race Theory, counterstorytelling as a narrative research approach, historical factors leading to re-segregation in American schools, African American family engagement paradigms, African American families and school choice, and the effects of segregation on students. My narrative research approach centers the voices of four African American women who tell the stories of their school experiences as students and parents of Black children in the same urban district. While each parent had …
Workshop To Improve Parental Involvement For Somali Esl Parents, Adan Ali
Workshop To Improve Parental Involvement For Somali Esl Parents, Adan Ali
School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Projects
The guiding question addressed in this project was how can schools improve the involvement of Somali ESL parents? The aim of the project was to use a workshop model to discover further ways of improving the relationship between the school and the families. Somali ESL parents were targeted for this project because of cultural differences that limit their understanding of the American school system thus leading to low parental involvement. The project's content was influenced by parental involvement literature and Epstein's framework about the Six Types of Parental Involvement. The workshop content was delivered though facilitator-led presentations and group discussions …
Perceptions Of Adult-Child Collaboration In Toddler Environments In A Midwestern Montessori School, Anne Estes
Perceptions Of Adult-Child Collaboration In Toddler Environments In A Midwestern Montessori School, Anne Estes
School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Theses and Dissertations
The purpose of this study was to investigate adult perceptions of adult-child collaboration in two Montessori toddler environments and how it affects language, independence, and social interaction development. The study took place in one Midwestern Montessori school. The study was conducted on perceptions of adult-child collaboration through an electronic survey and intensive interviews. Five Montessori toddler assistants took the survey and two Montessori toddler guides completed intensive interviews. Once data were collected, qualitative theory methods were utilized to code, evaluate, and analyze all data. After data were re-analyzed, new theories and insights emerged surrounding how adult-child collaboration in a Montessori …
What Are The Parental Beliefs On The Relationship Between Poverty And Low-Grade Achievement?, Selamawit Ayalkebet
What Are The Parental Beliefs On The Relationship Between Poverty And Low-Grade Achievement?, Selamawit Ayalkebet
School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Projects
This project addresses the question: What are the parental beliefs on the relationship between poverty and low-grade achievement? It documented a well-written essay of the correlation between poverty and low-grade achievement. For my Literature Review chapter, I used sources that researchers conducted on studies related to my research question and I talked about how to understand low-grade achievement with the following lens: socioeconomics status of children and their families, socio-cultural status, family background and how these concepts are connected to low-grade achievement and what schools and teachers can do to best help students who come from lower socioeconomic backgrounds to …
Helping The District’S Latino Families Become More Independent In Accessing Online Tools Provided By The School District, Leticia Stabrino
Helping The District’S Latino Families Become More Independent In Accessing Online Tools Provided By The School District, Leticia Stabrino
School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Projects
The research question addressed in this project was, How can we help the district’s Latino families become more independent in accessing online tools provided by the school district? The author recounts how her personal experience as a teacher in South America and a Liaison in the United States paved her way to create this project. Through reviewing of literature, she exposes characteristics of the Latino culture, common barriers to communication in this community and different methods school districts use to communicate with families. With this information, she creates four instructional videos for Spanish speaking parents and explains how they will …
Children’S Connectedness To Nature And Parental Influence: A Mixed Methods Survey, Meredith Yue
Children’S Connectedness To Nature And Parental Influence: A Mixed Methods Survey, Meredith Yue
School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Theses and Dissertations
I conducted a mixed method survey to focus on the question, “What are the ways parents positively shape their children’s connectedness to nature?” There is a national phenomenon on the disconnect between children and the natural world, coined as the “nature deficit disorder.” This disorder has been linked to an increase in obesity, mental health, attention disorders and the overall well-being of children. I administered a quantitative survey for children to measure their connectedness to nature as well as a qualitative survey of parents to gather in-depth information to capture the richness of the nature experience that happens at home. …
What Is The Rational For Opening Elementary School In Somalia?, Abdikarim Mohamed
What Is The Rational For Opening Elementary School In Somalia?, Abdikarim Mohamed
School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Projects
This project explores the research question “What is the rational for opening an Elementary school in Somalia” It creates and builds a new private school for the children in Somalia that will focus on increasing achievement standards to the highest possible levels, by utilizing the STEM curriculum and a comprehensive college preparation with emphasis on science, technology, engineering and mathematics — while ensuring that quality character education is taught through every opportunity, and that all learn responsibility, respect, honesty, and the skills of analysis. The project then narrows down to the focus of planning and outline. This explains different models-finance, …
Website Resource For Strengthening The Relationships Of Fathers And Their Children To Increase Academic Achievement, Adam Barlow
School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Projects
The research question addressed in this project is, how can empowering fathers in their child’s life increase student academic achievement? The Capstone provides literature supporting the value of father in the lives of their children, providing them with optimal success in academics and beyond the classroom. It brings together characteristics and statistics of fatherhood, detailing how a father impacts: family roles, child’s behavior, child’s needs, learning tasks, daughters, a child with special needs, mother and father differences, and early child development. The author brings forth research to support fathers staying engaged with their child, from before birth to adolescence, providing …
Does A Classroom Website Increase Positive Communication And Relationships Between Parents And Teachers?, Cortney A. Cegla
Does A Classroom Website Increase Positive Communication And Relationships Between Parents And Teachers?, Cortney A. Cegla
School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Projects
The research questions addressed in this project was: Does a classroom website increase positive communication and relationships with teachers and parents? It provides readers research regarding the benefits of different communication strategies that can take place between teachers and parents. The project then narrows down to the focus of building a classroom website that will increase communication and build relationships between parents and teachers. Throughout the different chapters, the author describes the benefits, but also the barriers that come with communicating through a classroom website. It provides readers information on several different types of school website designs and classroom website …
Influencing Factors For Academic Tracking In High School Mathematics, Matthew Minowitz
Influencing Factors For Academic Tracking In High School Mathematics, Matthew Minowitz
School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Theses and Dissertations
The research question addressed in this capstone thesis is: What are prominent influencing factors related to academic tracking in mathematics? The thesis discusses influencing factors through a qualitative analysis of archival school data, student surveys, and student interviews. The research takes place in a “fringe rural” suburban public high school of a Midwest city with graduating class sizes between 200 and 250 students. This research identifies factors which have influenced student placement into high school mathematics tracks which are one year behind grade-level and two years ahead of grade-level. Conclusions from the study include findings related to family influences (eg. …
Empowering And Equipping Hispanic Immigrant Parents To Actively Engage In Their Children’S Education, Fernando G. Rogante
Empowering And Equipping Hispanic Immigrant Parents To Actively Engage In Their Children’S Education, Fernando G. Rogante
School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Projects
The research question addressed in this project was, how can Hispanic immigrant parents be effectively equipped to support their Pre K-3 children’s education in order to reduce the existing achievement gap? The idea of this Capstone was born with the fact that there is an educational achievement gap. The research shows that this gap is influenced by SES and different views of the concept of involvement. As a result, the Capstone develops a comprehensive view of involvement and how the implementation of some strategies by low SES immigrant families from birth to early elementary years can help their children be …
Building School-Family Partnerships Through Partnerships For Academic Success Meetings, Emily Gartner
Building School-Family Partnerships Through Partnerships For Academic Success Meetings, Emily Gartner
School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Projects
The research question addressed in this project was, how can families, students, and school staff come together to engage in authentic partnership through Partnerships for Academic Success (PAS) meetings? The project details the author’s work implementing Partnerships for Academic Success (PAS) meetings schoolwide. During these meetings, families receive data about their individual students, as well as anonymous data for the entire class or grade. After an exploration of this data, families learn an activity that can be done at home to practice the skill that was assessed, and work with their students to set a goal that is revisited at …
A Family Approach To Emergent Reading And Writing, Amanda Jones
A Family Approach To Emergent Reading And Writing, Amanda Jones
School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Projects
The research question addressed in this project was, how can adult education programming be developed to support parents of emergent readers and writers? It discusses the importance of emergent literacy, brain development, and the role of parents in their child’s development. The stages of emergent literacy, including milestones of child’s development are included. The research of Malcolm Knowles is the framework used in order to create a presentation that supports literacy in the home. Specifically, the six assumptions of andragogy (adult learning) from Knowles’s theory are identified and described.
Creating Conversation Guides To Help Parents And Children Communicate Effectively Of Sexual Health Topics, Emily R. Russo
Creating Conversation Guides To Help Parents And Children Communicate Effectively Of Sexual Health Topics, Emily R. Russo
School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Projects
This capstone project was created to increase student knowledge of sexual health topics through engaging parents and children in conversation. While most parents wanted to be the primary source of information on sexual health for their student, they did not engage in effective communication about sexual health topics. This lead me to the following research question: How can creating conversation guides on sexual health topics can help parents communicate more effectively? Using Family Communication Patterns Theory and Adult Learning Theory I developed concrete and scaffolded communication structure focused on practicing communication skills. I created a 3-part parent presentation series on …
Negative Attitudes Toward English As A Second Language: Refusal To Participate In Esl Services In The Somali Community, Rebecca C. Kipchumba
Negative Attitudes Toward English As A Second Language: Refusal To Participate In Esl Services In The Somali Community, Rebecca C. Kipchumba
School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Projects
The research question addressed in this project was: Why do some Somali parents refuse ESL services for their qualifying children? With a goal to start the conversation on what we can do as educators, to reduce the instances of parents declining services for their children. The refusal of service can potentially hinder their success in school. Three adults from the Somali community were interviewed. The findings suggest that, not all Somali parents have adequate information about the importance of ESL services in their children's' schools and in turn do not see the benefits. My conclusion after this study is that …