Education Commons^™

A Study Of Students’ And Teachers’ Beliefs About Learning English As A Second Language In Hindi Medium Schools In India, Samir Toppo

Doctoral Dissertations

The present study is an exploration of beliefs about learning English held by English as a second Language (ESL) students and teachers from Jharkhand, India. The basic premise of the study is that the learners’ and the instructors’ beliefs about learning a language affect the learning approach, learning strategy use, personal motivation, the choice of instructional material and the instructional method. Thus, beliefs indirectly affect language learning. The assumption of this study is also that the participants in this study hold debilitative beliefs about English language learning. A mixed method research approach was used in this study. The quantitative data …

Effects Of Static And Dynamic Visuals On The Learning Of Science Concepts In The Secondary-School Classroom, Theodore Johnson

Doctoral Dissertations

The current study is grounded in the cognitive theory of multimedia learning. The investigator considered how embedding science text with visuals could affect secondary-school students' ability to retain the information they learn (rote learning) and transfer the new knowledge to an unfamiliar problem (meaningful learning). Furthermore, this study explored how the type of visuals (static versus vs. dynamic visual) and text (audio vs. print) affect science learning. The data generated was sourced from student participants in a secondary-school biology classroom. The purpose of this study was to investigate how prior knowledge and the integration of information modalities (i.e., text, audio, …

Understanding The African American Male Student Experience Of Being Diagnosed With Emotional Disturbance Through The Use Of Counter-Storytelling, Sara Ordaz

Doctoral Dissertations

In the U.S. educational system, it is too common to see African American males overrepresented in special education classrooms, including segregated special education settings. African American males continuously experience disproportionate representation and placement in special education, especially under the label of ED (Harry & Anderson, 1994). Twice as many African American students in the United States are receiving services for Emotional Disturbance than their White counterparts.

Students who are labeled with ED have the lowest educational outcomes as well as lower success rates in life than any other disability classification (Merrrell & Walker, 2004). The consequences of the ED label …

Early Childhood Special Education Teachers’ Attitudes Toward Inclusion: A Qualitative Study On A School’S Transition From Segregated Classrooms To More Inclusion Classrooms, Shally Moua

Doctoral Dissertations

Inclusion has been a topic of interest in education and a great deal of research has identified teachers’ attitudes as a barrier to inclusion. Therefore, using the model of attitude (Eagly & Chaiken, 1993) and inclusive pedagogy framework (Florian & Black-Hawkins, 2012), the qualitative study aims to: (1) examine the attitudes of early childhood special education (ECSE) teachers toward inclusion as a school shift from segregated to more inclusive classrooms, (2) explore types of support they received and how that support shaped their inclusive pedagogical practices to teach in inclusive classrooms, and (3) identify barriers that impact their transition to …

The Ignatian Leadership Model For Catholic Schools: Critical Spirituality Theory On Leadership Practices, Leonardus Evert Bambang Winandoko

Doctoral Dissertations

Catholic schools in Indonesia played an essential role in educating young Indonesian to serve their brothers and sisters. This study demonstrates how three Catholic schools continue the important role of educating students to serve others: St. Matteo Ricci High School, St. Robert Bellarmine High School, and St. John Berchmans High School. Utilizing a multi-case study of leadership practices, this research study examines the Ignatian Pedagogical Paradigm’s impact on school leaders who promoted religious inclusivity. The study similarly highlights the challenges in promoting religious inclusivity. This research illustrates how the school leaders infuse their spiritual values into the school community to …

Indigenous Assessment Developers On Elements Of The Disjuncture-Response Dialectic: A Critical Comparative Case Study, David A. Sul

Doctoral Dissertations

The disjuncture-response dialectic proposes that the assessment development practices of Indigenous assessment developers exist within a broader environment where attention to broader themes such as settler colonialism (Wolfe, 2006) and Indigenous sovereignty is incorporated. To understand this dialectic, this study sought insight from Indigenous assessment developers about the issues they face when developing culturally specific assessments for use within their environments and settings.

This study used a critical (Giroux, 1979; Horkheimer, 2018; McKenzie, 2012) comparative case study approach (Bartlett & Vavrus, 2017b) with a convenience sample of three Indigenous assessment developers representing a cross-section of culturally specific assessment development projects …

Perceived Obstacles By Esl Instructors And Required Support For The Integration Of Educational Technology, Xiaotian Zhang

Doctoral Dissertations

Nowadays, the use of technology has become a significant part of the language learning process inside and outside of the classroom. Many previous studies and surveys, most language educators hold a relatively positive attitude to the usage of technology in language teaching and learning. But many other studies also found that language teachers were not really using technology in their classrooms, or only for very low-level learning and teaching. The integration of technology in second language learning and teaching is still a problem that has not been fully researched.This descriptive study was designed to explore the obstacles that prevent ESL …

Exploring The Lived Experiences Of Middle-Eastern And North African (Mena) Jews Through Narrative Inquiry Using A Digital Storytelling Approach, Brandy B. Shufutinsky

Doctoral Dissertations

Cultural erasure has led to the virtual erasure of many communities from learning spaces. Discrimination, ignorance, and the politicization of knowledge production are all factors that lead to marginalization that sees certain communities being excluded from academia. One such community are the Jewish communities from Middle-Eastern and North African (MENA) lands. This dissertation directly confronts the erasure of MENA Jewish communities and the knowledge they hold by providing a platform for members of these communities to share their experiences. Storytelling is one way to combat cultural and historical erasure (Iseke, 2013). Not only does storytelling provide a way to resist …

Pilipinx Radical Imagination: Healing And Visioning In Our Process Of Becoming, Anthony Abulencia Santa Ana

Doctoral Dissertations

There are estimated 10.4 million Filipinos living or working abroad primarily in the Middle East, Europe, Canada, and the United States searching for a better life for themselves and their families (Commission on Filipino Overseas, 2013). Due to economic motivation, assimilating to the host country's culture, values, and traditions is an act of survival. While the majority of the research has focused on the domestic workers’ experience, rarely has there been a study focusing on Filipinos in the diaspora positive contributions to the host country and their Pilipinx Radical Imagination. As a result, the purpose of this qualitative study is …

The Role Of Community Building In Second Language Acquisition In The Mainstream Classroom, Alejandro Clemente Fernandez

Doctoral Dissertations

The world is currently suffering from population displacement due to climate change, war, and economic instability which force many people to migrate in search of a better life, and many of these immigrants include school-age children. This mixed-methods research study sought to establish the association between community building, emotion, and second language acquisition by administering a survey to second language learners in the Napa Valley north of San Francisco in the spring of 2020. The participants were fourteen sixth grade students who had been enrolled in the same English and Spanish dual language immersion program since kindergarten.

The theoretical framework …

Voices Of Chinese International Students: A Critical Understanding Of Their Experiences In The United States, Shudao Zhang

Doctoral Dissertations

This qualitative study investigated the lived experiences of Chinese international students in the United States. It focused on their academic learning, sociocultural relationship, self-reflection and their identity development. This study addressed the active role of international students as participants who can manage cross-cultural difficulties as well as make new interpretations of their life in the host country. This study adopted three theoretical frameworks - transnationalism, transformative learning theory, and social identity theory - to present the intricate educational and social context in study abroad. Through in-depth interviews with eight Chinese students at a private university in California, together with the …

Replanting A Wild Seed: Black Women School Leaders Subverting Ideological Lynching, Whitneé Louise Garrett-Walker

Doctoral Dissertations

Much race-based educational research is focused on teachers interrupting systems ofoppression in their classrooms, through methods such as curriculum and instruction, and preparing students to engage in the world (Alston, 2012; Bertrand & Rodela, 2017; Carpenter & Diem, 2013; Gooden & Dantley, 2012; Furman, 2012). I intentionally focus my attention on school leadership because while all stakeholders are responsible for maintaining school culture, as school leaders it is our responsibility to create conditions where the work of enacting social justice is expected in our schools. There continues to be a gap in educational research that deeply examines this level of …

Exploring Student Engagement For Diverse Student Populations: A Case Study Examining Institutional Logics Of Student Affairs Middle Management Leaders, Frangelo Rominque Ayran

Doctoral Dissertations

This study explores the institutional logics that student affairs middle managers employ to facilitate student engagement programs and resources intended for more diverse student populations. While the positive effects of student involvement and student engagement are both widely documented, disparities between White students and students of color in their rates of engagement continue to illustrate that the effects of student engagement opportunities as forms of high impact practices are dependent upon the racial and ethnic background of students. Higher education institutions faced with the widening divide between low-income students of color in their retention, degree attainment, and engagement rates not …

Women Who Lead: A Feminist Phenomenology Of Crisis Leadership In Higher Education, Ingrid Helene Mcvanner

Doctoral Dissertations

The landscape of higher education is rife with crisis events, ranging from the global COVID-19 pandemic to natural disasters and institutional and industry-wide scandals; yet, most institutions of higher education are unprepared to tackle these crises as they arrive. As an industry, higher education is also largely dominated by men at its upper echelons, despite being a field that is predominantly staffed by women. Amidst the backdrop of the attention COVID-19 has brought to female world leaders and the quest for parity in higher education leadership positions, this study sought to explore the lived experiences of women leaders in higher …

Effect Of Transcendental Meditation On The Social Emotional Well-Being Of Bilingual Teacher Leaders, Margaret Peterson

Doctoral Dissertations

Teaching is one of the most stressful professions in the human service industry (Curry & O’Brien, 2012; Fisher, 2011; Herman et al., 2018; Martin, et al., 2012; Montgomery & Rupp, 2005; Schonert-Reichl, 2017). Stress and burnout have been shown to contribute to the attrition of teachers (Darling-Hammond, 2001; Fisher, 2011; Johnson et al., 2005; Klingbeil & Renshaw, 2018; Winchester, 2020). While there are shortages across many disciplines, the bilingual teacher shortage has been documented as the most severe (Swanson & Mason, 2017). This study utilized Community Cultural Wealth as a theoretical framework to investigate how bilingual teacher leaders experience stress …

A Critical Feminist Case Study Of The Northern California Cherry Blossom Queen Program, Alison Kepola Nishiyama-Young

Doctoral Dissertations

Asian American women are chronically underrepresented in leadership positions in almost every sector including higher education, government, private, and non-profit (Youngberg et al., n.d.). Many researchers have suggested the need for more leadership development programs specifically designed to support the needs of Asian American women (Akutagawa, 2014; Canlas, 2016; Gee & Peck, 2015; Lin, 2007; Youngberg et al., n.d.). Though there are a number of leadership programs geared towards Asian Americans, there are very few that cater to Asian American women explicitly. Historically, cultural pageant programs in the Asian American community have played this role and one such program is …

Parental Involvement In Support Of African American Families, September Rose

Doctoral Dissertations

Meaningful parental engagement has historically been identified as the root cause of the United States’ academic achievement gap in African American education. However, the systematic structures that impose difficulties for African American’s access to education in school and other aspects of their social development must be addressed to gain a deeper understanding of the challenges these African American families face. Society must consider the perpetual marginalization of not only African American students’ academic experiences, but also their professional and personal development as well. The parental engagement with educators in the San Francisco K-8 schools, has not been studied. The purpose …

Narratives Of Disability And Displacement: Oral Histories Of The Lived Experiences Of Disabled Refugees, Jennifer Lynn Ward

Doctoral Dissertations

Disabled refugees are considered as the most marginalized group of all displaced populations. Disabled displaced people are at particular risk of violence, exploitation, and abuse. Additional barriers to accessing humanitarian assistance, education, health care, and other services exist for disabled displaced people. The purpose of this study was to collaborate with disabled refugees who have resettled in the United States and to create a space for their stories to be told. This research project explores the narratives of the lived experiences of disabled displaced people through the lenses of three theoretical frameworks: human rights, disability justice, and Critical Refugee Studies. …

Employment Discrimination: An Efficacy Study Of African American Inequities In The California Utility Sector, Victor Baker

Doctoral Dissertations

Employment Discrimination: An Efficacy Study of African American Inequities in the California Utility SectorThe economic legislation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 was designed a vigorous tool of law to address employment discrimination of African Americans and remedy economic disparity that unfavored African Americans. The energy utility industry served as the first Supreme Court defendant and loser of a Title VII employment discrimination challenge by a Black workforce. As a result, energy utility companies have served as the face of resistance to fair employment for African Americans despite the liberal popularity of diversity management programs. Prior …

The Effectiveness Of Using Multimedia For Teaching Phrasal Verbs In Community-College Esl Classes, Guohua Fu

Doctoral Dissertations

This mixed-methods study investigated the effectiveness of multimedia instruction for phrasal-verb education with community-college English as a second-language learners (ESL) in Northern California. Previous researchers have found that ESL learners have difficulties and barriers in learning phrasal verbs, and other researchers have found that how using multimedia teaching techniques in different fields of education have been effective, but no studies have investigated using multimedia instruction with community-college ESL students in learning phrasal verbs for second-language acquisition. In this mixed-methods research, there were 35 community-college ESL students, including 22 students in the multimedia-treatment group and 13 students in the text-based-comparison group, …

The Effect Of Teaching And Learning Vocabulary In Lexical Chunks On The Listening Comprehension Of Adult Learners Of Arabic, Bassam Al-Maqtari

Doctoral Dissertations

This study aimed to investigate how teaching and learning Arabic vocabulary items in multiword form (i.e., chunks and phrases), rather than in single form (i.e., one word at a time), affects learners’ ability to comprehend Arabic listening passages and to examine the relationship between students’ auditory knowledge of words, and that of phrases and listening comprehension. Data sources included three types of tests: the Arabic listening comprehension test, the single-word auditory knowledge test, and the multiword auditory knowledge test. The sample consists of 39 students (experimental group=20, control group=19). The study was separated into a quasi-experimental pretest-posttest portion (Phase 1) …

Indigenous Assessment Developers On Elements Of The Disjuncture-Response Dialectic: A Critical Comparative Case Study, David A. Sul

Doctoral Dissertations

The disjuncture-response dialectic proposes that the assessment development practices of Indigenous assessment developers exist within a broader environment where attention to broader themes such as settler colonialism (Wolfe, 2006) and Indigenous sovereignty is incorporated. To understand this dialectic, this study sought insight from Indigenous assessment developers about the issues they face when developing culturally specific assessments for use within their environments and settings.This study used a critical (Giroux, 1979; Horkheimer, 2018; McKenzie, 2012) comparative case study approach (Bartlett & Vavrus, 2017) with a convenience sample of three Indigenous assessment developers representing a cross-section of culturally specific assessment development projects across …

Dysconscious Racism And Racial Microaggressions In The Public School System, Ryan Lee

Doctoral Dissertations

Dysconscious racism and racial microaggressions are two forms of racism that exist in public schools today. Dysconscious racism is a form of racism that “tacitly accepts the dominant White norms and privileges” in a given environment while racial microaggressions are brief and commonplace indignations to the target person or group whether it was intentional or unintentional (Sue et al., 2009). Teachers of color face these subtllte forms of racism within their own workplaces. The researcher conducted a qualitative study by interviewing six public school K-6 teachers of color of different ethnicities who teach in various school districts across the South …

Engaging Feminism, Transforming Institutions: How Community Engagement Professionals Employ Critical Feminist Praxis To Re-Imagine And Re-Shape The Public Purpose Of Higher Education, Patricia Star Plaxton-Moore

Doctoral Dissertations

Most higher education institutions have mission statements articulating a commitment to serve the public good, and venerate the broader historical project of higher education as a force that improves the lives of individuals and communities. However, the public purpose of higher education is perpetually embattled by intersecting forces of neoliberalism, positivism, and settler colonialism that emphasize priorities like generating revenue, chasing prestige, developing real estate, and connecting students with high paying careers. As our society continues to grapple with pervasive social and environmental injustices, it is imperative that we clarify and strengthen higher education’s civic role in shaping a more …

Incorporating Critical Perspectives In Nonprofit Management Education Programs: How Critical Scholars Of Color Navigate Pressures In Higher Education, Khanh H. Nguyen

Doctoral Dissertations

The nonprofit sector has grown from a few charities, based on religious affiliation, to a multi-billion-dollar sector that supports the United States of America’s economic stability. As a result, the need for nonprofit management education has increased over the last three decades from 1990 to 2019 (O’Neill, 2005; Mirabella, 2014). However, most of the classes taught in nonprofit programs across the US focus on the transactional aspect of nonprofit leadership (Mirabella, 2014; Wang & Ashcraft, 2012). The purpose of this study is to gain a better understanding of the ways critical perspectives are engaged within nonprofit management education programs by …

Equity In Language Programs: Revitalizing Indigenous Languages In Secondary School In Anchorage, Alaska, Betsy Watson (Paskvan)

Doctoral Dissertations

"Wherever there is a situation of domination and subordination between any two groups, whatever their color or religion, this will be reflected in the language relationship: one language dominating the other." —wa Thiong’o (2011, p. 244) Indigenous language and culture education efforts in Anchorage, Alaska are limited by omissions in the public school curriculum. One of the many reasons for this is that policy makers believe there is not sufficient demand for Alaska Native languages in public schools. Further there is a perceived lack of language teacher-leaders and experts to build programs for Alaska Native language instruction. This study used …

Interests Served And Interests Converged: A Mixed-Methods Critical Policy Analysis Of The California Math Placement Act, Chalesea Schuler

Doctoral Dissertations

The California Mathematics Placement Act was created to eliminate bias within math placement and increase advanced math enrollment, particularly for subgroups who have been historically excluded. Using a Critical Race Theory lens, this study compared the stated goals of policy proponents with whose interests are actually served, and whose are not served, by the policy. This study used a mixed-methods research design to conduct a critical policy analysis of the California Math Placement Act. The qualitative portion of this study used archival document analysis to determine the origins of the act and the interests that converged to pass it. The …

The Ignatian Pedagogical Paradigm As A Critical Theoretical Framework To Enhance Teachers' Professional Identity In Diverse Context, Lourdu Sunder Reddy Mummadi

Doctoral Dissertations

Several previous studies have revealed the need and necessity to enhance teachers’ perception of professional identity (PI) as it impacts their feeling of satisfaction and effectiveness in the classroom and their persistence in the profession (Moore & Hofman, 1988; Sanders et al., 1997; Hanushek, 2011). According to some scholars, teachers’ professional identity includes teachers’ understanding of themselves and the factors impacting their teaching (Beijaard et al., 2000; Sachs, 2005; Day, 2018). The danger is that if a teacher lacks self-knowledge, they may be influenced by unexamined beliefs, stereotypes, cultural myths, and, most importantly, fears that affect the ways they relate …

The Significance Of Jesuit Educational Institution In The Reconstruction Of Postcolonial And Post-Conflict East Timor, Plinio Do Rosario Gusmao Dosreis Martins

Doctoral Dissertations

East Timor, as a postcolonial and post-conflict country, has striven to develop its educational system for almost two decades after its independence in 2002. The current educational system with the Portuguese language as the medium of instruction has been a challenge for teachers and students in the teaching and learning process. The fact that teachers and students are still using Tétum as a supplementary language to explain and express ideas shows that the educators and learners are still struggling with Portuguese despite the efforts of East Timor government to bridge the language gap.

Teachers and students, conversely, acknowledge that the …

Teaching Critical Thinking Skills In A Chinese Immersion School, Pui Hung Helen Wong

Doctoral Dissertations

As a frontline teacher and administrator, I received feedback consistently from parents and students asking for a fun and effective method of instruction for Chinese language development in the US. This study explored the micro-level of how teachers in Chinese immersion schools create an environment to support development of students’ critical thinking skills while learning Chinese. I applied a qualitative approach to the research and designed a case study focused on answering the following research questions: How do teachers help their students to develop critical thinking skills when teaching in a Chinese immersion program? What are the challenges teachers have …