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Articles 1 - 16 of 16
Full-Text Articles in Education
Reading Recovery Teacher Understandings About Language And Early Literacy Acquisition, Kelly L. Mcdermott
Reading Recovery Teacher Understandings About Language And Early Literacy Acquisition, Kelly L. Mcdermott
Educational Studies Dissertations
This study investigated Reading Recovery teacher understandings about language and early literacy acquisition by applying a constructivist grounded theory design. Participants were Reading Recovery teachers working across three varied districts in Massachusetts (N=33). The purpose of the study was to engage Reading Recovery teachers in surveys, focus groups, interviews, and observations to understand the degree to which Reading Recovery teacher participants value varied student language patterns. Addressing biases faced upon school entry by children who speak differently than their teachers is essential. When students are identified for early literacy intervention, an asset-based frame is critical to ensure accelerated growth. The …
“My Heart Was Like, Write About This. There's No Other Way.”: Strengthening And Deepening Literacy Skills Of Adults In A High School Equivalency Program Through Creative Writing, Elizabeth Santiago
“My Heart Was Like, Write About This. There's No Other Way.”: Strengthening And Deepening Literacy Skills Of Adults In A High School Equivalency Program Through Creative Writing, Elizabeth Santiago
Educational Studies Dissertations
This qualitative study investigates how creative writing plays a role in strengthening and deepening literacy skills of adults in community-based high school equivalency diploma programs, which are operated under the publicly funded, adult basic education umbrella. Specifically, the study explores two sub-questions: How can creative writing processes support adult high school equivalency students’ achievement of personal and/or academic goals? How does a curricular focus on individual storytelling build students’ literacy confidence and/or their sense of student agency? Data sources includes pre- and post-surveys, pre- and post-interviews, field notes, and student work based on a curriculum designed using best practices in …
Book Groups And The Relational Engagement Of Sixth-Grade Readers, Kathryn Contini
Book Groups And The Relational Engagement Of Sixth-Grade Readers, Kathryn Contini
Educational Studies Dissertations
The purpose of this mini-ethnographic case study is to determine the factors that impact the relational engagement of middle-school readers in a student-facilitated book group. This is achieved by considering how students relationally engaged with texts, peers, and a teacher while participating in a student-facilitated book group for three months. As the understanding of academic engagement has broadened to include relational engagement, it is necessary to examine how this theoretical construct impacts reading instruction. While educators have long known learning is social, classroom success is most often measured by independent achievement rather than by social engagement. For these reasons, it …
An Examination Of Educators' Perceptions Of Host Country Cultural Dynamics In International Schools Abroad, Sharlene M. Fedorowicz
An Examination Of Educators' Perceptions Of Host Country Cultural Dynamics In International Schools Abroad, Sharlene M. Fedorowicz
Educational Studies Dissertations
This research examines dynamics and challenges of relationships between international schools (IS) and host country cultures as perceived by educators. Cultural impacts that influence the capacity of educators to manage, lead, and navigate IS are investigated. A sample of 133 educators (administrators and teachers) employed in IS responded to the survey and 13 of those participants were interviewed using a Mixed Method Sequential Explanatory Design (Creswell, 2009). IS promote international-mindedness where adverse contact zones are minimized by providing opportunities for students of different races, genders, and nationalities to integrate and work together. Although IS provide a strong basis for cultural …
Understanding Students' Chosen Literacy Practices During Non-Academic Times: An Ethnographic Teacher-Research Inquiry, Justin Robert Moyer
Understanding Students' Chosen Literacy Practices During Non-Academic Times: An Ethnographic Teacher-Research Inquiry, Justin Robert Moyer
Educational Studies Dissertations
This dissertation aims to illuminate the literacy practices that a group of “struggling” students undertake during unstructured times of the school day. The study aims to extend prior theoretical work on literacy (Street, 1984; Weil, 1993; Luttrell & Parker, 2001; Kinloch, 2010; among others) to identify the ways these students engage in literacy practices for deeply personal reasons. Further, this dissertation intends to dispel some of the many myths that surround students in special education settings and, in the case of the focal students in this study, alternative schools. Students reveal: (1) the literacy practices in which they participate, (2) …
First Year Teachers' Use Of Technology In Literacy Instruction: A Case Study, Emily Kearns Burke
First Year Teachers' Use Of Technology In Literacy Instruction: A Case Study, Emily Kearns Burke
Educational Studies Dissertations
The purpose of this case study is to determine how first year teachers describe their teacher preparation and use of technology to teach literacy. This is achieved by considering how teachers’ descriptions demonstrate self-efficacy, identify challenges and obstacles, and distinguish benefits of technology integration in literacy instruction. As the understanding of literacy broadens to include alternative forms of print and technology, school districts are investing significantly in technology and yet teachers are often not using technology in their practices. For these reasons it is necessary to examine first year teachers’ perceptions of their own prior training, their current technology use …
Leading Between The Lines: Exploring The Development Of Identity Among Literacy Specialists, Peter Joseph Lancia
Leading Between The Lines: Exploring The Development Of Identity Among Literacy Specialists, Peter Joseph Lancia
Educational Studies Dissertations
This dissertation study addresses the phenomenon of literacy leadership through a multiple case study of four practicing veteran literacy specialists in elementary schools in different New England cities. Using qualitative methods of data collection and analysis, namely extensive interviews and the Voice Centered Relational Method, respectively, narrative portraits were created that suggest themes related to their role, preparation, and ongoing development as well as models of leadership in their schools. In addition, the portraits suggested how the social context of their schools impacted the development of their identity, particularly in the relationships they built among colleagues and principals. With a …
Americans Teaching English: Reflections On Experience As Sojourners In Another Country, Catherine Nameth
Americans Teaching English: Reflections On Experience As Sojourners In Another Country, Catherine Nameth
Educational Studies Dissertations
Sojourners are visitors to another country for a defined period of time where occupation is the primary reason for the visit. Study participants spent at least one academic year teaching English as a Foreign Language at a university in another country. Working in the context of a university in another country means teaching in a system predicated upon the local culture’s values and assumptions. Though all returned sojourners in this study attended a pre-departure orientation which included information about teaching in the assigned host culture, this kind of pre-departure preparation does not mean sojourner adjustment to the host culture will …
The Experience Of Emerging Adults In An Entry-Level College Hebrew Course, Sarit Moskowitz
The Experience Of Emerging Adults In An Entry-Level College Hebrew Course, Sarit Moskowitz
Educational Studies Dissertations
Most colleges require students to take at least one foreign language course in order to graduate. Some students tend to put this requirement off to the end of their program due to language learning anxiety, and attrition rates in these courses are high. This study asks the following question: How do emerging adult students in an entry-level college Hebrew class describe their experience? Do factors such as awareness of peers and languagelearning anxiety affect their self-reported learning experience? The findings are important to the field of language learning because there are no studies available that specifically evaluate the experience of …
Portuguese As A Foreign Language: Teaching And Learning In The United States: A Dissertation, Celia Bianconi
Portuguese As A Foreign Language: Teaching And Learning In The United States: A Dissertation, Celia Bianconi
Educational Studies Dissertations
This dissertation reviewed the history of foreign language education in the United States relating it to political and economic world events. A quantitative study and a hypothesis generating case study revealed the motivation of learners of Portuguese as a foreign language. Portuguese teachers in higher education in the United States were surveyed and three recently published Portuguese textbooks were analyzed. The results showed that the main reasons that motivate students to learn Portuguese as a foreign language are interest in Brazilian culture, plans to travel in a Portuguese-speaking country, familiarity with Spanish language, skills needed to reach professional goals and …
The Role Of Elementary School Principals Supporting Teachers In The Instruction Of Reading For English Language Learners: A Dissertation, Nadene B. Stein
The Role Of Elementary School Principals Supporting Teachers In The Instruction Of Reading For English Language Learners: A Dissertation, Nadene B. Stein
Educational Studies Dissertations
This study utilized data gleaned from on-line surveys of primary level teachers and elementary school principals to understand what principals need to know and be able to do to support teachers in their instruction of reading for English Language Learners (ELLs). A review of five areas of literature provided a theoretical foundation for this study. Twenty-six primary level teachers and four elementary school principals, from eight Massachusetts schools, participated in separate, three-part online questionnaires. Participants answered questions about licensure, experience, and professional development focused on teaching English Language Learners. In addition, participants responded to questions about their perceptions of (1) …
Identity Formation And Collaboration Inquiry In The Zone Of Proximal Development: Eighth Grade Esl Students Doing Research - A Teacher Research Study, Carol Irene Bearse
Identity Formation And Collaboration Inquiry In The Zone Of Proximal Development: Eighth Grade Esl Students Doing Research - A Teacher Research Study, Carol Irene Bearse
Educational Studies Dissertations
This study is an ethnographic investigation of a Grade Eight ESL IV class conducting research with topics of their own choosing from October, 2001 through May, 2002. This investigation is conceived as a qualitative teacher-research study: an ethnographic examination of collaborative inquiry in the ESL classroom setting where the majority of the students are Brazilian.
Home Environment Factors Influencing Literacy Development: A Group Of Brazilian Immigrant Head Start Children, Sharon C. Switzer
Home Environment Factors Influencing Literacy Development: A Group Of Brazilian Immigrant Head Start Children, Sharon C. Switzer
Educational Studies Dissertations
This dissertation examines the literacy practices embedded in the home environment of a group of 5 Brazilian Head Start children. It elucidates the difficulties and challenges of immigration that influenced their home environments and describes the literacy practices embedded within these home environments.
Revitalization Not Retirement: A Case For Transformative Professional Development That Echoes The Voices Of Eight Veteran Literacy Teachers, Mary Ann Johnson
Revitalization Not Retirement: A Case For Transformative Professional Development That Echoes The Voices Of Eight Veteran Literacy Teachers, Mary Ann Johnson
Educational Studies Dissertations
Guided by the central question "How do professional development opportunities regarding the use of running records effect the thinking and practice of veteran teachers ?", this study investigated the way in which eight highly experienced literacy teachers learned to use formative assessment to guide instruction of a student at risk of failure in reading. From the most veteran teacher with thirty-three years to the "baby" with fifteen years of service to children, they represented a seasoned group of early childhood professionals willing to grapple with formative assessment, a concept for which all admitted they had been ill-prepared. Through this action …
The Characteristics Of Learners Enrolled In Advanced Level Courses In Hebrew, Chinese, And Japanese At Brandeis University, Vardit Ringvald
The Characteristics Of Learners Enrolled In Advanced Level Courses In Hebrew, Chinese, And Japanese At Brandeis University, Vardit Ringvald
Educational Studies Dissertations
Researchers, practitioners, and policy makers in the field of foreign language study in higher education in the United States are familiar with the phenomenon of declining numbers among learners in advanced foreign language courses. The studies that have examined this phenomenon such as Graman (1987) and Dupuy (1994) investigated the learners of so-called "easy" and commonly taught languages, such as French, German and Spanish and suggest that the learners' positive learning backgrounds outside the formal language program are the main factors that influence the learners' decision to continue their language study in the advanced level courses. This study offers new …
Three High School Teachers' Conceptions Of The French They Teach, Patrick R. Moran
Three High School Teachers' Conceptions Of The French They Teach, Patrick R. Moran
Educational Studies Dissertations
This study investigates secondary French teachers' conceptions of the French they teach.