Bilingual, Multilingual, and Multicultural Education Commons^™

Impact And Utilization Of Asl Lab Spaces In University Settings, Nathan J. Dutra, Michele Vincent

Journal of Interpretation

American Sign Language (ASL) is a challenging yet rapidly growing language taught at both secondary and higher education levels. Despite its increasing popularity, there is limited literature on utilizing ASL labs as learning centers. This quantitative study examines the implementation of a new ASL lab at a large four-year university in California. It investigates the factors influencing participation, the motivations behind students' involvement, and their perceptions of the lab's effectiveness. Results indicate significant associations between course modality, instructor influence, and lab participation. The study suggests that ASL labs function as cultural and educational spaces that promote visibility of Deaf culture …

The Negotiated Identities Of Refugee-Background Women During Resettlement, Iuliia Fakhrutdinova

Graduate Doctoral Dissertations

Refugee-background women experience unique challenges while resettling in the U.S. as they navigate complicated transnational gender roles, education gaps, migration trauma, learning a new language, and literacy in the adaptation process during resettlement, which can derail the productive paths they are on. Therefore, ignoring refugee-background women’s unique experiences and failing to understand their identities prevents our society from doing social justice and creating a space for a smooth adaptation to the new context. Language plays a paramount role in identity formation, as it moves away from the belief that identity is an essential concept. For refugee-background women during resettlement, their …

Remixing Dialogue: A Case Study On Perceptions Of Hip Hop Pedagogy In A Professional Learning Course, Kelly J. Thelen

Dissertations, Theses, and Projects

This qualitative case study examines how teachers’ decision-making and professional autonomy shift while participating in a Hip Hop Pedagogy Professional Learning course supported by structured FIXIT (Lo & Wachter, 2023a, 2023b, 2023c, 2023d; Wachter & Lo, 2024) game-facilitated dialogue in a rural, culturally and linguistically diverse Midwest community. Grounded in Freire’s (1970) Critical Pedagogy, Ladson-Billings’ (1995) Culturally Relevant Pedagogy, Culturally Sustaining Pedagogy (Paris and Alim, 2017), and Adult Learning Theory (Knowles et al., 2005), the study explores the reclamation of agency by teachers in a time of constrained creativity and educator autonomy shaped by strict policy environments, an emphasis on …

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. …

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 …

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, …

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 …

What Do Learners Do With A Foreign Language After Their Studies? A Survey Of Alumni Of A Russian Summer Immersion Program, Dmitrii Pastushenkov, Liya Zalaltdinova, Jason Merrill

Russian Language Journal

Responding to concerns about the long-term value of foreign language education, this exploratory survey-based study examines how Russian language learners (N = 321) continued to use the language after completing a summer immersion program. The study investigates language use in personal and professional contexts and identifies resources alumni used, recommended, and needed to maintain proficiency. Although opportunities for conversational practice were limited, and interaction in Russian was one of the activities alumni needed but often viewed as unattainable, about 60% of participants continued using Russian at least occasionally. Among those employed full time, 24% used Russian frequently, primarily in …

The Reclamation, Peter Njagi Mwangi, Charles E. Becknell Jr

Journal of Multicultural Affairs

This poem stages a classroom conversation about language, knowledge, and the study of Black history and thought. Through dialogue between a professor and a student, the conversation reflects on a central question within Africana Studies: why are indigenous African languages rarely included in how the field teaches, writes, and shares knowledge? While colonial languages such as English, French, Spanish, and Portuguese function as practical tools in the modern university, the poem raises the question of what may be missing when African languages remain largely absent. Drawing on ideas like Ubuntu and Sankofa, the poem imagines Africana Studies as a living …

Dismantling Future Writing Teachers’ English-Only Assumptions: Composing Videos To Learn The Value Of Linguistic And Cultural Inclusion, Ann N. Amicucci

Teaching/Writing: The Journal of Writing Teacher Education

This article presents the results of a study of 12 students’ video composing assignments and accompanying reflections in which students, all of whom were future writing teachers enrolled in an undergraduate TESOL course, examined how well public spaces acknowledged and included multilingual individuals. Students’ videos and reflections demonstrated that the assignment dismantled these future writing teachers’ assumptions that multilingual writers learn best in an English-only environment but perpetuated perceptions of languages as discrete rather than intertwined. Findings are discussed within the context of scholarship on writing teacher education and English-only policy and practice in the U.S.

Social Identity And Language Learning/Teaching Trajectories: Egyptian English Teachers’ Reflections On Being Taught By Native English- Speaking Instructors, Asmaa Mohamed Badawy

Theses and Dissertations

This study explores how teacher social identity is shaped by Egyptian English teachers’ past learning experiences, particularly in relation to native and non-native English-speaking teachers. It seeks to understand how these experiences influence teachers’ perceptions of themselves within English-speaking contexts and how they make sense of dominant language ideologies surrounding nativeness. The study is guided by the following research questions: how participants perceive their sense of social belonging within English-speaking contexts; how ‘native’ and ‘non-native’ English teachers understand and interpret nativeness; and how past educational and social experiences shape teachers’ sense of ownership and legitimacy. Situated within the framework of …

Namaste, Kem Chho, Jason Nguyen

be Still

No abstract provided.

Lesson Plan: Sr. Levadura (Mr. Yeast), Kali Elise Rye

World Languages and Cultures

This project addresses critical microbiology misconceptions concerning microbes and fermentation. Alongside Nuestra Ciencia’s lesson development team, this activity was researched and tested to demonstrate ideal fermentation conditions for yeast. In addition to the hands-on experiment, this project also required an interactive worksheet to be completed alongside the activity. With feedback from undergraduate students, researchers, and professors, the content was shaped to create an engaging, easily comprehensible activity that introduces microbiological concepts to students. As it has progressed, the Sr. Levadura (Mr. Yeast) activity has been implemented in two quarters of SCM 302 (Learn by Doing Lab) where over 400 elementary …

Black Language Matters: Capitalizing On Black English For Educational Success Through Linguistic And Cultural Competence Training, Fritz Lauriston

Graduate Student Dissertations, Theses, Capstones, and Portfolios

This dissertation explores the impact of culturally responsive professional development on K–12 educators’ perceptions and understanding of Black English, also known as African American Vernacular English (AAVE). The study responds to the longstanding marginalization of Black English in educational environments and its implications for academic equity, cultural identity, and student performance—particularly among African American learners. The central intervention, titled “Do You Understand Me? Linguistic and Cultural Competence Black English Professional Development,” was designed to increase teachers’ linguistic awareness, dismantle deficit perspectives, and promote inclusive instructional practices that validate students’ home language.

Using a mixed-method design, 59 certified educators participated in …

Talk To Me: Exploring The Sociocultural Ecology Of Home Language And Literacy Practices Of Families In India, Surbhi Puri

Graduate Doctoral Dissertations

Existing research highlights the role of home language and literacy environments (HLLE) in shaping early language and literacy development, yet few studies have examined the practices of multilingual families in India. While home environments offer rich learning opportunities, broader sociocultural and policy contexts influence how families support literacy and language development. Families’ insights into home language use, literacy routines, and cultural practices remain underexplored in early childhood education research.

The purpose of this qualitative multiple case study was to explore the HLLE of preschool-aged children in India and examine how families support early language and literacy development within multilingual home …

Jadughar: The House Of Magic, Dhruvi A. Shah

Masters Theses

Jadughar or the House of Magic is what people call a 'museum' in parts of South Asia. The practice of museum making, at its origin, is the act of collecting, preserving, interpreting and representing a culture’s tangible and intangible heritage to make it accessible to diverse audiences. Since the early 19th century such practices have been performed at various kala bhandars (art centers) in India, without the need of a formal or institutional organisation. The British introduced the model of a ‘museum’ in South Asia, with the aim of not only preserving ethnographic collections, but also showcasing their power and …

Echándole Ganas: Pláticas Of Belonging + Resistance In Art + Design, Itzanya Bravo

Masters Theses

This thesis centers the experiences of Mexican American students, alumni, faculty, and community-based artists navigating art and design higher education in the United States. Grounded in the question ¿Dónde está la gente latina?—where are the Latino people?—this research examines how representation and culturally sustaining practices shape Mexican American students' sense of belonging and creative agency in a country with systems built on white supremacy

Using pláticas as the primary methodology—a relational, conversational approach rooted in community and storytelling traditions—alongside autohistoria-teoría and Chicana Feminist Epistemology, this study draws on eight in-depth pláticas with Mexican American creatives across art + design higher …

What Teachers See: Collaborative Artmaking In Chinese And U.S. Elementary Schools, Jiayu Shi

Masters Theses

This study explores how elementary art teachers in the United States and China perceive and use collaborative artmaking with their students. Driven by my personal journey as a Chinese student and art educator now studying in the U.S., this research asks: How do teachers in these two countries compare in their views of collaborative artmaking, including its social-emotional outcomes, benefits, and challenges. I conducted semi structured interviews with three elementary art teachers: two from China (one veteran, one early-career) and one from the U.S. with experience in both rural and urban schools. Findings show that teachers in both contexts value …

Reclamando Corazón Y Voz: Latinas Speak Their Truth Through Plática As Resistance In California Community College Learning Disabilities Assessments, Maricela Becerra

Dissertations

Although California Community Colleges (CCCs) offer learning disability (LD) assessments to determine eligibility for academic accommodations, for Latina students navigating converging forces of race, gender, language, citizenship, and ableism, these assessments often surface unspoken histories of harm. This study advanced Chicana feminista DisCrit (CFDC), extending disability critical race theory through Chicana spirituality and cultural intuition to examine possibilities when an educadora situates assessments in a plática grounded in consideración—respectful, relational, and unhurried care.

Rooted in Chicana feminist pláticas methodology and authored from the positionality of a disabled Latina scholar–practitioner, this qualitative decolonial dissertation explored how Latina students reflected on …

Archives Of The Future, Ka Oskar Ly

Masters Theses

Archives Of The Future is a practice-based thesis that invokes the archive and the future as simultaneous.

This research insists on the recentering of HMong Indigeneity and its own rooted traditions of HMong Queerness and HMong Feminism as ancestral knowledge systems.

They are the medicine. To recover their cosmological capacity is to traverse centuries of systematic eradication by empires and patriarchy.

I treat artistic making, community encounter, memory, and materials as equally valid ways of knowing and as collaborators. Field research from 2020 to 2026 moves through kinship and artisan teachings. It spans Southeast Asia, France, the United States, and …

Resilience In Place Names: German-Hehe War Memories And Cultural Identity In Iringa Toponyms, Claudio G. Kisake, Sophilini M. Yisega, Spemba E. Spemba

Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences

Toponyms, or place names, act as vital markers of historical memory, cultural identity and resilience. In Iringa, Tanzania, toponymy offers valuable insights into the enduring impacts associated with the German-Hehe War (1890–1898), and colonial encounters on indigenous communities. This study explores how place names—such as Kitanzini (‘a place with a noose for hanging people’), Ilundamatwe or Lundamatwe (‘a collection of slaughtered heads’), and Gangilonga (‘the speaking stone’)—convey narratives of Hehe war superiority, resistance, and survival. Using a qualitative approach, the research incorporates archival sources, oral histories, and linguistic analysis to investigate the stories behind naming and renaming, the role of …

Developing Spanish-Language Campus Tours To Enhance Accessibility And Competitive Recruitment At The University Of Mississippi, Caitlyn E. Culpepper

Honors Theses

This thesis proposes and outlines an initiative that would bring Spanish-language campus tours and visit resources to the University of Mississippi, increasing accessibility to the campus visit experience while also providing institutional benefits within a competitive recruitment landscape. Through a review of current literature on Hispanic/Latino students in higher education, institutional enrollment and recruitment data, comparative research on peer institutions, and conversations with university professionals, this project explores the role that language accessibility, family engagement, and campus visits play in the college decision-making process.

Findings suggest that Hispanic/Latino students remain an underrepresented yet rapidly growing population in higher education and …

Experiences Of Hispanic/Latine Graduate Students In Unco’S Audiology And Speech-Language Pathology Programs Within A Hispanic-Serving Institution Context: Qualitative Thematic Analysis From A Moderated Focus Group, Ashley Fuhrman

Undergraduate Honors Theses

Existing literature has examined workforce diversity in healthcare as a factor that may shape patient rapport and the delivery of culturally responsive, patient-centered care. Given the increasing demand for audiologists (AuDs) and speech-language pathologists (SLPs) with diverse and multilingual backgrounds, it is important to understand how graduate programs prepare students to serve linguistically and culturally diverse populations. This qualitative study examines the experiences of Hispanic/Latine graduate students in Communication Sciences and Disorders (CSD) at the University of Northern Colorado (UNC), a recently designated Hispanic-Serving Institution (HSI). The study explores students’ perceptions of training, support, and experiences in serving diverse populations. …

Learning From Practice: Autoethnographic Reflections & Practitioner Perspectives On Inclusive Engagement For Bipoc, Mml, And Special Education Students, Mikayla A. Aquino

Program in Community Action (PICA)

This study examines how educators conceptualize, enact, and experience inclusive engagement for Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) students, multilingual learners (MLLs), and students with disabilities, and how structural conditions shape their capacity to implement equity-oriented practices. Drawing on semi-structured interviews with ten educators from Lakewood, Illinois, and Harborview, Connecticut, alongside autoethnographic reflection, this qualitative study centers practitioner voices to investigate the gap between educational policy and classroom practice. Grounded in Bettina Love's abolitionist teaching framework and Alison Kafer's political-relational model of disability, the analysis situates educator experiences within systems shaped by racism, linguistic hierarchy, and ableist normativity. Thematic …