Bilingual, Multilingual, and Multicultural Education Commons^™

The Relationship Between A College Preparation Program And At-Risk Students' College Readiness, Jennifer Cates, Scott Schaefle

Scott Schaefle

This study evaluates the relationship between elements of a college preparation program and the college readiness of low-income and/or Latina/o students at the completion of 6 years of participation in the program. Hours of participation in tutoring, mentoring, advising, college campus visits, summer programs, and educational field trips are examined in relationship to students' college-track course completion and Preliminary SAT (PSAT) participation. In addition, the relationship between students' expectations for college and their ranking of program activities is examined. Results indicate that key program elements related to college readiness include advising, college campus visits, and college information through booklets and …

The Influence Of University Coursework On Pre-Service Middle And High School Teachers’ Experiences With Multicultural Themes, Geeta Verma

Geeta Verma

The study explored the influence of university-based teacher education courses on pre-service middle and high school teachers’ experiences with multicultural themes in a secondary science alternative certification program. Eight participants (N = 8), six women and two men, volunteered to be a part of the study that took place over a period of four semesters. Qualitative data was collected, coded and analyzed to make meaning of the participants’ experiences. Data comprised of participants’ reflective journals, personal and group interviews, and classroom observations done in middle school practicum and high school student teaching placements. The findings indicated that while the participants …

Youth Participatory Action Research And The Future Of Education Reform, Oiyan Poon, Jacob Cohen

OiYan Poon

This article presents a youth participatory action research (YPAR) study, which was conducted through a theoretical lens incorporating the social justice youth policy framework and Critical Race Theory. Led by youth from the Vietnamese American Young Leaders Association (VAYLA), the study explored the impacts of post-Katrina school reforms on student experiences at six New Orleans high schools. The findings from the study exposed troubling educational disparities by race, class, limited English status, and geography. The YPAR project’s results counter neoliberal reform advocates’ narrative of a post-Katrina New Orleans school “miracle.” This article illuminates YPAR as both research method and pathway …

The Joys And Sorrows Of Teaching High School Esl: Sarangarel's Story, Susan R. Adams

Susan Adams

Dr. Adams' contribution to: In M. Robbins (Ed.), The pressures of teaching: How teachers cope with classroom stress (pp. 87-98). New York: Kaplan Publishing.

Are Teacher Education Programs Failing The Nation’S Urban Schools? A Closer Look At Pre-Service Teachers’ Beliefs About Working With Inner-City Students, Servet Celik

Servet Celik

To address the issue of pre-service teachers being under-prepared for work in multicultural and impoverished environments in America’s urban schools, teacher education programs have taken steps to improve diversity-oriented curricula and provide relevant fieldwork experience. However, research indicates that a large proportion of teacher candidates still do not have the necessary skills to deal with students from divergent upbringings. This interpretive study investigated the beliefs of pre-service teachers about urban students and how well their teacher education programs are addressing the issues of working in inner-city schools. The results revealed that, although some progress has been made, a significant gap …

Ya Me Fui! When English Learners Consider Leaving School, Jeanmarie Hamilton Boone

Jeanmarie Hamilton Boone

This study examines narratives of English learners who have either dropped out or considered dropping out as a result of their experience in high school. This research seeks to determine at which point students left or considered leaving school, which often goes undetected in traditional quantitative data collection methods. The common themes that emerged in these narratives are examined in light of existing research. Researchers have suggested the following reasons English learners leave high school before earning a high school diploma: employment, limited English skills, disciplinary problems, poor grades, and not feeling a “sense of belonging” to the school. The …

Teaching Grammar And What Students Errors In The Use Of The English Auxiliary "Be" Can Tell Us, Arshad Abd Samad, Hawanum Hussein

Arshad Abd Samad

In teaching grammar, teachers often are faced with the dilemma of either emphasising the formal properties of the language or its meaning aspect. One of the more popular language teaching approaches of the last three decades has been the communicative approach. This approach has had a signifi cant impact on the teaching of grammar as its objective of communicative competence has led to a diminished role for grammar teaching. However, of late, numerous voices have advocated a more prominent role for grammar in achieving this objective. The question of whether to emphasise form or meaning remains central. Several theorists have …

The La Aurora: New Beginnings Project Final Evaluation Summary, Steven Rogg

Steven R Rogg

Citation: Rogg, S. (November, 2007). The La Aurora: New Beginnings Project – Final Evaluation Summary. U.S. Department of Education. Office of English Language Acquisition. Bilingual Education Professional Development Career Ladder Program (CFDA #84.195E, grant #T195E010024). Submitted to: Aurora University, Aurora, Illinois.

Background: A discretionary grant of $1.1M from the U.S. Department of Education Office of Language Acquisition was awarded to Aurora University to execute a five-year Career Ladder Program with a start date of 1-September, 2001 and completion date of 31-August, 2006.1 The stated intent of the Career Ladder Program is summarized here: “The program provided discretionary grants to upgrade …

Does Religious Behavior Predict Academic Success For English Learners?, Jeanmarie Hamilton Boone

Jeanmarie Hamilton Boone

This study examined the religious practices and behaviors of predominantly Hispanic high school English learners to determine whether their religious behaviors, such as attending church, enjoying church attendance and wearing religious symbols were associated academic achievement. In the sample of 126 primarily Christian students, religiosity was determined not to be associated with academic achievement.

Introduction: Initial Teacher Education And Socio-Economic Inequality, Roland Tormey

Roland Tormey

The collected papers from a seminar on addresing socio-economic inequality in initial teacher education, which was funded by the Combat Poverty Agency.

Recent Teacher Graduates' Perceptions Of Preparing For Teaching And Educational Disadvantage, Roland Tormey, Sandra Ryan, Jennifer Dooley

Roland Tormey

This paper was delivered at a conference on initial teacher education and socio-economic inequalities in Ireland, funded by the Combat Poverty Agency.

Development Education And Critical Thinking, Roland Tormey

Roland Tormey

No abstract provided.

Content Analysis Of Funded Enhancement Project Applications--Fiscal Year 1995, Adelina Alegria, Reynaldo Flores Macias, Ana Maria Rodrigues Resnik

Adelina Alegria

The 97 bilingual education program enhancement projects funded by the U.S. Department of Education's Office of Bilingual Education and Minority Languages Affairs in fiscal 1995 are analyzed for their demographic characteristics, goals and objectives, instructional characteristics, parent and family services, professional development, personnel training, and other program features. A subset of 33 programs was selected for in-depth analysis of features other than demographics. The 97 proposals, distributed among 21 states, served 53,535 students, 36,283 of whom were limited-English-proficient, from 78 language groups and at all grade levels. California received over half the funded projects. School districts were the main beneficiaries …

An Unquiet Pedagogy : Transforming Practice In The English Classroom, Eleanor Kutz, Hephzibah Roskelly

Eleanor Kutz

An Unquiet Pedagogy argues for a new approach to teaching English in the high school and college classroom, one that reconceives the relationship of literacy and the learner. The title is taken from an essay by Paulo Freire in his book with Donaldo Macedo entitled Literacy: Reading the Word and the World. Like Freire, the authors believe that pedagogy must be critical -- that it must examine the assumptions that teachers and students bring to any educational enterprise, that it must take into account the contexts of learners' lives, and that it must question, rather than quietly accept, existing practices. …