Bilingual, Multilingual, and Multicultural Education Commons^™

The High School In The Middle Of Everywhere: Nebraska’S Lincoln High, Edmund T. Hamann, Janet M. Eckerson, Mark Larson

Department of Teaching, Learning, and Teacher Education: Faculty Publications

In 2002, world-renowned author Mary Pipher published a book about her home city, Lincoln Nebraska, playfully titled “The Middle of Everywhere” a tongue-in-cheek rejoinder to the idea that Nebraska is ‘the middle of nowhere.’ But word play aside, her title was empirically apt, as her volume documented how immigration and refugee resettlement were demographically transforming Nebraska’s capital city. As in other cities, resettlement was concentrated in some areas of Lincoln, placing differential burdens on different parts of the community’s institutional infrastructure. Of interest to readers of this volume, Lincoln’s refugees and immigrants were concentrated in the city’s oldest high school. …

Developing Teacher Candidates’ Multicultural Lenses Through Disciplinary Writing Assignments, Kristie Gutierrez, Jori S. Beck, Kaavonia Hinton, Kelly Rippard, Yonghee Suh

Teaching & Learning Faculty Publications

The purpose of this study was to explore the effectiveness of providing scaffolded disciplinary writing assignments to develop teacher candidates’ multicultural lenses. This study was set in a secondary education program at one mid-Atlantic university. Faculty in this program focused on five dimensions of multicultural education (ME) to better serve teacher candidates within their program through the development of ME-focused disciplinary writing assignments. In required courses within the program, teacher candidates (TCs) completed assignments such as a student shadow experience, infographic, journal, community mapping activity, and practitioner journal article. Qualitative data were collected to explore TCs’ understanding of the ME …

Impact Of A Multi-Layered Autobiography Project For Transforming Intercultural Competence Among Pre-Service Teachers, Elizabeth J. Sandell, Luz Carime Bersh

Elementary and Literacy Education Department Publications

This study investigated how a Multi-Layered Autobiography Project impacts the intercultural competence for undergraduate students, many of whom were aspiring teacher candidates in the United States. For purposes of this project, the concept of “culture” was adapted from West and Turner’s (2018) definition: the norms, behaviors, standards, values, etc. shared by a group of people, and passed along to later generations. Investigators deemed that “culture” was composed of numerous microcultures among a smaller group of human beings (with their own language, communication strategies, behavior rules, and expectations), who are bonded together by similar experiences, values, characteristics, organization, membership, location, or …

Cuban Immigrants’ Experience With Acculturation And How They Cope In The United States, Lourdes Araujo

Dissertations

Objective: This research examines how Cuban immigrants experience cope and adapt to the United States. Cuban immigration is associated with specific stressors related to the immigration experience and the necessary process of acculturation and assimilation. These major stressors can result in mental health concerns among Cuban immigrants; however, no studies have examined how acculturation may influence Cuban immigrants’ coping skills and resultant mental health concerns. This unique study is the first to examine the coping skills Cuban immigrants use during acculturation and the effects of these skills on Cuban immigrants’ mental health. Methods: Seventeen participants completed a semistructured interview and …

Elementary School Teachers’ Perspectives And Practices Of Multicultural Education In Indonesia, Robby Anggriawan

Theses and Dissertations

The main purpose of the study was to investigate multiculturalism and multicultural education perspectives and practices of elementary school teachers in Indonesia. The research was designed as a qualitative case study which focused on seven elementary school teachers as study participants. In this study, semi-structured interviews are used to evaluate teachers’ understanding of culture as defined by Creshaw (1989, 2008) and multiculturalism concept by using four levels of understanding multiculturalism as defined by Nieto (1994, 2017). As well as elementary school teachers’ practices of multicultural education implementation as outlined by Banks (1999, 2019). The results of the study showed that …

Intersecting Stories: Cultural Reflexivity, Digital Storytelling, And Personal Narratives In Language Teacher Education, Julie Vivienne Dell-Jones

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This narrative inquiry dissertation explores stories from three students over a two-year trajectory as they develop into language educators in diverse contexts. The study begins in a teacher education course focused on technology for language teaching in English as a second language (ESOL) and foreign language education (FLE) classrooms. As instructor, I implemented a digital storytelling (DS) project with the pedagogical goal of supporting the much-needed practice of reflexivity, and specifically, reflexivity of intercultural competence (IC) and culturally-responsive pedagogy (CRP). The DS, as an autoethnographic multimodal narrative activity, provided a creative outlet for undergraduate and master’s level students to explore …

A Critical Analysis Of Multiculturalism, Cultural Competence, And Cultural Humility: An Examination Of Potential Training Opportunities For Pre-Service Teachers, Elizabeth A. Nolan

Doctor of Education (EdD)

This dissertation is a critical analysis of the concepts of multiculturalism, cultural competence, and cultural humility. The intent is to examine the historical background of these concepts, the changing demographics of the United States that are forcing an assessment of the meaning of these terms (especially the frequently used notion of multiculturalism), and comparison of cultural competence and cultural humility. The dissertation also engages in a reflection on new possibilities and opportunities offered by a focus on cultural humility for pre-service teacher training.

Multiculturalism In United States Higher Education Institutions: The Lived Experiences Of Enrolled International Students, Loretta Arian Ragsdell

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Since 2006, international student enrollment in U.S. higher education institutions has increased significantly, which has precipitated an increase in the institutions' multiculturalism. A mechanism to facilitate the integration of students of different cultures within a multicultural institution would be valuable to fostering positive educational experiences for all students. The purpose of this phenomenological study was the inclusion of multiculturalism within U.S. higher education institutions. Banks' multiculturalism theory provided the study's conceptual framework. Six international students were interviewed, and their responses were analyzed to answer 2 research questions concerning the lived experiences of international students enrolled in U.S. higher education institutions …

Teaching Respect, Inclusion, And Acceptance In Ethnically And Culturally Diverse Early Childhood Classrooms, Romina S. Sapinoso

Master's Projects and Capstones

Given the increasingly diverse demographics of American public schools, it is necessary for teachers who are interested in exposing their students to concepts of inclusion, respect, and acceptance to have access to a resource guide and model for implementing a curriculum that is culturally and ethnically inclusive. This project sought to develop a resource guide for teachers of early childhood in schools to teach about inclusion, respect, and acceptance in a diverse classroom setting. This resource will be useful for teachers in grades Transitional Kindergarten, Kindergarten, first and second in creating a safe space to celebrate students’ differences and increase …

A Comparison Study Of Parents’ Perceptions Of Quality In Early Childhood Programs, Juanita Ortiz

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Research has demonstrated that high quality early childhood education (ECE) programs result in short and long-term benefits that are critical for children to reach their full potential and narrow the achievement gap. Parental involvement has been accepted as integral to quality ECE programs, and parental perception drives parental involvement. Perceptions and contributions of parents and caregivers including those who do not speak English have not been adequately addressed in the research. Furthermore, research has not addressed how parental perception regarding quality in ECE programs may vary according to whether their child has or does not have a disability.

This study …

Looking Within: Teacher Critical Self-Reflection On Language And Cultural Integration In Multilingual Schools, Kathryn Brooks, Katya Karathanos, Susan Adams

Faculty Publications

Genor (2005) proposed a framework for teacher reflection that included three stages of reflection: Unproblematized reflection, problematized reflection and critically problematized reflection. This study built upon Genor’s (2005) framework. The researchers of this current study taught English as a second language (ESL) coursework over two semesters to inservice educators. Analysis of participants’ course documents and instructional artifacts revealed factors that contributed to changes in beliefs and professional practices in teaching multilingual students. These factors included teachers’ (1) capacity to identify one’s biases and assumptions, (2) perceived purposes for incorporating students’ native languages and cultures in instruction, (3) levels of self-efficacy, …

Lessons From The Culturally Diverse Classroom: Intellectual Challenges And Opportunities Of Teaching In The American University, M Laura Barberan Reinares

Publications and Research

University education in the United States has become an increasingly global environment. In the classrooms of a modern university students and teachers from literally all corners of the world come together and reshape the face of higher education. Without a doubt the multicultural classroom of the 21st century necessitates fresh pedagogical approaches to university instruction that questions both established student and teacher models. This article then ad- dresses intercultural relationships within a multicultural university classroom setting and the resulting changes for the conceptualization of student and teacher roles. While the essay raises interdisciplinary and multicultural issues we wish to encourage …

University Diversity Committee: Where Diversity And Dedication Meet, Mary Texeira

Journal of Critical Issues in Educational Practice

No abstract provided.

Unlv College Of Education Multicultural & Diversity Newsletter, Steve Mccafferty, John Filler, Le Ann Putney, Kyle Higgins, Porter Troutman, Stanley Zehm, Cyndi Giorgis, Jack Starr, Sheila Gregory, Joyce Nelson-Leaf

College of Education Multicultural & Diversity Newsletter

As educators and future educators, we will be working with students from diverse groups and all walks of life. Many of us enter this field entrenched in our own culture with no real understanding of how others' life experiences have influenced their values and beliefs. The multicultural courses in the College of Education force us to examine how we came to adopt our values and from where our beliefs originated. No other course in the graduate curriculum forces us to challenge the myths and stereotypes of American society as profoundly as these courses.

Introduction, James Jennings

Trotter Review

This issue of the Trotter Institute Review is devoted to a two-part proposition. The first is that institutions, agencies, businesses, and schools must begin to reflect the increasingly diverse ethnic and racial characteristics of American society. America is in the midst of a demographic revolution. It is unfortunate that some educators have chosen to ignore the social, economic, and intellectual implications of this change and that others have even become angry and attacked efforts to create an appreciation of multiculturalism.

This unfortunate resistance to the implications of America's unfolding demography leads to the second proposition reflected in this issue of …