Bilingual, Multilingual, and Multicultural Education Commons^™

The Effects Of Colorism On The Self-Esteem And Relationships Among College Students, Marrakesh Shiloh Spann, Pius Nyutu

Journal of Research Initiatives

This study was designed to examine the relationship between colorism and self-esteem and relationship satisfaction among college students. Additionally, the impact of other social-economic factors such as gender, race/ethnicity, and income level were evaluated. Data was collected via a questionnaire developed in google forms from 202 participants. The instruments included the Rosenberg Self- Esteem Scale (Rosenberg, 1965), A Generic Measure of Relationship Satisfaction (Hendrick, 1988), The Colorism Scale (Harvey, Banks, & Tennial, 2014) and a general demographics questionnaire. The results indicated a very low correlation between colorism and self-esteem (r = .084) and between colorism and relationship satisfaction (r = …

Teaching And Designing Culturally Responsive Experiences Using Cross-Media Film In Higher Education, Edward Cromarty, Mary Alice Young, Simone Elias

Journal of Research Initiatives

This paper examined the pedagogical use of cross-media film in higher education, as it highlighted cross-media in implementing a Culturally Responsive approach to enhance social justice learning in the classroom. The findings demonstrated the potential of cross-media film to engage learners through cultural relevance for the 21st century. The findings also considered that the Culturally Responsive approach may constitute a fourth pillar of the three epistemologies through research and suggestions for culturally responsive teaching practices.

Designing Learning Spaces For Hispanic And Latino/A Knowledge To Emerge In Doctor Of Education Programs, Edward Cromarty, Simone Elias, Oksana Karapetian

Journal of Research Initiatives

Shifts in demographic and cultural change in American society, particularly the growth of the Hispanic and Latino/a population, have shed light on inequalities in education and revealed institutional barriers to Hispanic learning in doctoral education programs. This best practice paper contextualizes Hispanic and Latino/a Learners (HLL) within scholar-practitioner programs, specifically in Doctor of Education programs. It historically addresses potential factors that may impact this population within that context based on the scholarly literature, history, and practice. Most importantly, it sets the tone for designing positive inclusive spaces and improving conditions for HLL knowledge to emerge in Doctor of Education programs.

Exploring The Motivational Factors That Empower Military Spouses To Pursue Degrees In Higher Education, Veronica Gregg, Linda Wilson-Jones

Journal of Research Initiatives

This study aimed to explore the factors that motivate and empower military spouses to persist in pursuing degrees in higher education. The following research question guided this study? What do military spouses perceive as the factors that motivate and empower them to persist in earning college degrees? Fifteen military spouses participated in this study. The military spouses who participated in the study shared their experiences on motivating factors that empowered them to continue earning a college degree. The theory of Cultural Capital was used as the theoretical framework to guide the concept that the military environment is a culture within …

Telemedicine And Healthcare Implications For Central Virginia: A Systematic Review Of The Literature, Patricia A. Lynch, Charletta H. Barringer-Brown, Daniel N. Brown, Taneisha D. Brown

Journal of Research Initiatives

Background: Uncertainties and challenges associated with COVID-19 have affected the efficient delivery of health care in Central Virginia. Integrating and redesigning health systems could boost the quality and efficiency of care delivery. Telemedicine has been suggested as a viable solution to increase virtual access to patient advocacy healthcare education and training programs and has the potential to help facilitate the delivery of health services to rural and remote areas. It is projected that access to quality telehealth services can minimize the need for in-person hospital visitation amid the pandemic. The innovation also facilitates remote assessment of patients and monitoring of …

Trauma-Informed Practices For Test-Taking Anxiety At The Elementary Grade Level, Kate Campbell, Shalini Mathew

Journal of Research Initiatives

Test -Taking Anxiety (TTA) is a challenging experience for children of all ages. Childhood exposure to trauma and adverse experience has been increasing. Fortunately, trauma-informed practices, such as mindfulness activities have become more widespread in schools throughout the last few years. Existing school counseling literature offers limited perspectives on how school counselors can support elementary students for TTA. This conceptual article explores the effects of trauma-informed practices on elementary-age students' test anxiety and overall academic success in schools and offers implications for practice.

Family Communication And Engagement With Digital Technology: Approaches And Strategies, Simone Elias, Edward Cromarty, Linda Wilson-Jones

Journal of Research Initiatives

This article discusses family engagement with digital technology in inclusive education focusing on the development of caring relationships, diversity of communication skills within family and educational communities, the integration of the classroom and home, and being a media mentor to families. It reviews research related to family engagement with media technology and seeks to provide a flexible guide which may be adapted to diverse environments to assist in developing technology-infused family engagement and communication strategies. The educational practices discussed consider the importance of the family in the technology hybridized classroom and consider socioeconomic, cultural, linguistic, and human diversity as factors …

Obstacles Women And Historically Marginalized Racial And Ethnic Groups (Hmreg) Face In The Computer Science Field, Simone Elias, Edward Cromarty, Linda Wilson-Jones

Journal of Research Initiatives

This article approaches the problem of underrepresentation of women and marginalized ethnic groups in the computer science fields from a developmental learning perspective. It proposes that systemic social barriers need to be addressed to overcome the bias toward women in the technological fields. The article surmises that even though stereotypes have changed in the past few decades, Gender Socialization which begins at birth and intensifies through adolescence contributes to inequalities of education, employment, and empowerment in adult life. It suggests that changing the educational paradigm beginning in early education, may result in more inclusive diverse perspectives, increase representation of women, …

The Parental Involvement In A Multicultural Educational Context, Xanthippi Foulidi, Evangelos C. Papakitsos

Journal of Research Initiatives

This work focuses on parental involvement, which is considered a crucial element of school performance, especially in the case of students belonging to cultural minorities. It presents findings of modern notable research studies that examined the cultural dimensions of parental involvement in middle childhood. It also focuses on the issue that the mutual acceptance of the dominant and minority culture is a prerequisite for cooperation between family and school, to achieve the improvement of school performance. The work is structured in three sections, in the first, the term "parental involvement" is clarified and mainly cultural differences in parental involvement are …

English Teachers' Opinions On Challenges Face In Teaching English As Foreign Language: The Case Of Jalalabad Selected Secondary Schools, Fahim Rahimi, Hangama Samadi

Journal of Research Initiatives

One important goal of teaching is to achieve learning outcomes. It has been observed in universities that many students have different levels of English language proficiency. However, they study in the same English courses at the school level. The main objective of this study is to learn the challenges that exist in teaching the English language as a foreign language in secondary schools that affect the English proficiency of students. In addition, ways in which these challenges will be overcome is reviewed. The data collection tools were questionnaires and semi-structured interviews to collect data from English language teachers in selected …

The Three Dimensions Of Inclusive Education In The Attempt For Educational Change: Cultures, Policies And Practices, Niki Alexaki, Xanthippi Foulidi, Evangelos C. Papakitsos

Journal of Research Initiatives

Inclusive education is approached from three dimensions: the creation of inclusive cultures, the production of inclusive policies, and the development of inclusive practices. In this paper, the relationship between these three dimensions is discussed and it is explained how their combination can lead to educational change and evolution in the development of inclusive schools.

Esl Teachers And School Leaders Perspectives: Culturally Relevant Pedagogy In Elementary And Middle Grades Social Studies, Matthew John Wynne, Landon Hadley

Journal of Research Initiatives

The American public education system is undergoing significant changes. This is in regard to what students should be learning and how teachers should deliver quality instruction. English language learners (ELLs) are a group that demands time, attention, and special consideration. This is due to their increasing population in public schools and their low academic performance when compared to their native English-speaking students (Samson & Collins, 2012). English language learners are one of the fastest-growing student populations in the United States, with over 4.6 million students as of 2015 (McFarland et al., 2017). This qualitative study with a narrative inquiry approach …

A Case Study Of Afghan Foreign Language (Fl) Teachers' Attitudes Towards Literature As A Method Of Teaching, Omid Wali, Kishwar Zafir

Journal of Research Initiatives

For the last two decades, teaching foreign languages through literature has been advocated as an effective method and trend. Literature also plays a vital role in the language curriculum and teaching. Many instructors believe in using literature as a remarkable strategy for teaching foreign languages effectively. However, many others argue why and how literature should be embodied in the language curriculum. Teachers' attitudes toward literature as a fundamental tool for teaching the four integrated language skills (listening, speaking, reading, and writing) are inconsistent. Therefore, the study aims to survey the perceptions and attitudes of Afghan foreign language teachers towards literature …

Black Women Leaders Professional And Social Experiences In Higher Education: A Review Of The Research Literature, Marian E. Truehill

Journal of Research Initiatives

The purpose of this review of the research literature was to offer a critical take on the current body of research focusing on the aspect of how Black women are affected by their experiences in higher education. Some of the themes discussed in this review include discrimination, social conditions, and lack of advancement in academic institutions. Implications for these issues is discussed and delineated.

Dissed: The Removal Of Black Educators From The American Schoolhouse, Sunni Ali

Journal of Research Initiatives

For almost a decade, the teaching profession has seen a drastic shortage of Black educators. The closing of many schools in urban areas has helped reduce the number of Black teachers in the profession. Also, evaluative protocols and rubrics that measure effective teaching practices harbor biased lenses that impact how Black educators maintain their employment status to succeed in the profession. Without promoting recruitment and retention interventions and culturally applied methods to assess teacher effectiveness, fewer students will have an opportunity to experience Black educators in their lifetime. The research paper used a critical race and culturally responsive theoretical framing …

Honors College Type: A Detailed Mbti Analysis, Angela Farmer

Journal of Research Initiatives

Individuals in society today are entrenched in stress, from competitive environments like school or work to social anxieties, including one's struggle to acclimate and survive within a given subset of individuals. As a result, life can have challenges. Nowhere is this more apparent than among the schools' high schools and college campuses where students, overwhelmed by a culture where they fail to thrive, take drastic, irreparable, and lethal action. While no established student profile is likely to engage in extreme violence like school shootings, reliable data is detailing some ominous motives (The school shooter, 2002). Paired with this information and …

Rethinking Standardized Testing From An Access, Equity And Achievement Perspective: Has Anything Changed For African American Students?, Michael Couch Ii, Marquisha Frost, J. Santiago, Adriel Hilton

Journal of Research Initiatives

This study examined standardized testing and its effects on African American students. The authors focused on three perspectives: access, equity, and achievement about students' academic success in their K-12 educational experiences and how the quality of their education and test scores impacted their college acceptance rate, respectively. The three perspectives are specific to the works of Dr. Asa G. Hilliard and Dr. Barbara A. Sizemore, both of whom were passionate about the academic success and progression of students of African descent. Their many works embody a fight against standardized testing for students, especially those of color, and work toward a …

Listen To Your Doppelganger! Global Cultural Empathy For Educators: A Literature Review Based Conceptual Model, Papia Bawa Dr.

Journal of Research Initiatives

Our student populations' diversity now includes African Americans, Native Americans, and Latinos, as classrooms represent various cultural backgrounds. This shift in student population dynamics brings fresh challenges to educator's unpreparedness to identify with the unique cultural identities of international students. The cultural dissonance that international students face compounds this challenge since the cultural unawareness and misconceptions may be generated from both educators and student groups. The Doppelganger Inspired Change Effect model or DICE discussed in this article is inspired by an extensive literature review. It elucidates a process of fostering global cultural empathy and preparedness of educators by linking such …

Teacher Stress In The Current Covid-19 Pandemic, Allison H. Anderson

Journal of Research Initiatives

The Covid-19 infection drastically altered the 2019-2020 school year, shortening and preventing its completion. As a result, we do not know if the school will return as normal in the fall or not. This uncertainty causes stress for parents, students, and teachers. We need to recognize these stresses and develop a strategy to deal with them.

Acculturation Stress, Covid-19 Outbreak, And Academic Burnout On The Psychological Well-Being Of Asian Students, Georgekutty Kochuchakkalackal Kuriala

Journal of Research Initiatives

The Coronavirus (Covid-19) endemic is growing exponentially in the whole world. SARS-CoV-2 is the virus responsible for causing COVID-19 disease, which is highly infectious and lethal. Acculturation stress originates from attempts by individuals to resolve the differences between their culture of origin and the dominant culture. In addition, the process of acculturation often is accompanied by several stressful psycho-social experiences, personal and institutional discrimination, leaving family and friends behind in the country of origin, and the stressor of learning a new language. Moreover, with the soaring trends in globalization, people ought to seek a highly competitive and world-class education to …

Factors That Influence Emirati Male Achievement In Higher Education, Melvin (Jai) Jackson, Kaitlin M. Jackson

Journal of Research Initiatives

The success of Emirati male students in higher education is one filled with positive interactions between the students, faculty, and staff. The influence of faculty in the success of Emirati males is vital to the overall curricular success of this student population. The strong cultural ties to seeking out elders for guidance and influence is easily replicated on college and university campuses. In this manuscript we examine the history of education in the Middle East from its inception to the meteoric rise of higher education. Through examining the past and present education we will explore how the cultural and societal …

Leveraging The Science Of Learning To Enhance Student Success: An Application Of Syfr Learning’S Principles Of Practice, Jennifer S. Jones, Christopher L. Thomas

Journal of Research Initiatives

The purpose of the current article is to describe a set of empirically validated principles of practice with the potential to enhance student learning and academic performance. Specifically, we provide an overview of Syfr Learning’s principles of practice – a collection of scalable instructional techniques derived from decades of research in the domain of learning science. Further, we provide an illustrative example of the benefits of Syfr Learning’s principles of practice when incorporated into existing curricula in a K-12 setting.

Brain Science And Parent-School Relationships In A Title 1 Elementary School In Massachusetts: A Basic Qualitative Study, Arij Rached, Simone Elias, Linda Wilson-Jones

Journal of Research Initiatives

Bandura's (1977) social cognitive theory contends that people think, learn, and perform based upon a sum of personal (e.g., beliefs, emotions, behaviors), social (home-school relationships), and environmental (school culture). Also, research has already determined that collaboration between home and school leads to better children's social-emotional learning (SEL) (August, Anderson, & Bloomquist, 1992; Cooper & Redfern, 2016; Grant & Ray, 2018). Thus, a basic qualitative research tradition was used to better understand elementary public-school parents' perceptions of the impact of parent-school relationships on children SEL development in a Title 1 school in Massachusetts (MA). Thru the lenses of brain science, a …

Distributed Leadership: Theorizing A Mindful Engagement Component, Arij Rached, Simone Elias

Journal of Research Initiatives

The distributive leader cannot influence organizational performance without taking into consideration the capabilities of team members to achieve a common goal (McIntyre, 2003; Harris, 2003). To leverage the capabilities of teams, distributive leaders need to be mindfully attentive in establishing a collective interpretation of the current organizational situation. However, establishing a collective interpretation may not be effective if distributive leaders do not initially consider the importance of creating group learning environments to engage diverse group members (Ashford & DeRue, 2012). The purpose of this integrative literature review is to explore theoretical and empirical research examining the potential of mindful engagement …

Mindfulness And Well-Being: A Mixed Methods Study Of Bilingual Guided Meditation In Higher Education, Chieh Li, Qinghong Ann Cai, Simone Elias, Linda Wilson-Jones

Journal of Research Initiatives

This mixed-methods study investigated the acceptability and outcomes of a mindful approach to teaching a foreign language in higher education institutions. The approach included Bilingual Guided Meditation (BGM^®) in the classroom to reduce students’ anxiety and foster a positive mindset. The BGM program combines bilingual positive suggestions with guided meditation and relaxing background music. Results indicated that the BGM may reduce anxiety and can improve academic performance.

Prosocial Leadership: The Transformative Power Of Others Directed Leadership Behavior, Timothy G. Ewest

Journal of Research Initiatives

This paper seeks to provide an understanding of the prosocial leadership development process as defined by Ewest (2018), and how it acts to personal flourishing. To this end, this paper will provide an understanding of personal flourishing as discussed by Rogers (1959), positive psychology framed by Mackie, (2017) and then considers the emerging positive theories of leadership as discussed by Ewest (2018b). Finally, the paper will resolve by considering prosocial values, and specifically the prosocial leadership development process as posited by Ewest (2018), including the four steps in the process and possible benefits from becoming a prosocial leader.

Domination Of European Culture In All Over The World, Md. Ruhul Amin

Journal of Research Initiatives

European colonialism is an extremely controversial affair in world history that is also discussed today. This paper explores the influence of these happenings as the world incorporates the culture of European in every step of life. Europe dominated almost the entire world and its people were leaders in science and technology. European languages, literature, and culture spread all over the globe. Decisions in Europe largely determined global events for centuries. The other continents did not approach European power until after World War 1 or World War 2. Europe consisted of constantly competing nations, and this competition spurred development. Europe achieved …

Language Diversity In The Greek Educational System: Promoting Multilingual Classroom Policies, Xanthippi Foulidi, Marianthi Oikonomakou, Evangelos C. Papakitsos

Journal of Research Initiatives

This study focuses on the position of mother languages in Greek education at the level of educational policy, demonstrating the necessity of their further emergence based on modern scientific findings on the benefits of bilingualism. Through an effort to record a set of obstacles that make it difficult for them to join the curriculum, a framework is proposed to be used for the language repertoire of all pupils, so that their rights are respected in practice and their linguistic richness serves as a source of enrichment for the whole population. The implementation of practices that could enhance the free and …

Cross-Cultural Considerations: Raising Language Teachers Awareness About The Importance Of Multiculturalism, Abir El Shaban

Journal of Research Initiatives

Abstract

With the worldwide use of English as a second language (ESL) and globalization, teachers are expected to understand, acknowledge and interact with culturally and linguistically diverse students and integrate their linguistic and multicultural backgrounds in classroom settings. Teachers need to be multicultural to be able to successfully impact their students to be multicultural. This paper provides English language teachers with valuable recommendations based on cross-cultural studies and my experience, as an ESL teacher, on how to be responsive to students from different cultures to empower and enhance their language proficiency skills.

Social Isolation And Technology: Implications For Psychosocial Development: A Theoretical Paper, Franco Zengaro, Sally Zengaro, Mohamed A. Ali

Journal of Research Initiatives

Advances in technology offer new frontiers in terms of conquering temporal dimensions, but with more significant advancements in technology, there is the possibility of having a diminished return in terms of interpersonal relationships. Without necessarily decrying technology as the culprit of a decrease in human social interaction, this conceptual paper discusses the opportunities provided to individuals through media encounters to be selective in their manner of communicating and the implications of this selectivity. This paper considers the complexity of human learning as based in situational, constructive, biological, and cognitive components underscored through the experiential, multisource nature of understanding. However, many …