Bilingual, Multilingual, and Multicultural Education Commons^™

Diné Bina'nitin Dóó O'Hoo'aah/Education For Us, By Us: A Collective Journey In Diné Education Liberation, Lyla June Johnston

Language, Literacy, and Sociocultural Studies ETDs

This study is an educational memoir of my experience working for education liberation with hundreds of Diné (Navajo) people written in the style of auto-ethnography. We are indigenous to what is now known as the southwestern United States and organize in the wake of attempted genocide and destructive assimilation policies. Our collective set out to answer the following question: If we could teach and learn anything we wanted, in any way we wanted, what would we do? Based on our ancestral Nitsáhakees-Nahat’á-Iiná-Sii Hasin strategic framework, this Diné collective organized a summer school that reflected their hearts’ true pedagogical desires. What …

Indonesian Students' Perceptions Of Written Feedback In Second Language Writing, Rahmah Fithriani

Language, Literacy, and Sociocultural Studies ETDs

Grounded in sociocultural theory, written feedback activities in second language (L2) writing provide the social interactions that help learners develop their psychical functions within the zone of proximal development (ZPD) as they co-construct knowledge with teachers and peers through guided learning (De Guerrero & Villamil, 2000). Written feedback can also help student writers improve their writing proficiency, including organization of their texts and awareness of the mechanics of the language necessary for successful communication of the intended message (Chandler, 2003; Ferris, 2006; Jahin, 2012; Kamimura, 2006).

Regarding the eminence of feedback in L2 writing, a large body of research has …

Agency, The Uncanny, And Strangeways: An Autoethnographic Journey Through An International Wunderland., Roberto T. Ollivier

Language, Literacy, and Sociocultural Studies ETDs

The African diaspora and postcolonial studies author George Lamming writes in his book “The Pleasures of Exile” that the Caliban character from Shakespeare’s “The Tempest” “cannot be revealed in any relation to himself-for he has no self which is not a reaction to circumstances imposed upon his life” (Lamming, 1992, p. 107). One could argue that the only hope this half-human half-monstrous creature, or for that matter, any of us have to find peace, lies in the attempt to find resolution through the metaphorical slaying of our respective pasts. Like Caliban, many of us are never …

Connecting Genre-Based And Corpus-Driven Approaches In Research Articles: A Comparative Study Of Moves And Lexical Bundles In Saudi And International Journals, Basim M. Alamri

Language, Literacy, and Sociocultural Studies ETDs

Research articles (RAs) have become the primary channel for researchers to circulate academic knowledge within certain discourse communities. Writing an acceptable research paper for publication in a scholarly journal is challenging for novice writers, especially for nonnative speakers of English. The present study was pedagogically motivated, and the ultimate goal was to provide the basis for a genre approach and corpus linguistics to academic writing for ESL/EFL postgraduate students in the field of applied linguistics.

The study analyzed the rhetorical structure and lexical bundles of English-language RAs—Introduction-Methods-Results-Discussion-Conclusion (I-M-R-D-C)—sections published in Saudi Arabian and international journals in the field of applied …

Rediscovering Misinterpreted Concept Of Vospitaniye, Core Constituent Of Vygotskian Zpd, Through Scholar’S Socio-Cultural Actuality, Svetlana Mylnikova

Language, Literacy, and Sociocultural Studies ETDs

ABSTRACT

Lev Semyonovich Vygotsky, a renowned Russian psychologist, whose immediate family, academic surrounding, and scientific findings are typically scrutinized by scholars of past and present (Feingenberg, 1996, Kotik-Friedgut, 2008, 2011, Kuzmich, 2006, Vygodskaya & Lifanova, 1999, Yasnitsky, 2011, 2012) was the first to emphasize the holistic multidisciplinary approach to child development of pedology (child pedagogy) and distinguish two equally meaningful components of child education: obuchenie (teaching/learning process) and vospitanie (fostering). Even though Vygotskian theories are extensively employed in modern educational practices the intricacy of a complex unity of obuchenie and vospitanie in the process of education was overlooked as both …

Family Emotional Literacy: A Critical Education Curriculum For Mental Health Promotion, Anna L. Dinallo

Language, Literacy, and Sociocultural Studies ETDs

This narrative study documents the experiences of seven Latina community educators through focus groups, interviews, and artifact data. Given the stigma of mental health (Bayer, 2005), a lack of culturally centered emotional curriculums (Boler, 1997; Boler & Zembylas, 2003) which are removed from structural oppression (Collins, 2002,1989; Crenshaw, 1991, 1993; hooks, 2014), educators, parents, and communities are in need of mental health promotion tools. According to the American Psychiatric Association (APA, 2015), approximately 70 million Americans annually are diagnosed with mental health issues that disable daily functioning. More relevant to the study population was the loss of three middle school-aged …

The War Against Teachers: How The Discourse Of A Nation At Risk Set The Agenda For Contemporary New Mexico Education Policy, Christine P. Wernle

Language, Literacy, and Sociocultural Studies ETDs

A Nation at Risk (ANAR) represented a paradigm shift in national education policy and public education discourse. This Critical Discourse Analysis utilizing the theoretical framework of Fairclough and Wodak (1997) found five major recurring themes between ANAR, national and state discourse, and NMTEACH (as referenced in the Final Report and Recommendations of the New Mexico Effective Teaching Task Force, 2011): 1) The Establishment of Pedagogic Authority; 2) The Common-Senseness of Education; 3) Anti-Teacher Rhetoric and the Artificial Support of Teachers; 4) Deracialisation of Educational Policy and Color-Blind Ideology; and 5) The Movement from Symbolic to Physical Violence. This study has …

Making Meaning Of Chinese International Graduate Students' Experiences In The Journey Of Learning English In The United States, Feng Qi

Language, Literacy, and Sociocultural Studies ETDs

This study focuses on how Chinese international graduate students make meanings of their experiences through everyday social communication with native English speaker to make adjustment to their new lives. Grounded on Vygotsky’s sociocultural theoretical framework, this study is conducted by the case study method to present the target group of students’ understanding of barriers encountered in social communication and their interpretation of the relations between self and the environment. Perezhivanie shed light on exploring the participants’ different attitudes and interpretation of the same life issues with the increasing length of residence in the United States. By experiencing a range of …

A Case Study Of Non-Native English-Speaking International University Students Participating In A Community Of Practice, Linka G. Crosby

Language, Literacy, and Sociocultural Studies ETDs

The social identity construction of international students studying in the United States is important to the field of second language learning and the study of identity. A Social Identity and Communities of Practice (CoP) framework were used to understand how participation in a CoP informed the identity of non-native speaking university international students studying in the U.S. The focus of this study was to investigate how participation in a CoP informed the identity of non-native speaking international university students studying in the U.S. I proposed that these frameworks provided a foundation for understanding how participation in a CoP for non-native …

Black Women's Search For Meaning: An Existential Portraiture Study On How Black Women Experience The 4 Existential Givens, Tamiko Lemberger-Truelove

Language, Literacy, and Sociocultural Studies ETDs

The purpose of the phenomenological, qualitative study was to explore how select Black women experience the four ultimate concerns of existence, including freedom, isolation, meaninglessness, and death. Existential psychology, from which the four existential givens emerge, is deeply grounded in existential philosophy, which rarely connects key principles and tenets of existentialism to the experiences of Black women. The existential givens have been posited as a universal framework and yet because Black women are faced with multiple forms of marginalization the current study operates from the assumption that universal experiences are filtered through patently Black experiences. To explore how the existential …

The Racial Discourses Of Teacher Education Students In The Urban Southwest, Virginia Necochea

Language, Literacy, and Sociocultural Studies ETDs

This study seeks to understand the racial discourses of teacher education students (TES) in the urban Southwest. This study is needed given the current post-racial or 'we're beyond race' climate in the U.S. (Bonilla-Silva, 2009). This study adds to the discussion of whether or not TES are really 'beyond race.' By critically analyzing TES' racial discourses it is hoped that a deeper understanding can be gained as to how this specific population both conforms and resists current racial discourses in the US. Because discourse reveals how people understand and represent the world, interviewing participants was a key method used in …

An Institutional Ethnographic Account Of Mandatory Professional Development In New Mexico, Lanysha Adams

Language, Literacy, and Sociocultural Studies ETDs

Current research has focused primarily on prescriptive models of professional development (PD), yet few have focused on teachers experiences of mandatory PD. Furthermore, researchers (Adams, 2014; Elmore, 2002; Hargreaves, 2011) have shown numerous points of disconnection between the prescribed policies for teacher PD and the de facto policies reflected in teachers' experiences of PD, leaving teachers' accounts of mandatory PD largely underexplored. The purpose of this study was to examine the institution of mandatory PD in New Mexico, exploring the characteristics of mandatory PD and full-time public high school teachers' perceptions of their PD experiences at one high school and …

English Language Education (Ele) As A Mark Of Social Distinction In Taiwan: Buxibans, Ele Teachers Discourse, And Social Reproduction, Yihfang Pan

Language, Literacy, and Sociocultural Studies ETDs

The purpose of this study is to apply the lens of social reproduction theory to explore how English language educators view English language education (ELE) and to understand how the English language is used to create social distinctions between Taiwanese English language educators and others in Taiwanese society. Unlike other foreign languages, English enjoys a unique status and prestige in Taiwan because it is the preferred language for international communication. The belief in social mobility is the rationale for learning the English language. This study examines how the predominance of the English language creates internal conflicts and competition among groups. …

Words Flying On The Wind: Buriat Mongolian Children In A Chinese Bilingual School, Valerie Sartor

Language, Literacy, and Sociocultural Studies ETDs

This study focused on the language socialization experiences non-mainstream Indigenous Buriat youth from the Republic of Buriatia, Russian Federation, encountered as they attended a bilingual school in Hohhot, Inner Mongolia, China. They migrated in order to start language studies which would eventually allow them to study alternative Mongolian medicine in Hohhot, Inner Mongolia. Both the Russian Federation and the Republic of China are countries in transition. The Russian educational and economic systems have made dramatic changes after the fall of the Soviet Union in December 1991; currently, the economy and educational opportunities are in decline and there is a widening …

Pedagogy Of Post 9/11 United States: Muslim American Students' Experiences, Teachers' Pedagogies, And Textbooks' Analysis, Randa Nabil Elbih

Language, Literacy, and Sociocultural Studies ETDs

The events and aftermath of 9/11 continue to cause life changes for many Americans, particularly Muslim American students who have experienced socio-cultural and pedagogic exclusion, harassment and discrimination due to ignorance and misunderstandings. Teachers must inform their students about 9/11 and the War on Terror to eliminate misunderstandings and intolerance towards a vulnerable population. In spite of its importance, many schools have not implemented the topic as part of their curricula. It is not even included as part of social studies state standards. Recent editions of US history textbooks include some information about 9/11 and the War on Terror that …

Principals' Perceptions Of Their Responsibilities And Practices Related To English Language Learners, Connie Yaqub

Language, Literacy, and Sociocultural Studies ETDs

The purpose of this qualitative study is to examine principals perceptions of their responsibilities for English language learners (ELLs) and their beliefs about what contributes to these students' academic success. The growing population of ELLs in the US face increased risk for underachievement, as recorded by traditional measures, yet little research investigates the critical role of the principal in the education of ELLs. This study focuses on 7 principals (nominated by other educators as exemplary) in public schools with high enrollments of ELLs found in rural, suburban, and urban districts in a northeastern state. Data came from individual open-ended initial …

A Feminist Inquiry Into The Nature Of Creativity: A Case Study Of Alice Bartlett Woolf, Susan Lucinda Woolf Schulte

Language, Literacy, and Sociocultural Studies ETDs

I did a case study of my mother because she was the most creative person I had ever known. However as I began my doctoral studies in creativity, I felt a lack, a gap, a large deficiency in the theories about, and descriptions of creative people. Wallace and Gruber, Howard Gardner, Feldman and Csikszentmihalyi studied creative people. Even though some of these people were very famous, I still thought I was not seeing a match for my mother's type of creativity. It was only when I began to read Feminist writers such as Judy Chicago, Carolyn Heilbrun and Catherine Bateson …

Uncertainty In Medicine: Learning And Teaching In An Ambulatory, Primary Care Academic Setting, Summers Goff Kalishman

Language, Literacy, and Sociocultural Studies ETDs

The reality of medicine and medical education is that uncertainty is ubiquitous, ambiguity confronts the physician at many points, and decisions are made in the face of incomplete information. Uncertainty is basic to medical care, especially primary care. However, it is seldom acknowledged much less included as a formal part of a medical curriculum. Uncertainty in primary care medicine needs to be identified, characterized and understood.

One of the opportunities to identify and characterize uncertainty in primary care ambulatory medicine is in a thorough description of the ways in which primary care physicians in an academic health center learn and …

The Effect Of Intercultural Training On Ethnocentrism, Victor Pedro Padilla

Language, Literacy, and Sociocultural Studies ETDs

The problem of changing individual ethnic prejudice through a type of social intervention in the workplace was investigated. Intercultural Synergy Training, an intervention method with potential usefulness for many types of organizations, was administered. Elements of the method were drawn from theories of prejudice and intercultural training literature. A randomly-selected group (n=l7) of staff members at a Job Corps center in a southwestern U.S. city was given a four-hour course in intercultural relations (Intercultural Synergy Training). The group trained and a randomly-selected control group (n=18) were then administered an ethnocentrism measure called the Association Questionnaire. Analysis of the results showed …

Structure Of The Chinese Self As Being, Hongyin Wang

Language, Literacy, and Sociocultural Studies ETDs

This study was designed to make a systematic study of the being of the Chinese self by probing into basic structures of knowing, feeling, and willing; consequently, this study consisted of three parts. The first part dealt with typical Chinese knowledge and wisdom, including the Chinese view of the universe and man's place in the world, the general search for the individual self in society and nature, as well as a practical understanding of the theory-practice relationship. The second part discussed Chinese feelings and emotions, dealing with the Chinese dimension of love and hate with variations and weak versions; the …

Sociolinguistic Perspectives On Decisions Of Correctness In New Mexico Spanish, Leslie Merryl Kravitz

Language, Literacy, and Sociocultural Studies ETDs

The purpose of the present investigation was to examine the attitudes of Spanish speakers of an Albuquerque community toward local and standard Mexican Spanish. The preferences expressed and the linguistic elements involved in such decisions were explored. Sociolinguistic factors related to individual and group choices were also considered.

In order to probe the relationship between social and linguistic facts, a single community was investigated. Martineztown, a small, insular Albuquerque Spanish-speaking community was first observed with regard to availability of formal models of Spanish. Sociolinguistic and ethnographic interviews were then conducted. Additional interviews were completed in other New Mexico communities to …

A Sociolinguistic Study Of Crow Language Maintenance, John Arthur Stanley Read

Language, Literacy, and Sociocultural Studies ETDs

The purpose of the study was to investigate the way in which the Crow Tribe of Indians in southeastern Montana have maintained the use of their language, rather than shifting mainly or entirely to the use of English.

First it was necessary to document the present level and scope of Crow language maintenance. To this end, two sociolinguistic surveys were undertaken. One comprised an interview schedule administered to an 18 per cent sample of Crow family heads. The respondents were asked to report on their relative use of Crow and English in various situa­tions, their preferences in language choice, their …

The Effect Of Music On Sociometric Choices And Self-Concepts Of A Group Of Third Grade Students, Richard R. Geuder

Language, Literacy, and Sociocultural Studies ETDs

Statement of the Problem

The problem was to provide various kinds of musical experiences for a group of third grade students who had not been exposed to music in their classroom. The activities were designed to permit maximum participation by each student. The purpose of the study was to investigate the effect of music on sociometric choices and self-concepts of members of the group. A review of the literature revealed that research in music education has produced little evidence concerning the effect of music on interrelationships among groups and the effect of music on self-concepts of individuals. Consequently, the study …

A Sociolinguistic Study Of Language Maintenance In The Northern New Mexico Community Of Arroyo Seco, Leroy I. Ortiz

Language, Literacy, and Sociocultural Studies ETDs

Since the late 16th century, the Spanish language has been maintained in rural, northern New Mexico communities, largely through a pattern of geographic isolation. Within the past 50 years, however, communities in northern New Mexico have begun to undergo greater sociocultural change and more contact with English.

Arroyo Seco is one Spanish-speaking community in northern New Mexico that has recently experienced increased intercultural contact. The purpose of this study was to examine the existing language situation in Arroyo Seco to determine to what extent the community is maintaining Spanish, to assess the strength of English, and to isolate the factors …

The Feasibility Of Test Translation -- English To Navajo, Annabelle R. Scoon

Language, Literacy, and Sociocultural Studies ETDs

The school beginner is expected to be able to follow the language of directions and explanations. Navajo children who enter school essentially monolingual in Navajo and shortly have to accomplish school learning tasks in English may face a double handicap if they have not yet labelled in Navajo the concepts needed in beginning English school work.

Measurement of school related concepts in Navajo was attempted by means of a translation of the Boehm Test of Basic Concepts, a test developed from analysis of early school language requirements. It was assumed that the semantic content of such basic concepts is universal, …

Towards Becoming Bilingual -- Cognitive And Semantic Considerations On Language Acquisition, Gnaneswaran Thiruraj Perinpanayagam

Language, Literacy, and Sociocultural Studies ETDs

Language learning is both culture-bound and individual-skill-bound, structured on an innate, biological capacity to acquire language. While it is a remarkable phenomenon when it occurs in the acquisition of a first language, it is even more remarkable in the acquisition of a second language where the main objective concerning competence is to bring the two languages into equilibrium. This equilibrium does not result in a final co-ordinate bilingual, which is only an abstract ideal. It is, rather, the complex bilingualism - the only bilingualism it is possible to demonstrate - and the equilibrium is judged on the needs and purposes …

The Effect Of A Bilingual Program Used In Nine First Grade Classrooms With Spanish Surnamed Students In The East And West Las Vegas Schools, Juanita D. Montoya

Language, Literacy, and Sociocultural Studies ETDs

The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of a bilingual curriculum for Spanish-surnamed First Grade students in three classrooms in East Las Vegas City Schools and six classrooms in the West Las Vegas School System.

The Nicaraguan Ministry Of Education As A Social System., Raul E. Quintanilla

Language, Literacy, and Sociocultural Studies ETDs

Nicaragua is a country in the process of development. The Nicaraguan leaders are very conscious of the fact that the advancement of the nation depends largely upon the development of human resources. The key role in the development of human resource in is played by education. With the assistance of the U.S. Government, through the Agency for International Development (A.I.D.), and the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), Nicaragua initiated plans for general reforms and reorganization of the existing educational system. Unfortunately, the outcomes have been very limited, if we consider the magnitude of the educational problems.

Sex Differences In Outside Information In Science And Social Studies, Katherine Deonier Stewart

Language, Literacy, and Sociocultural Studies ETDs

During the past thirty-five or forty-five years, much research and many studies have been done in the area of sex differences in education. The scope of these studies have ranged from basic differences in mental and psychological status.

A History Of Presbyterian Church Schools In New Mexico, Lois Edith Huebert

Language, Literacy, and Sociocultural Studies ETDs

The purpose was to investigate and trace the establishment, growth, and philosophy of the Presbyterian church schools in New Mexico. It was also an attempt to determine the relationship of these schools to public education.

This was a historical research. Reports of the Governor and Superintendent of Public Instruction in New Mexico were used. Statistics were secured from the State Department of Education and from current church school teachers. Histories of the state, education, and church in books and theses were utilized. Other sources included: New Mexico Court Cases, Survey report of the church and General Assembly, Menaul yearbook, files …