Bilingual, Multilingual, and Multicultural Education Commons^™

Integrated Development: Best Practices For Girls’ Education, Rebecca Paulson

Master's Capstone Projects

Integrated development takes into consideration the multidimensional nature of every issue. This thesis focuses on the issue of girls’ education and examines the many interconnected barriers which prevent girls from attending school specifically in the context of Niger, but also on a broader level. There must exist a supportive environment which enables girls to be able to access, attend and succeed in school, and this supportive environment must be created across sectors by addressing the many issues which prevent girls’ schooling: cost, health, physical access, culture and tradition etc. Multi-level and multisectoral partnerships of local and international NGOs and the …

Farmer Literacy Practices: A Comparative Study Of Farmers In Kurnool District Of Andhra Pradesh, India, Konda Reddy Chavva

Master's Capstone Projects

ABSTRACT The goal of the study was to understand farmer literacy practices, and how farmer participants perceive the usefulness of Farmer Water School (FWS) training. Studying the farmer literacy practices was to help identify farmer friendly methods, and design effective messages for dissemination on crop choices, decisions, and sustainable groundwater management. To understand the usefulness of FWS training to farmers, a comparative study of FWS participants and non-FWS pa11icipants' perceptions on crop-water management, crop choices, and agriculture practices was undertaken. The study focused on the farmers of Kurnool district of Andhra Pradesh, India.

The research questions driving this study included: …

We’Re Coming Out! – “Home” And “Away” Identities In The Field Of International Education: An Emotional Construction And Negotiation Of The Self, Paul St. John Frisoli

Master's Capstone Projects

Once upon a time, there was a young man from the country of Federation. In this era of postmodernism, Paul St. John Frisoli held fragmented and multiple identities that were at times complimentary and contradictory. He believed that whether he was angry, happy, frustrated, or satisfied that emotions offered clues to these identities. One day, Paul left for the islands of Banga Sharini where he worked on the WEZAP radio project that was funded by the Federation Agency for International Development (FAID). During his stay, he developed new Consultant and Foreign Identity selves while leaving his “home” identities of the …

Permanently Temporary: Roma Refugee Youth Seeking Schooling, Karen N. Binger

Master's Capstone Projects

This study investigates the experiences of education in exile from a small case study of Roma refugee male youths from Kosovo temporarily settled in Macedonia as ‘asylum seekers.’ These refugees are at an overlooked age where they have slipped through the cracks between the post-war, short-term relief and longer-term development efforts in terms of education. Many of the frustrations of this community stem from their difficulties in accessing education, and their uncertain legal limbo or ‘permanently temporary’ situations.

As adolescents, refugees, and Roma, the youth are at a triple jeopardy of marginalization and invisibility. Through conversations with four Roma refugee …

Multicultural Training For Korean Teachers, Bokeong Cheong

Master's Capstone Projects

The main focus of this Master’s project, Multicultural Training for Korean Teachers, is to generate recommendations for multicultural training for elementary and secondary school teachers in Korea. The background is in the current circumstance that Korea is being illuminated as a newly emerging multicultural society. The two factors illustrated as the primary reasons for this shift are the increase of foreign immigrant workers and internationally married couples centered in Korean rural areas. While these foreign populations contribute to the economic development of society in both rural and urban areas, the majority of Koreans view them in negative and prejudiced ways. …

Undocumented And Undefined: College Admission Policies For America's Hidden Class, Jenise Holloway

Master's Capstone Projects

No abstract provided.

Socio-Academic Interaction As Predictors Of Academic-Performance For Vietnamese Government Scholarship Recipients In Us Graduate Programs, Duc-Le Nguyen

Master's Capstone Projects

This study investigates the predictability of social interaction and academic interaction to academic performance. Descriptive analysis, multiple regression analysis, factor analysis and correlation analysis of data provided by 71 students who are Vietnamese Government Scholarship Recipients in graduate programs all over the United States indicate that socio-academic interaction can be used as predictors of students' academic performance but only 15% of the predicted variance is explained by the model. The length of students' US sojourn has effect on both social and academic interaction and degree sought by students has effect on academic interaction. Gender and length of exposure to English …

The War On Aids: The Abc's Of Fighting This War, A Historical Perspective, Laura A. Ivey

Master's Capstone Projects

No abstract provided.

Prospects And Challenges: Teaching An Introductory Course On International Education In U.S. Classroom, Manaslu Gurung

Master's Capstone Projects

The purpose of this research is to explore the experiences of teaching an introductory course on International Education in a US classroom. The study focuses on some of the leading challenges of discussing links between international education and international development from a variety of global perspectives, particularly the Third World perspective. The underlying goal of this reflective research is to address the importance of International Education is today’s world where education continues to be political and where what we see, understand, and value in the First World impacts the Third World more directly and severely than ever before. Free Market …

Preparing The Field For Implementing "Monitoring Learning Achievement" Project In Tajikistan, Central Asia, Larissa Savitskaya

Master's Capstone Projects

No abstract provided.

How To Approach Institutional Partnerships Program From The Perspectives Of Socio-Cultural Differences In Management, Olga Okhlopkova

Master's Capstone Projects

The idea of developing an analysis of institutional partnership program for my Master’s thesis came to me last fall, 2003 when CIE team started working on a grant proposal for a partnership program between the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, and Yakutsk State University (Sakha, Russia). The project was initiated by the CIE professor Gretchen B. Rossman and a group of international students from the former Soviet Union

The project was developed by an open grant competition from Freedom Support educational Partnership Program with Eurasia. The FSEPP is sponsored by the U.S. Department of State, Bureau of Education and Cultural Affairs. …

The Magnitude And Causes Of Dropout In Malawi: A Study Of Chiradzulu District, Christopher Winston Naunje

Master's Capstone Projects

Dropout is one of the problems many public education systems face all around the world. In Malm-vi, the problem worsened after l994 when primary education was made free and an influx of children came into the system. Soon after, the children started to quit. It is estimated that about 10 per cent of the children who were enrolled into primary school that year dropped out during the first six months of the school year. This trend is still going on, sometimes with as little as 25 percent completion rate (to the last class of the cycle).

The study sought to …

What Do We Think About Them? Stereotypes In Russia About U.S. High Schools., Svetlana Pivovar

Master's Capstone Projects

No abstract provided.

Celebrating Diversity God's Way! Increasing Multiculturalism In Christian Early Childhood Settings: A Practical Manual For Practitioners, Tamari Nduaguibe

Master's Capstone Projects

This project combined an extensive literature review, the creation of a practitioners manual and teaching materials, as well as the presentation of the ideas at a regional conference for Christian early childhood educators. For the literature review, I chose writers who dealt with multicultural education in general (such as Nieto, Bennett, and Banks), with Christian multiculturalism (such as Wilkerson, and Breckenridge), and also with those that wrote about how to affirm diversity and promote tolerance in early childhood education (Derman-Sparks, Spodek, Brown, Vold). I brought these three areas together in the practitioners manual, a seventy-page practical resource targeted for Christian …

Policy And Planning For Basic Education In The Context Of Hiv/Aids In Malawi, Lindiwe Christina Chide

Master's Capstone Projects

The Education sector in Malawi has experienced a negative impact of the HIV I AIDS pandemic. Since the 1990's the education sector has registered an increased number of problems due to the pandemic. This study examines how cmTent human resource policies in the Education ministry address the impact of HIV I AIDS, explores the impact of HIV I AIDS on planning for basic education and the interventions that have been put in place to address the impact Data was collected from key policy makers and implementers in the Education Ministry using in-depth interviews and document reviews. The study found that …

Non-Native English Speakers And Their Experience In College: A Study Based On Interview Conducted With International Students At The University Of Massachusetts In Amherst, Amadou Kamara

Master's Capstone Projects

This study explores the experiences of international students within their learning environment and the community at large from the vintage point of being second, third, or fourth language speakers of English. Six undergraduate participants ( three male and three female) were selected from five disciplines and·one undeclared major at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. A phenomenological interviewing process was used to explore the experiences of the non-native English speakers. Three sixty-minute interviews were conducted with each of the participants and later transcribed. The study explores the educational and social experiences of the participants in college, and also their experiences of …

Supporting The Language Agenda In Teacher Development: Preparing Teachers/Or Culturally And Linguistically Diverse Students At The New Teacher Professional Development Institute, Andrew Habana Hafner

Master's Capstone Projects

No abstract provided.

Immigrant Students In The Context Of Us School System Case Study Of Russian-Speaking Immigrant Community In West Springfield, Massachusetts Based On “Bridge” Project Materials, Natalia Oleshko

Master's Capstone Projects

The purpose of this paper is to describe Russian-speaking immigrant school students’ experiences in the United States and to explore issues of self-identification and the adaptive strategies associated with schooling. The case may shed some light on complex problems of clashes in cultural values, how the might influence the choice of adaptive strategies and efforts to excel in academia. The study of the case will not be limited by school environment; rather it will explore the issues and problems of students’ acculturation in a broader context that will include community, family, socioeconomic, cultural and historical factors.

The case study deals …

Challenges In The Payment Of Primary School Teachers’ Salaries: The Case Of Lilongwe District (Malawi), Ken Kaziputa Ndala

Master's Capstone Projects

This study investigated the payment system of primary teachers in Malawi with an aim of finding the weaknesses for improvement. Lilongwe district was chosen as a case study. The study followed the qualitative methods of face-to-face interviews with ministry officials at central office, division office, district office and head teachers. Other partners in the payment system were also interviewed, thus, the police and banks.

Little is known on how teachers are paid in other developing countries. A lot of work however seems to be done in teacher management with an emphasis in recruitment and deployment. Payment of teachers being part …

Knowledge, Attitude And Practice Of Classroom Assessment: Implications On The Implementation Of School-Based Assessment In Malawi, Chokocha Mathias Selemani-Mbewe

Master's Capstone Projects

The study investigated a sample of Malawi Secondary School teachers’ knowledge, attitude and practice of classroom assessment. A knowledge of classroom test and an attitude toward classroom test survey were administered to 51 qualified teachers from six randomly selected secondary schools. Focus group discussions were also conducted to get an in depth understanding of the problem under investigation. Two schools were national secondary schools; two were district boarding schools, and other two were district day secondary schools. The results of the study indicate that although the teachers had positive attitudes toward classroom assessment, they had very limited knowledge in this …

Implications Of Cost Sharing Policy On Access And Persistence In Secondary Education System: A Case Of Chiradzulu District In Malawi, Dyce Kapumula Nkhoma

Master's Capstone Projects

This study investigated the impact of cost sharing policy on access and persistence of students in secondary school system in Chiradzulu district in Malawi. The policy was implemented in 2001. The impact of the policy on families' financial budgets was investigated. The study also explored the views of secondary school head teachers and parents regarding the new secondary school fees that resulted from the implementation of the policy.

Two questionnaires were used to collect data. Secondary school head teacher questionnaire was administered in 15 secondary schools, 14 questionnaires were collected, representing a return rate of 93.3%. Household survey questionnaire was …

The Growth Of Private Secondary Schools In Malawi: Its Implications On The Registration And Quality Monitoring Systems, Josephine Kondwani Mkandawire

Master's Capstone Projects

The purpose of the study was to understand and describe the current system of registration and quality monitoring in private secondary schools. It was also to explore and come up with the alternative strategies for improving the systems so that they have the desired impact in contributing to quality education. The population of the study was purposefully selected, composed of 14 participants holding roles such as Proprietors /Head teachers of private secondary schools, District Education Manager, Education Methods Advisors and executive committee member of Private Schools Association of Malawi (PRlSAM). In-depth interviews were conducted requiring participants to express the extent …

Malawi Teachers' Knowledge Of And Attitudes Towards Standardized Tests, Leah Kaira

Master's Capstone Projects

Standardized tests play a great role in education. In Malawi, results of these tests are used to make: critical decisions about individuals, hence the need for students to be well prepared. Students' performance can be influenced by their teachers' attitude toward and knowledge of standardized tests. This survey was designed to establish Malawian teachers· knowledge of standardized tests and their attitude towards these tests. While the teachers displayed positive attitudes, it was found that they would benefit from more knowledge about standardized tests.

American Private Foundations In Russia: Locating Priorities, Natalia Kovalyova

Master's Capstone Projects

The study describes the increasing international assistance in the field of education in Russia and focuses on programs implemented by the US private foundations, tracing, translation of the foundations goals into actual programs in the region. Using data from a variety of sources, foundations program portfolios are analyzed in relation to thematic diversity and geographic spread; types of support and major recipients of aid. Then, a comparative documentation analysis is applied to the programs' descriptions. A case study of two recent initiatives in Russian higher education is presented.

Assessing The Impact Areas Of An International Study Tour For Teachers, Raymond Y. Young

Master's Capstone Projects

In the mid-1970’s, the Commonwealth of Massachusetts became federally designated refugee settlement location for many of the people displaced by violence and conflict in Southeast Asia. Since the, large numbers of individuals and families from Vietnam, Cambodia, and Laos, often escaping horrific conditions, have found new homes in cities and towns across the commonwealth. Today, Massachusetts ranks seventh in the national for the number of Southeast Asian Immigrants and refugees that have resettled in the United States, and is home to the second largest Khmer American population outside of California.

Despite federal, state, and local assistance to the communities and …

Evaluating Attainment Of Global Education Goals, Silva Kurtisa

Master's Capstone Projects

Movement that might be labeled "global education" has been existent in the United States for about 30 years. Global education content has been substantially expanding during evolution of the term. It may be drawn from all social sciences subjects but should not be limited to them. Recognizing that global education cannot be defined in terms of discipline, educators may infuse a global perspective in all subjects. A number of learning activities, resources, and teaching methodologies that contribute to a truly global curriculum have also been emerging and are described here. However, various descriptions and vague definitions of global education have …

An Approach To Family Literacy In The Highlands Of Bolivia: An Ongoing Experience With Aymara Families, Jenny Perez-Genge

Master's Capstone Projects

The people of the altiplano (Andean highland plateau at around 13,000 feet above sea level) are the epitome of physical strength, ancient wisdom, and tenacity of character. They are the Aymara and Quechua people, descendants of the Inca and Tiahuanacota cultures; they live in one of the highest permanently inhabited areas on earth and have blossomed from their ancient heritage. Although the imminent impact of western and contemporary influences are at their doorstep, both the Aymaras and Quechuas struggle patiently to strengthen their cultural traditions. Aymara family traditions revolve around the chacra, the main agricultural unit for survival on the …

Language Policy In Central Asia, Baktygul M. Ismailova

Master's Capstone Projects

This study addresses language policy and language planning in the five Central Asian republics, former constituents of the Soviet Union. Language issues became crucial after the breakdown of the Soviet system, which completely changed the linguistic environment in the region. The study discusses two main issues related to the language planning in central Asia. The first section of the project describes the history of the region before 1917, when lifestyle patterns divided Central Asian residents into two groups, nomads (Kyrgyz, Kazak and Turkmen) and sedentary peoples (Tajik and Uzbek).

After a brief discussion of schooling practices in pre-Soviet Central Asia, …

Somali Immigrant And Refugee Women In Boston: Settlement And Adjustment Problems, Samia H. Mafal

Master's Capstone Projects

No abstract provided.

Privatization In Higher Education Of Moldova, Zinaida Rumleanscaia

Master's Capstone Projects

No abstract provided.