Bilingual, Multilingual, and Multicultural Education Commons^™

Early Literacy Practices And Beliefs About Education Among Hispanic Families In Jacksonville, Florida, Maira Luz Martelo

UNF Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Hispanic children in the United States are more likely to fall behind in several literacy measures even before they enroll in prekindergarten programs. There are some structural and non-structural factors that have a direct impact on Hispanic children’s early literacy skills. Among the non-structural factors this mixed-method study explored Hispanic caregivers’ beliefs about education as well as their literacy practices at home.

The study compared two groups: diverse Hispanic caregivers with 4-year-old children enrolled in the Voluntary Prekindergarten Program (VPK) and diverse Hispanic caregivers whose 4-year-old children were not enrolled in VPK. A total of 125 diverse Hispanic caregivers responded …

Classroom Intercultural Competence In Teacher Education Students, Interns, And Alumni, Christine K. Holland

UNF Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this mixed methods study was to explore the impact of a student teaching internship upon the classroom intercultural competence (CIC) of teacher education students and alumni. Phase I employed quantitative methodology to compare the intercultural competence as measured by Ross, Thornson, McDonald, and Arrastia’s (2009) Cross Cultural Competence Inventory (3CI) for three groups. The 3CI is a 63-item survey that uses corresponding questions to assess intercultural competence. Survey items are scored with a 6-point, strongly agree-to-strongly disagree Likert scale (Thornson, 2010). The three groups included teacher education students enrolled in a field observation course, students enrolled in …

Reading The World In The Word: The Possibilities For Literacy Instruction Framed Within Human Rights Education, Judith Dunkerly-Bean

Teaching & Learning Faculty Publications

The purpose of this critical ethnography (Madison, 2005; Noblit, Flores & Murrillo, 2004) was to investigate the experiences of teachers and students when literacy instruction was framed within human rights education. Informed by theories of cosmopolitan education (Beck, 2002; Beck & Szneider, 2010; Goldstein, 2007; Harper & Bean, 2009; Hull, 2010), critical socio-cultural theory (Moje & Lewis, 2007) and incorporating Freirean concepts of critical literacy and praxis, this study details the experiences of two servant leader interns (teachers) and sixteen scholars (students) participating in human rights education within the context of a Children’s Defense Fund Freedom School.

Factors Influencing Social, Cultural, And Academic Transitions Of Chinese International Esl Students In U.S. Higher Education, Akiko Ota

Dissertations and Theses

The U.S. is the leading nation for international students to pursue higher education; the majority of whom are from countries with significant differences in culture and language from American students. As such, many international students start higher education in ESL support programs. While on the surface international students supposedly add cultural and linguistic diversity to American higher education by contributing to the internationalization of campuses, international students' transition into U.S. life and academe is often fraught with challenges including culture shock, adjusting to the new environment and society, adjustment to norms of academic performance, acquisition of academic and language skills, …