Bilingual, Multilingual, and Multicultural Education Commons^™

The Role Of Self-Awareness In Developing Global Competence: A Qualitative Multi-Case Study, Stacy D. Shipman

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Capstones

The current era of globalization and unprecedented global migration is creating the need for schools to educate students for global competence (GC). Multiple researchers (Boix Mansilla & Jackson, 2011; Hunter, 2004; Hunter et al., 2006; Morales & Ogden, 2013) suggest that self-awareness is the core dimension of GC, but about which very little is known. This paper considers the demonstrations of self-awareness in the development of GC. Using Kim's (2008) Intercultural Personhood Theory and the specific components of personal and social communication processes, self-awareness was investigated in East African immigrants. Findings suggest that the construct of self-awareness dimensionalizes differently for …

Performing Critical Consciousness In Teaching: Entanglements Of Knowing, Feeling And Relating, Kathleen A. Mcdonough

Doctoral Dissertations

At a time when education reform is guided by neoliberalism, accountability and standardization have reshaped teaching as highly technocratic and threatened the democratic possibilities of public education. Even so, many teacher education programs have taken up the call to prepare teachers to teach for social justice, whether framed as multicultural education, critical literacy, or critical pedagogy. A construct that ties these pedagogical approaches together is critical consciousness, with the aim of some teacher education efforts to evoke critical consciousness among preservice teachers. This study focuses on exploring how nine educators from elementary grades to higher education experience and enact critical …

Reading Queerly In The High School Classroom: Exploring A Gay And Lesbian Literature Course, Kirsten Helmer

Doctoral Dissertations

The purpose of this dissertation is to explore how teaching an English literature curriculum centered on the stories, experiences, cultures, histories, and politics of LGBTQI (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, intersex) people constitutes a meaningful site for teaching and learning in a high school classroom. The dissertation offers insights on how the teaching of LGBTQI-themed texts in English language arts classes can be reframed by bridging the goals, practices and conceptual tools of queer theory to critical literacies teaching. The project follows principles of critical qualitative research and employs an ethnographic case study approach with the purpose of transforming educational …

Exploring Adult Punjabi-Speaking Immigrants’ Path To English Language Acquisition: A Case Study, Pankaj Sharma

All Theses And Dissertations

Punjabi-speaking immigrants to the United States find many successes and face many challenges as they strive to become full citizens of their new communities. There are success stories and obstacles faced by immigrants as they embark upon a journey from another country. This study examined what major obstacles Punjabi speaking immigrants face when they immigrated from India, including poverty, lack of employment, and stress specifically related to moving from the Punjabi to English language that ultimately affect the acculturation process for the entire family. The study also looked at support received by Punjabi immigrants from others in the community and …

Talking Back, With Reawakened Voices: Analyzing The Potential For Indigenous California Languages Coursework At California Polytechnic State University, Logan Cooper

Ethnic Studies

The legacy of colonialism in the United States, including genocidal practices and cultural assimilation, has left Indigenous languages endangered. Native peoples, scholars, and activists have been working to revive and heal the languages of America’s first peoples, and the cultures those languages speak to, yet more work remains in the field of language revitalization. California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo currently does not offer any course specifically teaching or discussing Indigenous languages, even those of the Chumash people who know the San Luis Obispo area as their ancestral homelands.

By synthesizing revitalization and Indigenous activist literature with the narratives …

Incorporating Community Cultural Wealth In A Community-Based Organization, Henriette S. Ako-Asare

Master's Projects and Capstones

This project examined how Hack the Hood, a Bay Area non-profit organization, successfully works with low-income youth of color in an outside of school context using technological skills to empower them. Critical Race Theory, community cultural wealth, and the many studies on academic success provided a model through which to examine the efficacy and cultural relevance of Hack the Hood programming using interviews and data already gathered on the organization. Based on the analysis of Hack the Hood and the promising findings related to how their work advance several of the tenets of the community cultural wealth model, this project …

Cross-Cultural Bridges : Closing The Gaps In Direct Services With Immigrant And Diverse Populations, Lucy Chen

Graduate Student Independent Studies

The shifting cultural, racial, ethnic, and linguistic makeup of the United States is expected to become more diverse in the coming decades. This has important implications for direct service professionals, including social workers and educators. An overview of culturally sensitive, responsive, and competent practices is provided for work with immigrant and diverse populations to assist professionals in the process of crossing cultural bridges, overcoming privilege, and building bridges.

Choices, Chores, And Cheerleading: A Study Of Hartford Pubic Housing Residents’ Perceptions Of Parent-School Involvement, Karen Taylor

Senior Theses and Projects

A growing body of research suggests that parents’ involvement in their children’s schooling is an important factor for student academic achievement. In the Greater Hartford area, the changing landscape of public education options emerging from the 1996 Connecticut Supreme Court ruling in Sheff v. O’Neill has put an emphasis on understanding factors impacting academic achievement for low-income students of color. This study examines how parents of color living in public housing perceive their role in their children’s schooling. Through semi-structured interviews, parents expressed which forms of involvement are most important to them as well as their perceived barriers and motivations …

Applying Intercultural/International Education Towards Creating Sustainable Peace In Sub-Saharan Africa, Bella Cheptoo Kimutai

MA IDS Thesis Projects

The aim of this thesis is to assess the benefits and progress that intercultural education would create towards peace building and reconciliation if applied in school curriculums in sub-Saharan Africa. With the support of published literature and in-depth research in three countries, this research will argue for interculturalism, through international and intercultural education, as a strategy for peaceful coexistence both in stable and unstable situations. The country case studies in this partic-ular culminating project will be Kenya, Rwanda, and Nigeria. Particular emphasis and stress will be placed on the importance of intercultural education in schools and how it will help …

Sex, Gender, And Culture: The Emergence Of Structural Violence While Seeking A Sexual Health Transformation In Uganda, Leah Pauline

MA IDS Thesis Projects

With the 2nd highest fertility rate in the world and the 5th highest population growth rate, Uganda’s ever increasing number of inhabitants is becoming a hindrance to the nation’s ability to develop socially and economically. Despite the push for increased family planning services and sexual health services by the international community and national government, translating words into effective action has been met with cultural beliefs and behaviors blocking the road to changing sex practices within Uganda. Through conversations with the employees of Musana Community Development Organization in Iganga, Uganda, this research explores the complexity of the barriers standing in the …

Unearthing Connections In A Storied Landscape: The Flathead River Honoring And Place-Based Education In The Flathead Valley, Melissa Wardlow

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

No abstract provided.

Experiential Language Learning: A Short-Term Study Abroad Program To Quetzaltenango, Guatemala For Canton High School, Michelle Traub

Capstone Collection

Canton High School (CHS) is a 485 student, small upper-middle class public school located in Canton, Connecticut. The mission of the school involves preparing productive, tolerant and responsible citizens with the character and independence to embrace and contribute to the global world. However, CHS is limited in its ability to provide students with opportunities to connect with the world outside of Connecticut and the United States, both linguistically and culturally. Although the majority of Canton students take a language class freshman year, the number of students continuing on in learning a language drops every year thereafter. Many students state that …