Bilingual, Multilingual, and Multicultural Education Commons^™

Food Allergies Abroad: An Exploration Of The Experiences Individuals With Food Allergies Face While Studying Abroad, Danielle M. Roberge

Capstone Collection

Food allergies are a life-threatening medical condition that can result in a potentially fatal allergic reaction known as anaphylaxis. Food allergies affect roughly 15 million United States citizens and this number is growing, currently there is no cure. Young adults are most at risk to experience this life-threatening reaction. As more students with food allergies are entering colleges and universities to pursue a higher education, they are also becoming increasingly interested in studying abroad; however, there are few resources available. This research paper aims to explore the various challenges those with food allergies experience while studying abroad. To understand these …

Kiswahili Or English: A Policy Analysis Of Language Instruction In Tanzania, Mari C. Yogi

Capstone Collection

In many multilingual countries, the language instruction in classrooms is a continuous debate. Kiswahili is widely used in East Africa, however English is the language of instruction in secondary and tertiary education. In the United Republic of Tanzania, primary school is instructed in Kiswahili and then it abruptly switches to English in secondary school. Many students find the transition from primary to secondary school difficult for many reasons, including the language transition to English. As a result, nearly 1.5 million students are not enrolled in lower secondary school. Tanzania’s current president, John Magufuli, has made education a priority by introducing …

Identity-Oriented Program, Isaac Jorgensen

Capstone Collection

This paper demonstrates why identity-oriented community college study abroad programs are more accessible for the diverse student populations that attend these institutions. It does this with a case study, a demographic analysis, and the theoretical support of The Experiential Learning Cycle (ELC) and Universal Design for Learning (UDL). First it proves the lack of diversity within United States study abroad participants. Following this, the paper shows that community colleges house more underserved populations than four-year universities. Additionally, it illustrates the benefits of studying abroad and demographics specific to The Washington State Community College Consortium for Study Abroad (WCCCSA), …

The Heart Of Basketball: A Dynamic And Transformative Program Design For Chinese Youth, Jayson Gilbert

Capstone Collection

Chinese participation in educational overseas programs has steadily increased over the past several years. Chinese parents and youth see these types of programs, specifically short-term programs, as a means to gain exposure to a foreign country and its culture before possibly studying in that country. This capstone paper explores the value of such programs by examining their long-term impact while considering other factors that may influence Chinese desire to participate in these programs.

The research in this paper reveals that overseas youth programs that incorporate sound pedagogy and elements of experiential learning in their design have potential to be successful …

The Heart Of Experience: The Education Of A Practitioner's Journey, Tai Mesches

Capstone Collection

This Capstone, The Heart of Experience: The Education of a Practitioner’s Journey, is an illustrative reflection of myself experiencing my learning cycle, taking the reader through my own journey of growth as an experiential education practitioner. To engage the reader, I first shine light on the context of what role experience played in my life as a form of education, specifically reflecting on my time living abroad in China and my cross-cultural work with Chinese youth in Manhattan, New York, emphasizing basketball’s involvement as a tool for engagement. I describe how such experiences helped me return to school. To portray …

Attending To Hu'huk: Lessons For A Teacher, Elizabeth Park

Occasional Paper Series

Elizabeth Park, a middle school ESL teacher and adjunct faculty member at Bank Street, draws on her Master’s research done at the College to describe how she learned to work with three challenging students. Park brings to life her passion for her subject matter, for knowing her students, and for learning while teaching. These are the foundations of an effective progressive pedagogy.

Crossing Borders / Shaping Tales, Erika Duncan

Occasional Paper Series

Erika Duncan, an experienced essayist and memoirist herself, has taken on a commitment to helping adult woman write their own stories for the first time. The border crossings to which she refers in her title are geographic and cultural, interior and exterior. Her lessons about telling a story that will draw the reader in are as relevant for six-year-olds as they are for sixty-year-olds.

Introduction: Welcoming The Stranger, Jonathan Silin

Occasional Paper Series

Jonathan G. Silin introduces the 17th issue of Occasional Papers with the concept of "strangers" - people of all ages who perceive themselves or have been perceived by others as outsiders. The ability to welcome the stranger - or groups of strangers - into the classroom is essential to building a productive, caring community of learners. This philosophy sets the tone for the following essays that illustrate the importance of creating a healthy learning environment for immigrants.

Assessing The Influence Of Career-Linked Experiential Opportunities On The F-1 Undergraduate Student Enrollment Decision-Making Process, Harrison Fuerst

Capstone Collection

International mobility efforts in the United States have garnered increased attention and funding in recent years, with such government-led initiatives as Generation Study Abroad and 100,000 Strong driving up inbound and outbound student numbers. Recent inbound mobility reports from the Institute of International Education show double-digit percentage increases in international student enrollment. Other countries also experiencing an influx of international students continue to research these trends to shape their own education strategies. Research conducted by the International Education Association of Australia points specifically to hands-on professional experience and enhanced employability as key factors important to Australia’s international student population. As …

No More Games: A Pronunciation Guidebook For New Efl Teachers Working In Asian Countries, Chiara A. Coombs

Master's Projects and Capstones

Many cram schools in Asia and online TESOL certificate programs often do not include training focused on pronunciation instruction. Consequently, teachers lack confidence and skills to teach pronunciation. The area of instruction is commonly ignored, and a need exists for instructional materials designed for new EFL teachers to support their students. This guidebook is a tool for inexperienced pre-service or in-service EFL teachers who plan to teach abroad. The overall purpose of the project was to raise the level of pronunciation training for inexperienced teachers, give them confidence to include it as a part of their curriculum, and to instill …

Neighborhood Strategizing: Understanding Community Collaborations Within California Bay Area Public Schools, Windi Hazzard

Master's Projects and Capstones

For the better half of a century, education policy has been guided by economics and profit. One after another, every U.S. president since the 1960s has championed legislation that reflects neoliberal ideals of competition and profitable skills. Through the standardization of the public school system, education has become a marketplace rather than an environment for cultivating empowered learners and critical thinkers. The purpose of this field project is to show how communities are challenging the current education system in order to influence education policy in San Francisco, California. I interviewed four participants from two organizations that advocate parents’ rights as …

Increasing Access To Aba Intervention For Children With Developmental Disabilities In Taiwan, Noel Hsu

Master's Projects and Capstones

Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) uses a behavioral approach to help clients and their behavioral challenges. This treatment has been proven to be a highly effective intervention for children with developmental disabilities, such as autism spectrum disorders. It is widely practiced in the United States and many other developed countries; however, this intervention is not widely available in Taiwan. This phenomenon requires our investigation because it raises questions about the available supports and interventions for children with special needs in Taiwan. This project is to explore factors that influence the development of ABA intervention in Taiwan. The goal of this project …

Cultivating Student Voice: Writing As A Tool For Multilingual And Multicultural Students To Develop Language, Identity, And Cultural Competence, Gaeun Lee

Master's Projects and Capstones

The importance of using writing as an educational tool to English learners cannot be understated. It is critical for youth learning English as their second language to be encouraged to value their first language, culture, and identity by writing. Unfortunately, many teachers overlook the significance of the writing activity, which can be greatly helpful to develop the English learners’ language and cultural competence and their identity, specifically for multilingual and multicultural youth.

This project is developed with the purpose of cultivating student voice by using writing as a tool. The project is based on the two theories: the affective filter …

Creating A Curriculum For Preschool Educators In Asia: How To Teach Kindergarteners Speaking And Listening Skills In English Through Games, Yue Kuang

Master's Projects and Capstones

There is a rapid development of science and technology, and international information exchanges have become increasingly frequent as well in 21^st century. English learning is becoming a requirement of career success, especially in Asia (Graddol, 2006). So people are beginning to pay more attention to English education, especially early childhood English education. However, most Asian kindergarten teachers prefer to pay more attention to teaching English reading and writing skills, while ignoring the teaching and practices of English listening and speaking (Wang, 2016). Most 3-6 age children do not have the attention span of adults (Garba, Yusuf, & Busthami, 2015), …

Incorporating The Cultures Of English-Language Learners In Daily Lesson Plans: A Two-Way Street, James G. Doyle

Master's Projects and Capstones

Teaching and learning culture have been matters of interest for teachers of English to speakers of other languages during the past half century. Since the development of the concept of communicative competence, theorists and practitioners have asked questions about the role of culture in the classroom. This field project was designed assist teachers in developing a heightened awareness of the roles of culture in the acquisition of communicative competence. It is my hope that teachers will use the awareness and the skills developed in the exercises and interactions presented in the field project to increase their effectiveness by adapting materials …

Integrating Language And Content Instruction: A Linguistic And Cultural Guide For Content-Area Teachers Of Asian International Secondary School Students In The Us, Joy R. Suzuki

Master's Projects and Capstones

As more and more international Asian ESL high school students seek an education at private American high schools, where students spend most of their time in content-area classrooms, it is imperative that content-area teachers understand the important role they play in their students’ linguistic development and cultural adjustment. The purpose of this project is to provide teachers of content-area classes with an easily accessible professional development opportunity, including tools they need to help their international ESL students achieve linguistic and academic success and guide these students through a rewarding cross-cultural experience. As supported by second language acquisition theory, with the …

Strategies For First-Year University Esl Students To Improve Essay Writing Skills, Mengjie Wei

Master's Projects and Capstones

This project provides a writing guidebook for first-year university level English as a Second Language (ESL) students and teachers. Most ESL students have difficulties in academic English writing, especially first-year university ESL students. Due to the differences in linguistic and education backgrounds, first-year university level ESL students desire a writing guidebook that is appropriate for them; ESL teachers should be provided with professional teaching methods and materials in delivering lectures too. By applying Schema Theory and Stephen D. Krashen’s Monitor Model, strategies for students and teachers are professionally designed in this guidebook.

In order to help ESL students better their …

Improving The Reading Level Of Middle School English Learners In English Language Development Classes., Anastasiia V. Mixcoatl-Martinez

Master's Projects and Capstones

Presently, there are about 2,664,921 English Language Learners (ELLs) and Fluent English Proficient (FEP) speakers in California public schools who speak a language other than English at home (CalEdFacts, 2016). Some of these students have immigrated to the United States from other countries, while others were born and have been raised in the United States. According to the California Department of Education, the vast majority of ELLs (83.5%) in California come from low-income families and speak a language other than English at home. 73% of ELLs attend English Language Development (ELD) classes kindergarten through grade six, and 27% are in …

Embodying The Oppressed And The Oppressor: Critical Mixed Race Studies For Liberation And Social Justice Education, Gwendlyn C. Snider

Master's Theses

This study will focus on the educational and social experiences of mixed race Filipinx PEP (Pin@y Educational Partnerships) instructors in the San Francisco/Bay Area and the connection of these various, lived experiences to their teaching pedagogy and praxis in Ethnic Studies curriculum. The main purpose of this research is to create additional evidence for the need of critical mixed race studies and acknowledgement of mixed race students’ unique experiences to be valued and included in Ethnic Studies curriculum. In addition, the research will also serve as reaffirmation of not only the efficacy of Ethnic Studies curriculum but also the need …

A Phenomenological Case Study Of Transformative Learning In A Non-Traditional Diversity Training Program, Ame Lambert

Human Resource Development Theses and Dissertations

Rapidly changing demographics and globalization has spurred a plurality of organizations to invest millions of dollars annually in diversity training, with the primary aim of improving the experiences of underrepresented employees. However, the results of diversity training to date have not proven encouraging. Positive outcomes of diversity training have generally been confined to increased awareness and improved attitudes towards diversity, with implicit and explicit prejudice and behavior remaining unchanged. The aim of this study was to understand the transformational learning experiences of participants in a non-traditional diversity training program and the impact of their transformational learning on their behavior.

A …

Narrative Non-Fiction Stories Of Mexican American Female Principals Of Predominately Hispanic Elementary Public Campuses In Texas, Betsy J. Mijares Dr.

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

In Texas, there is an increase of the Hispanic population and not a significant increase in Hispanic administrators. Women remain underrepresented in the principalship with even less representation of Hispanics. With an increasing number of Hispanic students, it is vital to ensure there is a representation to be an advocate for these children. Hopefully, this information will provide connection, relativity, and give a sense of hope to aspiring female minority principals and the Hispanic community. The purpose of this narrative non-fiction study was to enable four Mexican-American female principals in predominantly Hispanic elementary campuses to reveal their stories of their …

A Global Experience: Teaching International Students In An International Setting, Dia Ruth Gary

Journal of Educational Research and Innovation

This study analyzed the four stages of acculturation and how an educator teaching abroad, instructing International Students, experienced the path of acculturation through the emotions of elation, resistance, transformation, and integration. Pedagogy is seen with new eyes, and a renewed passion is reignited through a global experience. A new understanding and empathy is developed for those living as an expat, far from their native country. Moreover, a limited view of the world changes from a view of egocentric selfishness to an appreciation of cultural diversity.

Perspectives Of Elementary Teachers On Refugee Parent-Teacher Relations And The Education Of Their Children, Keno Nagasa

Journal of Educational Research and Innovation

This qualitative study explores the perspectives of elementary teachers who work with refugee students in a suburban school district in the Rocky Mountain Region. Teachers’ efforts to respond to the unique educational, socioeconomic, and emotional needs of refugee students in their classrooms were explored. It was noted that refugees have had limited and sporadic access to education prior to their enrollment in public schools in the United States. Additionally, they may have social and emotional issues and may deal with traumas of their past difficult life trajectories. The article pinpoints the obstacles experienced and the overtures made by the teachers …

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 …

Endangered Language Pedagogy & Teaching Methodology, Brandon J. Martínez

Linguistics Student Publications

This manuscript was an undergraduate thesis submitted to the UNM Department of Linguistics in Spring 2017, and accepted with honors for graduation. The paper presents a synthesis of classic and contemporary approaches to teaching and revitalizing indigenous languages, drawing from a wide range of materials and research in the literature. Furthermore, it presents the results of interviews conducted with indigenous language educators at the University of New Mexico, providing insight on the future of indigenous language education through the eyes of indigenous educators themselves.

Values And Wellness As Related To A Positive School Orientation Among Japanese Adolescents, Naoko K. Shimada, Robyn S. Hess, R. Brett Nelson

Journal of Educational Research and Innovation

The relationship between positive school orientation and the psychological factors of values and wellness were examined in a sample of 319 Japanese middle school students. Participants’ perceptions of wellness were consistently related to a reported sense of school bonding, but not necessarily to attendance or participation in extracurricular activities. The relationship between values and positive school orientation was less clear; values appeared to be more aligned with voluntary actions such as participation in extracurricular activities. Gender differences in student values were noted in that males placed more emphasis on extracurricular activities, while females placed more emphasis on attendance. Implications for …

Self-Directed Learning Readiness Of College Students In Thailand, Denchai Prabjanee, Mahachart Inthachot

Journal of Educational Research and Innovation

In the knowledge-based society, where information rapidly changes and disseminates worldwide, self-directed learning is an important ability for college students to possess. In the current study, self-directed learning readiness of college students in Thailand was investigated, and comparisons of this readiness were made across years of education and majors. Undergraduate students (n = 156) in colleges of education in Thailand completed an online survey. The results revealed that Thai college students reported having self-directed learning readiness at a moderate to high level. The two dimensions (creativity and openness to learning) were at a moderate level, but the other six dimensions …

Breaking Down Barriers: Successful Transition Planning For Culturally And Linguistically Diverse Exceptional Students, Kara F. Halley, Michelle Terese Trujillo

Journal of Educational Research and Innovation

While transition services provided to the majority of students with disabilities may be seen as beneficial and as having the potential to lead to positive post-school outcomes, involvement and expectations of several students’ families are taking a backseat to the involvement and expectations of professionals in this process. Discrepancies between family and school expectations and desires can only lead to the failure of students’ transition plans. It is increasingly more likely that service providers who develop individual education plans and collaborate on transition planning teams will work with culturally and linguistically diverse students and families. Despite growing diversity in our …

Perspectives Of Two Ethnically Different Pre-Service Teacher Populations As They Learn About Folk Literature, Donita Massengill Shaw, Jackie Boyd, Diane Corcoran Nielson

Journal of Educational Research and Innovation

The purpose of this study was to investigate pre-service teachers’ knowledge of folk literature in general and that of a selected country or culture in particular before and after studying it in a college children's literature course and completing an assignment. We specifically compared two sample populations: those of primarily European American descent at a research university and those of Native American ethnicity at an Inter-tribal Native American university to see if there were similarities or differences in their knowledge about and value of folk literature. Participants from each university were selected to complete a pre-post questionnaire and a post-interview …

Dreams Beyond Labels: Case Studies Of Four English Language Learners Who Are Beating The Odds, Julie Israelson

Journal of Educational Research and Innovation

Too often, English Language Learners are failing out or dropping out of school. However, there are ELLs that are enrolled in honors classes and on a college-bound path. This paper looks at four English Language Learners in Colorado who were beating the odds and experiencing high levels of academic achievement in school. Through in-depth case studies, these students identified the factors that were most influential in their educational routes. Parents, teachers, peers, and individual determination were described as significant factors.