Bilingual, Multilingual, and Multicultural Education Commons^™

English Language Learners And Special Education, Adam Sempek

Journal of Curriculum, Teaching, Learning and Leadership in Education

Language acquisition is not a cut and dried process, nor is the evaluation of English Language Learners. There are many factors that go into, and must be understood and considered by educators when it comes to working with English Language Learners and deciding if evaluation is appropriate, and if so, which evaluations and evaluation methods are appropriate to gather the most valid, representative data on the student. Being open-minded, understanding, and empathetic towards not just the process of language acquisition, but the individual student’s journey is a laudable beginning.

Exploring Solidarity In Teacher Learning And Activism For Social Justice, Rebecca Rogers, Luzkarime Calle Díaz

Journal of Curriculum, Teaching, Learning and Leadership in Education

Teaching and organizing for social justice can be an alienating experience in the current educational climate. Being a part of a network of educators can help create community, support, and solidarity. Solidarity is a socio-political topic that has been understudied and, we argue, holds great potential for understanding the transformative power of educators organizing for social justice. In this paper, we draw on examples of educators’ narratives of solidarity who contributed to a social justice event organized by a grassroots educators' organization. Through the narratives of a community organizer, a classroom educator, and a community based arts educator, we highlight …

Ell Students: Literacy Development And Language Development, Heidi T. Penke

Journal of Curriculum, Teaching, Learning and Leadership in Education

The article is about the history of ELL students and the challenges they are faced in an educational setting. Also literacy development is discussed as educators need to be aware of the importance of literacy development. The article also discusses language development and language acquisition for an ELL student.

Toward Diversity In Texts: Using Global Literature To Cultivate Critical Perspectives, Rick Marlatt

Journal of Curriculum, Teaching, Learning and Leadership in Education

Abstract Literature study in the 21st Century should be characterized by the inclusion of global texts that afford diverse students the opportunity to engage in their literacy development through and alongside authors, characters, and storylines that represent their own linguistic and cultural traditions. In this narrative analysis, I reflect on the importance of equity-driven literature study from my perspective as a teacher educator at a Hispanic-Serving Institution in the Southwestern United States. Following an introduction to the political and institutional contexts surrounding text selection in schools and a brief review of the literature, I situate myself and my students as …

Examining Culturally Responsive Understandings Within An Undergraduate Teacher Education Program, Kelly M. Gomez Johnson, Anne E. Karabon, Derrick A. Nero

Journal of Curriculum, Teaching, Learning and Leadership in Education

This article examines how a group of elementary and secondary preservice teachers engaged in understanding “culture” and culturally responsive teaching while enrolled in an early program course. We analyze how culturally-related experiences, emotions, and perspectives contribute to the overall understanding of cultural competency training in teacher education. Preservice teachers varied in their use of individual- and structural-orientations, in isolation and in combination, as they developed and progressed as socially just teachers. These findings reveal that despite attempts to develop and shift toward asset-based perspectives, far more culturally embedded coursework and practicum experiences are necessary. This paper includes a reflection on …

What Is Your Social Justice Iq: Leading Social Justice In Higher Education, Janice M. Garnett, Germaine W. Huber

Journal of Curriculum, Teaching, Learning and Leadership in Education

This article describes an experience originating in the College of Education to explore a process for the college’s social justice efforts to lead and guide administration, faculty, and staff in their day-to-day decision-making. This educational process examined in the article was introduced through the College of Education’s Diversity and Inclusion Committee to engage administration, faculty, and staff in using their various perspectives focused on social justice to help them shift the college's current paradigm from understanding to action. The authors incorporated a conceptual framework as the foundation to develop the collaborative process to engage education professionals in gaining a greater …

Theorizing Social Justice: Funds Of Knowledge As Praxis, Heidi R. Bacon, Lavern Byfield

Journal of Curriculum, Teaching, Learning and Leadership in Education

The current socio-political landscape and proliferation of hate speak is fueling a growing sense of urgency to redress educational inequities and reclaim education. In this reflective article, we discuss our experiences as teacher educators in the rural Midwest who incorporate critical approaches to language and literacy into our repertories of practice. We aim to advance the conversation beyond the notion of social justice in theory to what social justice can look like in praxis. We argue for social justice education grounded in a funds of knowledge approach to untether social justice from overly broad or narrow representations and to locate …

Efl Teachers’ Preparation And Beliefs In Niger, Peter Wiens, Bong Gee Jang, Katrina Liu, Billa Anassour, April Smith

Teaching and Learning Faculty Research

Niger is a French-speaking country with a history of teaching English as a foreign language (EFL) in its middle and high schools. The teachers providing instruction in these programs have been trained in different ways including university-based programs, out of country programs, or no training at all. This study sought to examine the beliefs of Nigerien EFL teachers and analyze the relationship between their beliefs and their training. All EFL teachers in Niger were surveyed to understand their beliefs related to teaching. We found that training was related to teacher beliefs. As Niger determines how best to allocate its limited …

River Of Dreams, Kaysone Syonesa

Journal of Southeast Asian American Education and Advancement

3 Lao American poems

Representation Of English Language Learners In Special Education: A Campus-Level Study, Ruby López, Diana Linn

Journal of Multicultural Affairs

This study utilized relative risk ratios to examine the representation of English language learners in special education programs in elementary, middle, and high school campuses in a school district in South Texas. Results indicated that English language learners were both underrepresented and overrepresented in the school district. Furthermore, underrepresentation was greater at the elementary campuses and overrepresentation was greater at the secondary campuses. The use of disaggregated data on the campus level continues to be of importance in understanding the representation of English language learners in special education programs as it provides critical information that cannot be gleaned from data …

Higher Education Experiences Of International Faculty In The U.S. Deep South, Elizabeth Omiteru, James Martinez, Rudo Tsemunhu, Eugene F. Asola

Journal of Multicultural Affairs

Immigration was one of the key issues from within the Obama administration. One focus of the administration was to retain brilliant foreign scholars who have studied in the United States (U.S). Rather than let International Faculty return to their countries after completing their programs, employers found it advantageous to retain these professionals to boost the United States workforce. Higher education was one of the government sectors that experienced an increase in the numbers of foreign nationals choosing to remain in the United States after completing their degrees. What many International Faculty may be oblivious of, and which their programs of …

An Analysis Of Black, Latinx, Multicultural And Asian/Pacific Islander Fraternity/Sorority Organizational Values, Ashley Tull, Andrew Shaw, Brittany Barker, Taylor Sandoval

Journal of Multicultural Affairs

The purpose of this study was to examine the espoused values of historically Black, Latinx, Multicultural and Asian/Pacific Islander fraternity/sorority organizations. This study reports the types of values discovered, as well as their alignment with universally accepted values that included: self-enhancement, openness to change, self-transcendence and conservation. Further examination included comparisons between the espoused universally accepted values of the above-identified organizations with those of historically White fraternity/sorority organizations.

Introduction To Constellar Theory In Multicultural Education Pedagogy, Antonio Garcia

Journal of Multicultural Affairs

The majority of education and social science ideas subscribe to a hierarchical ideology that not only necessitates but also obligates an always-already dialectic. Such a dialectical fetish and intellectual relegation is grounded in Marxist ideology, which has influenced a vast majority of cultural studies and social science theories. Constellar Theory challenges the hierarchical model ideology in concept and pedagogy to complicate and exhibit a more intricate matrix of considerations to move the multicultural education discourse in possible new directions.

The Alignment Of Esl Materials To Wida And State Standards, Jenna Marie Quanbeck

Dissertations, Theses, and Projects

This project analyzed the various 2^nd grade English language (EL) materials that were available in a rural elementary school to determine how those materials aligned to Minnesota (MN) state academic standards and the WIDA English Language Development standards. First, the various bodies of literature available on alignment and current recommendations for determining alignment between course content and state academic standards were reviewed. Then, the researcher developed and implemented a checklist-based process for determining alignment. This paper presents the literature review, the checklists, and the results of the analysis. The materials were found to be aligned to standards. The researcher …

Classroom Strategies To Increase Kindergarten Readiness Of Preschool Ell Students, Cirissa Afonja

Dissertations, Theses, and Projects

Abstract

There are more preschool children in the United States who are English Language Learners than any other age group. This research examines the effects of providing modeling, visuals, and music strategies to English Language Learners in a preschool classroom to increase their literacy, language, and communication skills. The study’s goal was to determine if the specific classroom strategies would improve the participants English language, literacy and communication skills to be kindergarten ready with their same age English speaking peers. The study used language surveys and an assessment to determine which students were English Language Learners, and if they needed …

Community-Based Literacy Learning Spaces As Counterhegemonic Figured Worlds For African American Readers, Melanie M. Acosta, Shaunté Duggins

Reading Horizons: A Journal of Literacy and Language Arts

Community-based literacy learning spaces are crucial to the enduring African American pursuit of literacy. This article reports findings from a study exploring the impact of a community-based literacy tutoring program for African American readers in grades 3-5. Findings also report on ways the community literacy site was similar to historic African American figured communities. Mixed methods analysis revealed significant improvements in decoding, and counternarratives that existed with the figured community cultivated by community volunteers. Taken together, both highlight the powerful role communities’ can play in promoting African American student success. Recommendations for community organizations, teacher educators, and literacy researchers are …

Probing The Promise Of Dual-Language Books, Lisa M. Domke

Reading Horizons: A Journal of Literacy and Language Arts

Because dual-language books (DLBs) are written entirely in two languages, they have the potential to help readers develop multilingual literacy skills while acting as cultural and/or linguistic windows and mirrors. However, the ways in which publishers choose words when translating, format languages, and represent cultures have implications for readers in terms of identity, readability, and language learning. This content analysis of 69 U.S. Spanish–English dual-language picturebooks published from 2013–2016 investigated trends in DLBs’ cultural, linguistic, formatting, and readability factors. It also determined these trends’ relationships with publisher types, original publication language, and author and character ethnicity. Findings include that publishers …

New Roots: A Transracial Adoption Story, Scarlett Kuang

Capstones

This is a documentary on transracial adoption. Transracial adoption is becoming more and more common in America. In 2011, 4 out of 10 adopted children were raised by families of a different race or ethnicity. Daniel and Lisa Conklins have 11 children. After giving birth to 6, the couple adopted another 5 children from 5 different countries. They live in Castile, a farm town in upstate New York. The then 6-year-old Ezra needs to adapt to a totally new environment and embrace his new family. For Elaina who was adopted as a baby, the challenge is to survive in a …

In Translation: An Examination Of Esl Policy On Paper As It Relates To The Realities Of Implementation, Grace M. Cuevas

Senior Honors Projects, 2010-2019

This honors research project explores the features of Title III requirements as they relate to the actual experience of students and their families. This paper synthesizes my experience researching English as a Second Language (ESL) specific supports and policy to inform my time spent accompanying an upper-level administrator for the Harrisonburg City Public School (HCPS) system, and interviewing professionals at an area school. In this paper I outline the results of interviews with 13 service providers. Interviews examined the “letter of the law” and the subsequent “spirit of the law” through application of a social work lens to the different …

The Impacts Of Acculturation Patterns And Processes On Immigrants' Success In Higher Education: A Multiple Case Study Of 1.25-Generation Third-Wave Iranian Immigrants To The United States, Fereshteh Rezaeian

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The United States of America is inherently a pluralistic society composed of various groups of immigrants. As scholars (Camarota & Zeigler, 2016; Gibson, 1998) state, the number of immigrant children accounts for 20% of the total number of school-age children. Despite all attempts to provide the best education to such a great number of immigrant students, the achievement gap between immigrant and non-immigrant students still exists (Baum & Flores, 2011; Rong & Preissle, 2008). Some scholars (e.g., Ramos & Sanchez, 1995) have proposed that the key factor for immigrants to be successful in the United States is to adapt to …

Watch & Learn - A Teacher's Guidebook For Film-Based Esl Course, Xiaoxue Zhu

Master's Projects and Capstones

Educators in the 21st century are continuously discovering more engaging teaching tools to facilitate language learners. In today's increasingly developing visual world, film stands out from other traditional materials for its unique features, such as the visuality and authenticity. With appropriately designed activities, film could be a valuable resource in teaching English as a second language (TESOL) setting, and also a perfect tool for inspiring cross-cultural communication and promoting critical thinking skills.

However, research has shown that ESL teachers feel reluctant to use film as a significant component in their classrooms even though they have recognized and affirmed the benefit …

Conversational Movement Dynamics And Nonverbal Indicators Of Second Language Development: A Microgenetic Approach, Kristine Marie Bragg

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

This dissertation study extends on current understandings of gesture and embodied interaction with the eco-social environment in second language development (SLD) while introducing new aspects of movement analysis through dynamical modeling. To understand the role of embodiment during learning activities, a second language learning task has been selected. Dyads consisting of a non-native English-speaking student and a native English-speaking tutor were video recorded during writing consultations centered on class assignments provided by the student. Cross-recurrence quantification analysis was used to measure interactional movement synchrony between the members of each dyad. Results indicate that students with varied English proficiency levels synchronize …

College Access And African American Males: An Instrumental Case Study On The Impact Of Postsecondary Educators And Educational Leaders On Secondary Students With Postsecondary Educational Aspirations, Kimberly L. Williams

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

This study examined the college access experiences of successful African American males. Postsecondary education is critical for economic and social stability; however, African American males from families with low socioeconomic status have been operating in educational systems that keeps them on the margins. Many African American males report strong postsecondary educational aspirations early in their educational careers, but they encounter microaggressions that leave them feeling like outsiders-within. This study examined African American males’ college access experiences as they successfully transitioned through the K-16 educational pipeline. Further, their experiences in their role (s) as postsecondary educators or postsecondary educational leaders working …

Catholic School Teachers' Attitudinal Beliefs About Linguistic Diversity, Katie Trautman

Master's Theses

As the population of young Catholics becomes increasingly culturally and linguistically diverse (CLD), Catholic schools must work to become more responsive to the needs of CLD students in order to uphold the tenets of Catholic social teaching and to sustain enrollment in Catholic schools. Catholic school teachers need to become more prepared to serve students from various linguistic backgrounds. As a component of this preparation, teachers must demonstrate positive beliefs toward linguistic diversity and students’ backgrounds as teachers’ attitudes toward students greatly impacts students’ learning and identity development. Using Catholic social teaching as a lens, this study investigated Catholic school …

An Exploratory Study Of Acculturation Experiences Of Graduate Student Immigrants At The University Of San Francisco, Courtney Lamar

Master's Theses

This study explores the shared challenges during the acculturation process of graduate student immigrants pursuing higher education in the United States. 13 graduate student immigrants at the University of San Francisco discuss their experiences of cultural adjustment into U.S. culture. Through qualitative interviews and thematic analysis, this study seeks to understand the acculturation experiences of graduate student immigrants in the San Francisco Bay Area of the United States. This analysis is based on the individual-level experience examining attitudes and acculturation strategies in the dominant society. Analysis, possibly policy implication for institutions of higher education, and possible directions for future research …

Emphasizing The Importance Of Cultural Identity Of Second Language Learners In Lesson Plans, Sreyasi De

Master's Projects and Capstones

A sky rocketing trend of one in three United States residents is estimated to be either an immigrant or the child of an immigrant by 2065. How well immigrants and second-generation immigrants are inhabiting in United States is of great significance to the state of being happy, healthy, prosperous, and full of energy and resonance of the United States in general. While economic, political, and social aspects of immigration are frequently contemplated for policy-making, comparatively small investigations have examined the cultural identity of the immigrants. In the review of literature, topics of intercultural competence, cultural competence, and culturally responsive teaching …

An Autoethnography Of Culturally Relevant Leadership As Moral Practice: Lived Experiences Through A Scholar-Practitioner Lens, Charles L. Lowery

The Qualitative Report

In this autoethnography, I am concerned with cultural relevance as an experience of a scholar-practitioner educational leader. I question my own cultural competence as a teacher and school principal. Turning a reflective gaze on my lived experiences as an educator creates a space in which I attempt to make meaning of the phenomenon of culturally relevant practices in the field of education. As an act of pedagogical and personal meaning-making, this autoethnographic work centers on the value of cultural relevance as informed by scholarly practice.

Building Engagement Through Developing Students’ Sense Of Self-Control, Natalia Sanchez Gonzalez

Master's Projects and Capstones

Students who enter public schools in the United States in the latter part of their academic career may lack the English language proficiency or capital necessary to successfully participate in mainstream content courses. Students such as these, known as late arrivals, face even greater difficulties when they enter academic institutions that or not equipped to provide language supports that ensure students can access content. Arriving at a later age and grade level, places additional pressure on educators and students to enter mainstream language classrooms. With little control or access to be active participants in the new academic settings, these students …

English For Baking: Lessons For Kitchen Workers Using On-Site Learning, Christopher Torossian

Master's Projects and Capstones

Today, the back of house staff in culinary kitchens is comprised largely by migrant workers whose native language is something other than English. At times this can create issues among workers due to communication errors or complete lack of communication all together, posing issues for not only cooking, but it can also be a threat to kitchen safety as well. Additionally, due to native speaker stigma surrounding non-native speakers of English, many workers are often denied the chance at a higher position in the workplace simply because of their low communicative competence, despite their actual talents and skills in the …

Identifying Inclusive Practices On U.S. University Campuses That Create Engagement For Diverse Populations, Brandon Tatum

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Interactions between diversity and inclusion have been incompletely studied on U.S. college campuses. Previous researchers have also demonstrated an incomplete understanding of these two constructs, resulting in uneven attempts to create inclusion on college campuses. Diversity and inclusion research on college life is needed because inclusion is relatively new and unexplored, student diversity in U.S. higher education is increasing, and practical models and programs for enhancing campus inclusion are lacking. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to identify best practices and student attitudes regarding inclusion and group memberships with Generation Z and Millennial college students in the United States, …