Bilingual, Multilingual, and Multicultural Education Commons^™

Applying The Strategic Self-Regulation Model To Tone Acquisition In Mandarin : A Case Study, Adele Laurie Touhey

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

This dissertation examines the experience of college-level American native English- speaking students who are learning elementary Mandarin Chinese as a foreign language acquire tone. Oxford (2011)’s Strategic Self-Regulation (S2R) Model is used to analyze the findings in a cross-case analysis. The findings showed that students in this study employed a variety of language learning strategies across all dimensions (cognitive, affective, and sociocultural-interactive), with the highest number of tactics being categorized as metacognitive and affective strategies. The results indicated that fostering a positive classroom environment can contribute to reduced learner anxiety and overall increased positive emotions related to tone acquisition. This …

Examining The Experiences That Motivate High School Students To Read For Leisure, Umair Farooq

International Graduate Program for Educators Master's Projects

In my role as a high school principal, I feel that reading is an essential tool for gaining a better grasp of the world around us and enhancing one's academic skills. As is the case with many others in my area, and before starting this research, I was worried about the decline in motivation to read for leisure that generally begins in the high school years (Brozo et al., 2014). Students' enjoyment of reading can be stifled by schools' use of forced reading practices, the selection of texts that do not match their identity, and a lack of knowledge of …

The Hard Work Is Worth It: Overcoming Unfavorable Determinants To Pass Pro-Immigrant Education Policy In A Conservative State Legislature, Megan Cardwell Godfrey

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Immigrants, English learners (ELs), and culturally and linguistically diverse (CLD)students often lag behind their White, monolingual peers in academic achievement and English language proficiency. While there are policy solutions to improve academic and linguistic opportunities and outcomes for immigrant/EL/CLD students, such as implementing bilingual instructional models and increasing teacher diversity, these pro-immigrant policies can be hard to come by in some legislative contexts due to unfavorable economic, social, or political determinants. This qualitative case study analyzed the multifaceted political work that contributed to the passage of two pro-immigrant education policies in the Arkansas 93rd General Assembly: a bill for bilingual …

Arts Integration For Foreign Language Teaching And Learning: A Three Paper Dissertation, Qian Zhang

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This three-paper dissertation examines whether arts integration-an approach to teaching in which students construct and demonstrate understanding through an art form-helps with foreign language teaching and learning, especially language performance. The first paper conducts a comprehensive literature review of research on arts integration and its use in the context of language classrooms, including both English as a Second Language and Foreign Language classrooms. The second paper is a qualitative case study exploring how a French teacher perceives the role that arts integration plays in her students’ language performance. Specific arts-integrated strategies are discussed, and connections are made to students’ language …

Children's Educational Online Workshop, Angelica Bautista

Capstone Projects and Master's Theses

The Greenfield Branch Library is one of the many Monterey County Free Libraries that offer multiple no-cost services to the community. The library’s mission is to serve its community and bring ideas, inspiration, information, and enjoyment to the community. Unfortunately, children are less likely to participate in educational activities when their families struggle financially. This is the case for many families during the pandemic and its aftermath. The Children's Educational Online Workshop aimed to be free academic support for families who cannot afford it elsewhere. My educational workshop took place on April 26 and April 27 both at four pm, …

Promoting The Healthy Development Of All Adolescents Through An Equity Lens: Continuing Education For Secondary-Level Educators, Isabella Simone

Senior Honors Projects

American schools, as an institution, have a mission to educate society’s youth in a way that is characterized by, and promotes, equity regarding educational access, opportunities, and outcomes. Doing so promises to support the individual growth and development of all students. Unfortunately, high school students face challenges regarding healthy development — academic, social, and identity-based — during the transition from childhood to adulthood. These challenges include navigating their identity development, achieving academic success, managing school and family demands, and planning for their futures. Barriers to the successful achievement of these challenges include risk factors associated with family relationships, financial standing, …

Barriers To The Use Of Palliative And Hospice Care Among The Latino Population, Diana Ramirez

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

Patients suffering from irreversible and terminal illnesses may benefit from the services provided by Palliative and Hospice Care to control any symptom burden and assist in navigating complex medical decisions. Many patients may express hesitation in accepting and enrolling to this service due to misconceptions. Language barriers may add an additional layer of complexity. This study explored the challenges Palliative Care providers encounter when introducing concept of hospice to Spanish-speaking patients their families for the first time. This study implemented qualitative research methods by using semi-structured one-on-one interviews. Ten members of an In-patient Palliative Care Team at a University Hospital …

Does The Use Of Digital Storytelling Affect The Self-Efficacy And Writing Ability Of Long-Term English Learners?, Theresa Gonzales

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

When a student enters the public system and speaks a language other than English at home, this student becomes classified as an English Learner (EL). In order to reclassify out of that designation, a student must pass an English proficiency test at the end of the school year, as well as meet the other requirements for that specific district. If a student in the school system has an EL designation for more than seven years, they become classified a Long-Term English Learner (LTEL) student with very specific academic needs. Within the United States, schools will fail to reclassify 30-50% of …

Radicalizing First Year Composition: A Novice Educator’S Venture Into Revolutionary Teaching, Xochilt Trujillo Flores

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

­­This project is based on my experiences and reflections as a novice instructor on implementing educational practices which center a critical, feminist, anti-racist pedagogical approach in a first year composition course. Using my own experiences of teaching FYC as a central focus, this project will collect data through teacher-reflective journals. Those journals will be focused on how radical pedagogy shapes my approaches to teaching and how I experience/implement that approach in my day-to-day practices. In doing so, this project aims to address the persistent gap between theory and practice, particularly in the context of novice educators’ experiences in a …

Averting Educational Disruptions For Migrant Children, Natalie Elisarraraz

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

Migrant children entering the United States face unique challenges when being introduced to the country’s public education system. Not properly addressing the adversities migrant children and families face and their effective resources and strengths when navigating a new educational system can cause a detrimental delay to their potential academic success. This study sought to investigate the educational disruptions experienced by migrant students. This study also explored the relationship between the unique strengths migrant students possess and their use by school staff to the interventions utilized. This study utilized a qualitative design of primary data collected on the experiences of six …

Pragmatics In Game Activities, Humor, And Technology In Second Language Learning, Zachary Brandon Brown

All Graduate Plan B and other Reports, Spring 1920 to Spring 2023

This portfolio compiles work the author explored and developed during the Master of Second Language Teaching (MSLT) program at Utah State University (USU). It encompasses a range of experiences from teaching abroad and at USU, insights from the observation of other classrooms, and reflections from studies in the MSLT program.

Three distinct sections comprise the portfolio: teaching perspectives, research perspectives, and an annotated bibliography. The teaching perspectives detail beliefs regarding games, computer technology, humor, and pragmatics and how they influence second language learning based on the author’s personal experiences. The research perspectives and annotated bibliography elaborate further on those topics …

An Exploratory Multiple-Case Study Of Nepal’S Science Teacher Educators’ Knowledge And Practices Of Active Learning And Culturally Responsive Teaching, Sunil Pokhrel

All Dissertations

The benefits of implementing active learning (AL) embedded with culturally responsive teaching (CRT) practices are well established: students’ deep learning of science is promoted and the achievement gaps between students of majority and minority backgrounds are reduced. Unfortunately, the acceptance for AL and CRT in Nepal’s science teacher programs is low and implementation is superficial. Using a qualitative multiple-case study, the study examined the understanding of seven Nepali science teacher educators (STE) of AL and CRT practices. The challenges faced by the STEs to implementing these two pedagogies at three of Nepal’s science education-focused Bachelor of Education (B.Ed.) programs were …

The Effects Of Esl Training On High School Teachers And Their Response To Ells, Benjamin Watt

Theses and Dissertations

This study purposes to uncovering the deficits in secondary teachers’ understanding and practice in the classroom with ELLs. As the study developed it has become clear teachers vary widely on classroom practice and understanding their EL learners. Many teachers feel ill equipped and that the provided professional development is often inconsistent. The study intends to inform education systems of the positive affects of professional development, college courses and self-enrichment on how teachers work with ELLs. The study builds on the research to increase our understanding of the gaps in teaching and how professional development can be most useful for teachers. …

Zapatista Maya Literacies And Decolonial Civic Pedagogies, Juan Moisés García-Rentería

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Zapatista Maya Literacies and Decolonial Civic Pedagogies evaluates an educational outreach project led by an Indigenous grass roots mobilization in the high plateau of central México, the Zapatista movement. Using retrospective narrative inquiry and theoretically informed perspectives, this dissertation shows that the program of the Zapatista escuelita, Spanish for “little school,” is rooted in the Maya educational paradigm of nojptesel-p’ijubtasel, a cultural and political process of socialization at the heart of contemporary Maya peasant families. The research focus of this study offers rhetoric, composition, and literacy studies two interrelated points of insight tied to the overall Maya conception of the …

“Implacement”: The Importance Of Place And Community In Schooling, Emily Coady

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation consists of three chapters exploring my overarching research question: How does sense of place shape a teacher’s orientation to their profession? My first chapter empirically answers the question: Is there a relationship between place attachment and measured aspects of teacher quality? In an attempt to qualify the strength of bond between a teacher and his or her community, I adapted a place attachment instrument developed by Raymond, Brown, and Weber (2010). Each teacher is given a place attachment score informed by their responses on the 21-item survey. Next, I correlated these scores to other aspects of teacher quality …

Science Teachers' Perceptions Of Culturally Responsive Teaching In Majority Native American Schools In Oklahoma, Michelle Childress

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Native American students have consistently scored less than their white peers on high school academic achievement tests, have the lowest high school graduation rates, and have the lowest college enrollment rates. Research has evidenced challenges and struggles Native American children are faced with that negatively effects their success in the classroom. Native American students often encounter a disconnect between their home and school life resulting in difficulties of navigating two opposing worlds. When Native American students are associated with negative stereotype’s indicative of Native American culture as opposed to the dominant culture, this creates a conflict between their cultural identity …

The Quest For Equity: Multicultural Education, Corina Lieu

Capstone Projects and Master's Theses

The focus issue addressed in this Capstone Project is multiculturalism in education. This is an important issue because students deserve an education that reflects their living experiences inside and outside of the classroom. An argument is made that the lack of multiculturalism in education could foster an environment in which students would not receive an education that is equitable. Considerations of the issue should include the perspectives of the principal of a public school, and three staff members. This group of participants provide deeper insights into multiculturalism within the classrooms. After interviewing an administrator and staff members, three different actions …

Assessing Professionals Working With Latinx Families With Special Needs In Monterey County, Jose Francisco Hernandez Rivera

Capstone Projects and Master's Theses

Special Kids Connect (SKC) is a nonprofit organization serving children with disabilities and their families in Monterey County. This capstone project concentrated on the professionals working with children as part of SKC’s Early Start Intervention Program. The project’s objective was to discover local agencies' professional development training needs that serve Latinx families with disabled children between 2 to 8 years. Seventy-five child-care providers, early intervention service professionals, regional center staff, and school district personnel responded to the survey. They indicated an overall 60 % needed an understanding of systems related to IEPs, Early Start Services, Developmental Screenings, Social-Emotional Screenings, Regional …

“Failure Is Not An Option”: Sub-Saharan African International Graduate Students’ Experiences In U.S. Higher Education Institutions, Alfred Acquah

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The rapid growth of international students, particularly from Sub-Saharan Africa, in U.S. higher education institutions calls for more critical research to understand their nuanced experiences in these institutions. So often, international students are homogenized and put under one umbrella, which shadows their unique experiences, especially those from developing countries and regions like Sub-Saharan Africa. Moreover, the paucity of literature on these students makes it even harder to hear their voices. Therefore, there is the need to disaggregate international students to become aware of some of their subtle challenges. This study aims to explore the experiences and community cultural wealth (CCW) …

Examining The Attitudes Of Preservice Teachers Toward English Learners, Annie Chou

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The rapid growth of the K-12 English Learner (EL) student population in the United States raises concerns related to their learning and growth in schools. Teachers are central figures in their students’ achievement. The influence of teachers’ attitudes on student learning and development validates the need to examine these in research studies. What influences teachers’ attitudes is an important part of understanding teachers’ attitudes towards their EL students. Certain individual characteristics including teachers’ training, may be associated with their positive attitudes. Studies have shown that effective teacher preparation programs can change preservice teacher attitudes in general and specifically towards their …

The Unexpected President: An Instrumental Case Study On Women University Presidents, Jessica Soria

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

This research study sought to examine the experiences of women university presidents. Despite the universal call for the diversification of higher education leadership, women are significantly underrepresented in the seat of the university presidency as higher rank university leadership positions are overwhelmingly occupied by white males. By interviewing women university presidents from diverse backgrounds and from different institutions, this instrumental case study examined their unique experiences. This study utilized two critical theoretical concepts to guide the study: intersectionality and gendered organizations theory.

Building A Positive Teacher And Student Identity In The Chinese Dli Context, Lila Jensen

All Graduate Plan B and other Reports, Spring 1920 to Spring 2023

This portfolio contains a selection of the author’s research interests and learning achievements while in the Master Second Language Teaching (MSLT) program at Utah State University (USU). It represents the author’s investigation, observation, and reflection as an MSLT student and as a Chinese teacher and coordinator for the Chinese Dual Language Immersion (DLI) program in Utah.

The first section of the portfolio contains the author’s teaching perspectives including professional environment, teaching philosophy statement, and professional development through teaching observations. These perspectives represent her professional growth over the years in the field of Chinese teaching in the DLI setting. The second …

Building 6c’S (Critical Thinking, Collaboration, Communication, Creativity, Culture, Connectivity) In The Chinese Learning Classroom, Weixi Dong

All Graduate Plan B and other Reports, Spring 1920 to Spring 2023

This teaching portfolio is a product of the author’s studies in the Masters of Second Language Teaching Program at Utah State University and her experiences as a teacher of Chinese at the elementary school level in the State of Utah’s public school Dual Immersion program. The author provides a selection of teaching reflections and research that have had the most impact on her teaching practice. First, the author offers personal reflections and a theoretical framework for her pedagogy in the Teaching Perspectives section, through a discussion of her professional environment and teaching experience; this is followed by the Teaching Philosophy …

The Study Of Morphological Awareness For English Learners, Jane Beeninga

Dissertations, Theses, and Projects

English Learner (EL) students in American schools are becoming increasingly common, but there does not seem to be enough support for these students. This is causing EL students to fall behind in content areas such as reading (Richards-Tutor et al., 2016). The purpose of this study was to investigate what barriers are keeping EL students from succeeding in reading. After identifying a need for vocabulary instruction, the researcher will be conducting a morphological awareness intervention to improve EL students’ ability to figure out unknown words. Morphological awareness is the understanding of a word’s smaller units such as prefixes, suffixes, and …

Teacher Activism For Emergent Bilingual Learners : A Qualitative Study, Cyrene A. Crooms

Theses, Dissertations and Culminating Projects

This qualitative dissertation study explored what informed the pedagogical moves of four teacher activists of emergent bilingual learners (EBLs). Quijano’s (2000) theory of coloniality of power served as a theoretical lens to examine the historical underpinnings of current education language legislation and policies impacting EBLs. There is a growing body of literature on teacher activism, but very few studies center teacher activism for linguistic justice. Picower’s (2012) framework for teacher activism was used to create data sources, which included interviews, artifacts, field visits, and personal communication. Data were analyzed using open and axial coding strategies. Findings were presented in four …

A Literature Review Of Multicultural Education Practices To Support Marginalized Communities, Karleigh Ferrell

Curriculum and Instruction Undergraduate Honors Theses

This thesis seeks to provide an overview of the current literature surrounding multicultural education practices that effectively support students from marginalized communities. Today’s classrooms are the most diverse and expansive that they have ever been in terms of the student population, but this is not yet reflected in employed public school teachers. So, it is crucial that teachers and public schools are culturally competent and prepared to implement multicultural education practices. Teachers that are culturally competent and that utilize multicultural education strategies have a higher sense of self-efficacy and less risk of burnout, and students of all identities have better …

Speaker Diarization And Identification From Single-Channel Classroom Audio Recording Using Virtual Microphones, Antonio Gomez

Electrical and Computer Engineering ETDs

Speaker identification in noisy audio recordings, specifically those from collaborative learning environments, can be extremely challenging. There is a need to identify individual students talking in small groups from other students talking at the same time. To solve the problem, we assume the use of a single microphone per student group without any access to previous large datasets for training.

This dissertation proposes a method of speaker identification using cross-correlation patterns associated to an array of virtual microphones, centered around the physical microphone. The virtual microphones are simulated by using approximate speaker geometry observed from a video recording. The patterns …

Practicing Self-Advocacy For Displaced People In The English Language Learner Classroom, Payton Persinger

MA TESOL Collection

This study is comprised of a literature review of best practices for working with displaced people and interviews with teachers of refugees. The author found that self-advocacy is multifaceted and that promoting self-advocacy is a key way to support learners in advocating for themselves and their communities. As borders become less porous, there will be more refugee crises, and more language teachers will be needed. Best practices for teaching languages include seeing students as cultural experts, teaching and encouraging resistance, being a trauma-informed practitioner, teaching legal rights, and making room for students to choose what they learn.

Learning Local Languages As A Means Of Preserving Culture: An Analysis Of The Federal Education Laws’ Treatment Of Regional Languages In The Basque Country And Colombia, Olivia Jaramillo

Honors Theses

Regional languages are essential components of vibrantly diverse cultures. Across all regions of the globalizing modern world, regional languages remain one of the clearest markers of the rich heritage and history that each continent, country, state, city, town uniquely possesses. Unlike the more dominant languages of our evolving international landscape, local and regional languages explicitly capture precise cultural experiences of limited populations. These languages carry specific nuance, meaning, grammar, and vocabulary obscured by other forms of communication. This project, researching and analyzing two individual countries’ regional language education under the federal legal systems, holds the importance of safeguarding local languages …

The Relationship Between Culturally Responsive Teacher Roles And Innovative Work Behavior: Canonical Correlation Analysis, Funda Nayir, Gurkan Saridas

Journal of Educational Research and Practice

The aim of this research was to identify the relationship between culturally responsive teacher roles and innovative work behavior according to teachers’ views. The first phase of the analysis revealed that in the first canonical function, which is calculated to maximize the relationship between culturally responsive teacher roles and innovative work behavior data sets, culturally responsive teacher roles and innovative work behavior data sets share a variance of approximately 77%. In addition, as a result of the canonical correlation analysis, we determined that there is a positive relationship between the variables of the culturally regulating teacher (CRT) and the culturally …