Bilingual, Multilingual, and Multicultural Education Commons^™

Child Abuse, Emily Whiting

Nebraska College Preparatory Academy: Senior Capstone Projects

Child abuse occurs all around the world, to children of all ages. It can be in the form of neglect, or physical, sexual, mental, and/or emotional abuse. It negatively impacts the victim and interrupts the developmental stages of youth. Neglect, physical, mental/emotional, and sexual abuse have many consequences on children, and the signs of the abuse are often present in victims’ lives.

What Affects Does Childhood Trauma Have In Adulthood, Stacy F. Yebe

Nebraska College Preparatory Academy: Senior Capstone Projects

In a national sample of adolescents, those who were physically and sexually abused, or witnessed violence had increased risk for current substance use disorders and PTSD .” (C. Zlotnick te al./ Comprehensive Psychiatry 49, (2008), p.163). Through research it is evident that trauma affects children's cognitive growth into adulthood. It is imperative to break the cycle of childhood trauma that impacts adulthood to refrain the trauma from having ongoing generational affects. Individuals who experience this trauma can get the help and have knowledge to outlets that can decrease the effects of trauma in childhood. It is imperative to educate individuals …

Mental Health In Adolescence, Nyabath Wal

Nebraska College Preparatory Academy: Senior Capstone Projects

Mental health includes our emotional psychological, and social wellbeing. Mental health involves how people handle real world situations. Mental health problems are usually noticed in the stage of adolescence which is between the ages of 10 and 19 years old. Mental health illnesses are caused by several different things. There is not just one cause for mental health disorders. Possible ways to treat mental health are therapy, medication, and hospitalization.

World Longest Ongoing Civil War, Kleh Mu Kpru Say

Nebraska College Preparatory Academy: Senior Capstone Projects

Today, in a world where conflict arises from geopolitical and ethnics differences, Burma is a country that has faced significant impacts of civil conflict and is a country that is not often brought up. However, the conflict this country faces represents one of the most complicated and longest cases of ongoing ethnic conflict in a country. The civil conflict in Burma has negatively impacted the independence of the Karen community, caused mass human displacement and human rights violations, as well as left an entire race of people to be without a place to go for future prosperity. Over the70-years long …

White Collar Crime And Its Effect On Society, Jesus Junior Mosqueda Ramirez

Nebraska College Preparatory Academy: Senior Capstone Projects

White-collar crime is defined as non-violent crime typically committed by a person who holds a white-collar job, that is, they work in a government position or business. White collar crime has detrimental effects on society, and consists of a destructive nature towards the economy. White collar crime works to make more profit for the rich and cause more hardships to the poor. Due to the lack of conversations on white-collar crime, in comparison to street crime, the public lacks knowledge on its negative effects. White-collar crime lacks media coverage because it does not garner as much attention as street crime. …

De-Escalation Training, Ellia Mora

Nebraska College Preparatory Academy: Senior Capstone Projects

De-escalation training has been widely implemented by U.S. police agencies in the wake of adverse public reaction to recent controversial police use of force incidents. Despite the promotion from politicians, academics, expert panels, and the public, we are struggling to see the effects of de-escalation training on officers and police-citizen interactions. Police Brutality is classified as a situation where officers exercise undue or excessive force against a person(Amnesty International 2018). No national standard of training for police means that there is also no national standard on how police officers can be prosecuted for using lethal force improperly. This paper offers …

Gender And Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder, Nylah Rosas

Nebraska College Preparatory Academy: Senior Capstone Projects

This research was done to bring forth attention to the under diagnoses of girls with Attention Deficit/ Hyperactive Disorder in comparison to boys. They mistaken the uncommon diagnoses as other disorders such as generalized anxiety disorder which could leave to a long-term effect on those children getting treated for the wrong disorder. Some girls go their entire lives without being diagnosed with ADHD and create unhealthy habits to over come their symptoms. This research looks at articles and presentations explaining the misconceptions of ADHD in girls, the short term and long-term effects of a misdiagnoses, and the ways to notice …

How Does The Foster System Connect To Juvenile Delinquency?, Mairan Rodriguez

Nebraska College Preparatory Academy: Senior Capstone Projects

Juvenile maltreatment in homes is a large factor in today’s incarcerated youth. Victims of child abuse and neglect are predominant in the foster care system. This issue has grown to where “1/4 of foster care alumni will become involved with the criminal justice system within two years of leaving care.” (Anspach, 2018). These children who experience certain maltreatment while in foster care are at an increased risk of engaging in delinquent behavior. They often move out of the welfare system into the criminal justice system.

Problems The Lgbtq+ Community Face, Brianna Plascencia-Loza

Nebraska College Preparatory Academy: Senior Capstone Projects

There is a lot of homophobia in the United States and research shows it has become a great problem to the LGBTQ+ community on a daily basis. Some of the problems consist of family being non- accepting, harassment in school, and the use of conversion therapy. These cause negative outcomes to the community such as missing school, high suicide rates, and increase depression.

Why We Should Defund The Police, Shelby A. Sanchez

Nebraska College Preparatory Academy: Senior Capstone Projects

Ninety-nine percent of the police departments budget throughout the country increases every year into the billions. More money is spent on keeping the “peace” than investing in young students to assure they have a bright future, avoid violence and in return, bring true peace to all communities. Police departments and even some of the population have been conditioned into believing that minority communities are naturally violent, inherently bad and need to be policed heavily. Instead, minority communities need resources and tools to break the cycle of poverty and crime. Defunding the police is a controversial topic and dangerous to bring …

Sleep Deprivation And Student Academic Success, Ashley Plascencia Orozco

Nebraska College Preparatory Academy: Senior Capstone Projects

Sleep deprivation affects students health, education, and wellbeing. Minimal sleep affects students education in various ways and can negatively impact their education, learning environment and capacity to learn. Having a good sleep schedule can positively impact academic performance. Early school start times cause a cycle of afternoon sleepiness, which can influence mood, conduct, and raise the risk of accidents or injury.

The Physical And Mental Effects Of Death, Lizbeth Valente

Nebraska College Preparatory Academy: Senior Capstone Projects

Death and grieving is a common occurrence in life. When we lose a loved one, our body naturally processes it in many ways often referred to as the 5 stages of grief. Some people may experience severe depression, anxiety, bursts of anger and other emotional disturbances that can affects one's day to day life. As much as people struggle psychologically, they also experience physical altercations; like not eating and sleeping. People feel emptiness in their life and are left to wonder “why?”.

The Effects Of Alcohol And Opioid Withdrawal During Pregnancy, Sandy Segura

Nebraska College Preparatory Academy: Senior Capstone Projects

Alcohol and opioid withdrawal is very common, especially in the United States. People, including pregnant women go through withdrawal when they lower the number of substance(s) they have daily or just stop suddenly. Since the body is used to having a high dosage, when it’s lowered or stopped, the body reacts in ways that can be very painful commonly known as withdrawal. As for pregnant women, when they allow these substances in their body, it can be extremely harmful to the baby. These babies can develop conditions such as Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome (NAS) or Fetal Alcohol (FAS) syndrome. Statistics show …

Depersonalization Derealization Disorder In Teens, Samantha Sotelo-Flores

Nebraska College Preparatory Academy: Senior Capstone Projects

Depersonalization Derealization Disorder and its accompanying symptoms affect a teenager’s life. DDD is a mental disorder that affects a diagnosed individual perspective of themselves and of the world around them, making it seem distant or dream-like. I became interested in this topic because of the symptoms that lead me into a spiraling rabbit hole of cross-construct connections with other dissociative disorders.

Mental Illness: An Open Window To Adolescent Substance Abuse, Danya Torres-Lagunas

Nebraska College Preparatory Academy: Senior Capstone Projects

Mental illness during the adolescent years comes with its own struggles and battles. Not only the social and emotional aspects of it, but also neurological and developmental effects. By looking at the early developmental stages of adolescence, preexisting factor, and previous psychiatric disorders, e.g. MDD (Major depressive disorder) we can see that there is a correlation between mental health disorders and their effect on adolescent substance abuse.

Problems In The Healthcare System, Julie Suarez

Nebraska College Preparatory Academy: Senior Capstone Projects

The healthcare system in the United States is the most prevalent and underemphasized issue in the country. It is not a single entity but rather a collection of people, institutions, and resources that provide health care services. As there are health disparities throughout the USA, navigation in the healthcare system becomes increasingly more difficult, and calls into question of the health literacy of the average American. Even as complex as this topic may seem, every citizen and individual should be aware that negotiation is always on the table and is a given right under a democratic republic. As such, a …

Teacher Candidates’ Pivot To Virtual Literacy Field Experiences: The Interplay Of Culturally Responsive Sustaining Pedagogies And Improvisation, Mary Coakley-Fields, Courtney Kelly, Katherine Egan Cunningham, Kori Krafick

Education Faculty Publications

This qualitative investigation examines how teacher candidates enrolled in literacy courses navigated virtual field work experiences during summer and fall 2020. The study is grounded in theories of improvisation as a pedagogical practice and culturally responsive and sustaining approaches to teaching. Data show that teacher candidates took advantage of the affordances of the environment and adapted their practice to suit the new situation by improvising and growing their virtual teaching skillset for culturally responsive literacy instruction. Findings reveal the importance of teacher candidates developing improvisational culturally responsive and sustaining practices, including learning about students’ interests, cultures, and experiences and applying …

Understanding The Perspectives, Practices, And Expectations Of Korean American Parents Toward The Heritage Language Education Of Their Children, Yunhee Choi

Doctoral Dissertations

The purpose of this qualitative study, conducted with parents of a Bay Area Korean school, was to explore how Korean American parents perceive, practice, and expect from the heritage language education of their children. The parents shared their experiences as Korean immigrants in raising their children in two languages. First, a survey was distributed and collected to apprehend the demographics of 24 Korean American parents in a West Coast metropolitan area who sent their children to a Korean heritage language school on weekends. Then one-on-one in-depth interviews were conducted with seven of these parents. Seven themes emerged from the data: …

Using Peer Review To Improve English As A Second Language College Students' Writing Scores, Mengjie Wei

Doctoral Dissertations

This study was conducted to examine the effectiveness of peer-review in college English as Second Language writing classes to improve ESL students’ writing scores. It also investigated a statistically significant difference in college ESL students’ writing scores between those who use the self-check list and peer review worksheet and those who only use the self-check list in writing paragraphs and essays. More specifically, this study was conducted to determine the influence of different areas on students’ English writing scores, i.e., format/content/structure, grammar, vocabulary, and spelling. In addition, this study explored students’ attitudes and opinions on peer-review in writing class.

This …

The Collegiate Black Space: Black College Students’ Use Of New Counter-Spaces For Support, Knowledge Production, And Organizing For Activism, Heather Streets

Doctoral Dissertations

Black collegians who attend historically white institutions continue to struggle with racism, microaggressions, feelings of alienation, minimal or improper advising, and an undue pressure to prove themselves (Bonner, 2010; Feagin & Sikes, 1995; Strayhorn, 2010). These barriers to success result in part due to a lack of support from the colleges and universities that they attend (Allen, 1992; Parker, Puig, Johnson & Anthony, Jr., 2016). With institutional benefits designed to benefit white students over students of color, Black students must find their own alternatives for collaboration and to provide support for their peers.

Many Black spaces can be defined as …

Teachers’ Perceptions Of Language Learners And Culturally Relevant Pedagogy, Niyoka S. Johnson

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

English language learner (ELL) students come from diverse linguistic backgrounds, and educators need specific training in second language acquisition and content instruction to provide culturally responsive instruction leading to academic success. This phenomenological interpretative analysis was designed to explore the lived experiences of general education middle school teachers of ELL students and their practices of culturally relevant pedagogy in diverse classroom environments. The theoretical foundation of this study was grounded in both social constructivism and diversity pedagogy theory, as both theories support the construct of sociocultural interactions experienced by educators in this setting. The research question inquired about the perceptions …

The Translanguaging Pedagogies Continuum, Marcela Ossa Parra, Patrick Proctor

Publications and Research

Translanguaging pedagogy is an approach to educational equity that harnesses multilingual learners’ communicative repertoires (e.g., home languages, non-standard varieties, gestures) by strategically incorporating them in the classroom to ensure students’ active participation and meaningful learning. This paper proposes a research-informed continuum that captures a range of possibilities for integrating translanguaging in language and literacy instruction. This continuum provides insight into how educators may make socially just instructional and curricular decisions that are based on recognizing multilingual students' languages, cultures, and ways of knowing as valuable assets in the classroom.

Multiracial Identity From Theory To Praxis: A Literature Review For K12 Practitioners, Jackie M. Peng

Journal of Educational Research and Innovation

Multiraciality and mixed-race students have long been overlooked in K12 education discourse despite a significant increase in the number of students identifying as more than one race. Research that does address Multiracial students tends to focus on multiracial identity development of college students. However, educators and K12 school leaders must engage critically with how theoretical abstractions like ‘racial identity’ are being parsed and adopted in school policies, particularly as it pertains to mixed-race students. Having a deeper understanding how Multiracial identity is conceptualized and deployed makes it possible for K12 practitioners to better appreciate how race and racial identity operate …

Pre-Service Teachers’ Reflective Writing And Learning In Early Field Experiences, Deborah Romero, Mandi Leigh, Weihsuan Lo

Journal of Educational Research and Innovation

As cultural and linguistic diversity (CLD) in schools increases so does the demand for more qualified teachers. Enrollment declines in teacher preparation programs and national teacher shortages, particularly teachers prepared to work with CLD students, further exacerbate the situation. As teacher preparation programs seek to meet the demands for teachers, this study addresses a gap in research and practice that examines pre-service teacher (PST) reflections conducted as part of a non-credit very early field experience (EFE). The study addresses two questions:1) How does participation in EFE shape PST learning and professional identities as expressed in written reflections? 2) In what …

Book Review: Transforming Educational Pathways For Chicana/O Students: A Critical Race Feminista Praxis. D. Delgado Bernal & E. Alemán, Jr. Teachers College Press, 2017. 126 Pages., James Gambrell

Journal of Educational Research and Innovation

This book follows the first decade of a university-school-community partnership—called Adelante—with bilingual/bicultural students and their families to form a college-going culture in an elementary school with a large Latin@1 student population. Created at Jackson Elementary in 2005, Dolores Delgado Bernal and Enrique Alemán2 chronical the path that the first group of students—L@s Primer@s–walked as they and their families participated in this partnership. One of the most important lessons outlined was to start small, recognizing the myriad assets and stakeholders that would be engaged to enact a sustainable partnership. Therefore, Delgado Bernal and Alemán commenced with a single dual-language kindergarten class, …

“Never Anything About The Asian Experience”: An Asiancrit Analysis Of Asian American Teachers In The Midwest, Jung Kim

Education Department Faculty Articles

Although Asian Americans are the fastest-growing racial minority group in the United States, projected to be 10% of the population by 2050, they only comprise 2% of the teaching force. There is relatively little research about the experiences, recruitment efforts, or retention of Asian American teachers. This qualitative study seeks to add to the extant literature by seeking to better under the experiences of Asian American pK-12 teachers in the Midwest, primarily in northern Illinois. This study draws upon both a sociopolitical understanding of being Asian American and three specific tenets of AsianCrit: (re)constructive history; story, theory, and praxis; and …

Impact Of A Multi-Layered Autobiography Project For Transforming Intercultural Competence Among Pre-Service Teachers, Elizabeth J. Sandell, Luz Carime Bersh

Elementary and Literacy Education Department Publications

This study investigated how a Multi-Layered Autobiography Project impacts the intercultural competence for undergraduate students, many of whom were aspiring teacher candidates in the United States. For purposes of this project, the concept of “culture” was adapted from West and Turner’s (2018) definition: the norms, behaviors, standards, values, etc. shared by a group of people, and passed along to later generations. Investigators deemed that “culture” was composed of numerous microcultures among a smaller group of human beings (with their own language, communication strategies, behavior rules, and expectations), who are bonded together by similar experiences, values, characteristics, organization, membership, location, or …

No. 10, April 2022: Uplifting The Perspectives And Preferences Of The Families Of English Learners In Los Angeles Unified School District And Charter Schools: Findings From A Representative Poll, Jeimee Estrada-Miller, M.P.P., Leni Wolf, M.P.A., Elvira G. Armas, Ed.D., Magaly Lavadenz, Ph.D.

Education and Policy Briefs

This research and policy brief uplifts findings from a 2021 poll of 129 LAUSD and affiliate charter school English Learner families. The poll covers a broad range of topics including families’ pandemic experiences in and outside of school, communication with schools, levels of engagement and representation in school-based decisions, and expectations of schools for the future. Findings indicate that: (1) a majority of EL families are engaged and report that they attend school activities; (2) EL families report feeling heard at their school sites and would like more personalized communication like home visits and calls; (3) EL families want more …

An Unspoken Story Of Education: An Autoethnographic Exploration Of Racism In Education, Elisa A. Perez-Garcia

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

Privilege is when one voice is the norm, but some children’s voices are underheard within research. Extensive research has demonstrated that Hispanic face multiple barriers within the education system. This study examines how whiteness within the education system can impact a Hispanic student’s perspective of the world. An autoethnographic approach is used to analyze five stories. A grounded theory approach identified emergent themes from the stories shared. The four themes that emerged among the stories were intersectionality, privilege, social construct, and microaggression. It demonstrated minority students’ experiences and interactions could profoundly affect how they view their identity. There are measures …

Racial And Cultural Competence Through The Eyes Of Public-School Educators, Laquita Mcmillion

Dissertations

The discussion of racial and cultural competence in public schools today is necessary. The student population of public schools across the United States has significantly grown racially and culturally diverse. Through the use of a narrative inquiry and a critical lens, this study explored the perception and experiences of public-school educators focused on the topic of racial and cultural competence as it relates to their classroom practice and educational policies. The focus of this research (1) describes and analyzes my personal experiences through the use of qualitative approaches, (2) shares the experiences and perceptions of three public-school educators, and (3) …