Social Interaction With Native Speakers’ Effect On Foreign Language Enjoyment And Foreign Language Anxiety, Emma Stravers

Selected Honors Theses

This study yielded data surrounding the relationship between knowing a native speaker and foreign language acquisition, alongside the factors of foreign language enjoyment and foreign language anxiety. Through a survey conducted with 46 language learners from a variety of backgrounds who were contacted through social media, the research questions guiding the study were answered with implications for all language learners both inside and outside the classroom. Through statistical analysis, data proved that knowing a native speaker of the target language is a significant predictor of language learners having a higher perception of proficiency. A higher perception of proficiency is also …

Reading Through The Pause: How Superintendents Viewed Literacy For Middle Grade Learners During The Pandemic, Dana Evans, Paige Paquette, Dionne Rosser-Mims, Terry Oatts, Brenda Coley

The Journal of Advancing Education Practice

This paper highlights the voices of two superintendents' lived experiences guiding teachers, parents, and students in their districts during the pandemic shutdown. The emphasis of literacy education showcases the ways in which middle grades learners were able to continue discursive practices through online platforms to share and engage with texts. This reflective piece describes the process of perseverance in literacy education through the pandemic pause.

Preservice Teachers’ Perceptions And Knowledge Of Response To Intervention/Multitiered Systems Of Support, Alexandra J. Taylor, Tommy Wells, Amy E. Lein

Kentucky Teacher Education Journal: The Journal of the Teacher Education Division of the Kentucky Council for Exceptional Children

There has been considerable research that establishes the need to improve teachers’ knowledge of and ability to effectively implement response to intervention (RtI)/multi-tiered systems of support (MTSS), and there is a scarcity of research examining interventions addressing these concerns. In a mixed methods study, we examined the perceptions and knowledge of the RtI/MTSS frameworks of undergraduate preservice teaching candidates enrolled in a dual certification program at a small, private Catholic university in Kentucky, before and after participating in a semester-long, experiential learning project. The project involved monitoring both the reading and mathematics progress of struggling elementary or middle school-aged students …

Teachers’ Perceptions On Implementing Read 180 During The Covid-19 Pandemic For Grade 3-5 Students In A Georgia Public School, Monika Nicole Whitmire

Theses and Dissertations

The problem addressed by the study was to examine the effectiveness of the implementation of the Read 180 Universal reading intervention program for students who struggle with reading during the COVID-19 pandemic. The purpose of this case study was to describe teachers’ perceptions of the effectiveness of the implementation of the Read 180 program for elementary students in a grades 3-5 Georgia elementary school during the COVID-19 pandemic. A qualitative research paradigm has been used in the research described below.

A case study involved semi- structured interviews of 12 general ELA teachers in grades 3, 4, and 5. A thematic …

Fomentar La Equidad En El Aprendizaje De Verano Para Los Estudiantes De Un Distrito Escolar Rural De Título I: El Libre Acceso A Los Recursos Educativos, Kathrina M. O'Connell

The Interactive Journal of Global Leadership and Learning

Esta investigación estudia la pérdida del aprendizaje de verano y el efecto de los recursos de verano en el desarrollo de la alfabetización de los estudiantes. El presente estudio explicativo secuencial de métodos mixtos fue diseñado utilizando la teoría del grifo para proporcionar recursos equitativos y apoyo educativo a los estudiantes de quinto al octavo grado en un distrito escolar rural, socioeconómicamente desfavorecido. En un esfuerzo por reducir la pérdida de aprendizaje durante las vacaciones de verano, se coordinaron el transporte, desayunos, almuerzos, libros y un programa de enriquecimiento enfocado en la alfabetización para todos los participantes. El enfoque pragmático …

The Language Of Power: An Investigation Of How The Macropolitics Of Education Policy Affects The Micropolitics Of Schooling English Learners, Catherine E. Vannatter

Theses and Dissertations--Education Sciences

The population of English Learners (ELs) continues to increase across the United States, and these students persistently perform below their native English-speaking peers in measures of academic achievement. Federal government leaders passed the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) in 2015, which modified how state and local educational agencies identify, instruct, assess, and reclassify ELs and revised what funding EL programming could receive. In this multiphase study, I investigated how the macropolitics of federal and state policy became enacted in the micropolitics of a mid-sized school district in Kentucky. Through an initial phase of document review followed by a mixed methods …

Evidence-Based Decision Making In Elementary Schools: A Case Study Of How Districts Make Decisions When Implementing Foreign Language Programs, Danielle Elizabeth Moran

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

Learning another language is considered a key 21st century subject, something that all students should begin in elementary school. However, most school districts in Illinois do not offer students the opportunity to learn another language in elementary school. There are effective and high quality programs available to learn another language that are also mutually beneficial to English learners (ELs). District leaders in charge of planning curricular programs have choices about which programs are offered and are tasked with considering the many needs of the districts they serve. The purpose of this study was to learn about the decision making of …

Making The Invisible Visible: Redefining Giftedness To Include Ell Students’ Community Cultural Wealth And Funds Of Knowledge, Molly I. Pargas

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study used improvement science methods to investigate a problem of practice surrounding the underrepresentation of ELL students in GT programming. This research addressed how teachers define giftedness using their underlying knowledge frameworks. The researcher conducted empathy interviews with parents of ELL students and a team of teachers to determine what the underlying issues are regarding the underrepresentation of ELL students in GT. The parent empathy interviews were coded using the combined conceptual framework of community cultural wealth (Yosso, 2005) and funds of knowledge (Moll et al, 1992). Through this process the types of capital and funds of knowledge were …

Language Arts Acquisition Rates Of English Language Learners During Multi-Modal Instruction During Covid, Deborah S. Dow

Leadership Education Capstones

This study explores the correlation between remote, blended, and in-person learning, as it pertains to language arts acquisition by English Language learners. The purpose of this paper is to determine the optimal method of instruction as determined by assessment scores. The research focussed on a rural school district in Minnesota. The research was conducted by quantitative analysis of WiDA ACCESS, Renaissance Star, and FastBridge data. WiDA ACCESS data was obtained toward the end of each school year. A year of blended learning modalities was compared to two prior years of in-person instruction. Renaissance Star assessments were administered after each leaning …

The Lived Experiences Of Latinx Parents And Their Perception Of Bilingual Programs: A Phenomenological Reflection, Manuel O. Adrianzen

Dissertations

The aim of this study is two-fold. First, to better understand and capture the lived experiences of Latinx parents as they navigate the registration/enrollment process at the school and select a language program for their Pre-kindergarten child. Second, to understand what lived experiences influence their perception about bilingual education programs. Using Van Manen’s (2016) concept of human sciences and phenomenology, data was collected through the use of conversational interviews. The responses provided by the parents and school clerk revealed five themes, fear & anxiousness, hope for things to come & for a brighter future, use of social networks to understand …

An Interview With Alice Ensley: District Literacy Coordinator At Dalton County Schools, Shannon Tovey

Georgia Journal of Literacy

Alice Easley was identified as a top curriculum leader in Georgia for her exceptional work in her role as Curriculum Specialist for Literacy and Social Studies at Dalton Public Schools in creating digital content and methods during the Covid-19 period.

Two For The Price Of One! A Study Of Persistence Of Adult Education Students Pursuing A High School Equivalency Credentiial And A Study Of The Researcher's Experience Conducting That Study., Jacqueline Lynch

Dissertations

This two-in-one study was an exploration of persistence. The quantitative study explored the relationship between the self-efficacy and persistence of adult learners pursuing a high school equivalency credential. Bandura’s theory of self-efficacy and Lewin’s Force Field Analysis offered an effective framework for considering this relationship. The findings of this study were statistically insignificant due to the low response rate.

The second study, a qualitative study, was added to understand my experience trying to gather data during the quantitative study and to explore the implications of data collection, sharing, and use in the adult education field. Resource Dependence Theory (RDT) and …

Building Support Systems For High School English Language Learners: A Developmental Program Evaluation, Manuel Ferreras

Dissertations

The graduation rate of English Language Learners (ELL) is lagging behind the general school population graduation rate. The purpose of this study is to address the needs of ELL students for improving the graduation rate of ELL students. The context of this inquiry is a high school with a large ELL population located in one of the state’s largest school districts. My study demonstrates outcomes of a lack of a shared vision and attention by the school administrators on addressing the needs of ELL students, ineffective remediation strategies and tools used to guide ELL students, and the potential impact high-stakes …

Hazy Team Composition Processes: Shared Team Leadership, A Strategy To Team Excellence In Higher Education, Pervaiz Masih

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Teamwork is an emergent property of efficacious organizations. Team-based and result-oriented organizational structures are gaining momentum, increasing 6% each year. Over 80% of organizations globally deploy teams by putting ordinary people to work together for extraordinary performance. The Defense Language Institute Foreign Language Center is a unique institute that teaches foreign languages in an immersive and team-based environment. This mixed-methods research study investigated (a) the teaching team composition processes, (b) the applicability of trust and diversity in team composition, and (c) the impact of shared team leadership in the Defense Language Institute Foreign Language Center. Data were collected from 82 …

An Introduction To The Culturally Responsive Education Model (Crem): A Personal And Professional Journey To Reflective And Transformative Pedagogy, Monica R. Manns

Virginia English Journal

The Culturally Responsive Education Model (CREM) is a framework by which educators can recognize, digest, and implement cultural responsiveness in their classrooms and school communities. Based on the research of James Banks, Gloria Ladson-Billings, Zaretta Hammond, Marva Collins, Bell Hooks, Geneva Gay, James Comer, and Paulo Freire, the CREM serves as a tool, a practitioner’s guide to culturally responsive teaching and learning, with specific focus on content integration (the curricular and programmatic expansion to celebrate and acknowledge the contributions of diverse groups); knowledge construction (helping students understand how people create beliefs based on their diverse biographies while validating students’ funds …

Advances In Global Education And Research: Volume 4, Waynne B. James, Cihan Cobanoglu, Muhittin Cavusoglu

University of South Florida (USF) M3 Publishing

This is the fourth volume of the Advances in Global Education and Research Book Series. This volume has the following parts:

• Part 1: Adult Education
• Part 2: Curriculum and Instruction Development
• Part 3: Educational Technology
• Part 4: Education in Other Specialties
• Part 5: English as a Second Language
• Part 6: Global Competence
• Part 7: Higher Education and Educational Leadership
• Part 8: Inclusive Education
• Part 9: International Education
• Part 10: PreK-12
• Part 11: Research Methods in Education

ISBN: 978-1-955833-04-2

Adult Education

• Teaching for knowledge transfer: Best practices from a graduate-level educational psychology distance learning program
  • Bobby Hoffman
• A study on the …

Collaborative Inquiry To Support Critically Reading Children’S Literature, Laurie Rabinowitz, Amy Tondreau

Language Arts Journal of Michigan

This article provides an overview of a qualitative study investigating how K-5 classroom teachers describe their beliefs, concerns, and planning process for enacting read alouds featuring characters with disabilities. The study explored educators' close reading of picture books to elicit the unpacking of beliefs about individuals with disabilities conveyed by children’s literature. Through dialogue about social issues in picture books with colleagues, teachers sharpened their own critical literacy skills to bring into the classroom. Based on our findings, we offer a collaborative inquiry cycle that teacher groups can replicate to critically read children’s literature for different social justice issues.

The Facts Of Life: Professional Identity Narratives Of Expatriate Language Instructors In Egypt, Sierranicole Butler

Theses and Dissertations

This study uses a narrative approach to investigate the lived experiences of two expatriate TESOL instructors at a private university in Egypt. Through the use of observations and interviews, the researcher analyzed how the emotions and beliefs of experienced expatriate TESOL instructors influence, shape, and are shaped by their Language Teacher Professional Identities. Farrell’s (2011) Professional Role Identities codes were used. The study revealed that expatriate language instructors face a number of trying experiences when teaching students, interacting with colleagues, and taking on various leadership roles within their institutions based on a number of factors including their own beliefs, backgrounds, …

Exploring The Relationship Between Low-Income Parents’ Perceptions Of Their Participation And Students’ Lexile Levels And Attendance, Taricka Russell

Theses and Dissertations

Students who live in poverty are at a disadvantage when entering school, have a higher chance of reading below grade level, and often have high absenteeism rates. Some students who reside in poverty lack ongoing interactions with others where they can express themselves and increase their vocabulary. Many times, students who live in poverty are associated with single parent homes and a lack of resources. Parents are in survival mode; meaning parents must focus on paying the bills and keeping food on the table rather than being actively involved in their students’ education. Previous studies have provided information on how …

Creativity Through Arts: Expanding Creativity For A New Fluency In Imaginative Thinking, Tanya M. Knudsen

Creativity and Change Leadership Graduate Student Master's Projects

The Torrance Incubation Model beckons creativity into education. That was in 1961. Like the subconscious automatic and multidimensional act of breathing, and formulating language, creativity is within us, materializing on a Mobius Loop structure continually moving in and out of incubation, creation, and the shaping of outcome. Creativity is unique in that is both a verb and noun adding weight and value to its illusive form and potential. Creativity Through Arts expands the Torrance Incubation Model of Creative Teaching and Learning in an expressed combination of creativity and arts to immerse creativity into curricula, cracking a new code for finding …

Using An Ecological Framework To Understand English Language Arts Educators’ Beliefs And Practice About How Students Learn And Develop Comprehensive Literacy Skills, Nina Chavona Williams

Theses and Dissertations

Third grade students who cannot read at grade level are more likely to experience difficulties throughout their education. This intrinsic case study examined the epistemological beliefs and pedagogical practices of six third grade English Language Arts (ELA) educators on developing students' comprehensive literacy skills (CLS) in two Title I schools. Bronfenbrenner's bioecological and ecological theories of human development postulated the theoretical framework. Educators' epistemologies were examined through their decision-making processes during ELA instruction. Pedagogies were evaluated through educators' use of culturally relevant instructional practices. Data were collected in three phases through semi-structured interviews, photographs with descriptive narratives, and an open-ended …

K-12 Economically Disadvantaged Students, Poverty, And Education: Ecological Narratives Of Successful Raised-In-Poverty, Texas Educators, Rebecca N. Morris

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This research study aimed to understand how successful Texas educators who grew up in poverty understood and improved the educational experience of economically disadvantaged students. This study utilized a structural ecological theory and three theories of social relationships (Social Identity, Standpoint, and Cultural Capital). This phenomenological and qualitative study used a cross-sectional, descriptive, online case study design rooted in narrative nonfiction. Virtual interviews with six successful Texas educators that grew up in poverty were conducted. A narrative method of analysis was utilized to generate codes then organize them into themes, and to construct and compare the narrative findings. The results …

Examining The Lived-Experiences Of International L2 Phd Students: A Narrative Study, Sydney B. Basford

Doctor of Education (Ed.D)

The primary purpose of this qualitative narrative study was to explore the lived experiences of international PhD students who used academic English literacy during their research for their theses/dissertations. The second purpose of this study was to identify ways international PhD students mitigated academic language challenges for their theses/dissertations. This qualitative narrative study was founded on the theoretical framework of constructivism and sociocultural theory created by Vygotsky. The research participants were three L2 international PhD students who lived in America while conducting research for their dissertations or theses. Video recorded semi-structured interviews were conducted with all participants to gather rich, …

A Phenomenological Study Of The Lived Experiences Of Former English As A Foreign Language Students, Nguessan T. Yobouet

Doctor of Education (Ed.D)

Many people in school settings have been successful in learning foreign languages, including English. While schools have helped provide this opportunity, the increasing rate of student disinterest in foreign languages is evidence that schools have not yet fully achieved their goals in foreign language education. The purpose of this study was to understand the experiences of former students who have successfully learned English as a foreign language outside of school. Specifically, this study aimed to describe and interpret the sociocultural dimension of EFL (English as a foreign language) learning. To determine the importance of the sociocultural dimension of foreign language …

A Case Study Of Pedagogical Practices That Boost Chinese Students’ Oral English Self-Confidence, Michael D. Knapp

Doctor of Education (Ed.D)

Practice is necessary for developing oral English proficiency, but many Chinese learners of English lack the self-confidence to practice oral English; furthermore, students’ self-confidence deficiency is perpetuated by insufficient oral English proficiency. The purpose of this qualitative case study was to discover pedagogical practices that break the cycle of the reciprocal effect of deficiencies in oral English and in self-confidence in Chinese adult PhD non-English major students. Six participants who raised their oral English proficiency and self-confidence during their PhD studies described their English learning journeys by responding to interview questions. Analyzation of data from interview responses developed into two …

The Writing For Healing And Transformation Project, Heather Elizabeth Osborn

Education Doctorate Dissertations

As a qualitative action research study, the purpose of The Writing for Healing and Transformation Project was to facilitate more inclusive writing strategies and to promote individual and collective healing on issues of social suffering and oppression (Kleinman, Das, & Lock, 1997; Pennebaker & Smyth, 2016) for diverse students at a community college located in the northeastern United States. The 18 participants in the study included students in my English II literature and composition course. The theoretical framework encompassed Pennebaker’s (2016) “writing for healing” paradigm, advocating the use of expressivist writing and “social suffering theory,” examining how power structures affect …

Changed Agents: Cultivating Students’ Civic Identity Through Participation In A Social Justice-Themed Book Club As A Subversive Approach To Critical Literacy In Education, Elizabeth Schucker

Education Doctorate Dissertations

Through an embedded social justice-themed book club and approach to subversive critical literacy experiences, students gain the necessary skills-based knowledge, which cultivate civic awareness, identity, and civic agency, inviting them to develop perspective of real-world issues and concerns. Transformative teaching practices engage teachers and students in the joy of the partnership model as social justice-themed texts provide the opportunity for liberation and synthesis. The students who participate in the social justice-themed book club acknowledge and welcome the discourse as co-investigators in the real-world inquiry. While engaging in twelve authentic literacy-based subversive experiences, students challenge their own opinions and cultivate a …

Exploring Actions Toward Supporting English Language Learners In A Rural Remote Secondary Setting, Annamarie Valdez

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

ESL students make a small population in rural, remote secondary schools. One ESL student can have a profound impact on the academic measures taken on state accountability tests. The gap between an ESL student’s achievement and that of native English-speaking peers is disproportionate. The actions of principals and campus leaders directly impact the teacher’s ability to support English language learners’ (ELL) ESL needs. A problem exists on what principals and campus leaders can do to help ESL students’ needs in a rural, remote secondary setting. The purpose of this exploratory single case study was to identify the actions campus leaders …

A Mixed Methods Examination Of Elementary Teachers’ Conceptions Of Benchmark Reading Assessments, Marie N. Derby Ed. D.

West Chester University Doctoral Projects

Abstract

This study examined the case of 22 mid-Atlantic K-5 public school teachers’ conceptions of the Fountas and Pinnell Benchmark Reading Assessment Systems 1-3. The Namaste School District delivers ELA curriculum through reader’s and writer’s workshop. Triangulated data showed that participants held varying conceptions of the F&P. Specifically, they shared similar conceptions regarding the importance of one-on-one time with students, the amount of time it takes to administer the assessment, and the subjectivity of the F&P results. Results of this study provided similar results to other studies of teachers’ conceptions of assessment and adds to the literature debate regarding …

Unaccompanied Youth In Our Public Schools And Our Opportunity To Lead For Emancipatory Practices (Jóvenes No Acompañados En Nuestras Escuelas Públicas Y Nuestra Oportunidad Para Liderar Prácticas Emancipatorias), Leyda W. Garcia

LMU Theses and Dissertations

Unaccompanied youth are migrant children who travel by themselves to the United States, mostly from Central America and Mexico. Since 2014, more than 200,000 unaccompanied youth have entered the United States, with approximately 28,000 residing in Los Angeles, California (U.S. Customs and Border Protection [CBP], CBP 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021a, 2021b). Hundreds of these young migrants have enrolled in public schools (Pierce, 2016). Schools seek adequate and effective ways to support these students’ complex needs and aspirations. Within the body of research about this sub-group of immigrants there is a significant absence of the voices of unaccompanied youth themselves, which …