Language and Literacy Education Commons^™

Benefits Of Advisory & Culturally Responsive Advisory Framework (Craf) Within A Southwestern, Urban, Dual Language Middle School, Mariana Anguelova Castañon

Language, Literacy, and Sociocultural Studies ETDs

In this research report, I examine the benefits of a daily Advisory period at a southwestern, urban, dual-language middle school and explore the impact of the Culturally Responsive Advisory Framework (CRAF), a curriculum I developed as a researcher-practitioner. This work is situated within research on Advisory programs, urban schooling, and dual-language education, while addressing implementation challenges. Grounded in democratic learning theory, CRAF integrates social-emotional learning (SEL), social-cultural learning (SCL), and literacy. To evaluate its impact, I collected qualitative data through anonymous Google Surveys and semi-structured student interviews, supported by quantitative teacher and student surveys. Data were analyzed using open and …

Unpacking The Roots Of School Vouchers: A Critical Discourse Analysis Of Its Origins And The Arizona Model, Swechha Singh

Language, Literacy, and Sociocultural Studies ETDs

Critical Race Theory (CRT) gained prominence in mainstream political discourse following President Trump issuance of Executive Order 13950, Combating Race and Sex Stereotyping, which intensified political debate surrounding CRT, diversity initiatives, and educational curricula. This study used Fairclough’s Critical Discourse Analysis to examine how ideological forces gave rise to the enactment of school vouchers. Using CRT as a theoretical lens, the study examined historical and contemporary data to explore how ideology functioned to advance an expansive education policy agenda, including Arizona’s Empowerment Scholarship Account program. This study offers evidence of the impact of the anti-CRT movement, as well as sustained …

Empowering Pedagogical Practice Through Autoethnography Within The Context Of Family Literacy Projects, Sarah M. Johnson

Language, Literacy, and Sociocultural Studies ETDs

Family Literacy Projects being used in the high school setting to promote cultural and linguistic identities. The Family Literacy Project is used to bridge the gap between student identities at school and the identities at home. The purpose of this study was for the teacher to reflect in an autoethnographic study of herself in relation to the context of community, pedagogy, and the perceived needs and changes of the project for both students and the school’s culture. Through the autoethnographic study, the focus of the Family Literacy Project is in its importance to the school, community, students, and teachers was …

Can Web-Based International Standardized Tests Be More Inclusive? A Udl Mixed-Methods Study Of Accented Tasks, Abdelbaset Haridy

Language, Literacy, and Sociocultural Studies ETDs

This dissertation explores the critical, yet understudied, issue of using a variety of accents/dialects within standardized listening assessments. The current study argues for a paradigm shift from dominant accent to the use of a variety of accents in foreign language testing and assessment. The shift is guided by the principles of Universal Design for Learning (UDL), World Englishes, and Intercultural Communication Theory. Following a mixed-methods design, the study compares student perceptions (N=202) and experts’ (N=64) opinions across two distinct linguistic contexts: English and Arabic. College student participants rated listening samples across nine parameters, including Fluency, Accuracy, Comprehensibility, Intelligibility, and Approachability. …

When Two Worlds Collide: A Narrative Inquiry Into The Teacher Identity Development Of Graduate Students Of Additional Languages, Hannah L. Garver

Teacher Education, Educational Leadership & Policy ETDs

This study explores a population that has been understudied in teacher identity research: native English-speaking graduate teaching assistants (GTAs) of additional languages who assumed this role with no prior teaching experience. Influenced by my own experience as a GTA, the purpose of this study is to gain insight into how this population’s experiences shape their identities as teachers and later careers. This qualitative study uses narrative inquiry as a method by which to examine their experiences through the stories told by participants: six former GTAs of French and German.

Using data in the form of semi-structured interviews and some participants’ …

Middle Level English Learners’ Engagement With Digital Multimodal Resources And Each Other, Mark Stevens

Intersections: Critical Issues in Education

Students in schools who speak multiple languages need opportunities for multimodal learning. A study was conducted to observe how middle level English Learners used multimodal (text, audio, video, imagery) resources in a Language Arts - Social Studies class. The research question was: What patterns of engagement with content, and each other, were manifest by middle level ELs while using multimodal resources in a general education history class? Qualitative case study was used to observe student work and interaction, inspect work artifacts, and interview for opinions and motivations. To learn multimodally, students (a) used approaches (whole class, small group, partner) that …

Critical Dialogue As A Decolonial Feminist Approach To Healing And Restoration In Antiracist Literacy Education, Dianne Wellington, Amy Walker

Intersections: Critical Issues in Education

Antiracist work requires healing and restorative practices to sustain meaningful change. This study examines critical dialogue as a restorative practice in literacy education, using duoethnography to explore its role in antiracist efforts. Grounded in decolonial feminist research, we frame healing as an intergenerational movement and literacy education as a catalyst for transformation. Our findings advocate for restorative literacies that challenge systemic oppression, emphasizing relational, justice-driven practices to foster resilience, transformation, and coalition-building in academia. We offer implications for how literacy education can engage lived experiences, histories, and epistemologies to support individual and collective healing.

Language In Context: Exploring The Learning Experiences Of Culturally And Linguistically Diverse Students In Stem After-School Program, Gulnara Kussainova

Language, Literacy, and Sociocultural Studies ETDs

This study examines how language shapes interactions and learning outcomes for culturally and linguistically diverse middle school girls and their facilitators in an after-school STEM program. Grounded in the multiple identities approach, it explores how participants navigate hierarchies, build relationships, and engage through their multiple identities. Using Systemic Functional Linguistics, it analyzes linguistic strategies to reveal how language empowers or marginalizes. Focusing on interpersonal meanings of tenor, it examines expressions of authority and autonomy. The findings emphasize how participants’ multiple identities—such as gender, race, language, and cultural background—shape their STEM learning experiences. By exploring the intersection of linguistic and social …

This Will Not Be Generative, Sehrish Naudhani

Intersections: Critical Issues in Education

This Will Not Be Generative by Dixa Ramírez-D’Oleo critiques Western feminist narratives, revealing how concepts like generativity and symbiosis often disguise violence against Black and Indigenous communities. Through analysis of works by feminists such as Donna Haraway and references to films like Get Out and Midsommar, Ramírez-D’Oleo argues that Black and Indigenous lives are cyclically exploited to uphold white supremacy. Rather than depicting these communities as mere victims, she emphasizes their resilience and acts of resistance. This review underscores Ramírez-D’Oleo's call to rethink the narratives shaping our understanding of race, ecology, and feminism, making it a critical read for …

Penetrating The Academic Echo Chamber Through Podcasting, David A. Wilson Phd

Intersections: Critical Issues in Education

The scope and breadth of the content of college courses is often limited to the students who attend them. This is particularly true regarding theoretical courses, such as those involving theories and practices related to bilingual education. A new podcast created by an instructor of such a course aims to expand the reach of the course content to other students, educators, and the general public, who may not have taken such courses. This opinion piece addresses how the podcast came into being, as well as its current and future goals.

Welcome Back: A New Beginning For The Intersections Journal, Mary F. Rice

Intersections: Critical Issues in Education

In good faith, we are proud to publish this very short issue this month, containing this editorial explanation and with an invitation to submit articles, essays, artistic works, book reviews, and more. It would also be excellent for those who are interested in this project aimed at continuing to make space for critical social justice work to sign up to review and provide feedback and response to authors. The issue also has an excellent essay about language work and the revitalizing it through podcasting with Dr. David A. Wilson and a book review of This Will Not Be Generative by …

Using Practitioner Research To Improve An Instructor’S Practice In An Accelerated Developmental Reading And Writing Course, Pamela Herrington-Moriarty

Language, Literacy, and Sociocultural Studies ETDs

This dissertation study utilized practitioner research to analyze a developmental reading and writing course focused on an accelerated curriculum, problem-based learning, and a sociocultural perspective on academic literacy, which I taught at a community college. The study collected information-rich data from three students who participated in semi-structured interviews. This study applied the Framework for Success in Postsecondary Writing to analyze the course curriculum and resulted in recommended changes to three assignments based on the Framework for Success in Postsecondary Writing: (1) The Educational Autobiography, (2) the Summary Assignment, and (3) Letter Assignment, and four themes based on the student …

The Quadruple Helix Of Strategic Alliances And Its Application For Community Development In Las Acequias De Atrisco, Jorge Garcia

Regeneración: A Xicanacimiento Studies Journal

In today’s society, the development of Information Communication Technologies (ICT) is imminent yet, large segments of the world remain marginalized. I contend that peer-to-peer and inter-institutional networks can be used to connect local with global systems to close this divide. Using today’s virtual and digital technologies the gap can be bridged using collaboration platforms using different knowledge systems that do not simply replicate the same information. The suggested model represents forming strategic alliances for information sharing and collaboration to empower and support local knowledge systems. The examples discussed show our efforts toward an inclusive approach with communities in full partnership, …

Teachers’ Self-Reported Practices Of Teaching Academic Writing In Pakistani Universities, Hafiz Yar

Language, Literacy, and Sociocultural Studies ETDs

This study has explored teachers’ self-reported practices of teaching academic writing in Pakistani universities. The English language based developmental literacy courses in Pakistani undergraduate degrees are offered as part of the curricula rather than through specialized language centers. The three-course progression of developmental English literacy in Pakistani undergraduate curricula aims to develop academic writing proficiency besides effective business communication and technical report writing skills.

This study has used generic qualitative research methodology (Caelli et al., 2003; Kahlke, 2014; Kostere & Kostere, 2021), snowball sampling for participant recruitment, and a combination of survey and one-to-one semi structured interviews for data collection. …

A Phenomenological Exploration Of Language Shift Of Ikalanga In Botswana: Implications For Language Revitalization, Annah Sephene Macha

Language, Literacy, and Sociocultural Studies ETDs

This study explores the phenomenon of language shift among the Bakalanga community in Botswana, focusing on the gradual displacement of the iKalanga language by dominant languages such as Setswana and English that hold official status for education and broader communication. iKalanga faces significant challenges, as minority languages face extinction globally, the Bakalanga’s experience reflects broader trends where dominant languages supplant indigenous ones in education and wider communication. This research employed a phenomenological approach to investigate how the Bakalanga transmit knowledge amidst this language shift. Data was collected through focus groups, life history narratives, documents, and individual interviews, and analyzed using …

A Multiple Case Study Of Asl Mentoring For The Field Of Interpreting, Andy Lim

Language, Literacy, and Sociocultural Studies ETDs

Drawn on the theoretical principles of sociocultural theory and constructivism, the aim of this multiple case study was to explore and understand the experiences of interpreting students, interpreter graduates, and pre-certified working interpreters after receiving ASL mentoring for at least 3 months to a year and to learn about the roles and impacts that ASL mentoring had on those groups of people as ASL mentees. Graduated from their respective 4-year universities for a bachelor’s degree related to the field of interpreting, participants included one interpreting student and one interpreter graduate, both of whom were from southern California, and one pre-certified …

A Study Of Preservice Teachers' Preparedness To Teach Reading, Kelli Williams-Page

Teacher Education, Educational Leadership & Policy ETDs

Only 35% of fourth graders in the United States can read at the proficient level, and only 34% of eighth graders can read proficiently (National Assessment of Educational Progress [NAEP], 2022). The purpose of this study was to determine how preservice teachers (PSTs) describe their experience of the methodology of teaching reading in their literacy courses. In addition, what specific strategies for teaching reading do PSTs describe as the focus for their teaching reading preparation, and how do PSTs describe the potential of the strategies learned in their coursework to help them teach reading in their future positions? This study …

Leadership And Service: Kenyan Teachers Bringing Community Cultural Wealth Into Practice, Peter Njagi Mwangi

Language, Literacy, and Sociocultural Studies ETDs

This study explores the complex leadership tasks high school Kenyan teachers provide in their communities, giving a detailed look at how these educators balance their responsibilities as both classroom teachers and community leaders. Historically, Kenyan communities are frequently viewed through a deficit lens, and this study sets out how the cultural wealth of the dynamic teacher and learner communities cross the boundaries between local communities and educational institutions. To enable a new type of bridging school and the community, this study reveals the interconnectedness of school and community through the interplay of teachers moving fluidly in both spaces and influencing …

“That Felt Weird”: International Graduate Students’ Emerging Critical Awareness Of Their Experiences With Microaggression, Romaisha Rahman

Language, Literacy, and Sociocultural Studies ETDs

The purpose of this phenomenological study was to uncover and understand international graduate students’ experiences with microaggressions that stem from native speaker fallacy; microaggressions are the subtle discriminatory behaviors executed toward marginalized groups and native speaker fallacy is the false belief that only some “native” English speakers are effective teachers and users of the language. Put simply, this research aimed at unveiling the subtle language-based discriminations that international graduate students experience in their day-to-day lives in U.S. educational settings. To collect data for the study, the Critical Incident Technique (CIT) was utilized. CIT is a method that allows the …

Deictic Pointing And Demonstrative Usage In American Sign Language, Paul Twitchell

Language, Literacy, and Sociocultural Studies ETDs

American Sign Language (ASL), like many different signed languages, has a systematic way of using pointing signs for multiple types of nominal reference. Possibly the most basic function of pointing is to indicate, direct and modulate reference to physical objects located in proximal and distal areas called exophoric demonstratives.

This study aims to investigate ASL exophoric demonstratives and how ASL fits within the different typological systems of demonstratives that have been documented (Diessel & Coventry, 2020). Several research questions focus on how signers direct attention to proximal and distal referents in ASL using an elicitation task. The two studies (adult …

Creating Counter-Hegemonic Spaces In A Spanish Language Arts Classroom, Mercedes Valenzuela

Language, Literacy, and Sociocultural Studies ETDs

This qualitative case study used practitioner research methods to address the question: How does a Mexican American teacher create counter-hegemonic spaces in a Spanish Language Arts classroom utilizing critical race and borderlands theories? The research focused on how I as a teacher-built trust and respect through place—here, the classroom, classroom activities, and discussions—thereby creating a place for students to express their thoughts and feelings and to build relationships with the teacher and their classmates for learning to occur. This study also analyzed how using critical race and borderlands theories influences and shapes Mexican American students’ educational experiences beyond a …

An Application Of Tajfel’S Social Identity Theory To Understand Gamer As A Social Identity Among Saudi College-Level Students, Mohammad M. Assiri

Language, Literacy, and Sociocultural Studies ETDs

Understanding the social identity construction of Saudi college-level students who self-identify as gamers in Saudi Arabia is essential when designing a student-centered education. Although support exists within the literature for exploring what it means to be a gamer from the perspective of gamers, a review of the literature revealed a gap in this regard in the context of Saudi Arabia. Therefore, this grounded theory study explored self-identification as a gamer in Saudi Arabia using Tajfel's (1981) three tenets of self-identification with a group. A social identity framework was used to understand the characteristics of Saudi gamers, their positive or negative …

The Development Of Discourse Markers In Narrations Written By Spanish Heritage Language Learners: A Case For Explicit And Implicit Instruction, Mark Cisneros

Spanish and Portuguese ETDs

This Dissertation attempted to determine the types and number of discourse markers (DMs) used in narrations written by Spanish Heritage Language (SHL) learners and if they benefitted from the following pedagogical intervention (i.e., Explicit Instruction + Input Flood + Textual Enhancement) regarding the use of DMs. It also calculated the syntactic complexity, morphosyntactic accuracy, and fluency of their narrations. For this study, 39 SHL learners served as participants: 19 in an Experimental group and 20 in a Control group. All participants wrote two narrations of two short, silent films: a pre-test narration and an immediate post-test narration. Before completing the …

Issue In Equity For Culturally And Linguistically Diverse Students With Complex Support Needs: A Comparative Analysis Of District-Level Student Data, Rosalia Pacheco

Special Education ETDs

Research has shown that English learners with disabilities should have access to both special education and Title III services as required by law (de Valenzuela et al., 2006, 2018, 2016, 2022; de Valenzuela & Copeland, 2018; Kangas, 2014, 2018, 2019, 2021). This quantitative study uncovers issues of educational inequities related to: (a) the identification of these students as English learners; (b) their access to Title III services; and (c) the instructional settings in which they are educated for culturally and linguistically diverse students with Autism (ASD), Developmental Delay (DD), Intellectual Disability (ID), Multiple Disabilities (MD), or Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI). …

A Corpus-Based Investigation Of Phrasal Complexity In L1, L2 Phd Students, And Expert Writers In Education Field, Hani Albelihi

Language, Literacy, and Sociocultural Studies ETDs

This study compared 11 noun modifiers, adopted from Biber et al.’s (2011) index, in the writing of English native speakers (NS) and non-native speakers (NNS) graduate students in Education field and compare them with the frequencies found in published writings. Also, it investigated how the language background influences NP complexity in academic writing. The findings showed compared to the expert writers, the student writers used different amounts of phrasal modifiers in their dissertations (e.g., premodifying nouns). Then, a Chi-square test and residual analysis were run to explore how language background influences the noun phrases. Four particular noun modifiers were influenced …

My Story To Tell: An Autoethnographic Exploration Of Instructional Coaching For Culturally Responsive Pedagogy Through Multicultural Literature In Elementary Classrooms, Annette Melissa Fiedler

Language, Literacy, and Sociocultural Studies ETDs

The purpose of this qualitative Self-Study of Teacher Education Practices was to explore and tell a personalized account of myself as an instructional coach striving for culturally responsive pedagogical practices through multicultural literature in pre-kindergarten through sixth grade classrooms. Two research questions were designed to address this autoethnographic exploration. Research Question 1 was: What tensions do I experience as a living contradiction in the work as an instructional coach for elementary teachers of diverse learners who need culturally responsive literacy instruction? Research Question 2 was: How do my personal understandings of these tensions honor my commitment to enlarging teachers’ culturally …

English Proficiency Or Post-School Success? The Miseducation Of English Learners, Jatnna Acosta

Intersections: Critical Issues in Education

English learners in the U.S. are academically unprepared at the secondary level, ad such systemic barriers lead to limited opportunities for post-school success (Umansky, 2016). Additional research is necessary to examine the correlation between the impact of a school’s ethnic diversity on the academic achievement of students identified as ELs. The purpose of this study is to investigate the educational outcomes of ELs at the high school level as a result of the school’s ethnic diversity. This study provides quantitative data from the Ed-Data Education Data Partnership. The data is disaggregated by the ethnic diversity index, percentage of enrolled ELs …

The Effect Of Semantic Neighborhood Density On Vocabulary Learning In Spanish As A Second Language And Spanish As A Heritage Language, Marián Giráldez Elizo

Language, Literacy, and Sociocultural Studies ETDs

This dissertation reviews the results from an online survey created to identify and compare how second language (L2) learners and heritage language (HL) learners of Spanish, enrolled in beginning-level coursework at the college level, acquired and built vocabulary. A total of 451 participants completed the survey. The purpose of the online survey was to serve as a baseline for pedagogical purposes, since it provided information about participants’ language profiles and the way they build vocabulary based on sematic relatedness. Overall, the findings from the survey showed that HL and L2 learners differ in the way they build semantic neighborhoods and, …

Getting To Denver: Instructor Participation In The Design Of Writing Program Assessment Technologies, Soha Fransis Turfler

English Language and Literature ETDs

This dissertation presents a framework for writing instructor participation in the design of writing program assessment technologies. I base this framework on a case study into the participation of 16 non-tenure track (NTT) and graduate teaching assistant (GTA) writing instructors in the design of a final portfolio assignment prompt for the first-year composition (FYC) program at the University of New Mexico (UNM). I specifically question how Writing Program Administrators (WPAs) and assessment designers can address the needs, interests, and values of writing instructors in the design of writing program assessment technologies, including the important need for agency and professional autonomy. …

Indigenous Wisdom, Storytelling, And Language Renewal Ꭰꮒᏸꭺꭹ, Ꭰꮒᏼꮻꮿ Ꭰꭷꮩꭵꭿꮝꮧ Ꭴꮒꭽ, Ꭰꮴꭿꮠꮧᏹ Ꭶꮼꮒꭿꮝꮧ, Arlo Starr

Language, Literacy, and Sociocultural Studies ETDs

Abstract ᎧᏃᎮᏍᎩ

Language, cultural immersion, and intergenerational land-based education have shown the potential to vastly improve dire health issues that Indigenous people face. What is the most effective way to produce a large number of second language learners who speak at a basic level in order to improve Indigenous health?

Relationship is a vital part of Indigenous cosmology. Rather than promoting the consumption of words as things, acquisition will be more readily integrated into relationship-based thought when also interacting with them in context through story, and cultural activities that are fun, understandable, and engage community. Many successful language immersion models …