<p>Denna uppsats bygger på ett fallstudium som genomfördes hösten 2006 i Mondulkiri,</p><p>Kambodja. Fallstudien är av kvalitativ art och fungerar som metodologiska ramen för</p><p>uppsatsen där litteraturstudier och intervjuer ingår som instrument. Syftet med studien var att</p><p>belysa vad som motiverar vuxna bunonger till lärande samt att belysa hur de beskriver vad</p><p>kunskap är för dem i deras kontext och hur de värderar den pågående</p><p>alfabetiseringsprocessen. För att uppnå studiens syfte genomfördes 15 intervjuer med vuxna</p><p>bunonger bosatta i Mondulkiri samt litteraturstudier kring motivation, kunskapssyn och</p><p>alfabetisering. Intervjuerna genomfördes utifrån en kvalitativ metod. Resultatet från</p><p>intervjuerna och litteraturstudierna visar på att det är främst yttre faktorer som påverkar</p><p>bunongernas motivation. När det gäller förhållandet mellan motivation och lärande är det</p><p>relationellt sammankopplat med vad individen värderar som mest nödvändigt för hans/hennes</p><p>situation i jämförelse med andra värden som är kontextuellt betingat. Bunongernas</p><p>kunskapssyn är relaterat till deras historia av muntlig tradering och alfabetiseringsprocessens</p><p>värde sätts i relation till behovet av kunskap som traderingen inte kan ge. Vidare förstärker</p><p>studien tidigare forskning som visar på att ”bilingual education” och ”non formal education”</p><p>är goda redskap för att bygga en långsiktig och varaktig alfabetisering.</p>

This dissertation is the result of studies concerning the prerequisites for Finnish to survive in contemporary Sweden. When the Sweden Finnish parents want instruction in Finnish for their children the only choice available in Swedish municipal schools is between two language programs: one giving instruction in Swedish classes with 1-2 hours of home language training in Finnish per week, and the other giving instruction in and of Finnish in Finnish classes. In a four part study I investigate whether Sweden Finnish pupils who take part in these programs use and have a command of both languages. The focus of the dissertation is nonetheless on Finnish and the possibilities for Sweden Finns to preserve and develop their language and culture. A total of 560 second generation Sweden Finns from Botkyrka participated in the studies and are divided by language programs into Finnish classes (273) and Swedish classes (287). The introduction of the dissertation gives a picture of the composition of the Sweden Finnish group, cultural aspirations and education possibilities. It also discusses the official position of the Swedish authorities as well as their efforts in relation to the Sweden Finnish aspirations. For comparison 411 Finland Swedish pupils from Turku as well as monolingual control groups in Finland and Sweden are also investigated. Questionnaires, tests, and essays were collected on two occasions, in 1980 and 1995. Command of reading and writing skills in Finnish and Swedish are compared among the Sweden Finnish, the Finland Swedish, and the monolingual pupils. The most bilingual were the Finland Swedish pupils. This group achieved better results on the Swedish tests than the other groups. On the Finnish tests they were better than the Sweden Finnish pupils in the Swedish classes. Compared to the Sweden Finnish pupils in Finnish classes, the Finland Swedish pupils read just as well or better but wrote less well. In the studies the Sweden Finnish pupils' language use in school and at home and the changes which had taken place during the fifteen years which had passed between the times of data collection were scrutinized. Compared to the Sweden Finnish pupils in Swedish classes in 1980 the Sweden Finnish pupils use much more Swedish today (1995) while the Sweden Finnish pupils in Finnish classes nowadays use both languages more often than those who took part in the same language program in 1980. In one study 41 former Sweden Finnish informants with an average age of 27 were re-visited. Those who had been in the Swedish classes tended to let Swedish take over at home while those who had been in the Finnish classes used both languages. Sixteen of the former informants had children of their own. The language chosen to use when speaking to their children correlated with their own language skills and the language of their partner. None of those who had been in the Swedish classes spoke Finnish with their children. Among those who were in Finnish classes various combinations of languages were applied: 40% spoke Finnish, 25% spoke both languages and 33% spoke Swedish. Nearly 90% of those who had been in Finnish classes wanted their children to learn Finnish in school while not quite 60% of those who took part in home language training wanted their children to learn Finnish in school. Judging from the results of the study, attendance in Finnish classes was of great significance for the preservation of Finnish in Sweden because only this program seemed to guarantee many-sided language skills in Finnish. The number of pupils in Finnish classes has decreased sharply since 1980, and nowadays such classes exist only in a few places in Sweden. Swedish school political practices have contributed strongly to the difficulties Finnish is having and will have surviving beyond the coming two or three generations.

Denna uppsats bygger på ett fallstudium som genomfördes hösten 2006 i Mondulkiri, Kambodja. Fallstudien är av kvalitativ art och fungerar som metodologiska ramen för uppsatsen där litteraturstudier och intervjuer ingår som instrument. Syftet med studien var att belysa vad som motiverar vuxna bunonger till lärande samt att belysa hur de beskriver vad kunskap är för dem i deras kontext och hur de värderar den pågående alfabetiseringsprocessen. För att uppnå studiens syfte genomfördes 15 intervjuer med vuxna bunonger bosatta i Mondulkiri samt litteraturstudier kring motivation, kunskapssyn och alfabetisering. Intervjuerna genomfördes utifrån en kvalitativ metod. Resultatet från intervjuerna och litteraturstudierna visar på att det är främst yttre faktorer som påverkar bunongernas motivation. När det gäller förhållandet mellan motivation och lärande är det relationellt sammankopplat med vad individen värderar som mest nödvändigt för hans/hennes situation i jämförelse med andra värden som är kontextuellt betingat. Bunongernas kunskapssyn är relaterat till deras historia av muntlig tradering och alfabetiseringsprocessens värde sätts i relation till behovet av kunskap som traderingen inte kan ge. Vidare förstärker studien tidigare forskning som visar på att ”bilingual education” och ”non formal education” är goda redskap för att bygga en långsiktig och varaktig alfabetisering.

Arbetet syftar till att ge en bild av lärarnas metoder i klassrumsundervisningen av tvåspråkiga barn. Min forskningsfråga lyder: Vilka metoder använder sig läraren av för att undervisa engelsk grammatik till tvåspråkiga barn? I teori delen börjar jag med att upplysa om tvåspråkighet. Vilken uppfattning hade man om tvåspråkighet och undervisning av tvåspråkiga barn för ungefär 40 år sedan? Vilken uppfattning har forskare om tvåspråkighet och undervisningen av tvåspråkiga elever idag? Jag fortsätter med att belysa om de olika metoderna lärarna använder sig av i klassrumsundervisningen för att undervisa tvåspråkiga elever i engelsk grammatik? I resultat delen och efter att ha använt intervjun som forsknings redskap kom jag fram till följande resultat: Lärarna använde sig av liknande metoder för att motivera de tvåspråkiga eleverna till språkinlärning. De använde sig främst av leken som metod för att lära ut engelsk grammatik till deras elever. På så sätt blev grammatik undervisningen, enligt lärarna, mycket roligare och intressantare. Alla tre lärare varierade sina lektioner genom att använda sig av olika metoder. Eleverna fick ibland ansvara för sin egen språkinlärning och valde de metoder som passade bäst för deras kognitiva lärande. Lärarna använde sig också mycket av metoden 'Learner Autonomy' som gick ut på att eleverna fick arbeta självständigt och i sin egen takt med olika skrivuppgifter och övningar. Lärarna fick agera som rådgivare på dessa lektioner. I analysdelen belyste jag om Skillnader samt Likheter i lärarnas åsikter. Jag jämförde vad alla tre lärarna sa i varje fråga och om det fanns några likheter samt skillnader i deras utsagor. Jag kom som sagt fram till att lärarna använde sig av liknande metoder för att lära ut engelsk grammatik i klassrummet, men självklart så fanns det även vissa skillnader på deras sätt att jobba. Jag avslutade arbetet med en slutdiskussion där jag belyste om de olika problematiska momenten i lärarna utsagor. Samt om den bild jag fått ute på fältet i form av intervjuer, överensstämde med tidigare forskning (litteratur) som gjorts i detta område?

This thesis presents an ethnographic action research study of Deaf and hearing parents and infants participating in a family American Sign Language (ASL) literacy program in Ontario. The thesis documents the context for parents and children’s learning of ASL in an environment where resources for supporting early ASL literacy have been scarce. At the time of the study, restrictions were placed on young Deaf and hard of hearing children’s learning of ASL, as the Ontario government’s Infant Hearing Program frequently did not provide ASL services to children who received cochlear implants or auditory-verbal therapy. This operational language policy of Ontario infant hearing screening and early intervention services was maintained despite evidence for the benefits that learning ASL confers on spoken and written language development in Deaf children. In this context, participation in a family ASL literacy program is a means for both supporting emerging ASL literacy in young children and resisting pathologizing Discourses (Gee, 2008) regarding signed language and Deaf identity. Through semi-structured interviews and observations of six individual families or parent-child dyads, the study documents participants’ encounters with gatekeepers who regulate Deaf children and their families’ access to ASL. At the same time, the setting of the ASL Parent-Child Mother Goose Program is presented as a Deaf cultural space and thereby a counter-Discourse to medical Discourses regarding Deaf identity and bilingualism. This space features the Deaf mother participants’ ASL literacy and numeracy practices and improvisations of ASL rhymes and stories to enhance their suitability for young children. The practices of the ASL Parent-Child Mother Goose Program leader also serve to define and support emergent ASL literacy in young children. In addition, a Deaf cultural space inside a broader context of public services to young Deaf children provides a means for the hearing mother participants to facilitate critical inquiry of issues surrounding bilingualism, ASL, and a Deaf identity. Collectively, the findings from this study highlight the benefits of emergent ASL literacy in Deaf children and their families, and provide an evidence-based rationale for Canadian governments and government agencies to better support this development.

This thesis presents an ethnographic action research study of Deaf and hearing parents and infants participating in a family American Sign Language (ASL) literacy program in Ontario. The thesis documents the context for parents and children’s learning of ASL in an environment where resources for supporting early ASL literacy have been scarce. At the time of the study, restrictions were placed on young Deaf and hard of hearing children’s learning of ASL, as the Ontario government’s Infant Hearing Program frequently did not provide ASL services to children who received cochlear implants or auditory-verbal therapy. This operational language policy of Ontario infant hearing screening and early intervention services was maintained despite evidence for the benefits that learning ASL confers on spoken and written language development in Deaf children. In this context, participation in a family ASL literacy program is a means for both supporting emerging ASL literacy in young children and resisting pathologizing Discourses (Gee, 2008) regarding signed language and Deaf identity. Through semi-structured interviews and observations of six individual families or parent-child dyads, the study documents participants’ encounters with gatekeepers who regulate Deaf children and their families’ access to ASL. At the same time, the setting of the ASL Parent-Child Mother Goose Program is presented as a Deaf cultural space and thereby a counter-Discourse to medical Discourses regarding Deaf identity and bilingualism. This space features the Deaf mother participants’ ASL literacy and numeracy practices and improvisations of ASL rhymes and stories to enhance their suitability for young children. The practices of the ASL Parent-Child Mother Goose Program leader also serve to define and support emergent ASL literacy in young children. In addition, a Deaf cultural space inside a broader context of public services to young Deaf children provides a means for the hearing mother participants to facilitate critical inquiry of issues surrounding bilingualism, ASL, and a Deaf identity. Collectively, the findings from this study highlight the benefits of emergent ASL literacy in Deaf children and their families, and provide an evidence-based rationale for Canadian governments and government agencies to better support this development.

The present study investigated the possibility of heritage language loss in twenty students of Hispanic origin, selected from six second-grade classrooms in one elementary school of a large district in the Dallas-Fort Worth area. Ten students were enrolled in Transitional Bilingual Education (TBE) classes and ten students were enrolled in English as a Second Language (ESL) classes, during the academic year 2004-2005. Oral Reading Fluency (ORF) in English and Spanish were measured over a short-term progress monitoring period (i.e. sixteen consecutive weeks), and over a long-term follow-up period (i.e. nine and twelve months later, respectively). To answer the first research question on the amount and type of growth in English and Spanish ORF demonstrated by the students over time, two main types of analyses were conducted: a) time series analysis of group improvement trends, and b) Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) on individual student slope coefficients. Results from quantitative analyses revealed that both groups of students improved in English reading over time. However, when considering the long-term progress, the TBE group demonstrated a faster rate of improvement in English reading when compared to the ESL group and also to their own Spanish reading. As for the ESL group, the students reached a plateau of performance in Spanish, indicating, at best, minimal skills in the heritage language while continuing to progress in English. To answer the second research question, regarding parents’ beliefs on bilingualism and maintenance of the heritage language in their children, semistructured Parents’ Interviews (PI) with open-ended questions were conducted. Results from qualitative analyses revealed three major themes: Both sets of parents believed in the connection between the native language and increased life opportunities, the TBE parents affirmed the heritage language as symbol of their cultural identity, and the ESL parents acknowledged their children’s native language loss. Findings from this study suggest that students instructed in their native language in the early elementary years appear to have a better chance of maintaining their heritage language over time, when compared to students instructed solely in English.

Bilingual education in the United States has been at the forefront of educational politics and debates since its inception. Arguments over language of instruction and program goals overshadow the deeper philosophical, political and societal issues rooted at the heart of bilingual education. This purpose of this study was to present a critical view of the issues impacting a small Central Texas school district?s early childhood bilingual program. Over the course of a year, I conducted a focus group interview followed by individual interviews with two preschool and two kindergarten Spanish bilingual teachers. I collected field notes and observational data on site for two years. Based in grounded theory, the data dictated the focus of the study. The open coding process used to analyze the focus group interview data uncovered the foundational themes for this study. The individual interviews were analyzed using open coding, confirming and elaborating on the themes. Field notes and observational data were used to triangulate the data. The themes were: philosophical and theoretical foundations, politics and policies, and social and cultural issues. Through the lens of the data, I examined the impact of No Child Left Behind, Reading First, and the corresponding Texas regulations. The participants found the testing requirements to be distracting from their teaching. They believed the requirements, particularly for assessment, to be inappropriate and of limited use in their classrooms. From a sociocultural perspective, I discovered discrimination and segregation, but the teacher participants never opened a dialogue about these practices with each other or their administrator. The bilingual classes were isolated, given inferior and inappropriate materials. The school's culture was one of assimilation, not diversity. Finally, I examined the underlying issues that impacted this bilingual education program and the implications for further research. There is a need to conduct further research into bilingual teacher education, including alternative certification and continuing education, the hidden curriculum and bilingual education and empowerment of bilingual teachers through dialogue. Bilingual education holds the promise of closing the gaps in education, but further research must include the critical areas of influence including philosophy, politics and sociocultural issues, not just program goals and language acquisition.

Much controversy exists surrounding the education of Hispanic English Language Learners (ELLs). This large and growing group presents significant challenges to educators. Foremost among these challenges is the question of whether bilingual or English-only education is most appropriate for enhancing ELLs? language proficiency and achievement. Despite decades of controversy and research in the field of bilingual education, the debate is ongoing. Additionally, Hispanic ELLs are profoundly affected by other cultural and educational factors. One potentially important factor with limited research involves the academic self-efficacy of ELLs. This study examined the relationship of bilingual and English-only education to Hispanic ELLs? language proficiency, academic achievement, and academic self-efficacy. Participants were eighth-grade Hispanic students from a large southwestern school district. Data were collected from school district records, and a self-efficacy questionnaire was administered to a subsample of students. Analyses included t-tests, ANOVA, ANCOVA, and regression procedures to measure relationships between ELL students who received bilingual education (the Bilingual group) or English-only education (the Mainstream ELL group), as well as a Comparison group of non-ELL Hispanic students. It was hypothesized that the Bilingual group would demonstrate advantages over the other two groups in English proficiency, academic achievement, and academic self-efficacy. Analyses revealed few significant group differences. The Bilingual group did not attain significantly higher English proficiency than the Mainstream ELL group by third grade. The Bilingual group did not demonstrate significantly higher achievement scores than the Mainstream ELL group, but their scores were significantly higher than the Comparison group. There were no significant differences between groups on academic self-efficacy. Regression analyses indicated that the length of time spent in bilingual education did not predict students? language proficiency, achievement, or academic self-efficacy. A final analysis indicated that academic self-efficacy and third grade English proficiency scores were significant predictors of eighth-grade achievement. Conclusions indicate modest benefits for ELL students attending bilingual education, but more advantages may have been evident had more years of bilingual education been provided to students. Clearly, increased attention to academic self-efficacy and English proficiency may be appropriate regardless of the type of educational placement. Further studies should examine other factors affecting the quality of education provided to ELL students.

This study is significant because U.S. schools are continuously being transformed due to the increasing numbers of linguistically and culturally diverse students, in particular Latina/o youths. Therefore, this qualitative dissertation study explored and described ways three Latina Tejana Maestras utilized Culturally Responsive Pedagogy (CRP) during literacy learning as they integrated students’ knowledge about their social and cultural environment, including their native language repertoire, while developing and implementing instruction. This study used sociocultural and borderlands theoretical construct to explore and describe ways the Maestras enacted and sustained CRP during literacy events. The sociocultural perspective is a fitting lens because it takes into account how knowledge is constructed in and through social interaction. Borderlands is also a fitting lens because it takes into account the Tejana Maestras borderlands identity of straddling simultaneous worlds — two languages, two cultures. Sociocultural theory and Borderlands theoretical lenses were complemented by CRP, a teaching approach that not only fits the school culture to the students’ culture, but uses the students’ culture as the basis for students to understand themselves and guiding them to becoming academically successful. The two questions used to guide this dissertation were: What culturally responsive pedagogical knowledge and practices do Tejana Maestras enact in bilingual classrooms? Second: How do Tejana Maestras acquire knowledge about the culture, language, and background experience of their students when planning and implementing instruction? The research revealed three themes, a) the presence of Building a Bilingual Classroom Community (BBCC) that was continuously evolving, and seamlessly functioning, as a system was clearly evident in each of the three classrooms, b) the Tejana Maestras notion of agents of change that guided their pedagogical literacy practices, and c) the notion of centering Mexican American students’ values, beliefs, and norms into the pedagogy and curriculum responsive to emergent bilinguals was recognizable. Six findings developed from the data; a) Tejana Maestras foster cultural awareness, b) embrace Latina/o bilingualism, c) employ a menu of culturally responsive literacy practices, d) learn from their students e) are conscious of their identity, and f) teaching philosophy. Due to U.S. schools being transformed by the increasing numbers of linguistically and culturally diverse students, the study demonstrated that it is important to conduct research about Tejana Maestras to learn the ways they are effectively meeting the needs of bilingual students by using CRP to promote academic success. / text