In 1987, as a matter of utmost urgency and importance, Negara Brunei Darussalam called for a new system of education that emphasized nationalistic commitment: “Languages for Bruneians”. With the era of globalization, the Brunei Ministry of education argued that new patterns of communication were necessary and implemented a bilingual policy where children are taught in Malay until the fourth year of primary school when the medium of instruction changes to English. While the new policy supports Bruneians’ proficiency in two languages, rumour has been magnified through recent established research findings that a large percentage of pupils are underachieving in science. The main focus of this study is the effect of language transfer, from Malay to English as the medium of instruction, on the development of children’s conceptual understanding in science. Two clusters of science concepts, evaporation and condensation and living and non-living, provide the science context through which children’s understanding is explored. The theoretical framework that includes viewing and examining children’s conceptual understanding from conceptual development and epistemological and ontological perspectives of conceptual change informs the analysis of this study. The research design employed a cross sectional case study method involving the administration of interviews to a total of 255 children aged between 6 and 12 years of age. The interviews about the concepts of evaporation and condensation involved two phases. For the first phase, 60 children from each primary level of 1, 3 and 4 (total n = 180) were interviewed. Fourteen months later, 18 children from the same sample were selected based on their fluency in the first interviews and revisited for more detailed interviews. / For the concepts of living and non-living, 75 children were chosen from a wider range of primary levels, fifteen from each level of Primary 1, 3, 4, 5 and 6. Each participant in this study was asked 2 types of questions; forced-response and semi-structured. For the forced-response questions, scores were entered into the Statistical Packages for Social Sciences (SPSS) computer software based on a 5- point scale. For the semi-structured questions, analysis involved initial grouping of responses before entry into the software and quantitative manipulation. The data from the semi-structured interviews also were analysed qualitatively with systematic searches for themes and evidence that supported and disconfirmed the quantitative results. As this study produced qualitative as well as quantitative data, rigour was determined by two sets of parallel criteria. Ensuring rigour for the quantitative data involved the criteria of validity and reliability. Within the qualitative paradigm, the criteria that evolved in response to the quality of the research were credibility, transferability, dependability and confirmability. The results indicated a steady progress of conceptual understanding when the pupils’ explanations about the concepts of evaporation and condensation were in Malay. However, the pattern of development of understanding did not reach projected patterns i n Primary 4 when only English responses were analysed. The findings show that the change in language of instruction significantly hampered communication about and possibly conceptual understanding of the cluster of concepts associated with evaporation and condensation. / Similarly, the findings about children’s conceptual understanding of living and non-living suggested that the expected patterns of development were not realised. Closer qualitative inspection of the data revealed that the idiosyncratic nature of the bilingual system perpetuated particular misconceptions specifically related to the nature of the Malay and English languages in both clusters of concepts. The primary conclusion of the study was that the change in language of instruction from Malay to English in Brunei primary schools had a significant, detrimental impact on the children’s expressed understanding of the concepts associated with evaporation and condensation and living and non-living.

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Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Texas at Austin, 2003. / Supervisors: Douglas Foley and Pauline Turner Strong. Vita. Includes bibliographical references. Available also from UMI Company.

Research about the use of mobile Internet technology in education is increasing, but gaps remain in the literature. This study used a case study approach to understand how teachers in a bilingual English Language Learner (ELL) classroom used iPod touch devices in a Texas public elementary school. Unlike many other studies investigating the use of mobile Internet technology in education by motivated educators and researchers, this research focuses on an initiative where apprehensive teachers were mandated to integrate mobile Internet technology. It also has a relatively rare focus on the implementation process rather than learning outcomes. Research questions were designed to explore how teachers implemented the iPod touch devices, whether the implementation encouraged informal learning, and what implementation challenges arose. Data sources consisted of qualitative interviews with students, teachers, and a school administrator as well as classroom observations and an analysis of student artifacts. Data showed that many activities resulting from the implementation of the iPod touch initiative included elements of constructivist learning and encouraged student interaction. Another finding was that giving students full-time possession of the devices did lead to students using the device outside of school, but that most of their activities involved practicing what they had learned in the classroom and not true informal learning. Overcoming teachers’ hesitancy and lack of familiarity with technology were found to be major obstacles early in the program, but findings suggested that training, support, and student enthusiasm overcame teachers’ initial reluctance. Implications of this research are that efforts to integrate mobile Internet technology with elementary-level ELLs need an active focus on informal learning to leverage the potential the devices offer. Also, successful implementation requires more than just the availability of the technology; it also requires training and support for teachers to increase their familiarity with the technology and to provide them with ideas that allow them to use the technology most effectively. / text

<p> This particularistic qualitative case study design examined reading strategies, approaches, and resources teachers of ELL students in kindergarten through third grade use to support reading development and promote the home to school connection regarding literacy proficiency. The purpose of this study was to examine strategies, resources, and approaches used to support home-to-school partnerships focused on reading development of K-3 ELLs in the X Public School District. Data analysis resulted in six emergent themes consisting of 22 teacher interviews. The first finding in this study that was revealed through teacher interviews identified guided reading, visual aides, reader&rsquo;s theater, and modeling/oral reading fluency as strategies that contribute to ELLs reading proficiency. In the second finding, teachers identified inviting parents to volunteer in the classroom, sending home a reading log that helps track the students&rsquo; reading at home, and inviting parent participation in extracurricular activities as approaches to encourage partnerships regarding reading development of ELLs. The results of this study provided recommendations for educational leaders to provide teachers specific professional development to encourage parent participation to focus on increasing students&rsquo; reading development that is tailored to the students&rsquo; and caregivers&rsquo; language needs. For future research, it is recommended that the study be replicated using different school districts to determine if similar findings were consistent across different districts.</p>

The study investigated the role of identity investment in the context of an English/Mandarin transitional bilingual education (TBE) program in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. Fifteen students from Grades 1 to 3 and one teacher in the program participated in my research. Students were individually interviewed about how they viewed their identities along a continuum ranging from “Canadian” to “Chinese-Canadian” to “Chinese”. Students’ scores on bilingual vocabulary and reading measures were analyzed together with data provided by parents on language use and literacy practices at home. The research revealed that students manifested a range of identity configurations depending on language use at home and these identity configurations were related to students’ performance on the bilingual language and literacy measures. The findings, although tentative due to the small sample size, suggest that teachers should focus on affirming students’ bilingual and bicultural identities as a means of encouraging the development of bilingual proficiency.

The study investigated the role of identity investment in the context of an English/Mandarin transitional bilingual education (TBE) program in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. Fifteen students from Grades 1 to 3 and one teacher in the program participated in my research. Students were individually interviewed about how they viewed their identities along a continuum ranging from “Canadian” to “Chinese-Canadian” to “Chinese”. Students’ scores on bilingual vocabulary and reading measures were analyzed together with data provided by parents on language use and literacy practices at home. The research revealed that students manifested a range of identity configurations depending on language use at home and these identity configurations were related to students’ performance on the bilingual language and literacy measures. The findings, although tentative due to the small sample size, suggest that teachers should focus on affirming students’ bilingual and bicultural identities as a means of encouraging the development of bilingual proficiency.

Community Contexts of Maori-English Bilingual Education is a multi-case study of six primary school bilingual programmes located throughout the South Island. These six programmes comprised the total number of programmes officially designated by the (former) Department of Education as bilingual and which were administered from the Southern Regional Office of the Department. Each of these programmes employed the services of a kaiarahi reo and had been in operation for at least one school year at the beginning of Term I, 1989. The focus of the study is the interlocking sociocultural and pedagogical contexts which affect, and which, in turn, are affected by the recent inclusion of Maori as a language of instruction within the New Zealand public school system. The material presented in this report resulted from quantitative and qualitative study over an eighteen month period commencing in February, 1989. Data collection techniques included interviews, classroom observations and questionnaire surveys which were used to compile base-line data on the numbers and backgrounds of pupils enrolled in the programmes, classroom practices, perceptions of parents and school staff and outcomes of the programmes. The research also included a number of interviews with affiliated personnel such as Kohanga Reo parents and staff, local kaumatua, and officials from the Ministry and Department of Education. A number of issues are covered in the study; including the rationales for establishing programmes, staffing policies and procedures, resource allocation, bilingual teaching methodology, the range and depth of bilingual and bicultural innovation, community involvement and levels of satisfaction and concern with the programmes.

<p> The time between the passage of the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 and its replacement, the Every Student Succeeds Act of 2015, marked a period of unprecedented policy-driven education reform. Unfortunately, the major objectives of the policy were not achieved, and the very problems it sought to fix still exist. One reason for this was an overreliance on testing and test scores as a lever for change. This study&rsquo;s purpose was to explore the ways in which an educational leader could bring the tools of the practitioner-scholar to bear on public policy problems worth solving. This research question was addressed through three distinct, but interconnected, articles that utilized different methodologies. The first demonstrated the application of the tools of public policy analysis to bilingual education policy at the federal, state, and local levels. The second critiqued New York State&rsquo;s student growth model used in the Annual Professional Performance Review (APPR) using quantitative methods. The third analyzed the broader APPR policy and sought to address its many shortcomings by proposing a new, viable policy alternative for consideration by policymakers. The major implications of this study include a strong caution against the use of standardized tests of student achievement to measure progress toward policy goals, a demonstration of the importance of identifying and applying criteria to assess public education policies, and a recognition of educational leaders as important actors in the policy making process. </p><p>

Doctor of Education / Department of Educational Leadership / Kakali Bhattacharya / Bilingual education has a long history in the United States, although the support for bilingual education through, which students preserve their culture and heritage language, has not been consistent throughout the years. While there is clear evidence that aligns students’ academic, emotional, and economic successes are aligned when they learn English through their native language, there is a paucity of research regarding bilingual principals as leaders of dual-language programs. This study explores issues of challenges and essential support structures within dual-language programs. The results may be used to improve leadership in bilingual programs. The purpose of this ethnographic case study was to explore the lived experiences of two Latinas who taught in Spanish within dual-language programs that were run by monolingual principals. This qualitative study was informed by two different sampling procedures, purposeful and criterion-based. The participants selected needed to be Latina (self-identified), Spanish dual-language teachers who worked with a monolingual principal as their leader within Midwestern U.S. schools, during the 2012-2013 school year. Narrative inquiry grounded the study in order to elicit stories that would represent the experiences of the teachers as they negotiated their path when their leader was monolingual and they taught in Spanish. Findings indicate that teachers who taught in Spanish within an Anglo-majority educational context, experienced palpable manifestations of inequity and discriminations. The participants had strong self-worth, self-confidence, and self-awareness, which led them to persevere through the instances of judgment and imbalance. The finding also demonstrate that the participants developed coping mechanisms to empower themselves, and established newly-found and increased resourcefulness as an attempt to provide the students with the education they deserved. The participants relied on alternative resources, long hours of research and re-planning, creativity, and resolve to function in an environment that was set out to demean them. The study raised implications about the amount of support teachers in bilingual programs who teach in Spanish receive while led by monolingual principals. Another implication is that there is marginalization of certain languages that are not English. Lastly, this study raised implications regarding ways in which bilingual programs can become more just and egalitarian.