Thesis advisor: Audrey A. Friedman / Despite the inherent obstacles posed by increasingly diverse student populations, school leaders worldwide are under mounting pressure to raise student achievement. This study utilizes hierarchical linear modeling (HLM) to investigate the relationship between principal priorities and student achievement in reading literacy on the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) in sixty-four jurisdictions worldwide. Disaggregating the sixty-four systems into three performance levels, the research aims to equip principals across the global landscape with insights into current performance patterns of diverse learners and the leadership behaviors that associate with student achievement. The diverse groups of interest include boys, immigrants, language learners, socio-economically disadvantaged students, and rural pupils. Three conditions of effective leadership organize the priorities of investigation: defining a mission, managing instruction, and developing a climate (Hallinger and Murphy, 1985). The results reveal that across performance levels, diverse learners are underachieving but specific subgroups are faring better than others in some jurisdictions. Commonalities emerge from these jurisdictions and set a roadmap for interpreting the achievement of diverse learners worldwide. The leadership priorities that most frequently associate with student achievement when controlling for background factors vary across systems and across performance levels. The priorities under `defining the school mission' are most frequently statistically significantly associated to student achievement in promising systems and the priorities under `managing the instructional programming' and `developing school climate' are most frequent among high- performers. Overall, however, the associations are weak and ultimately open the possibility of a fourth condition of effective leadership: establishing a community connection. / Thesis (PhD) — Boston College, 2013. / Submitted to: Boston College. Lynch School of Education. / Discipline: Teacher Education, Special Education, Curriculum and Instruction.

Exploring the relationship between early oral reading fluency ability and reading comprehension achievement among an ethnically and racially diverse sample of young learners from low-income families, attending elementary school within a large public school district in southeast Florida is the purpose of this longitudinal study. Although many studies have been conducted to address the relationship between oral reading fluency ability and reading comprehension achievement, most of the existing research failed either to disaggregate the data by demographic subgroups or secure a large enough sample of students to adequately represent the diverse subgroups. The research questions that guided this study were: (a) To what extent does early oral reading fluency ability measured in first, second, or third grade correlate with reading comprehension achievement in third grade? (b) To what extent does the relationship of early oral reading fluency ability and reading comprehension achievement vary by demographic subgroup membership (i.e., gender, race/ethnicity, socioeconomic status) among a diverse sample of students? A predictive research design using archived secondary data was employed in this nonexperimental quantitative methods study of 1,663 third grade students who attended a cohort of 25 Reading First funded schools. The data analyzed derived from the Dynamic Indicators of Basic Early Literacy Skills Oral Reading Fluency (DIBELS ORF) measure administered in first, second, and third grades and the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test of the Sunshine State Standards (FCAT-SSS) Reading administered in third grade. Linear regression analyses between each of the oral reading fluency and reading comprehension measures produced significant positive correlations. Hierarchical regression analyses supported the predictive potential of all three oral reading fluency ability measures toward reading comprehension achievement, with the first grade oral reading fluency ability measure explaining the most significant variance in third grade reading comprehension achievement. Male students produced significant overall differences in variance when compared to female students as did the Other student subgroup (i.e., Asian, Multiracial, and Native American) when compared to Black, White, and Hispanic students. No significant differences in variance were produced between students from low and moderate socioeconomic families. These findings are vital toward adding to the literature of diverse young learners.

No description available.

Thesis advisor: Michael G. Barnett / Elementary science instruction and teacher preparation need improvement for various reasons: 1) preservice teachers lack opportunities to experience (Windschitl, 2003) or observe (Smith, 1999) inquiry science, 2) pre-service teachers have even fewer opportunities to practice teaching science in a classroom settings (Hewson, Tabachnick, Zeichner, & Lemberger, 1999); and 3) methods courses and field experiences fail to provide proper scaffolding and support for science teaching (Crawford, 1999). One way to improve preservice teacher growth and understanding in teaching inquiry science is through supported field based teaching experiences (Eick, Ware, & Williams, 2003). However, research is necessary to examine how innovative field-based science methods courses compare to traditional, university-based science methods course. This mixed methods study compares the experiences of thirty-two preservice teachers with a specific focus on four preservice teachers involved in either a field-based science methods course or a university-based science methods course. It examines the impact of the two courses on preservice teachers' confidence in teaching science content and beliefs regarding the role of inquiry-based science instruction with culturally and linguistically diverse students. Data sources included a pre/post survey that was distributed to preservice teachers in both courses, with additional interviews and final unit reviews for each of the four preservice teacher case studies. Themes were identified and re-examined through an analysis of the data which informed the development of four case studies, two from each class, to investigate specific trends between the two methods courses. Findings indicate that both field- and university-based instruction have strengths and weaknesses. This research suggests that field-based methods have a stronger impact on improving preservice teachers' beliefs and skills in regard to designing inquiry-based instruction for diverse students, while university-based course promotes greater confidence in preservice teachers' ability to teach different science content areas. However, preservice teachers in both courses struggled to create inquiry-based science lessons where students used evidence to support claims or construct explanations. / Thesis (PhD) — Boston College, 2010. / Submitted to: Boston College. Lynch School of Education. / Discipline: Teacher Education, Special Education, Curriculum and Instruction.

Thesis advisor: Maria E. Brisk / The Writing Development of Procedural and Persuasive Genres: A Multiple Case Study of Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Students Margarita Zisselsberger María Estela Brisk, Dissertation Director Abstract In this dissertation study, I examine the writing development of five culturally and linguistically diverse (CLD) students in an elementary classroom, where English is the language of instruction. Interest in written literacy for monolingual and bilingual learners has increased as a result of high-stakes testing, No Child Left Behind, and state adoption of the Common Core Standards. Additionally, National Assessment of Educational Progress (U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, 2007) shows that CLD students score significantly lower on writing performance tasks than their mainstream English-speaking Caucasian peers. This study seeks to better understand the process by which CLD students develop the specific characteristics of procedural and persuasive writing given the instruction in these genres. This year-long qualitative research study used a multiple case-study design (Hancock & Algozzine, 2006; Merriam, 1998) and included classroom observations, videotaped examples of the nexus between classroom instruction and student writing, the collection of students' writing samples, student interviews, and formal and informal teacher interviews. For this study, I followed one fifth-grade teacher and five of her students as they worked on the two genres. Guided by systemic functional linguistic theory--a linguistic theory that reveals features that encase cultural and social expectations, making the language demands of schooling explicit--the analysis examined students' writing development in the two genres, the context and process of their development in the genres, and an in-depth examination of the impact of the context and process on their procedural and persuasive writing pieces. The results suggest that CLD students' writing development is multifaceted and complex. CLD students' writing development of procedural and persuasive writing was mediated by interrelated factors: the individual student, the peers, the teacher, and the texts themselves. I discuss the role of each of the mediating factors and argue for adopting a model of writing that incorporates a combination of genre- and process- writing theories with a particular understanding of the unique nuances pertinent to CLD students. / Thesis (PhD) — Boston College, 2011. / Submitted to: Boston College. Lynch School of Education. / Discipline: Teacher Education, Special Education, Curriculum and Instruction.

No description available.

Throughout the history of Catholic schools in Los Angeles, the mission of Catholic schools and the Archdiocese governing its schools has been clear: Catholic schools must strive to serve children with varied learning needs. However, despite calls for inclusion from the Vatican, the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, and efforts from trained administrators and professionals to help facilitate inclusion in schools, Catholic inclusive programs are not able to include all learners. Using qualitative research with semi-structured interviews, focus group, and document review, this study uses the framework of ableism and disability studies to research and analyze the two questions regarding inclusive practices in one Catholic elementary school that has had a program running for five years. The research questions are as follows: 1) What are St. Mary teachers’ beliefs, experiences, and perceptions about disability and inclusive education? 2) What do St. Mary teachers and administrators think are the best ways to foster acceptance of inclusive education in the school? Despite the fact that Catholic educators recognize that Catholic schools, as a matter of social justice, should be teaching all children, it is challenging and frustrating for them. Due to a lack of resources and support, limited exposure and experience of people with disabilities, and technical special education training, even the most dedicated, talented, and sympathetic Catholic educators wanting to serve children with special needs have difficulty doing so. Reasons relating to inconsistent teacher training, beliefs and experiences that students with special needs are “trouble,” limited resources, and teachers’ perceptions of fairness, time, and equity, all contribute to teachers’ frustration and limitations when including learners with special needs in their classrooms. The significance of this research study lies in documenting a Catholic school’s experience of developing, evolving, and establishing a working model of an inclusion program in one Los Angeles Catholic elementary school. To this end, this study provides larger contextual data to those in similar Catholic school settings across America about Catholic teacher training and the implementation of inclusive practices in Catholic schools. Also, this study hopes to further the discussion in the field of Catholic education about the right(s) of all Catholic children, regardless of ability, to a Catholic education, since, according to the Vatican, that it is a matter of human dignity that they receive a spiritual and emotional education as well as one that is appropriately academic.

The purpose of this study was to compare the level of efficacy of second year teachers with respect to their culturally and linguistically diverse students, and between groups of teachers participating in different induction programs. In addition, this study sought to determine if a relationship existed between the teachers' sense of efficacy with their diverse students and the support and training the teachers' received from their respective induction programs. This study was based on quantitative research methods. The data for the study was collected in February 2005, from each second year teacher participant in one of three California Teacher Induction Programs. The instruments used to collect data were the Ohio State Teacher Efficacy Scale (OSTES) and the Sheltered Instruction Observation Protocol (SIOP). A comparative and correlational study was used to investigate the second year teachers' sense of efficacy, and the extent to which they perceived their induction programs to have articulated known effective practices in relation to culturally and linguistically diverse students. The findings of this study indicated that the participating teachers felt less efficacious in instructional strategies and student engagement, and equally efficacious in classroom management as those teachers who served as the sample group for the development of the OSTES. Teachers indicated that they perceived some of the weaker components of the support and training of the induction programs in areas that centered around “language issues” such as: identifying language objectives, differentiating instruction based on language needs, and incorporating appropriate teaching strategies for language needs. This was further substantiated in the intercorrelation between teacher efficacy and the teachers' perception of emphasis of best practices for diverse students by their respective induction program. Specifically, the intercorrelations found correlations between teachers sense of efficacy and their perceptions of the support and training of their induction program in the following areas: differentiated instruction, instructional strategies, grouping strategies, and identifying key content vocabulary. The findings suggest that induction program administrators need to provide novice teachers serving diverse students with opportunities to create and implement lessons with language objectives and provide more training on instructional strategies that support meeting those objectives.

French Immersion (FI) is a form of second language education with various programs in which French is both a subject and the language of curricular instruction (Canadian Parents for French [CPF], 2019). In 1965, when FI first began in St. Lambert, Québec, it was aimed at middle-class, anglophone students (Davis, 2017; Davis et al., 2019; Kunnas, 2019; Lambert & Tucker, 1972), but its population has since expanded to include culturally and linguistically diverse (CLD) learners - that is, students whose first language is neither English nor French and whose cultural and linguistic repertoires represent a strength in their learning communities. These students may be enrolled in FI programs, but their cultures and languages aren't necessarily recognized, valued, and integrated as assets for personal and collective learning - calling into question the potential for true inclusion (Mady et al., 2017). This study thus examines the inclusion of CLD learners in FI at an independent school in southeastern Ontario. Taking a multiple-case study approach, it uses critical race theory to explore the understandings, beliefs, and practices that CLD learners (n = 4), French as a Second Language (FSL) teachers (n = 3), teacher-administrators (n = 2), and parents and guardians of CLD learners (n = 12) associate with the inclusion of these students in FI. Data collection methods included semi-structured interviews, photo elicitation, in-person and virtual classroom observations, an online questionnaire, and a reflective journal. Although participants' understandings alluded to greater visibility of CLD learners, the findings suggest that these students weren't always seen in their full complexity. In terms of beliefs, CLD learners were generally viewed through an asset-oriented perspective; however, tensions remain in accepting and understanding knowledge different from the White standard. Finally, although practices were indicative of a pedagogy focused on students' academic success (Ladson-Billings, 2014), the findings showed evidence of a risk of underlying racial inequities. Implications include the need to understand the endemic nature of racism, to problematize race through dialogue and stories that counter "master narratives" (Martinez, 2014), and to address underlying racial inequities consistently and concretely. Ultimately, this research contributes to the development of culturally and linguistically inclusive learning spaces in FI.

Project CHILD (Changing How Instruction for Learning is Delivered) provides an avenue for educational change using a triangulated approach. Using data from the Florida Department of Education, this research studies the Project CHILD learning approach on preparing students for success on portions of the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test (FCAT) using results from fifteen charter schools in the state of Florida, seven participating in Project CHILD and eight non-participating charter schools for the 2008-2009 school-year. Dispersion statistics such as range and standard deviation as well as independent t tests are computed to compare the percentage of students in grades three to five scoring levels 3 and higher on the reading and mathematics portions, and fourth grade students scoring a 3.5 or higher on the writing assessment of the FCAT. Project CHILD schools had smaller ranges and standard deviations in the majority of the comparisons. Descriptively, this suggests that students in the Project CHILD schools are performing closer to the school average. There were no statistically significance differences between the Project CHILD schools and non-Project CHILD schools for grade level comparisons, nor on any grade level aggregate outcomes (i.e., grades 3-5 school FCAT reading, mathematics, or writing mean). However moderate effect sizes were seen for reading in grade four and writing assessments in grade four. The non-statistically significant findings were likely due to low power, and the moderate effect sizes suggest evidence of practical significance.