<p>  </p> <p>The rapid growth of the English Language Learner (ELL) population in Indiana has raised challenges for English language arts (ELA) instruction. This research adopts collective case studies and mixed-methods studies to explore the quality and quantity of ELA instruction (time allocation to literacy components and group configuration) for ELLs in Indiana elementary classrooms. Study one aims to further the understanding of the quality and quantity of ELL literacy instruction in Indiana first-grade classrooms through a collective case study. Then, a sequential mixed methods study is designed to examine the effect of professional development on ELL literacy instruction in second-grade classrooms (Study 2). To gain a deeper understanding of how Indiana schools have been coping with the COVID pandemic, another sequential mixed-methods study is designed to explore how the pandemic has impacted the quality and quantity of literacy instruction compared with the pre-pandemic era in K-5 classrooms (Study 3). These serial inquiries hold important implications for literacy educators with ELL students on how best to structure and plan for their English language arts (ELA) instruction. Also, they will inform schools on how to select professional development that yields significant transformations in teachers’ literacy practices, as well as how to better address ELL needs during the pandemic.</p>

Although the research literature supports the notion of language growth trajectories, primarily in monolingual English children, the shape and direction of English-language learners' (ELLs) language growth trajectories are largely unknown. The present study examined the shape of ELLs' language growth trajectories by estimating the initial status and the growth rates of specific oral language skills (mean length of utterance in words (MLUw), number of different words (NDW), and words per minute (WPM)) in each language during the first 3 years of formal schooling. This study was framed from the perspective of language as a dynamic system, composed of linguistic subsystems that change over time. This study utilized secondary data from a larger project, the Bilingual Language Literacy Project (BLLP), which collected narrative retell language samples produced in Spanish and English from ELL children. The final longitudinal dataset used in this study consisted of 12,248 oral narrative language samples (6,516 Spanish; 5,732 English) that were produced by 1,723 ELLs. This study examined the effect of three predictors on language growth: academic semester (metric of time), gender, and schooling. Growth curve model (GCM) testing was used to profile the longitudinal growth of the ELLs' oral language skills in Spanish and English over time. This study had a number of important findings regarding change over time, intra- and inter-individual variability, and the impact of initial status on growth. With regard to change over time: MLUw, NDW, and WPM demonstrated growth over time in Spanish and English; the shapes of Spanish (curvilinear, non-monotonic, and continuous) and English growth (linear, non-monotonic, and discontinuous) were similar within-language; language growth in Spanish was predicted by academic semester and gender; and language growth in English was predicted by academic semester, gender, and schooling. With regard to intra- and inter-individual variability: significant intra-individual differences in the growth of all the oral language measures, across each wave of measurement, were found for both languages; significant intra-individual differences in the initial status of participants for all the oral language measures were found for both languages; significant inter-individual differences in the growth rates were found for WPM-Spanish; and significant inter-individual differences in the growth rates were found for all the oral language measures in English. With regard to the impact of initial status on growth: the growth of MLUw-Spanish was systematically related to initial status (lower performers at initial status may not catch up to higher performers); the growth of NDW- and WPM-Spanish were unrelated to its initial status (lower performers at initial status may, or may not catch up to higher performers); and the growth of MLUw-, NDW-, and WPM-English was systematically related to initial status (lower performers at initial status may catch up to higher performers). With regard to the co-development of interconnected subsystems, qualitative observations (non-empirically tested) based on visual inspection and GCM estimates provided initial insight into the possible co-development occurring within- and across-languages. The present study broke new ground by specifying the shape of growth for MLUw, NDW, and WPM in the Spanish and English of ELLs during their first 3 years of formal schooling. The study had a number of methodological limitations that will guide and motivate future work on the language growth of ELLs. / Communication Sciences

As achievement gaps persist among some groups of students, school leaders are identifying strategies and implementing plans to support the academic needs of diverse student populations. The purpose of this research study was to identify the leadership practices and strategies used by National ESEA Distinguished School principals who have successfully minimized the achievement gaps among Caucasian and non-Caucasian students. Six successful National ESEA Distinguished School principals were interviewed. These leaders represented rural and urban pre-K–12 schools in different geographic regions of the United States. A qualitative research methodology with in-depth interviews was used to gather the data. The participants were asked open-ended questions during the semi-structured interviews. The findings in this study reflect nine leadership strategies and practices identified by these school leaders to minimize achievement gaps. The leadership strategies were compared to Kouzes and Posner's (2017) five leadership practices, which are model the way, inspire a shared vision, challenge the process, enable others to act, and encourage the heart. Results can be used to inform practitioners about what worked for leaders who have been effective at minimizing achievement gaps. Based on these results, school division leaders should consider designing targeted professional development, mentoring, and coaching around effective principal leadership practices. / Doctor of Education / As achievement gaps persist among some groups of students, school leaders are identifying strategies and implementing plans to support the learning of diverse student populations. The purpose of this research study was to identify the leadership practices and strategies used by National ESEA Distinguished School principals who have successfully minimized the achievement gaps among Caucasian and non-Caucasian students. Six successful National ESEA Distinguished School principals were interviewed. These leaders represented rural and urban pre-K–12 schools in different regions of the United States. The participants were asked open-ended questions during the semi-structured interviews. The findings in this study reflect nine leadership strategies and practices identified by these principals to minimize achievement gaps. The leadership strategies were compared to Kouzes and Posner's (2017) five leadership practices, which are model the way, inspire a shared vision, challenge the process, enable others to act, and encourage the heart. Results can be used to inform school leaders about what worked for principals who have been effective at minimizing achievement gaps.

No description available.

Doctor of Philosophy / Curriculum and Instruction Programs / Thomas Vontz / Offering a high-quality education to English language learners (ELLs) is a challenge in schools across the United States. Yet, few studies have been conducted to investigate high school English as a second language (ESL) programs. This study provides insights into how a Kansas urban high school ESL program promotes access to the curriculum for ELLs by providing for their social, affective, linguistic, and academic needs. The purpose of this dissertation is to use the premise of educational equity and Catherine Walsh’s (1991) educational needs for ELL school success to explore how structural components of the ESL program in this study promote the access of ELLs to the curriculum. This study offers (1) insights into how urban school districts with high ELL populations might address the issue of access to the curriculum, (2) insights into various perceptions of participant groups—administrators, teachers, and students, and (3) insights into how ESL program components address the educational needs for ELLs to gain access to the curriculum. More specifically, this study emphasizes the following four structural components of the ESL program: (1) student placement, (2) sheltered content courses, (3) teaming, and (4) Spanish for native speakers courses. These structural components are used as a lens to view how social, affective, linguistic, and academic needs of ELLs are addressed. Although the results of this study cannot be generalized to other schools or districts, this study may help other districts, schools, and individual teachers make informed decisions. By demonstrating how four structural ESL program components meet the needs of ELLs in a high school setting, other educators might replicate components on their journey for educational equity within their own venues.

A large school district in the northeastern United States struggled with teaching middle school English Language Learners (ELLs) to succeed in reading and writing. The purpose of this qualitative study was to investigate teachers' perceptions regarding what they could do to increase academic achievement for ELLs. The conceptual framework emerged from Weimer's learning-centered teaching, which aligns with Dewey's social constructivism. Ten purposefully sampled teachers agreed to be interviewed in the attempt to answer the research questions about instructional strategies teachers believed were best to deliver culturally and linguistically appropriate instruction for ELLs and what teachers believed could be done to improve ELLs' classroom engagement and motivation for increased academic achievement. Analysis and open, thematic coding of semi-structured interviews, classroom observations, and teachers' lesson plans were used to create seven themes, including differentiated instruction, background knowledge, challenges and difficulties, home-school connection, technology for diverse learners, administration and faculty collaboration, and professional development. Findings included participants' desire for meaningful professional development where differentiated instruction is modeled to address the cultural and linguistic needs of ELLs. The project was created to deliver this training for all teachers at the site, focusing on culturally and linguistically differentiated instruction, sheltered instruction, and collaborative learning. The findings and project may promote positive social change by improving instruction for culturally and linguistically diverse learners at the local site and similar school districts. Higher academic achievement would provide better opportunities for ELL students.

Research shows academic literacy is a challenge for students classified as Long-Term English Language Learners (LTELLs). In the pseudonymous Windy Desert School District (WDSD), there are 17,365 students classified as LTELLs. Of these students, the majority are falling short of English academic literacy goals on the Assessing Comprehension and Communication in English State-to-State for English Language Learners (ACCESS for ELLs) test and 67% do not graduate from high school. This quantitative study examined the predictive relationship between ACCESS English language proficiency subscale scores in the language domains of speaking, listening, reading, and writing and course semester grades in English 9, English 10, and English 11. This longitudinal study, informed by theorists Cummins and Krashen, followed a cohort of 718 Grade 9 students for 3 years (2012-2015). Of the 718, only 161 participant data sets were valid for the final ordinal logistic regression analysis. ACCESS subscale scores in speaking, listening, reading, and writing comprised the predictor variables and English course semester grades comprised the criterion variables. Results revealed that LTELLs' ACCESS subscale scores in listening, reading, and writing were significant predictors of their English course grades whereas speaking scores were not. For each predictor variable, a 1-unit increase in the predictor decreased the likelihood of receiving a lower grade in the course. Social change can result from the WDSD using ACCESS results to create and implement effective instructional programs that develop LTELLs' proficiency in the language domains found significant in predicting their academic grades, thereby increasing their language proficiency, academic grades, and graduation rates over time.

This research was an investigation of three domains identified through a thorough review of the literature as fundamental to the equitable implementation of Response to Intervention (RtI) with English language learners (ELLs): (1) degree of intercultural sensitivity of educators involved in the RtI process, (2) training of educators in implementation of RtI with ELLs, and (3) educator familiarity with empirically-based interventions for use with ELLs. The validity of using RtI with ELLs has been questioned by both supporters and detractors of the model (Linan-Thompson & Ortiz, 2009). The most fundamental tenets of RtI are predicated upon the use of empirically validated interventions and the application of culturally responsive educational practices that provide equitable learning opportunities for all students. Due to the critical role of school psychologists in the development and implementation of RtI models, a questionnaire was designed for use with this population to explore the three domains delineated above. The Intercultural Sensitivity Scale (ISS; Chen & Starosta, 2000) was used to document participants' degree of intercultural sensitivity. Additional questions addressing domains two and three strategically juxtaposed participants' experiences with and perceptions regarding RtI with native English speakers versus RtI with ELLs. Through a series of eight research questions and the associated analyses, the following conclusions were reached: (1) Statistically significantly higher mean scores on the ISS were present among those respondents who identified themselves as Hispanic/Latino/Spanish and/or fluent in more than one language; (2) Statistically significant differences were documented in participants' responses to items focused on perceptions of training for implementing RtI with native English speakers versus training for implementing RtI with ELLs; and (3) Statistically significant differences were found in participants' responses to items inquiring about perceptions of familiarity with empirically-based interventions for use within an RtI framework with native English speakers in comparison to ELLs. Taken together, and in conjunction with a qualitative analysis of two open-ended questions, these results suggest the presence of considerable delays in school psychologists' training and perceptions of preparedness to implement RtI with a linguistically diverse population as compared to native English speakers. This outcome is disconcerting, given the emphasis throughout the literature on the importance of unique considerations required to implement RtI equitably with ELLs. Recommendations for practice and future research are provided that emphasize the need for additional research and training in implementing RtI with a linguistically diverse population.

No description available.

This study was designed to provide information on the reading instructional practices of 36 first grade teachers in nine schools that serve predominantly Spanish-speaking and ELL students in a southeastern U.S. school district. The purpose of this investigation was to describe teaching practices employed during English language arts instruction and to examine their use in relation to instructional grouping strategies, teacher language use, and student engagement. Participating classrooms were observed three times throughout the 2006-07 school year. Data were collected via the Timed Observations of Student Engagement/Language (TO/SEL) classroom observation instrument (Foorman & Schatchneider, 2003). Paired sample t-tests, multivariate analyses of variance (MANOVA), and multiple regression analyses were employed to investigate the relationship among the following observed variables: allocation of reading instructional time, grouping strategies, teacher language use and student engagement. Several key findings emerged. Participating teachers spent a greater amount of time on meaning-focused reading instruction (i.e., writing, reading texts, reading comprehension) than on code-focused reading instruction (i.e., word work, spelling, reading fluency, phonemic awareness), both during all four observed grouping strategies and after controlling for individual student seat work. In addition, of five key collapsed instructional variables (word work/spelling, oral language, writing, reading texts, and reading comprehension), teachers spent most time on word work/spelling (19%) and writing (18%). Reading texts and reading comprehension instruction together comprised 26% of total instructional time. Whole class instruction was the grouping strategy of choice among teachers (65% of total observed time); in sharp contrast, teachers spent 11% of observed time engaged in small group instruction, despite research findings supporting the effectiveness of sound grouping instruction. In addition, as little as 1% of teachers' total instructional time was spent in oral language/discussion, and 6% of total instructional time was spent in vocabulary instruction. The results also demonstrated little variation in teacher language use. Thus, evidence of "codeswitching" was not significant. Student engagement was high- 91% of total time students were observed; and was highest during writing and word work/spelling instruction. More longitudinal research is warranted that further explores precisely documented teacher reading instructional practices in relation to student outcomes with culturally and linguistically diverse student populations. Implications for practice include teacher training and professional development on managing small group instruction, and incorporating additional oral language/discussion, vocabulary and meaningful tasks into daily classroom activities.