Hard-of-hearing individuals currently possess an ambiguous status in the Deaf and Hearing worlds. Neither Hearing nor Deaf themselves, they often exhibit characteristics of both groups. Current educational policy maintains that the public school environment represents the best placement option for hard-of-hearing children. Yet, there is a large body of research which points to academic, linguistic and social difficulties in the mainstream. In addition, there is some evidence that hard-of-hearing individuals often experience confusion in their sense of personal identity in mainstreamed environments, upon recognition that they often cannot fully present themselves as a "Hearing" person, which is what is often expected of them. However, the literature suggests that hard-of-hearing people often gain an enhanced sense of self-identity and esteem upon learning of, meeting, and interacting with Deaf people. The placement of hard-of-hearing children in a school for the deaf, especially one offering an ASL/English Bilingual/Bicultural program, is one possible means of resolving the academic, linguistic, social and identity conflicts of hard-of-hearing individuals. However, this placement option is met with resistance by some who fear that advances in education, speech skills, or identification with Hearing people will be lost. The results of an ethnographic study of four hard-of-hearing adolescents educated within an ASL/English Bilingual/Bicultural program for deaf and hard-of-hearing children are presented. Aspects of the academic achievement, linguistic, social and identity development of these students are introduced and compared to both within-group and previous research findings. Implications of this research are discussed and strategies for further educational and personal growth of these students will be offered.

The purpose of this field based study is to analyze the linguistic and cognitive transactions of immigrant language minority kindergarten students in the context of classroom collaborative talk in their native language and conducted through the observations and reflections of a teacher-researcher. The research questions addressed in this study are; (1) How do children use prior knowledge to negotiate meaning and develop shared understandings? (2) How do cognitive and linguistic processes develop as children participate in classroom collaborative talk to co-construct new knowledge and negotiate meaning? (3) In what ways do children extend and internalize understandings of vocabulary and word meaning while engaging in classroom collaborative talk? This case study draws upon the data collected during a year-long inquiry I conducted in my own classroom in an urban school. Twenty-seven students, all from Hispanic origin, mostly recent arrivals from Mexico, participated in the research. The collaborative talk transactions were transcribed and translated into English from thirteen videotaped sessions from which I selected excerpts of varying lengths to examine. The findings are threefold. First, the collaborative talk transactions, framed within a cognitive and linguistic stance, demonstrate how meanings and new understandings are constructed and restructured; show how the teacher and the learners make use of their cultural values, assumptions, attitudes and experiences to construct new meanings and shared understandings; and reveal how learners engage in oral literacies in collaboration with the teacher and then begin to formulate and test hypotheses without the teacher's mediation. Second, the collaborative discourse, situated within an empowerment through voice perspective, show how culturally responsive modes of teaching and learning maximize the use of language minority students I linguistic, cultural and cognitive resources; reveal that these learners display high motivation and interest when the topics are relevant to their lives; and illustrate how learners make connections between the concepts embedded in discourse and their own experiences and understandings. Finally, our discursive practices reflect the importance of native language use in allowing culturally and linguistic diverse students to express their thinking and understandings in their more competent linguistic system and in the language of their culture and social worlds.

Despite claims that media have broad effects upon individuals' thinking and behavior, the field of media literacy research has failed to provide support of these claims with pertinent data and research. A few qualitative studies did examine how studying the mass media could help individuals become critical viewers. Yet, these qualitative studies study how the media could influence personal attitudes toward a specific culture. Lack of research became the rationale for conducting this study. Purpose of the study was to investigate whether studying Meso-American media could heighten one's sensitivity to and knowledge about the Meso-American culture and its people. If media could teach students to become critical "users" of mass media, then studying the mass media may also help in increasing students' sensitivity to other cultures and experiences. Eighteen students were the participants in this descriptive study of attitude change toward Meso-American media and culture. The participants were selected from available media arts courses that dealt with a non-American culture. A comparison group was also selected to contrast responses on the attitude surveys with the observed group. Five measurement instruments were used to delineate attitude change toward Meso-American media and culture. Data were analyzed by developing codes for the fieldnotes, interviews, and document analysis. Correlational t-tests were used to analyze the pre- and post-tests. Findings revealed some important information related to media literacy education and cultural studies courses. Among the most important outcomes of the study was the discovery that media provided students with the opportunity to become acquainted with a particular culture. This is especially true when history and culture cannot be segregated from the media themselves or from their codes. Another important finding was that media provided the visual element that touched the students emotionally. These findings have important implications for future media literacy research.

Comparing Japanese and Mexican groups, the present study investigated cross-cultural differences in ESL learners' affective traits specific to formal settings. The target traits were measured by self-reporting questionnaires and class observations. Factor analysis of the questionnaire extracted four factors of ESL learners' affective traits, which were termed "activity", "social-awareness", "desirable behavior in formal learning", and "social isolation". The results indicated that some of these factors were strongly related with learners' cultural backgrounds. More specifically, the results showed Mexican students tended to take a more active approach toward in-class learning than their Japanese counterpart. However, the results also suggested that, in spite of passive learning behaviors they usually displayed, Japanese students valued active learning behaviors. Generally, the findings of this study are fairly congruent with the model constructed prior to the study.

<p> The well-documented achievement gap between English language learners (ELLs) and their native English-speaking peers (e.g., NCES, 2012) has prompted nationwide efforts to ensure that the growing population of ELLs in the U.S. meet academic proficiency standards and graduate from high school. Missing from educational studies on ELLs is an investigation of those students who succeed beyond minimum standards, defying the achievement gap. The research study presented in this paper contributes to this area by examining the experiences and understandings of five middle school ELLs who have demonstrated linguistic and academic success. These students are former ELLs who once were in need of language support but have now exited from ESL instructional services and are currently enrolled in advanced coursework. </p><p> A basic qualitative approach (Merriam, 2009) was employed, and both social constructivist (Vygotsky, 1978) and critical (Sol&oacute;rzano &amp; Yosso, 2003) theories guided the study. Four data sources from students were collected and analyzed: life history interviews, classroom observations, post-observation interviews, and photo-elicitation interviews. In addition, two of each student's teachers were interviewed individually for the purposes of triangulation. Descriptive data on district and school-wide ELL enrollment and achievement trends in advanced courses in the school was also analyzed to inform the findings. Yosso's (2005, 2006) model of Community Cultural Wealth served as a conceptual framework that informed data collection, but to the extent possible, all data was analyzed inductively (Creswell, 2007). </p><p> The results of this study shed light on the experiences and perspectives of successful former ELLs. In general, findings indicated that these ELLs experienced schooling as <i>social, "not that hard," busy,</i> and <i> technological.</i> In analyzing the ways students understood their schooling, themes emerged in two interrelated categories: external agents and <i> individual characteristics.</i> Within <i>external agents,</i> data indicated the importance of <i>role of family, peer interaction, and institutional support.</i> The <i>individual characteristics </i> included the themes of <i>negotiating agency, commitment to heritage,</i> and motivation. Each theme is discussed with affiliated sub-themes that illuminate the various ways the themes were expressed in different students. </p><p> This document concludes with broad interpretations drawn from the study based on findings and their relationship to existing research. The discussion emphasizes the complexity and heterogeneity of successful ELLs while also illuminating points of intersection in students' experiences. Lastly, implications are provided for raising expectations for ELLs and ensuring ELLs have equitable opportunities to realize academic success. These recommendations are specified for educators in the arenas of policy, practice, and research.</p>

<p>This quantitative study examined the role that metacognition and self-efficacy, through goal-setting practices, play in increasing English proficiency of middle school English learners. </p><p> The problem addressed was middle school English learners' lack of awareness of the need to be English proficient before entering high school if they want to be qualified for the A-G college-bound coursework. </p><p> A 20-question online survey was used. Students at both schools were given a preintervention survey. This was followed by an intervention at one school, which concluded with a postintervention survey at both schools. Analysis of data gathered from surveys, along with standardized assessment, culminated the study. </p><p> A McNemar test was completed to compare each variable between the pre-survey and the post-survey to test the statistical hypotheses of this study. Additionally, percentage comparisons were performed to examine relationships between pre- and post-survey responses with both Likert-scale and time options. </p><p> Findings of this study indicate that, for the experimental group, there were substantial percentage increases between pre- and post-surveys, statistically significant findings in more than one area, and a larger percentage increase in English proficiency. </p><p> Findings indicate that, for the control group middle school English learner students who did not participate in the cognitive learning intervention, there was little or no difference between the pre- and post-survey results. These findings demonstrate the critical need for metacognive and self-efficacious experiences for Latino middle school English learner students. </p><p> The overall positive trends and the statistically significant findings for the experimental group can have a direct implication for strategies used in the education of middle school English learner students. In an age-appropriate manner, cognitive learning interventions, to include increased awareness and goal setting, can be implemented for all Latino middle school English learners. </p>

<p> The purpose of this multicase study was to describe and explain the perceptions of three Spanish-English culturally and linguistically diverse (CLD) high achievers on their biliteracy journeys to become educators in the United States (U.S.), by answering: What elements constitute the perspectives of three L1-Spanish/L2-English CLD high achievers on the relevance of their biliteracy experience in order to become educators in the U.S.?; What factors do these three L1-Spanish/L2-English CLD high achievers perceive as key to describe their biliteracy experience?; What relevance, if any, do these three L1-Spanish/L2-English CLD high achievers perceive their biliteracy experience had for them to become educators in the U.S.?; From the perspectives of these three L1-Spanish/L2-English CLD high-achiever educators, what impact, if any, did digital technologies have on their biliteracy experience? With a critical-pedagogy approach to multicase-study (Stake, 2006) inquiry, I used online methods to collect data on three high-achieving (GPA > 3.01) L1-Spanish graduates initially identified as limited-English-proficient by the American school system. For data collection, I used a participant-selection questionnaire, individual and group semi-structured interviews via Skype, e-journals for biliteracy autobiographies, artifact e-portfolios, my reflective e-journal, and one face-to-face unstructured interview with one participant only. Concurrently, I engaged in on-going data analysis to build meaning inductively and guide further data collection, analysis, and interpretation, until saturation, in an application of the dialectical method into research (Ollman, 2008). I included the email communications with the participants and their member checks. Two external auditors reviewed all data-collection and analytic procedures. I analyzed each case individually followed by the cross-case analysis. The findings indicated the importance of family and L1-community support, host-culture insiders as mentors, access to information, empowerment by means of conscientization, and the participants' advocacy of others by becoming educators. In this way, the study identified how the participants escaped the statistics of doom, which helps understand how to better serve growing L2-English student populations. The study closed with a discussion from the viewpoint of reviewed literature and critical pedagogy, my interpretation of the findings, and suggestions for future praxis in education and research.</p>

This dissertation is an analysis of the history of the modern bilingual education movement of the 1960s, the older bilingual tradition of schooling in this nation since the nineteenth century, and the early to middle years of the twentieth century when English-Only pedagogy appeared as a, dramatic aberration to the American bilingual tradition. The historiography and interpretive battles of this subject are examined and explained in the Introduction. Chapter One offers a brief historical sketch of bilingual schooling in Texas during the nineteenth century. Chapter Two evaluates the role of the Progressive Education Movement in Texas and the destruction of the long-held practice of bilingual schooling. Chapters Three through Five demonstrate the influence of the Americanization Movement in Texas, the practice of English-only pedagogy, and the role of intelligence testing in the education of Mexican Americans. Chapter Six examines the developments in language instruction during World War II and the post-war changes in pedagogy. Chapter Seven analyzes the Mexican American response to the English-only language policies of Texas and relates that response to the community's sense of cultural identity. Finally, Chapter Eight documents the birth in the 1960s of the official bilingual education movement. This study has several important implications for the controversial issue of bilingual education and the study of education in American history. Too often, the judgments of respected historians and the opinions of nativists virtually agree on the same assumptions and complaints regarding bilingual education. This is largely because historians have neglected to write the history of bilingual education and the development of public school language policy and pedagogy. This work, largely through the case study of Texas offers a glimpse of bilingual instruction that demonstrates its former rich acceptance and widely disseminated practice in everyday American life. The bilingual tradition was not an aberration; rather, the more recent practice of English-only is the true fluke in American education history. With this massive reorientation in historical conceptualization, perhaps attitudes regarding modern bilingual instruction can become more reflective and sophisticated, and less based on misinformation and passion. Also, the tolerance, spirit of democratic localism, and implicit multiculturalism inherent in the practice of bilingual instruction all offer new ways in which to view the American past, causing a re-evaluation of the validity of the American melting-pot metaphor, the traditional myth arguing for rapid and relatively painless immigrant assimilation.

<p> From 2007-2012 at Hubble Elementary School, located in Southern California, there has been a consistent population of approximately 50% English Language Learners (ELLs). Parents of the ELL students present a challenge because schools have a hard time engaging them in school activities and in the decision-making processes. </p><p> The purpose of this phenomenological study was twofold: (a) to explore the perception of Latino parents of ELLs regarding the concept of parent engagement and (b) to examine the best practices related to parent engagement and major barriers that prevented them from being active participants in school activities and decision making processes at Hubble Elementary School. The research focused on 3 core questions: 1. How do parents at Hubble Elementary School define parent engagement? 2. What do parents of ELL students at Hubble Elementary School perceive to be the most meaningful and encouraging best practices to elicit comprehensive parental engagement? 3. What do parents of ELL students at Hubble Elementary School perceive to be the barriers that prevent them from becoming engaged in the total school environment? </p><p> This study used a phenomenological research design to collect and analyze data through the use of focus group interviews. This data allowed the researcher to identify Latino parent experiences. Finally, the researcher also collected and analyzed school artifacts such as newsletters and announcements from the school to examine the ways in which the school communicated with parents. </p><p> Parents defined parent engagement as the act of being present in the classroom, in the school, and at parent meetings. Parents of ELLs viewed best practices for engagement as stemming from strong relationships among the principal, the teachers, and the parents. Parents in this study wanted the school community to be like a family, and expressed the need to feel connected with the school. Parents perceived lack of information, communication, and parent activities as barriers that prevented them from being engaged in their children's school. This study revealed that parent engagement for parents of ELLs does happen when the school establishes the infrastructure needed to initiate and nurture parent engagement.</p>

<p>This qualitative research study with 10 Chinese parents explored parental beliefs, involvement, and challenges in support of their child's English language development. Findings indicated that all participants highly valued their child's English education and emphasized the short and long-term advantages of learning English in early years. All participants expressed a strong motivation to support their child's English education. Parents were involved in the roles of a financial provider, guide, and learning-partner. Challenges to parental involvement came from both home (lack of time, English proficiency, and a suitable home English learning environment as well as financial pressure) and outside sources such as lack of governmental support, unqualified bilingual teachers, and ineffective English curriculum. The researcher recommends that English education preschool programs recruit skilled bilingual or English preschool teachers, implement an interactive, child-centered English language curriculum, and design home-school partnership programs. Policy makers must design policies to support English education preschool programs. </p>