During the past two decades, out-of-country development assistance training programs have emerged in response to the need to promote peoples' self-determination through increased participation at the community level. Participatory training based on an empowerment ideology has been advanced by some practitioners. Yet, little emphasis has been placed on evaluating the efficacy of this strategy as it pertains to applying training experiences in program participants' home setting. When this is attempted, the traditional evaluation procedures typically used render information which is of limited value to planners, practitioners, and program participants themselves. Thus, the development field operates with a distorted understanding of the complexity involved in applying empowerment training principles in actual community settings. The study investigates the possibilities and limitations of participatory evaluation (PE), and alternative evaluation approach, as a research strategy. A training case for Guatemalan community development workers referred to as the Central American Peace Scholarship Project sponsored by the United States Agency for International Development provides the program background. The PE strategy is based on a theoretical perspective rooted in critical theory and a methodological perspective derived from a participatory research paradigm. By focusing the PE process on participants' questions critical insights that might not appear in traditional evaluation findings are revealed. Further, PE increases the possibilities for evaluation to serve a developmental role for program participants and an informational role for program planners. In application, the process moves through three key stages: (1) a collaborative assessment of the Guatemalan research context, (2) the emergence of participants' evaluation questions through a series of informal interview encounters, and (3) critical reflections, the creation of alternative solutions and action-taking. PE provides participants with training reinforcement in their home setting while informing program planners of the efficacy of a particular training methodology from a Guatemalan perspective. Findings challenge policy makers, planners, practitioners, and researchers to acknowledge multiple field realities as well as contextual and structural impediments to applying an empowerment based methodology in various socio-political contexts.

This study aimed to take asset-based approach and identify Latino male students who were persisting in college, and to identify what strategies made them successful. This qualitative study consulted Tinto's revised student departure model, Bourdieu's theory of cultural capital, as well as Yosso's theory of community cultural wealth. A phenomenological design was utilized to identify the shared experience of first-generation Latino male college students who had persisted in college and maintained a 3.0 grade point average. Findings revealed that Latino students entered college with goals to provide better opportunities for the next generation. They encountered unfamiliarity, culture shock, and marginalization, all obstacles centered not on academic preparedness, but on unfamiliarity with the environment. They used their linguistic, navigational, and aspirational capital to navigate their two worlds. Their cultural upbringing stressed a strong commitment to family and community, i.e. familismo. They found community among in-group peers and college staff. This support network provided what Laura Rendon refers to as validating experiences. Once familismo was obtained they gained a sense of belonging and grew their cultural capital to become familiar with the college going culture. The learned the rules of the game which enabled students to focus on their goal of earning a college degree.

Researchers have reported that a variety of socio-cultural interventions can be used to increase positive attitudes toward reading for secondary students. A socially constructed reading intervention could add learning growth for a reluctant reading population. This study examines whether secondary students experience a measurable increase in positive attitudes toward reading after engaging in modeling and mentoring sessions with a much younger student and whether there is a perceivable difference in the secondary students' attitude following this mentoring activity. A variation of the one-way ANOVA, the Mann-Whitney U test, was completed to determine whether there was a statistically significant difference between these groups of students after participating in the reading intervention plan. It was determined that a small increase was found in one of the domains. The measurement survey is divided into four measured components that align with Albert Bandura's model for self- efficacy. The results from this study indicated growth in only one of the measures, however, some of the outcomes in the other measures suggested potential growth in attitudes with a relaxation of these necessary experimental strictures. A limitation of this research was the change from face-to-face tutoring completed by the secondary student with elementary students in an afterschool program to the secondary student tutoring a younger member of their family who would be contactable during the stay-at-home orders in spring, 2021. The changes to the original experiment design were to accommodate for subject safety during the current worldwide pandemic of COVID-19.

The study of self-efficacy in pre-service bilingual education teachers is not a thoroughly researched topic. This dissertation provides qualitative research about the inception of Spanish language self-efficacy of pre-service bilingual education teachers from a large university in Texas. By juxtaposing the experiences of two students with high levels of Spanish self-efficacy with two students who have low levels of Spanish self-efficacy, data gives insight to what influenced varying perceptions of self-efficacy amongst students who are in their last semester of coursework prior to student teaching. An extensive literature review provided the foundation for the conceptual framework. The framework includes individual backgrounds, societal influences, personal interactions, and modeling by others to note the evolution of each individuals' perception of self-efficacy in the Spanish language. Explicit instances of what experiences have had an impact on participants' Spanish language self-efficacy are highlighted. The resulting impacts to bilingual education and self-efficacy are discussed. Finally, the conclusion focuses on how this research can assist in promoting language equity for bilingual and multilingual students at varying academic levels.

Here I am Now! was the title immigrant and refugee undergraduate students and local refugee community youth gave to their participatory photography installation displayed at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. This exhibit was the culmination of students' participation in a series of alternative community service-learning (CSL) courses offered through CIRCLE (Center for Immigrant and Refugee Community Leadership and Empowerment). Here first-generation undergraduate students mentored neighboring Vietnamese and Cambodian refugee youth using photography and art and applying community development education principles and techniques. While community service-learning pedagogy has become an established educational practice on most U.S. universities and colleges today, little research has been conducted viewing the educational impact of community service-learning pedagogy on diverse student populations. The majority of the scholarship in this field focuses on the experiences of white middle-class students engaged in service-learning relationships with communities from unfamiliar and different socio-cultural, racial, ethic and economic backgrounds (Dunlap, 1998). This dissertation presents a different perspective. Here I examine how immigrant and refugee undergraduate students understood and made meaning of their participation in a community service-learning experience with youth from familiar and similar ethnocultural contexts. This model valued participants' common cultural assets, highlighted the immigrant and refugee experience, and attended to specific local refugee community needs. To answer my research questions I applied critical ethnographic approaches and analyzed student narratives (interviews, journal entries, reflection papers, poetry and photography) to better understand participants' community-service learning experiences. Through the prisms of three educational learning theories I review the university context, highlight aspects of the situation under study and proceed to build an emerging framework for CSL pedagogy with diverse communities. These theories include; experiential and critical pedagogy, situated learning theory, and the anthropological concept, funds of knowledge, as guides toward developing culturally relevant CSL curriculum with immigrant and refugee learners. Through student narratives, I demonstrate that critical CSL curriculum and service that emphasize peer learning and strategic and cultural resources (funds of knowledge), provide diverse undergraduate students with alternative and creative spaces of critique and possibility in their higher education and community service-learning experiences.

This dissertation describes the educational experiences of Congolese immigrant families and their children attending Philadelphia K-12 schools. The objectives of the study were to explore the educational experiences, needs and expectations of Congolese immigrant parents and their children in the U.S., and to confirm which of the many assimilation theories was applicable to this group of immigrants. The study aimed at providing American schools and curriculum developers with knowledge that they can use to meet the needs of this neglected group of immigrants. Although the number of Congolese immigrant families has been increasing in Philadelphia (Lewis Mumford Center, 2000), there is little knowledge and many faulty assumptions about African immigrants, and particularly, Congolese families. Most of what the American public and American teachers know about Congolese and African immigrants is based solely on biased media coverage, old stories, and myths that are not supported by valid research. African immigrants and their children have been especially excluded from educational research (Rong & Brown, 2002). Scholarship about Congolese immigrants from their African perspective is scarce, if not totally lacking. As a result of the lack of research about African immigrants and their children, not only have the special needs of these immigrants been neglected, but Congolese students in American schools continue to be victims of demeaning treatments and attacks, including violent attacks by some American students motivated by ignorance, prejudice, misconceptions and stereotypes (Traore, 2002; The Philadelphia Inquirer, November 2005). If the presence of Congolese immigrant children continues to be overlooked while the African immigrant population grows, many Congolese immigrant children may develop a dislike or disinterest in school which would place them at-risk for underachievement and dropping out (Stringfield & Land, 2002). The growing number of African immigrant children in American schools also poses new and different challenges for American education generally (Traore, 2002). Therefore, research on this group of immigrant children is much needed. A qualitative study using observations, individual and group interviews, and questionnaires was conducted among a group of African immigrants represented by families of Congolese immigrants including their children living in Philadelphia and neighboring areas. The study found that reasons for coming and staying in the U.S., the threat of losing Congolese identity and culture, parental role reversal, stereotypes, and misconceptions were the most important factors related to their children's experience in American schools. The accommodation `without assimilation' theory (Gibson, 1988) was found to be the most appropriate assimilation theory applicable to these Congolese families. This study provides American teachers, educational leaders and curriculum developers with knowledge and insights based on the voices and experiences of Congolese parents and children. This new knowledge and perspectives can be used to meet the educational needs and expectations of Congolese parents and their children who are experiencing schooling in America. / Urban Education

Doctor of Philosophy / Curriculum and Instruction Programs / Jacqueline D. Spears / BeEtta L. Stoney / There is a paucity of research on Asian Indians (AI) and Asian Indian Americans (AIA) and their experiences in the American school system. Studies suggest that the educational experiences of Asian Indian American students are related to Asian Indian parents' cultural background, and acculturation into the host society. Previous research also shows that Asian Indian students excel academically. However, the researcher has from personal experience seen that there is a variation in the experiences and academic performance of Asian Indian American students in the middle and high schools. This study describes the educational experiences and the academic achievements of Asian Indian students in a middle and high school district in a Midwestern college town. It uses the multiple case study design, which results in a picture of the commonalities among these Asian Indian students as well as their unique individual experiences. The researcher studies the experiences that the Asian Indian students have in school through student, parent and teacher feedback. Nine Asian Indian American students are interviewed in detail, eight of their parents are surveyed with detailed electronic surveys, and five core curriculum teachers were surveyed with a detailed email survey questionnaire. This study reveals three major themes, namely, the struggle for self-identity in the AIA students, the various definitions of academic success and success in life; and the role and responsibility of the school district in nurturing these concepts of self-identity and academic success. The recommendations for schools and the teachers are to modify the curriculum to include AIA information as part of the regular curriculum. Asian Indian and Asian Indian American culture, history, geography, literature, must be taught regularly. Teachers must conscientiously incorporate the contributions of AIs and AIAs as a part of the regular curriculum. The recommendation for AI parents is to realize that their children are Americans of Indian origin, and not Asian Indians. The recommendations for further research are an inquiry into the absence of AIA information in the curriculum, a longitudinal study to follow the success of AIA students in later life.

Doctor of Philosophy / Department of Secondary Education / Jacqueline D. Spears / BeEtta L. Stoney / An ethnographic content analysis was conducted to explore the African American cultural content contained in the text of picture books portraying African Americans published 2001 through 2005. The picture books were limited to beginning readers, stories in rhyme and poetry, historical fiction, fictional biography, and contemporary fiction portraying African Americans and set in the U.S. The books were categorized based on the genre to which they belong and classified as generic books or books with African American cultural content. The African American cultural content in the books in the study was compared to the cultural content contained in picture books in a survey conducted by Rudine Sims Bishop in 1982. Differences between the work of African Americans and non African Americans are discussed. A data collection instrument was constructed and used by several additional raters to test the reliability of the instrument. Each additional rater was given an operational definition for generic books and books with cultural content. The raters were each given one book to evaluate. The research revealed (1) that more than half of the picture books published during the period of this study were classified as generic, (2) in most cases, only the books written by African Americans contained cultural content and (3) more than half of the picture books with cultural content are classified as historical fiction. (4) Although it is possible for a non African American to write an authentic picture book with cultural content, such books are usually the result of in depth research. (5) During the period of this study, not all generic picture books were written by non African Americans; some African American authors choose to write generic books portraying African Americans with minimal content specific to African American culture.

Doctor of Philosophy / Department of Counseling and Educational Psychology / Kenneth F. Hughey / Kay A. Taylor / This qualitative multiple case study explored the campus climate and sense of belonging of Latino/a undergraduate student participants at a predominately White university. Guided by the work of Hurtado and Carter (1997), relationships among several aspects of the college environment and sense of belonging were examined. In depth interviews regarding participants’ perceptions of their experience identified how they perceived their campus climate in and outside of the academic classroom. The findings revealed how the participants’ perceptions influenced their desire to graduate, commitment to, and sense of belonging. Prominent themes that emerged were: student identity, mi casa es su casa, and class size matters. The results indicated that the participants had mixed feelings regarding their experiences in and out of class, which affected their perceptions of the campus climate and their commitment to the university. Additional prominent findings were: mostly positive academic advising experiences; student organizations and advisors are an important part of the campus climate; the importance of familial support in the participants’ sense of belonging; and the relationships between mothers and their sons/daughters. Participants identified offices and programs on campus that provide a positive campus climate, sense of belonging, and best serve Latino/a undergraduate students. The participants’ perceptions of the campus climate were related to their sense of belonging. The results contribute to the research addressing campus climate and sense of belonging for Latino/a undergraduate students overall, including strategies for their retention. Implications for practice and future research are identified.

L’objectif de cette étude qualitative est de décrire et de comprendre le processus décisionnel sous-jacent à la rétroaction corrective d’un enseignant de langue seconde à l’oral. Pour ce faire, elle décrit les principaux facteurs qui influencent la décision de procéder à une rétroaction corrective ainsi que ceux qui sous-tendent le choix d’une technique de rétroaction particulière. Trois enseignantes de français langue seconde auprès d’un public d’adultes immigrants au Canada ont participé à cette recherche. Des séquences complètes d’enseignement ont été filmées puis présentées aux participantes qui ont commenté leur pratique. L’entretien de verbalisation s’est effectué sous la forme d’un rappel stimulé et d’une entrevue. Cet entretien constitue les données de cette étude. Les résultats ont révélé que la rétroaction corrective ainsi que le choix de la technique employée étaient influencés par des facteurs relatifs à l’erreur, à l’apprenant, au curriculum, à l’enseignant et aux caractéristiques des techniques. Ils ont également révélé que l’apprenant est au cœur du processus décisionnel rétroactif des enseignants de langue seconde. En effet, les participantes ont affirmé vouloir s’adapter à son fonctionnement cognitif, à son état affectif, à son niveau de langue et à la récurrence de ses erreurs. L’objectif de cette étude est d’enrichir le domaine de la formation initiale et continue des enseignants de L2. Pour cela, des implications pédagogiques ont été envisagées et la recommandation a été faite de porter à la connaissance des enseignants de L2 les résultats des recherches sur l’efficacité des techniques de rétroaction corrective, particulièrement celles qui prennent en compte les caractéristiques des apprenants. / The aim of this qualitative study is to describe and understand the underlying decision-making process in the oral corrective feedback of a second language teacher. More specifically, this study describes the main factors which influence the decision to proceed to a corrective feedback as well as those which underlie the choice of a specific feedback technique. Three teachers of French as a second language, with adult immigrants in Canada, participated in this research. Entire teaching sequences were filmed and then presented to participants who commented on their practices. The comments were made in the form of a stimulated recall and an interview. These constitute the data of this research. Results revealed that the corrective feedback and the choice of the technique were influenced by factors related to the error, to the learner, to the curriculum, to the teacher and to the characteristics of corrective feedback techniques. They also revealed that the learner is at the center of the retroactive decision making of the second language teachers. Indeed, participants said that they want to adapt to the learner’s cognitive functioning, to his emotional state, to his language level and to the recurrence of his mistakes. The goal of this study is to contribute to the initial and continuous training of L2 teachers. For this purpose, pedagogical implications were proposed and recommendations were made specifically to notify the L2 teachers about the results of the research regarding the efficiency of the techniques of corrective feedback, particularly those ones which take into account the characteristics of the learners.