This dissertation examines the question how do ESL teachers perceive the prereferral process for identifying adolescent Latino English language learners with specific learning disabilities? The study fits within the Latino Critical Race Theory framework and employs an interpretive phenomenological qualitative research approach. Participants were six secondary-level ESL teachers from two school districts with small ELL populations. Data consisted of in-depth interviews, researcher notes, and analytical memos. Phenomenological data analysis procedures followed recommendations by Colaizzi (1978) and Smith, Flowers, and Larkin (2009). Data validity measures included second-researcher review and member-checking. Results of the study are presented as descriptions of how participants perceived the prereferral processes for identifying adolescent Latino English language learners with suspected specific learning disabilities. Nine categories emerged from the interviews: (a) Characteristics and behaviors; (b) instructional supports and interventions; (c) progress-monitoring; (d) use of RTI; (e) prereferral outcomes; (f) parental participation; (g) special education department response; (h) identification challenges; and (i) recommendations. Implications of the study findings for policy, research, and educator practice are noted.

This explorative research paper looks at language proficiency development of English Language Learners (ELLs) in the United States, and examines what factors influence their academic achievement. The paper discusses cultural and linguistic diversity in the United States and aims to explore educational policies, in relation to educating ELLs. The study was carried out with a qualitative approach where semi-structured interviews were conducted with three teachers and two administrators at the high school of the investigation. The data collected were analysed with a constant comparative approach, and a thick description of the setting is provided. The conclusion that is drawn from this investigation is that ELLs’ academic achievement is affected by a wide range of factors, including current testing policies, resource allocation, school system requirements, school environment, home situation, and the ELLs’ previous schooling.

This explorative research paper looks at language proficiency development of English Language Learners (ELLs) in the United States, and examines what factors influence their academic achievement. The paper discusses cultural and linguistic diversity in the United States and aims to explore educational policies, in relation to educating ELLs. The study was carried out with a qualitative approach where semi-structured interviews were conducted with three teachers and two administrators at the high school of the investigation. The data collected were analysed with a constant comparative approach, and a thick description of the setting is provided. The conclusion that is drawn from this investigation is that ELLs’ academic achievement is affected by a wide range of factors, including current testing policies, resource allocation, school system requirements, school environment, home situation, and the ELLs’ previous schooling.

<p>Many multilingual learners who use a language other than English at home face academic challenges from English monolingualism prevalent in the U.S. school system. English as a New Language (ENL) programs teach English to these learners while playing a role in reinforcing English monolingualism. For educational inclusivity and equity for multilingual learners, it is imperative to center their holistic language repertoires in ENL classrooms; however, this can be challenging due to individual and contextual factors. Using translanguaging as a conceptual framework, this qualitative case study explores how high school multilingual learners’ languages are flexibly used in ENL classes and how the students think about such classroom translanguaging practices. I used ethnographic methods to observe ENL classroom activities and instructional practices, interview the participants, and collect photos and documents in a high school in Indiana for a semester. The participants were an English-Spanish proficient ENL teacher and four students from Puerto Rico, Mexico, Honduras, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, whose language repertoires included Spanish, Lingala, French, Arabic, and English. The findings describe the difficulties and possibilities of incorporating all students’ multilingual-multisemiotic repertoires in ENL classes. The classroom language practices primarily constituted of Spanish and drawing; some instructional activities and practices, such as the multigenre identity project and the teacher’s use of Google Translate, well integrated the students’ multilingual-multisemiotic repertoires. When the students engaged in English writing, they frequently used machine translation, such as Google Translate, through dynamic processes involving evaluation. While the students perceived such classroom translanguaging practices generally positively, they considered using machine translation as a problem, a resource, or an opportunity. With these findings, I argue that multilingual learners’ competence to use their own languages and machine translation technology freely and flexibly is a valuable resource for learning and should be encouraged and developed in ENL classrooms. To do so, ENL teachers should use instructional activities and practices considering students’ dynamic multilingualism. TESOL teacher education should develop such competence in teachers, and more multilingual resources should be provided to teachers. In the case of a multilingual classroom with singleton students, building mutual understanding, empathy, and equity-mindedness among class members should be prioritized. Finally, I recommend that the evolving multilingual technologies, such as machine translation, be actively used as teaching and learning resources for multilingual learners.</p>

<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.

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.