English learners (ELs) are the fastest growing student group in U.S. public schools. The purpose of this mixed method study was to gain an understanding of the relationship between principal actions and the academic achievement of ELs to determine which practices had the greatest impact on student achievement using archival achievement data. A mixed methods research study was conducted in an urban school district in North Texas to explore differences between principals of schools with high and non-high performance of ELs as it related to the implementation of leadership practices and social justice principles. The principals in the PK-5 grade level band who participated in an online survey, reported statistically significant differences regarding the implementation of leadership practices in the areas of leading student culture and data-driven instruction. Statistically significant differences were also found in the competency of driving for results within the social justice principles. Further data analysis of interview findings revealed the distinction between the high-performing and non-high-performing group to be centered on principal actions as inputs for effective teaching as it related to the implementation of schoolwide systems and processes. Further research is recommended to continue the identification of best practices that support the academic success of ELs in a public-school setting.

English learners (ELs) represent one of the fastest growing student populations in the United States. Given that language can serve as a barrier in EL performance, test accommodations are provided to help level the playing field and allow ELs to better demonstrate their true performance level. Test accommodations on the computer offer the ability to collect new types of data difficult to obtain via paper-and-pencil tests. Specifically, these data can be used as additional sources of validity evidence when examining test accommodations. To date, limited research has examined computer-based accommodations, thus limiting these additional sources of validity evidence. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the validity of computer-based test accommodations on high school History and Math assessments using evidence based on response processes, specifically accommodation use and response time. Two direct linguistic accommodations, non-ELs, two EL groups, and five research questions were investigated in this study. Accommodation use results indicated significant differences in use across the three student groups, with ELs using accommodations more frequently than non-ELs. However, there were still high percentages of all three groups not accessing any accommodations on individual items. Accommodation use was more common on History than on Math, and decreased as the assessment progressed. Results suggest future research focus on students actually using the accommodations when conducting research on the effectiveness of accommodations. Response time results showed ELs taking longer to process test items as compared to non-ELs regardless of receiving test accommodations. Receiving accommodations significantly impacted processing time for some of the items on History, but not on Math. Similarly, History showed a relationship between the number of accommodations on test items and response time, but Math did not. These results suggested that the Math content knowledge may have played a larger role in response time than the accommodations. Positive relationships between test performance and response time were found in both subject areas. The most common predictors of both accommodation use and response time across both subject areas were sex, Hispanic status, and socioeconomic status. Implications of the results and suggestions for future research are discussed.

No description available.

Den här examensuppsatsen tar upp problemet med elever som upplever ängslan att tala ett främmande språk, i detta fall engelska, så kallat foreign language anxiety (FLA). Syftet är ökad kunskap om vad som orsakar FLA, vilka konsekvenser det medför och hur dessa kan hanteras i klassrumsmiljö. Resultatet kan förhoppningsvis vara av betydelse för andra studenter och lärare och även öppna upp för vidare forskning i framtiden.Studien är genomförd med ämnesdidaktisk inriktning med teoretiska perspektiv, tidigare forskning och kvalitativa intervjuer med elever för att få fram deras erfarenhet av problemet. Resultatet visar att deltagarna inte har haft någon eller bristfällig träning i att tala engelska i hemlandet och detta förorsakar ofta stress på lektionerna i Sverige. De intervjuade eleverna har trots svårigheterna lyckats komma över nybörjarstadiet tack vare egna strategier som t.ex. att de är aktiva på fritiden med kontakt med språket via olika medier. Några av dem använder också sina barn som resurs, t.ex. vid läxläsning. Slutligen har resultatet från studien analyserats och diskuterats i förhållande till teorier och tidigare forskning.

Third grade general education teachers, particularly in Florida, will teach English learners (ELs) in their classroom who must participate in their English Language Arts writing classes at roughly the same pace as native English speakers in order to perform grade-level, standards-based writing tasks. For this reason, general education teachers must be equipped with helpful, research-based resources to support the ELs to become equally successful in writing instruction as their native-speaking peers. This thesis explored the use of sentence frames for improving the English skills of ELs as they start to understand and use the syntax of Standard English. As a result, this thesis created a teacher-friendly resource, the Sentence Frame Toolkit for Third Grade, containing sentence frame templates and sample student work for third grade teachers to use as a resource when teaching expository writing in English Language Arts to Spanish-speaking ELs. The sentence frames in the toolkit are aligned to Florida’s third grade expository writing standards from Cluster I. By using the sentence frames in the toolkit as support, ELs will be able to turn thoughts into words, produce the second language at their pace, and continue to improve as skilled writers.

As contemporary federal education legislation requires schools to ensure that all students are prepared for college and careers upon graduation, the college and career readiness of ELs is an urgent matter requiring investigation. Within this policy context, career and technical education (CTE) has been presented as a potential pathway for ELs to achieve college and career readiness. This necessitates research examining ELs’ opportunities to participate in CTE programs as an alternative to traditional secondary schools. Thus, the purpose of this dissertation is (a) to examine the processes required to access CTE programs and the barriers ELs face when attempting to enroll in CTE, (b) to understand how institutional culture and the distribution of resources support ELs and instructors with ELs in their courses, and (c) to investigate ELs’ classroom experiences and opportunities to learn, as understood by the students, teachers, and administrators in a school dedicated to CTE programming. Drawing on ethnographic methodology, data were collected through fieldwork and classroom observations documented as fieldnotes; 36 in-depth interviews with teachers, administrators, ELs and former ELs; artifacts from classrooms; policy documents; student academic records; and state-level data from the Department of Education. The data analysis demonstrated that, overall, ELs did not experience equitable access to educational experiences leading to college and career readiness. First, ELs’ access to CTE programs that aligned with their career aspirations was restricted; administrators and counselors justified this practice through discourses of meritocracy and deficit framing of ELs. Second, despite the fact that ELs and instructors complained about the lack of support and resources, administrators drew upon race- and language-neutral ideologies to rationalize their failure to invest in programs and practices that would ensure equitable access and success for ELs. Finally, within this context of limited support, instructors expressed deficit views of ELs and relied on pedagogies that did not accommodate the linguistic needs of ELs. As a result, ELs believed that they did not receive adequate support, and many felt unprepared for college and careers. Interpreting these data from a critical race theory perspective, these findings suggest that CTE functions as a White educational space, operating under tacit White supremacist ideologies to justify inequitable treatment of ELs and privilege the cultural and linguistic practices of White students. This undermines CTE’s potential in providing equitable access to college and career readiness for ELs. / Teaching & Learning

Due to the rise in the rank of Arabic students in schools in the United States (U.S.), this qualitative study was designed to investigate the perspective of Arabic mothers in the U.S. regarding their experiences of involvement with their children’s schools. The approach includes a convenience sample of eight Arabic mothers. Through virtual focus groups, individual interviews, and concept maps the eight Arabic mothers shared their experiences and perceptions of what their children's primary schools and early childhood education programs are doing to involve them. Additionally, the study explored participants' recommendations for schools regarding family involvement for other Arabic families with children in schools in the U.S. The study yielded seven major themes: 1) school community/overview of school traits; 2) benefits of having children at the same school for a long time; 3) parent/teacher roles; 4) communication between home and school; 5) involvement; 6) challenges, including mothers’ concerns; and 7) mothers’ recommendations. The findings demonstrated that Arabic mothers have positive thoughts about their children’s schools and want to participate in their children's schooling at home and school. However, they are facing some obstacles related to limited time, English, and other factors that often prevent their involvement. The research provides other Arabic families, districts, and school leaders with valued religiously and culturally responsive suggestions to facilitate and improve Arabic family involvement.

Thesis advisor: Rebecca Lowenhaupt / Diversity in U.S. schools has increased significantly over the last decades. One in four children under 18 live with at least one immigrant parent, and 22% of U.S. residents aged five or older report speaking a language other than English at home (Esterline & Batalova, 2022). The experiences of immigrant-origin students vary depending on contextual factors such as individual school's policies and practices, the community where the school is located, as well as national and state legislation (Portes & Rumbaut, 2014; Golash-Boza & Valdez, 2018). This three-paper dissertation aims to understand the nuances of educating immigrant-origin students from the perspective of educators in distinct contexts. The first paper is a qualitative interview study in a Texas school district near the US/Mexico border. I investigated the language ideologies that underlie educators' perspectives on language separation in Dual Language Bilingual Education (DLBE) classrooms. Educators in this study held complex ideologies about language separation in DL classrooms, informed by their view on the district’s students and families, the dynamic language practices of their border community, professional development, and testing and district policy requirements. The second paper presents a case study of a highly diverse school district in Illinois that established a district-wide ESL endorsement requirement. For this study, I interviewed educators and analyzed district documentation to understand the policy goals that guided the district to create this policy and how educators made sense of it. While policy goals were shared by educators in all roles, there was not enough space for collective sensemaking for teachers, who were critical of how policy implementation affected them. The third paper offers a comparative interview study of two school districts in Texas and Illinois with very different geographical locations, student demographics, and racial/ethnic makeup of their teacher force. This study examines how context shaped educators' attitudes and beliefs toward immigrant-origin students and families. Despite differences, educators from both districts who had experience working with immigrant populations shared similar and positive attitudes regarding immigrant-origin students and families’ assets, needs, and dispositions toward school. These results may help inform district language policy, policy implementation, and hiring decisions. / Thesis (EdD) — Boston College, 2024. / Submitted to: Boston College. Lynch School of Education. / Discipline: Teaching, Curriculum, and Society.

Latino English learners (ELs), among the largest student population in the United States K-12 school system, continue to lag behind their English-proficient peers. They also tend to attend segregated schools, have less-qualified teachers, and lack access to rigorous curriculum, including the arts. Museum education departments have increasingly sought to fill the gap in arts education for underserved populations. This mixed methods study explored the degree to which teaching artists (TAs) from a large metropolitan museum are effectively addressing the art education needs of Latino ELs. The dissertation study occurred in two phases. Phase 1 included quantitative analysis of observations of the TAs using the numeric components and ancedotal evidence of the Observation Protocol for Academic Literacies. Phase 2 consisted of semistructured interviews with the participants. Findings of the study indicate that while TAs can improve instruction in terms of providing materials of students’ native language and providing opportunities to transfer skills between their primary and the target language, they nevertheless use numerous strategies for effective English language instruction. This can inform museum education departments on effective teaching practices of ELs, an area of study that has almost no scholarship.

This quantitative study explored the interplay among school culture, chronic absenteeism rates for English Learners (ELs), and overall English language proficiency (ELP) progress, as indicated by the WIDA ACCESS for ELLs 2.0 test, in suburban Virginia middle schools. Utilizing the Virginia Framework for Cultural Competency, which encompasses learning environment, pedagogy and practice, community engagement, and self-reflection, the research aimed to determine the relationships among these domains, school culture, and student outcomes. The overarching research question addressed the interaction between school culture, chronic absenteeism rates for ELs, and ELP progress. Supporting questions examined the connections between school culture and ELP progress, the four cultural competency domains and ELP progress, and school culture and chronic absenteeism rates for ELs. Data for school culture ratings were sourced from the Department of Criminal Justice Services' school climate survey. The information on chronic absenteeism rates for ELs and ELP progress came from the Virginia Department of Education School Quality Profile. Analyses employing single and multiple linear regressions were conducted on existing archival data to identify statistical significance and correlations. The study yielded seven significant findings, highlighted three implications for practice, and revealed one policy implication. The findings from this research could assist current and future school leaders in Virginia middle schools by pinpointing specific aspects of school culture that could potentially enhance chronic absenteeism rates and academic progress in ELs. Additionally, division leaders might use these insights to tailor professional development for middle school principals and other educational leaders, emphasizing the critical role of a positive school culture. Furthermore, this study could support broader research efforts asserting the impact of school culture on academic success among ELs, identifying vital cultural elements that influence student achievement irrespective of their absenteeism or academic progress rates. / Doctor of Education / Principals of Virginia middle schools are tasked with ensuring that all students feel welcome in their building, attend school regularly, and make adequate progress. This quantitative study explored the interplay among school culture, chronic absenteeism rates for English Learners (ELs), and overall English language proficiency (ELP) progress, as indicated by the WIDA ACCESS for ELLs 2.0 test, in suburban Virginia middle schools. Utilizing the Virginia Framework for Cultural Competency, which encompasses learning environment, pedagogy and practice, community engagement, and self-reflection, the research aimed to determine the relationships among these domains, school culture, and student outcomes. The overarching research question addressed the interaction between school culture, chronic absenteeism rates for ELs, and ELP progress. Supporting questions examined the connections between school culture and ELP progress, the four cultural competency domains and ELP progress, and school culture and chronic absenteeism rates for ELs. The study yielded seven significant findings, highlighted three implications for practice, and revealed one policy implication. The findings from this research could assist current and future school leaders in Virginia middle schools by pinpointing specific aspects of school culture that could potentially enhance chronic absenteeism rates and academic progress in ELs. Additionally, division leaders might use these insights to tailor professional development for middle school principals and other educational leaders, emphasizing the critical role of a positive school culture.