Educational policy increasingly prioritizes early intervention and enrichment for children from historically disadvantaged populations, and this push is relevant to Latino/a children, especially those from language minority families. Beyond increasing the enrollment of such children in early education programs, the highly variable nature of the programs serving them has been a concern. To address this concern, this dissertation provides a picture of the instructional settings of children from Latino/a language minority families. Following a mixed methods strategy, statistical analyses of national data provide an overview of the intensity of reading and math instructional practices in preschool and kindergarten classrooms serving children from Latino/a language minority families, and then qualitative analyses of local data parse out the interactional quality of instruction in primarily Spanish-speaking classrooms as well as the challenges teachers faced in their instructional mission. Findings revealed that, although children from Latino/a language minority families appeared to be advantaged in terms of frequencies of many instructional practices at the national level, they appeared to be at a disadvantage in terms of instructional quality at the local level, possibly reflecting teachers' perceptions that issues of language and literacy, the socioeconomic background of students, and difficulties connecting to parents complicated their instructional abilities / text

The current study investigated the reliability and validity of using short observations with an observation tool designed to measure implementation of small group interventions. Intervention lessons for eight instructional groups from two schools were video recorded for nine weeks, and post-test assessments of reading decoding were administered to 31 at-risk kindergarten students. Videos of intervention instruction from weeks two, five, and eight, each representing a phase in the intervention period, were used within this study for measuring implementation. Each video was divided into three ten-minute segments representing the beginning, middle, and end of each intervention lesson. Video segments were coded for implementation using the Quality of Intervention Delivery and Receipt tool (QIDR; Harn, Forbes-Spear, Fritz, & Berg, 2012). Overall, the results of this study indicate that a) reliability can be achieved when using 10-minute observations, b) QIDR scores obtained from 10-minute segments are strongly correlated with scores obtained from full-length observations, c) there is no statistical difference in scores obtained from full-length observations and those obtained in 10-minute segments, and d) QIDR scores obtained from both full-length and 10-minute segments accounted for group differences in student outcomes, with lesson segments obtained from the end of lessons accounting for the most variance. Implications for research and practice are discussed, including the importance of thorough training and calibration to maintain reliability, as well as the feasibility and utility of providing frequent observation and feedback through shorter observations.

This study provided insight into the impact a professional development series on cognitively demanding tasks had on teachers’ identification and implementation of tasks, as well as, determined which aspects of the professional development were beneficial to participants’ understanding of cognitively demanding tasks. The professional development included five sessions and was centered on the Instructional Quality Assessment (IQA) Potential of the Task and Implementation of the Task Rubrics (Boston et al., 2019). As part of the study, participants submitted tasks and student artifacts pre and post professional development. The investigation included an analysis of tasks, student artifacts, and a thematic analysis of collaborative conversations and interviews. A single case study was conducted, with the case being the professional development series. Additionally, case participants provided insights on their experiences and learning on cognitively demanding tasks. Findings suggested that there was an impact on participants’ implementation of cognitively demanding tasks after they participated in the professional development series. Throughout the thematic analysis, aspects of the professional development were identified as beneficial to participants’ learning and understanding of cognitively demanding tasks. Discussion of the findings in relation to the current literature and their implications were provided. Additional research was suggested to continue the professional development series with the IQA Teachers’ Questions, Teacher’s Linking, and Teacher’s Press Rubrics (Boston et al., 2019) which follow the IQA progression. Further research into the complexity of schools under heightened state or county supervision should be investigated in regard to professional development and teacher autonomy. These findings add to the literature and research in the field of mathematics education, cognitively demanding tasks, and professional development.

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Community college instructors are responsible for creating learning opportunities for all students, including adult students affected by emotional disorders (ED). Concerns in the literature have grown over how invested part-time instructors are in their teaching; however, limited data were available regarding instructor knowledge of ED, instructor-efficacy, and the impact of employment status. The purpose of this study was to address the gap in the literature and analyze relationships between instructor knowledge of ED strategies (as assessed by Teaching Students with Emotional Behavior Disorders scale) and instructors' efficacy beliefs (as assessed by the Ohio State Teaching Self-Efficacy Scale). It also evaluated the impact of employment status (part-time versus full-time) on instructor-efficacy beliefs and knowledge of classroom management strategies for adult students affected by ED. A convenience sample of 104 community college instructors across 2 colleges in the Midwestern United States with a population of 201 instructors chose to complete either paper or online surveys. This study was guided by Bandura's self-efficacy theory. The data analysis included Pearson correlation, ANOVA, linear regression, Kruskal-Wallis, and LSD post hoc tests. Key findings included a statistically significant association between knowledge and instructor-efficacy scores and a statistically significant difference in ED knowledge between part-time and full-time instructors. The study findings promote positive social change by providing information for use by community college administrators for professional development programs to improve ED instructional practices, improving the quality of instruction and experience for community college instructors, students affected by ED, and the community at large.

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In der Dissertation wurden Effekte der zuwanderungsbezogenen Klassenzusammensetzung auf verschiedene Leistungsmaße und psychosoziale Schülermerkmale im Rahmen von drei Zeitschriftenbeiträgen untersucht. In Teilstudie eins wurden Effekte der sozialen und zuwanderungsbezogenen Zusammensetzung auf das Leseverständnis im Verlauf der neunten Klasse und deren Vermittlung durch Merkmale der Unterrichtsqualität analysiert. Der Klassenanteil von Heranwachsenden mit Zuwanderungshintergrund war unter Kontrolle des mittleren sozioökonomischen Status nicht mit der Leseleistung assoziiert. Es zeigten sich Hinweise einer partiellen Vermittlung des Effekts sozialer Zusammensetzung durch das Ausmaß herausfordernden Sprachunterrichts. Teilstudie zwei beschäftigte sich mit Effekten der Zusammensetzung auf die Lernmotivation im Verlauf der neunten Klasse und deren Vermittlung durch das Ausmaß schülerorientierten Unterrichtsklimas. Heranwachsende mit Zuwanderungshintergrund berichteten höhere Motivation, wenn sie Klassen mit einem höheren Anteil von Heranwachsenden mit Zuwanderungshintergrund besuchten. Es zeigten sich keine vermittelten Effekte durch Merkmale des Unterrichtsklimas. In Teilstudie drei wurden der Anteil von Kindern mit Zuwanderungshintergrund und Maße zuwanderungsbezogener Heterogenität in ihrer Assoziation mit Mathematik- und Leseleistung sowie dem Verbundenheitsgefühl mit Peers von Kindern der vierten Klasse verglichen. Es bestanden stärkere negative Effekte des Klassenanteils im Vergleich zu Heterogenitätsmaßen. Bei simultaner Berücksichtigung von Klassenanteil und Heterogenitätsmaßen waren Heterogenitätseffekte größtenteils nicht mehr signifikant. Es zeigten sich jedoch leicht positive Heterogenitätseffekte auf die Mathematikleistung. Es bestanden keine Effektunterschiede zwischen Heterogenitätsmaßen. Die Befunde verweisen auf die Bedeutung der Schulklasse für die akademische Entwicklung sowie für die Erklärung zuwanderungsbezogener Disparitäten im Bildungssystem. / The thesis at hand explored effects of the language-related and ethnic makeup of classrooms on several achievement outcomes as well as psychosocial outcomes in three research articles. The first article investigated effects of socioeconomic and language minority classroom composition on ninth graders’ reading achievement across two measurement points and explored the mediating role of instructional quality. The proportion of minority students had no effect on achievement after controlling for the socioeconomic composition. The results suggest that the effect of the socioeconomic composition on achievement may be mediated partially by the teacher’s focus on language during instruction. The second article focused on effects of the proportion of language minority students on the development of ninth graders’ motivation and the mediating role of a student-oriented climate. The analyses revealed that minority students were increasingly motivated in classrooms with a higher proportion of minority students. The compositional effect was not mediated by the instructional climate. The third article explored various measures of the ethnic makeup of classrooms and their relationship with student outcomes. The proportion of minority students and measures of diversity were compared in their prediction of fourth graders’ achievement in math and reading as well as the feeling of belonging with one’s peers. The proportion of minority students showed stronger negative effects on student outcomes than the diversity measures. Including diversity measures and the proportion of minority students, the diversity effects mostly lost their significance. However, students showed slightly higher levels of math achievement in more diverse classrooms. The various measures of diversity led to similar results. The findings add to the evidence indicating that the classroom learning environment affects students’ academic development and contributes to ethnic disparities in the education system.