The overheated atmosphere of English education in contemporary Korean society is popularly represented as English Fever. The phenomenon of English Fever dates back at least to 1945 when there was a socio-political transition from Japanese colonial rule to a newly emerged U.S. army military government rule. This dissertation attempts to elucidate historically accumulated aspects of English education in Korea from a critical macro-level approach (Pennycook, 2010; Phillipson, 1992). In doing so, a theoretical framework for the dissertation is based on language ideologies (Kroskrity, 2000; Schieffelin, Woolard & Kroskrity, 1998; Van Dijk, 1995), which are produced, mediated, transformed, and reproduced by interacting with ever-changing socio-historical, political, economic, and structural contexts of Korea. Language ideologies of English influence and contribute to what is at stake in English education in Korea, depending on what is primarily required in each of three major socio-historical periods in modern Korean: nation building (1945-1960), modernization (1961-1980), and globalization (1990-present). This dissertation elaborates how language ideologies about the English language are dedicated to serving as indexicality, reifying dominance, and prevailing in social institutions (Fairclough, 2001; Gal, 1989; Hill, 2008; Irvine, 1989; Kroskrity, 2000), giving rise to a variety of forms of social power in Korean context. Analysis of the relationship between language ideologies of English and English proficiency in Korea suggests that the English language is ideologized to exert profound influence on Korean social structures, although it hardly functions as a tool of communication within Korean society. In other words, the ubiquitous phenomenon of English Fever in Korea may have little correlation with an actual guarantee of English proficiency. Rather English Fever can be attributed to the accumulated and deeply held English language ideologies permeated into Korean society.

This dissertation study examines computer use by second graders in an affluent, suburban community to determine how boys and girls view and participate with computers at home and in an educational setting. This qualitative study examined the students' time spent with computers, software choices, perceptions of technology now and in the future, their computer skills and their perceptions of their skills and the influence of parents through the use of interviews, observations, logs, surveys and artifact collection.The findings from this research demonstrate that there were no drastic differences in the amount of time boys and girls spent on computers at home and at school. In terms of software choices, all students favored games to other types of software. However, girls were more likely to favor games that were less competitive and boys tended to favor sports games. The parents in this study had primarily positive perceptions of the role of computers in their children's lives and the students felt that their parents supported their computer use.Additionally, this study reveals that while all students were able to meet most of the school district's technology frameworks, better assessment tools need to be created to truly capture the richness of what students are able to do with computers and to encourage them to use the computer in thought provoking ways that emphasize more than just skills. Finally, students of both genders were able to envision multiple uses for computers now and in the future.

This dissertation describes an ethnographic case study of an elementary school in a border city in Southern Arizona. Its purpose is to explore teachers' professional lives at Cactus Elementary School (CES; pseudonym) through classroom observations, interviews and informal conversations. The majority of the fieldwork was conducted in the 2004-2005 school year. Teachers in Arizona have severe challenges compared with teachers in other states: lower expenditures on students, lower salaries, higher teacher-student ratios, and more English language learning students. Teachers at CES are faced with even more concerns, such as students' high mobility rate, the students' low socioeconomic status, and the students' language development. Furthermore, educational policies, such as NCLB, AZ LEARNS and the English-only policy set strict rules regarding language usage in classrooms and testing environments in schools. This study explores teachers' compassion and commitment to their profession. It also describes professional distress experienced by teachers as a result of national and state educational policies. In addition, it illustrates teachers' strategies for negotiating and developing everyday educational policies. This study questions whether school excellence and teacher quality can be measured solely by student test scores, and what "highly qualified teachers" means to students and the local community. At the same time, this dissertation emphasizes the power that local teachers and administrators have in negotiating and developing federal and state educational policies to meet their students' needs.

This dissertation analyzes the social and psychosocial factors that influence second-generation children’s academic achievement (grade point average), in particular Mexican American children. I adapted the first survey from a longitudinal study conducted by Portes and Rumbaut (2001) with children of immigrants in the U.S. The present study was conducted in a major school district of a Southwest border town. The study participants were in 9th grade, and the data were collected by this researcher during the 2006-07 school year. The findings provide a comparison with, and an extension of, the findings from the Portes and Rumbaut study. Especially, the study assessed whether the segmented assimilation theory proposed by Portes and Rumbaut could also be applied to this Southwest population. The segmented assimilation model describes different possible outcomes of incorporation or adaptation to U.S. society by children of immigrants. The present study also proposes suggestions for policy change.

This dissertation examines the in-class and out-of-class language learning experiences of university students in the U.S. Southwest enrolled in beginner-level Spanish. Spanish is not only the fastest growing spoken language in the U.S.; it is also the most popular second language studied across educational institutions, by far. My research indicates that students often idealize the Southwest as inherently bilingual and therefore enroll in Spanish to gain access to this bilingualism, although expectations for language learning within the university encourage otherwise. Topic and discourse analyses of course syllabi, textbooks and field notes demonstrate how broad institutional ideologies and daily classroom interactions work to socialize and, in fact, encourage students to ignore the existence and contributions of local Spanish-speaking populations and imagine Spanish as foreign. Interviews, surveys and student journal entries document ongoing informal experiences with Spanish out-of-class. In addition, interviews, surveys and participant observation aim to identify how students "do" Spanish in a college classroom by navigating and managing their language learning experiences. This research is an important first step to understanding the benefits and complexities of framing Spanish as a local, community-based resource and thereby encouraging dialogue and interaction between traditionally disconnected communities of practice: university students and the larger multilingual, multicultural societies in which they live.

The purpose and objectives of this qualitative teacher research (Hubbard, Power, 1993) is to explore my teaching by examining the purposeful writing of my students as I consider the following questions: (1) How does a teacher actualize a system of beliefs in a specific classroom context? (2) How do fourth grade children evolve as writers over the school year? (3) How is writing measured on district developed benchmark writing tests and the Georgia Criterion Referenced Competency Test? (4) What are fourth grade children's perspectives on purposeful writing? I teach from a humanistic perspective (Rogers, 1980) and these principles lead me to emphasize purposeful writing, which I define as writing that has its roots in topics and feelings the writer cares about, and writing experiences that have a clear function and audience. I analyzed the students' writing using a 6-trait 4-point writing rubric. Authentic assessment at the state and district level was not provided for the children and writing ability was not measured authentically other than in the classroom. Major conclusions of this study include: (1) Purposeful writing increased children's enjoyment of writing; (2) Student oral presentations of prewriting are an effective method for the revision and editing of their written work; (3) Written language is a tool for self-expression. This tool should be applied in ways that encourage learners to develop and define themselves; (4) Students were most satisfied with the inquiry projects that encouraged them to answer their own questions; (5) In light of increased feedback, students were more willing to rework their papers multiple times to develop a clear message; (6) In response to a desired connection with peers, students chose to communicate more in writing; (7) Students worked at and valued the art of storytelling and presentation of material that mattered; (8) Students took more risks in their writing; and (9) Reflecting on student writing provided many opportunities to actualize my belief system as a teacher in the classroom.

The members of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and their university partners consider themselves to be organizations dedicated to the well-being and lifelong success of student-athletes. They have measured their dedication to their student-athletes through degree attainment. The controversial issue of whether student-athletes should be paid has been debated in courtrooms, classrooms, locker rooms, and numerous mainstream media outlets. Regardless the debate platform, the NCAA and university partners have relied on the argument that student-athletes are amateurs, not employees and in exchange for their talents, a quality education is provided and paid for, which is more valuable (in the long-term) than paying them. This study used the NCAA and university partners' argument of a quality education as a proxy for pay to guide the research. Focusing on the most lucrative and controversial population of student-athletes, Black, revenue-generating football players, this study investigated if they were in fact being provided with a quality education accompanied with transferable skills that would give them success after their football careers were over. This study utilized qualitative research to investigate the pre-college, college, and post-college experiences and decision making of eight Black, former revenue-generating football players. The in-depth research was designed to chronicle the lived experiences of the participants in relation to their interaction with what this study has coined, the Infrastructure of College Sports (IOCS). The IOCS is the ideological and physical structure that manages student-athletes from college entrance to college exit. The IOCS, in correlation with theoretical concepts such as Athlete Identity and Social Capital, were used to investigate how the student's identity as an athlete, and social capital acquired prior to college, impacted decision making such as college, major and career choice. Furthermore, this study investigated how such factors impacted how they perceived themselves as a student.An in-depth analysis of the lives of the eight Black, former revenue generating football players, revealed that the NCAA and university partners use of degree attainment as the measure of success needs further evaluation. Though the majority of the participants did graduate, their post-college lives, which were impacted by their decisions made during college, resulted in unattainable professional careers. Identity confusion, professional limbo, and a feeling of betrayal towards the NCAA and university partners characterize each participant's current status. The participants' overdependence on their athlete identities impeded their growth as students, which hindered their preparation for life after college (i.e., finding a career). These findings were consistent with previous research on the topic (Adler & Adler, 1991; Beamon, 2012; Harrison et al., 2011; Brewer, Linder,& Raalte, 1993; Marsh & Shavelson, 1985; Sparkes, 1998). Additionally, the quantity and quality of social capital acquired prior to college impacted their perception of education, which was consistent with Bourdieu (1986) and Coleman's (1988) versions of social capital. The influence of the IOCS is instrumental in the successes and failures of student-athletes. Findings revealed that the IOCS, whose gatekeeper is the NCAA and university partners, is designed not to educate, enhance, or develop the student, but to engineer a stronger, more efficient athlete. The IOCS is organized in such a manner that if a student-athlete enters college academically unprepared, and psychologically imbalanced, that is, more an athlete than student, then there are protocols in place to pacify such student-athletes throughout their college careers. Student-athletes fitting the above descriptions are placed on a conveyor-belt of mediocrity; many important decisions are made for them with little resistance. They are clustered in classes and majors of least resistance. The participants' responses uncovered strong evidence that the IOCS takes advantage of student-athletes who are overly dependent on their sport for their own future financial gain. Overall, participant responses and descriptions of current living situations revealed that degree attainment did not result in complete, "first-class" educations because the degrees accompanying transferable employment skills were not clearly taught, defined, or even practically applicable, when the Black D-1 student-athlete sought employment in a post-college career track.

In the past decade, designing educational environments to support medical professionalism and the development of a professional identity have become prominent issues among medical educators. This dissertation argues that medical professionalism and the construction of a professional identity is a development process. In order for students to acquire this professional identity, educators must understand the tasks associated with this development, the interaction of multiple developmental domains and the role of educational learning environments in shaping the development of professionalism.This case study describes the journey of thirty two medical students as they moved through one year of their medical education. Data for this study were collected over a one year period. Each participant engaged in two interviews that occurred over one year of his/her medical education. Collectively, the experiences documented in these interviews represent all four years of medical education.The interviews were based on the self-authorship interview (Baxter Magolda&King, 2007). Observations and engagement with students in a variety of settings were used to refine and expand insights gained from interviews and to more fully understand participants' actions and intentions in a variety of contexts. The data from interviews and observations were analyzed using the constant comparative method (Glaser&Straus, 1967).Three phases in the journey toward medical professionalism and the construction of a professional identity emerged from the participants' descriptions of their experiences. During this journey, the domains of knowledge, self and others played an important role in students' development. As students moved through the phases of their journey, each of these domains underwent qualitative changes that contributed to the development of medical professionalism and the construction of a professional identity. Throughout this journey, institutional, extra-curricular and personal contexts exposed students to a variety of forces that served to propel students forward in their development.Implications of this study suggest the investigation and documentation of the developmental nature of medical professionalism is an area worthy of continued study. In addition, a careful examination of the learning environment of the first two years is necessary in order to better support and guide students' on this educational journey.

This dissertation study examined school, family, and community partnerships among Hispanic parents whose children were enrolled in a school district’s Migrant Education Program (MEP). I was guided by the following main question: What issues do parents discuss regarding school, family, and community partnerships? Data were collected from interviews, artifacts, and field notes. Participant observation was conducted at the Parent Advisory Council (PAC) meetings and at The Bridge, a clothing distribution program. Findings that emerged from the research demonstrated that the PAC meetings provided a setting where parents created and developed their social networks and became empowered. The parents who informed this study perceived their role in their children’s education as one where parent advocacy was central to the partnerships between families, schools, and communities. With the assistance and collaboration from the MEP, parent volunteers developed The Bridge, first established to assist school families in meeting their children’s basic needs; it later became a central location for local knowledge, social networks, and funds of knowledge. Through work accomplished at The Bridge, parents instilled in their children the value of hard work and learned to navigate the school system. They moved away from oppression, became empowered, and handled tensions. One of the most significant findings in this study was a shift by the parents from performing a standardized set of schooling practices set forth by the school, to developing a program that advanced as needs were assessed and identified. Parents in this study formally organized themselves in order to have a voice in the school (Delgado-Gaitan, 1991).

The purpose of this qualitative case study is to describe how students' talk unfolded during literacy learning experiences in an English Language Development (ELD) classroom of students in grades 9-12. NAEP data indicates that "less than 10 percent of 17 year olds, regardless of race/ethnicity or SES, are able to comprehend complex texts" (Lee & Spratley, 2010, p. 2 ). And if we look at the literacy practices of secondary school students in general, despite increasing attention on adolescents' literacy practices, there continues to be compelling evidence that there is little to no growth in literacy proficiencies in high school (Lee, 1995).This ten-week study was conducted using ethnographic methods of data collection to develop deeper understandings of students' literacy practices and participation as students of literature. Data for this study included classroom observations, which were analyzed using constant comparative analysis (Strauss & Corbin, 1990) and discourse analysis (Gee, 2005). The students in this study were all students for whom English was an additional language and who attended high school in a mid-size urban high school in the southwest. Data included 20 class periods of video clips. Findings indicated that students engaged in specific literacy practices during these small group interactions. Students' talk indicated that their practices included: metacognitive awareness and conversation, cognitive strategy use, and persistence with difficult text. This study extends the research by providing an illustration of what students do when they are offered the opportunity to make meaning of challenging text.