No abstract available. / Thesis (M.Ed.)-University of Natal, 1980.

The objective of this research was to determine the factors that influence application of non-parametric analysis technique. The data emanated from research done by postgraduate students over a ten year period (1995-2004) and archived by the project in postgraduate education research (PPER). A survey of three South African universities was conducted. The classification of researches from chosen prominent universities were made by research title, research topic, target population, data collection method, and other diversity titles which were used to map the position of non-parametric analysis. The research amongst the three (3) universities included four hundred and twenty-one (421) sampled researches of which only twenty nine (29) were in Language and Race issues. The first finding indicated that the data of the sampled researches were all analysed using content analysis. Secondly, the findings suggested that there was a relationship between research title and data analysis technique. Lastly, the dominant theme amongst the sampled researches was Language although in many instances when language issues are being researched, race issues are inherently being researched either purposefully or coincidentally. There is a relationship between the history of the institutions and the kinds of research they produce. / Thesis (M.Ed.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2012.

<p> The purpose of this mixed methods study was to examine home-school partnerships practices between the high school community and English Language Learner (ELL) parents. More specifically, this study examined the experiences and benefits, if any, of ELL parents who participated in 1 or more of the following four ELL parent engagement practices implemented at 1 high school in Southern California during the 2009-2012 school years: 1. ELAC Parent education meetings; 2. ELL Parent Handbook; 3. ELL Parent Orientation Day; 4. ELL Guidance Counselor. </p><p> The convergent parallel mixed methods design allowed for qualitative data of parent interviews and quantitative data of student performance scores to be used in parallel, analyzed separately, and then summarized separately, looking for contradictions or relationships between the 2 data sets. A total of 7 parents participated in the interview process. The parent interview responses were coded to highlight key words and statements, forming them into emerging themes in regard to the 4 implemented parent engagement practices. The quantitative data of student performance scores on the California English Language Development Test (CELDT), Math California Standards Test (CST), and English language arts CST were compared among the students whose parents participated in 1 or more of the engagement practices to the total population of identified ELL students at this one school site during the 2009-2012 school years. The quantitative data also compared ELL student performance scores from the year prior to the implementation of the parent engagement practices. </p><p> The findings of this study support the following conclusions. Existing ELL parent engagement practices are viewed by ELL parents as valuable; however, new means need to be explored to benefit a larger number of parents. ELL parents benefit from and place higher value on practices that provide opportunities for 2-way communication. ELL parents value sharing their personal experiences with other ELL parents in support of student learning. Specifically designed ELL parent engagement practices prompted parents to communicate with their children. Lastly, parent participation in 1 or more of the 4 implemented practices may have contributed to greater student success.</p>

No description available.

The percentage of language and cultural minority students is increasing (Okagaki, 2006; U.S. Department of Education, 2010). This reality emphasizes the need for elementary school general education teachers to become knowledgeable about students’ backgrounds so that they can mold instruction to meet all students’ needs (Bennett, 2007; Spring, 2007; Whitcomb, 2003). There is, however, little research about elementary school general education teachers’ views and accommodations about heritage language maintenance (a.k.a. multicultural and multilingual inclusion) (Goldstein, 2003). The purpose of this study was to examine how teachers view heritage language learning and how teachers accommodate to students who have a heritage language background. A mixed methods study (n = 30) consisting of thirty surveys and ninety observations from general education teachers who taught in the 2010-2011 school year was used to examine elementary school general education teachers’ beliefs and accommodations about heritage language maintenance (HLM). Overall, the majority of teachers reported positive beliefs about HLM while exercising few accommodations in the classroom. Only teachers’ subject area of specialization, school corporation, teachers’ indication of HL strategies, and six accommodations were associated significantly with the positive beliefs and negative beliefs about HLM. The results from this study provide support for teachers’ input about accommodations and institutional support. The significant associations between area of specialization, six accommodations, and beliefs about HLM suggest mixed evidence and require further exploration for other intervening variables. Further investigation of findings indicates teachers’ actual practices and multicultural experiences cannot be predicted based on teachers’ expressed beliefs. Design issues like the instruments used, the sample size obtained, and the observation schedule implemented may affect the results. Longitudinal research is needed to explore other contextual factors that could impact the multi-conceptual relationship between beliefs and actual practice for further research. / Department of Educational Psychology

<p> Many Japanese families come to the US because the fathers are dispatched to work at Japanese companies in the US, and they return to Japan after a 3-4 year stay. Many children attend an American local school as well as a supplementary Saturday school, hosh&umacr;k&omacr;, in order to keep up academically after they return to Japan. However, balancing an American and a Japanese education while in a foreign country is a challenge for both Japanese parents and children. Children who plan to permanently live in the US also spend a lot of time to maintain their Japanese at the hosh&umacr;k&omacr; and home. This study examines Japanese families' attitudes and strategies for maintaining and further developing their children's Japanese in the US. Additionally, this study investigates issues regarding their children's education in the US.</p><p> To understand the overall context of the focal hosh&umacr;k&omacr; and the Japanese families, the principal of the hosh&umacr;k&omacr; was first interviewed. Then, 92 Japanese parents participated in a survey regarding their attitudes and strategies for maintaining and developing their children's Japanese. Thereafter, five in-depth case studies of Japanese families (a mother and at least one school-aged child) were conducted to investigate issues regarding children's education in a foreign country. Activity theory was utilized to analyze the interview data on strategy use. It was found that Japanese families have positive attitudes toward Japanese maintenance and development and utilize multiple combinations of strategies. Moreover, it was revealed that the Japanese families' issues moved from English education to a stronger emphasis on Japanese education over time, and they struggled both in local schools and the hosh&umacr;k&omacr; because of the educational and language differences. The study documents how Japanese families, both sojourners and permanent residents, take advantage of the hosh&umacr;k&omacr; resources helping their children prepare to return to Japan and to maintain their children's Japanese and cultural knowledge.</p>

<p> A new French teaching program, &ldquo;French for Spanish Speakers&rdquo; (FSS) is spreading throughout Southern California whose aim is to bridge Spanish and English to facilitate learning French. FSS speculates that Spanish-English speakers have a greater advantage in learning French than monolingual English speakers (MES). This thesis is the first to empirically examine these speculations. The first section contrasts four linguistically different groups&rsquo; French grammar and French written fluency, accuracy, and complexity. The second section attempts to evaluate the FSS program. This study found a statistically significant difference in which Spanish-English speakers produced more fluent and complex compositions than MES. In addition, the findings of this study predict that Spanish-English speakers will ultimately internalize and retain French longer than MES. However, there seems to be no statistical significance in terms of written performance between Spanish-English speakers enrolled in FSS and those enrolled in regular French courses.</p>

<p> The goal of the study is to develop an equity-minded theory of college writing readiness. An estimated third of incoming students are academically underprepared for college writing. The majority of these students will not earn a baccalaureate. Because rigorous pre-college preparation is a chief indicator of postsecondary achievement, improving college writing preparation in high schools is strategic to increase graduation rates. The writing disparities linked to the prevailing cognitive model of writing instruction raise equity concerns that hinder successful reform to meet the literacy learning needs of students from all linguistic backgrounds. In redress, this study offers qualitative information to assess the conceptual fit of a sociocultural framework&mdash;known as new literacies theory&mdash;to describe how literacy learning occurred with two groups of students enrolled in high school college preparation. The study employs ethnographic methods to explore how the discourses practiced in college preparation classrooms support college writing readiness across different student groups. New literacies provides the frame for exploring college preparation as it is influenced not only by the local social and cultural patterns instantiated in each classroom, but also by the variant linguistic resources students bring to their respective classrooms. The study's empirical objective is to describe how college preparatory academic rigor is amplified or reduced by students' own classroom language participation. Because how college writing readiness is theorized guides how college preparation is conceptualized in policy and practice, theory development is necessary to support academic writing outcomes (and the postsecondary opportunities these outcomes represent) for all students.</p>

Thesis (M.A.)--University of Hawaii at Manoa, 2008. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 162-170). / xi, 170 leaves, bound ill. 29 cm

In the last ten years, the inclusion of students with special needs in the regular classroom has become common practice in schools in many Canadian provinces (Bunch et al, 1997; Cummins, 2000). This is due to government legislation and policy (Special Education Implementation Review Committee, 2001; Valentine, 2001). The difference between policy and actual practice can be studied through analysis of implementation at the school level (Taylor et al, 1997; Duemer and Mendez-Morse, 2002). The issues of identity of teachers, principles, other staff, parents and students have been found to impact stakeholders' self-efficacy and decision making regarding inclusion (Cable, 2004; Chenoweth and Stehlik, 2004; Dyches et al, 2004; Avramidas et al, 2002). Power relationships between stakeholders develop in response to a change such as inclusive policy at the school level (Kugelmass, 2001; Pearson, 2000; Hargreaves, 1992; Blase and Anderson, 1995). / This study aimed to study the process of inclusion as it developed alongside identity and power relationships in a relatively new school with a strong cultural mandate. Students with special needs have been found to have additional difficulties due to cultural, linguistic, and economic challenges at the school level (Manyak, 2002; Hanson and Gutierrez, 1997; McCray and Garcia, 2002). The school in this study faced these challenges as well, due to their mandate to develop minority culture in a hegemonic English environment. / This study is an ethnographic case study of one school as it developed over the period of a year, in its early years of implementing an inclusion policy as set out by the provincial government. Through interviews, participant observation, and document analysis, data were gathered, and analysed continuously using the 'constant comparative method' of Glasser and Strauss (1967). This grounded theory approach led to a theory elaboration of sociologist Pierre Bourdieu's theory of social organization (1996, 1992, 1986, 1982). Bourdieu's notions of habitus, capital, and field were applied to inclusion, and the results brought new insight into the relationship between individual and group experiences of school for all stakeholders involved in inclusion. / Thesis ([PhDEducation])--University of South Australia, 2005.