This study was designed to examine the relationship between teacher referral and the underrepresentation of CLD students in gifted education and to identify the factors that influenced teachers' decisions to refer CLD students to gifted services. Studies on the issue of disproportionality in gifted education in the United States have indicated teacher referrals can be a pivotal instrument in the identification of culturally and linguistically diverse (CLD) gifted students. However, previous research has shown teacher referrals of CLD students to gifted services may be influenced by the teacher's own explicit or implicit stereotypes or beliefs of their students' cultural or linguistic backgrounds. District level data from the 2021 school year were examined through a Pearson's correlation coefficient test and a survey was administered to teachers in three different grade levels to determine whether factors such as assessment scores, parent referral, student behavior, and teachers' prior experience with CLD predicted their decision to refer CLD students for gifted services. The survey included two open-ended questions that provided qualitative data on the traits that teachers most associated with giftedness in CLD students, as well as information on school division resources that teachers find to be most effective in supporting their referral of CLD students. The findings of this study revealed there was a relationship between teacher referral and the underrepresentation of CLD students in gifted education. No significant relationship was found between the factors listed in the survey and the teachers' decision to refer CLD students to gifted services. However, the frequency of teachers' responses to the Likert-scale questions in the survey indicated the teachers' strong consideration of assessment scores and prior experience with CLD students when recommending CLD students for gifted education. The implications of the study emphasized the need for structures that support the analysis of data on the role teachers play in the underrepresentation of CLD students in gifted education, the assessments used to identify gifted students, and the need for intentional professional development that equips teachers with the skills to recognized exceptionality in CLD students. / Doctor of Education / This study was designed to examine the relationship between teacher referral and the underrepresentation of CLD students in gifted education and to identify the factors that influenced teachers' decisions to refer CLD students to gifted services. The disproportionate representation of these students in gifted education has been considered one the most pressing current issues in educational equity. Studies on the underrepresentation of CLD students in gifted education have identified that teachers are the first step in the gifted screening process. However, previous research has shown teacher referrals of CLD students to gifted services may be influenced by the teacher's own explicit or implicit stereotypes or beliefs of their students' cultural or linguistic backgrounds. This study examined talented and gifted district level referral data from the 2021 school year. This data consisted of the number of referrals by teachers, parents, and administration to the gifted education program. A point biserial correlation was used to determine if a relationship existed between total teacher referrals and the ethnicity of the students in the reported data. A survey consisting of demographic questions, Likert scale questions, and two open-ended questions was administered to teachers in nine elementary schools to determine whether factors such as assessment scores, parent referral, student behavior, and teachers' prior experience with CLD predicted their decision to refer CLD students for gifted services. The survey included two open-ended questions that provided qualitative data on the traits that teachers most associated with giftedness in CLD students, as well as information on school division resources that teachers find to be most effective in supporting their referral of CLD students. The findings of this correlational study revealed there was a significant negative relationship between teacher referral and the representation of CLD students in gifted education, indicating that moving from the non-CLD student category to the CLD student category of student ethnicity, there was a medium decrease in total teacher referrals. No significant relationship was found between the factors listed in the survey and the teachers' decision to refer CLD students to gifted services. However, the frequency of teachers' responses to the Likert-scale questions in the survey indicated the teachers' strong consideration of assessment scores and prior experience with CLD students when recommending CLD students for gifted education. The implications of the study emphasized the need for structures that support the analysis of data on the identification instruments used in the gifted education process, the assessments used to identify CLD gifted students, and the need for targeted professional development that equips teachers with the skills to recognized exceptionality in CLD students.

Thesis advisor: C. Patrick Proctor / While the number of linguistically diverse students (LDS) grows steadily in the U.S., schools, research and practice to support their education lag behind (Lucas & Grinberg, 2008). Research that describes the attitudes and practices of teachers who serve LDS and how those attitudes and practice intersect with language and special education is limited (Klingner & Artiles, 2006). Despite varied teacher preparation coursework, all teachers are expected to educate LDS; therefore, it was essential for this study to investigate teachers' attitudes, coursework, and decision-making practices for and about LDS. Using a sequential explanatory research design (Creswell et al., 2003; Creswell, 2009), this study examines the language attitudes and coursework histories of sixty-nine inservice teachers. A subsample of nine teachers participated in an interview and responded to a case study dilemma about a LDS who struggled academically. Quantitative analyses reveal that teachers who completed language coursework reported strong positive language attitudes, compared to teachers without this coursework. Qualitative analyses, however, demonstrate a range of teachers' reflective judgment and desirable practices. Collective analyses of data indicate that teachers' positive language attitudes are predictive of desirable practices. Further, the interactions between teachers' reported knowledge, attitudes, and practice in two domains - language and special education - inform teachers' professional practice. Findings also indicate that teachers' professional practice, including collaboration, reflection, decision making, problem solving, and professional development, vary based on teachers' understanding of and attitudes about policy, assessment, and instructional practices. Most importantly, findings suggest that teachers' actual professional practice is inextricably linked to and contextualized in classroom, school, and/or district structures. / Thesis (PhD) — Boston College, 2011. / Submitted to: Boston College. Lynch School of Education. / Discipline: Teacher Education, Special Education, Curriculum and Instruction.

Thesis advisor: Larry Ludlow / In this dissertation study, I examined the extent to which a relational network of teachers, administrators, two-way immersion (TWI) experts and mentors promote productive communities of practice (CoP). In a conventional instruction, teachers are often isolated in their classrooms, and a private practice culture prevails. In 2012, the Two-Way Immersion Network for Catholic Schools (TWIN-CS) was launched in an effort to support school reform by engaging school leaders and teachers to collectively learn toward implementing TWI models in their schools. Using the framework of communities of practice (Lave & Wenger, 1991; Wenger, 1999), I employed a case study design (Yin, 2009) to explore a national network of Catholic elementary school educators. Data sources included qualitative data featuring semi-structured interviews and quantitative source from a relational network survey. Qualitative results revealed that organizational features of TWIN-CS are critical in promoting participants’ learning to implement TWI. In particular, participants discussed the annual TWIN Summer Academy and bi-monthly webinars to be instrumental for their learning. Many participants also shared that an expansion of CoPs beyond TWIN-CS further prompted productive learning. However, the qualitative evidence also showed a lack of clear internal and external network structures and role definition, and sustaining connection beyond the Summer Academy and webinars were perceived as a great challenge. Quantitative results suggest that TWIN-CS has a core-and-periphery network structure with the Boston College design team at the innermost core, with visibly dense ties connecting to and from them. Most teachers, on the other hand, occupy the most peripheral positions in this network. Survey evidence also showed that participants generally perceived a much stronger learning relationship within schools and showed less certainty on cross-network relationships. In terms of learning characteristics, majority of the respondents viewed knowledge sharing, trust, and advice-oriented dimensions “strongly” but perceived a lack of data-driven learning for both within school and cross-network. I conclude this study with a discussion of implications for future research and practice. / Thesis (PhD) — Boston College, 2016. / Submitted to: Boston College. Lynch School of Education. / Discipline: Educational Research, Measurement and Evaluation.

Because several challenges exist when providing English as a Second Language (ESL) services to culturally and linguistically diverse (CLD) students with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), such services may be overlooked in deference to other educational needs. Therefore, this study used a survey to obtain information from 121 special education teachers in the state of Utah to explore the types of ESL services offered to CLD students with ASD. Results indicated that only 30% of the special educators participating in the study provide second language services in their classrooms. Results also show that language services provided by speech language pathologists are typically provided in English only and do not address second language needs. Almost 80% of participants agree that it is important to provide ESL/Bilingual services to CLD students with ASD. Lack of training, lack of use of second-language materials and difficulty ensuring appropriate placement are cited as challenges faced by participants when working with CLD students with ASD. This study suggests that CLD students with ASD in Utah are not receiving appropriate language services. Results show the need for improvement in teacher training and provision of second language materials and resources for special education teachers.

Research over the last three decades has documented that teacher efficacy has an effect on student achievement (Armor et al., 1976; Bandura, 1997). The literature on culturally responsive teaching (CRT) recognizes teacher efficacy as one of the attributes of successful teachers of students from culturally and linguistically diverse (CLD) backgrounds (Gay, 2000; Ladson-Billings, 1994). Researchers (e.g., Goddard & Goddard, 2001) have also found that collective teacher efficacy (CTE) beliefs can affect teachers’ goal setting, motivation, and persistence with challenging tasks or situations; specifically, the CTE construct not only explains school-level effects on achievement, but also explains effects on individual teachers’ self-efficacy. When CLD students require special education services, their instruction must be equally responsive to their cultural and linguistic characteristics in addition to their educational needs based on the disability (García & Ortiz, 2004; McCray & García, 2002). Consequently, CRT practices are central to improve these students’ learning outcomes (Gay, 2000). The purpose of this descriptive, correlational survey research study was to investigate (a) the relationship between special education teachers’ collective teacher efficacy beliefs and CRT efficacy for teaching CLD students in special education; and (b) the influences of personal and professional background variables on participating teachers’ CRT efficacy beliefs. The survey was sent to 855 special education teachers of CLD students with disabilities in three urban school districts in Texas; 344 complete responses were received, yielding a 44% response rate. The survey consisted of four sections: Background Information, Collective Teacher Efficacy (CTE), Culturally Responsive Teaching Self-Efficacy Scale (CRTSE), and Culturally Responsive Teaching Outcome-Expectancy Scale (CRTOE). Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, factor analysis, analysis of variance, and multiple regression. The results revealed statistically significant relationships (a) between CRTSE and CRTOE beliefs, with a positive and moderate association; and (b) between CTE and CRT efficacy beliefs (CRTSE as well as CRTOE), but the associations were positive and weak. Teachers’ language characteristics, instructional setting, certification in bilingual education/English as a second language, and their perceptions of the quality of their professional preparation emerged as significant influences on their CRTSE and CRTOE beliefs. Implications for teacher education and future research are presented. / text

The present study uses secondary data from the Positive, Engaged, Achieving Kids (PEAK) Project which was a large-scale effectiveness trial of the Social Skills Improvement System, SEL Edition Classwide Intervention Program (SSIS SEL CIP; Elliot & Gresham, 2017 [PI: DiPerna]). The purpose of the present study was to examine the effectiveness of this intervention at further developing social-emotional competencies for a sample of linguistically-diverse students. Furthermore, this study aimed to understand the impact that various classroom contextual factors, such as teacher-student interactions and classroom composition, had on social-emotional outcomes, as well as the potential moderating role they served between the intervention condition and social-emotional outcomes. This research was guided by the following questions: (1) To what extent does a classwide SEL program, the Social Skills Improvement System, SEL Edition, Classwide Intervention Program (SSIS SEL CIP), improve social-emotional outcomes for a sample of linguistically-diverse students? (2) To what extent do teacher and classroom contextual factors (i.e., teacher-student interactions, teacher characteristics, and classroom characteristics) predict social-emotional outcomes for linguistically-diverse students? (3) Do contextual characteristics moderate the relation between SEL programming and student outcomes, such that the effects of the intervention are magnified for linguistically-diverse students when other contextual factors are also present in the classroom environment (e.g., quality teacher-student interactions)? Hierarchical linear modeling (HLM) revealed that receipt of the SSIS SEL CIP did not serve as a statistically significant predictor of social-emotional outcomes. Teachers’ emotional support positively predicted social-emotional outcomes, while classroom organization served as a negative predictor. Teacher-student interactions (i.e., emotional support, classroom organization, and instructional support) did not have a moderating effect on outcomes, but classroom composition variables did have statistically significant moderating effects such that students who received the intervention and were in classrooms with a higher percentage of racial minority or EL students had higher social-emotional outcomes. Limitations of this study which offer avenues for future research are discussed, along with implications of this study’s findings. / Psychological Studies in Education

Doctor of Philosophy / Curriculum and Instruction Programs / Socorro G. Herrera / This quasi-experimental study was designed to measure the effects of a research-based intervention on fourth and fifth grade culturally and linguistically diverse students' vocabulary development. Through the extensive review of literature on vocabulary instruction and second language acquisition, a substantive theoretical framework titled the IBA Framework was developed. The IBA Framework incorporates characteristics of effective vocabulary instruction by accessing students' background knowledge, connecting unknown vocabulary words to known knowledge, ensuring opportunities for meaningful use of the vocabulary words, providing multiple exposures, and focusing on higher-level word knowledge. The IBA Framework also addresses second language acquisition by incorporating the linguistic, academic, cognitive, and sociocultural processes of the prism model. The IBA Intervention, derived from the IBA Framework, examined the affect of targeted vocabulary strategies on the overall vocabulary development of Culturally and Linguistically Diverse (CLD) students. Quantitative and qualitative methodologies were utilized for data collection and analysis. Quantitatively, the affect of the IBA Intervention was measured by the Measurement of Academic Progress (MAP) assessment and the Ecobehavioral System for the Contextual Recording of Interactional Bilingual Environments (ESCRIBE). MAP assessment scores were used to measure the overall literacy achievement of CLD students. Analysis of the data indicated that the treatment group made greater gains than the control group. ESCRIBE was used to measure students' overall engagement. The affect of the IBA Intervention was measured by combining the results of three student variables: language initiating/responding behaviors, oral responses, and activity-related responses. The overall engagement scores indicated that CLD students who received the IBA Intervention had higher levels of engagement than the control group. Qualitatively, the affect of the IBA Intervention on students' vocabulary retention was investigated using student documents, participant observation, and informal interviews. The emic perspective that emerged from the data suggested that students in the intervention group demonstrated their vocabulary retention by building vocabulary knowledge, clarifying vocabulary knowledge, extending vocabulary knowledge, and using vocabulary knowledge across settings. Exemplars from each of these categories were provided as evidence of the CLD students' attainment of a deeper level of permanent vocabulary knowledge.

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abstract: One of the major issues confronting education in Arizona and across the United States has been the consistent low performance of culturally and linguistically diverse (CLD) students in comparison to their peers as evidenced by the disparity of the achievement gap at every level in the educational pipeline. A contributing factor has been the lack of teacher preparation focused on teaching CLD students. Preparation focused on a culturally responsive curriculum about dispositions and pedagogical knowledge and skills as well as field experience placement with CLD students have been previously identified areas to consider when training preservice teachers (PSTs). Therefore, this study examined how a Culturally Responsive and Linguistic Teaching (CRLT) Framework would raise preservice teacher’s critical consciousness about teaching CLD students. The CRLT Framework focused on two specific areas; (a) a culturally responsive curriculum and (b) a team-based service-learning experience. The CRP curriculum included lessons designed to increase PSTs understanding about how their sociolinguist views influenced their pedagogical knowledge about teaching CLD students. In addition, the team-based service-learning approach, as a community of practice, provided experiences for PSTs to apply theory to practice. A mixed method analysis was employed to collect and analyze the quantitative data (surveys) and qualitative data (interviews and photovoice). Results from this study suggested increases in PSTs’ knowledge, self-efficacy, and perceptions of usefulness of CRP in their future practices. The team-based, service-learning component, which was based on a community of practice framework, enhanced the learning experience by allowing students to move from theory to practice and served as an important contributing factor to the overall results. Given the findings of this research study, it appeared that an introductory course focused on a culturally responsive and linguistic teaching influenced PSTs’ dispositions, knowledge, and skills. Thus, providing an introductory course, earlier rather than later, has the potential to change the trajectory of preparing PSTs so they were more prepared to teach CLD students as they continued through their program of study. Results showed effective work with CLD students was about so much more than ‘just good teaching.’ / Dissertation/Thesis / Doctoral Dissertation Educational Leadership and Policy Studies 2019