The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of a school counselor led classroom intervention, Student Success Skills (SSS) program (Brigman & Webb, 2010), on Grade 5 Hispanic student’s self-regulation, school attendance, and test anxiety. The study used non identifying archival data from a random controlled trial (RCT) collected at 30 elementary schools in one school district during the school year 2012-2013. Attendance was collected at the end of the school year when students completed Grades 4, 5, and 6. Data were collected at three points: pretest, posttest1, and posttest 2. A series of multivariate analysis of covariance (MANCOVA) tests and univariate analyses were conducted to determine statistical significance between the treatment group and comparison group in self- regulation, school attendance, and test anxiety. Effect sizes using a partial eta square were calculated for each dependent variable. The results support the Student Success Skills (SSS) classroom program (Brigman & Webb, 2010) implemented by certified school counselors was documented. / Includes bibliography. / Dissertation (Ph.D.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2017. / FAU Electronic Theses and Dissertations Collection

The increasing number of English language learners (ELL) in Florida's public schools has brought challenges to educational leaders as they work to provide educational opportunity to these children. In 1990, several community and activist groups filed a lawsuit against the Florida Department of Education to pressure it to provide adequate English language programs in all public schools. The lawsuit resulted in Floridas META Consent Decree (MCD), a legal accord by which Florida agreed to provide adequate teacher training and educational programs, thereby improving access to equal opportunity for ELLs. ELLs are also called limited English proficient (LEP) students in other states. This term was changed in Florida because the LEP label brought with it a negative connotation as it referred to proficiency within the learning of English as a limitation rather than as an asset. The study presents a comprehensive review of the MCD and its eleven main components. Through document and content analysis, the study intended to ix determine whether Florida's 67 public school districts comply with the decree and whether policies are in place to implement the court authorized processes. The study begins with an introduction, which includes historical data and Florida demographics that relate to the issue of second language learners. A review of the literature incorporates legal cases and pertinent educational policies that have preceded the decree. / The review also examined the major political and educational barriers that English language learners (ELL) encounter in Florida, as well as the research that suggests what programs and practices are required for successful second language learning. From the impact of antiimmigrant sentiments and English-only movements, to the League of United Latin-American Citizens (LULAC) v.FL Board of Education (1990) class action lawsuit, the study investigated the status of ELL programs in the state of Florida and the debates that surrounds them.The study intended to inform fellow educational leaders of these topics so that our work on behalf of K-12 ELLs can be more effective. Recognizing and preparing for the impact that the increasing numbers of ELLs will continue to have in Florida is an integral part of becoming a well-rounded educational leader and facilitates providing the services these students require, deserve, and to which they are entitled. The study also informs policymakers and practitioners of the pending needs and provides a roadmap to improving second language learning programs and practices in Florida. / by Maria de L. Rodriguez. / Vita / Thesis (Ph.D.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2011. / Includes bibliography. / Electronic reproduction. Boca Raton, Fla., 2011. Mode of access: World Wide Web.

President Obama’s 2014 “My Brother’s Keeper” initiative responds to the continuing educational disparities that the No Child Left Behind Act was intended to have addressed. The preoccupation with standardized testing and accountability over the past decade has revealed evidence of disparities in achievement between Black male students and their White counterparts. Critical Race Theorists have framed these persistent disparities as evidence of the opportunity gap and have advocated culturally responsive pedagogy that would facilitate students’ academic success. / Includes bibliography. / Dissertation (Ph.D.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2015. / FAU Electronic Theses and Dissertations Collection

Sociohistorical, sociopolitical and sociostructural barriers in American society create different paths in the college-to-work transition. Some individuals can follow their natural calling for a vocation, while others must contend with limited access to occupational opportunities. The emancipatory communitarian (EC) framework advocates for resisting and changing of structural barriers that hinder the career path of oppressed groups. Social Cognitive Career Theory (SCCT) explains how sociocultural and background contextual factors interact with self-efficacy, outcome expectations, and career goals to shape career behavior. The present study investigated the relation of ethnic identity and acculturation to self-efficacy beliefs and outcome expectations by testing the validity of SCCT tenets with a sample of 357 Latina/o college students. An EC-SCCT framework was used to explore the relationships among ethnic identity, acculturation level, career decision self-efficacy, coping efficacy, and perceived barriers. The results of a modified path model demonstrated that, for this sample, career decision self-efficacy mediated the influence of ethnic identity and Anglo bicultural orientation on the perception of career barriers. The findings also point to the role of ethnic identity in augmenting Latina/o students' career decision self-efficacy and increasing awareness about career barriers (e.g., ethnic discrimination). The current study contributes to the literature promoting a liberational approach to vocational and counseling psychology theory, research, and practice. Limitations and implications for theory, research, training, and practice are discussed.

There is little research-based and theoretical literature about adult education or English literacy classes in nonformal settings such as library literacy programs in the community (Mathews-Aydinli, 2008; McCook & Barber, 2002b). The purpose of this phenomenological case study was to explore the motivation, learning supports, learning barriers, and program change recommendations of Third Age Learners in a nonformal library ESOL setting. This study provides insight into the demographic variable of linguistically-isolated Third Age English Language Learners (ELLs) participating in a library conversationally-based ESOL program. The results can guide libraries offering services, as well as those considering offering services to these customers (American Library Association [ALA], 2008a). Data collected included in-depth, face-to-face interviews, classroom observations, documents, learner and teacher essays, researcher journals, and analytic memos. The researcher coded all data with NVIv o 8 qualitative software then half of the data was coded with Atlas-TI 5 software by a second coder. A thematic analysis was completed in order to triangulate the data. The purposeful sample consisted of 21 participants at a Florida library adult ESOL program which included 11 learners and 10 teachers. The 11 learners were selected based on their ethnic background, predominantly those of Hispanic background. Eight learner findings and four teacher-perceived findings were identified in this study. / The learner findings included: (a) to understand people at work; (b) to find or expand employment; (c) to practice conversation, pronunciation, listening, grammar and language rules; (d) to meet and get to know people; (e) assiduous teaching; (f) self-directed learning strategies support second language learning success; (g) more publicity, more classes, tutoring, language learning labs, study skills classes, and classroom management training; and (h) lack of family/community support and opportunities to practice English. Teacher-perceived findings mirrored learner findings (a) through (f) and (h), and included: (a) to increase teacher support, communications, and training; (b) to encourage the use of library resources: children's materials; language and music CDs; audiovisual materials, and Internet websites; (c) libraries are safe, supportive, and welcoming environments; and (d) how the give and take between learners and teachers is helpful to both. Discussion of the findings, conclusions, and recommendations are included. / by Mary Anne Cassell. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2011. / Includes bibliography. / Electronic reproduction. Boca Raton, Fla., 2011. Mode of access: World Wide Web.

Due to the ever growing numbers of immigrants entering this country, school districts are faced with ever greater challenges for educating newly arrived immigrant students. Often these students arrive with little to no English ability and little to no school experience. Several educational program models, including ESL and bilingual education, have been popularized in school districts experiencing immigrant population growth. Recently, a supplemental model, the newcomer center/program, has gained popularity. The newcomer model seeks to educate and nurture newly arrived immigrant students with little to no English ability in the social and school expectations of the United States. Due to difficulties in conducting research and the relative newness of the program, there is a lack of quantitative research on the effectiveness of the newcomer model. The purpose of this study was to examine the effectiveness of the newcomer program in one city school district by comparing students who had completed the newcomer program to students who had been unable to attend and were instead directly mainstreamed into their regular assigned schools. The study used a questionnaire design in which the mainstream teachers were asked to rate the students using a Likert scale. Students were rated on their social and school adjustment. In addition to comparing students by program model group (newcomer and pre-beginner), statistical analyses were also used to determine any possible differences among gender, language groups and student ages. Although no significant difference was found between the group of students who successfully completed the newcomer program and the group of students who were directly mainstreamed, there were a few significant findings among gender, age and language comparisons.

In recent years, Science, Technology, Engineering, and Technology (STEM) talent pool has re-emerged as a national priority. Certain racial and ethnic groups are dramatically underrepresented in STEM careers and STEM educational programs, an especially serious concern given demographic transitions underway in the United States. The College Board's Advanced Placement (AP) Calculus program provides one way in which students can gain exposure to college-level mathematics while still in high school. This study analyzed factors that contribute to the success of minority students in AP Calculus using a large, longitudinal (2007-2012), geographically distributed dataset which included important school-level variables and AP scores for 10 urban school districts. Descriptive statistics show that AP success in general and minority success in AP Calculus specifically are unevenly distributed across the dataset. A very small number of schools and school districts account for the majority of the production of passing scores on AP exams. Results from multi- variate regression and multi-level growth modeling demonstrate that school size and academic emphasis on a school level constitute important predictors of success for Black and Hispanic students in AP Calculus. The very narrow distribution of AP success across schools and school districts suggests that a specific set of school-level policies and practices are likely to be highly effective in leveraging these two predictors.

published_or_final_version / Education / Doctoral / Doctor of Philosophy

Existing research on multilingual acquisition indicates that multilingual learners confront challenges not only in mastering new linguistic forms, but also in forming new identities, and especially when the languages concerned are socially and linguistically distant. This study shows that ethnic minority students in China (referred in particular as ‘ethnic multilingual learners’ or EMLs in this study) at universities can face more challenges than the ethnic majority, Han, when they choose to study English as their major subject. The Han’s content and method in English learning are straitjacketed upon them. The environment is unfamiliar to EMLs, and the EMLs are often regarded as “strangers” to the place. Their problems include the national examination system, medium of instruction, learning difficulties, psychological issues and cultural exclusion. The current educational policies in China intend to protect the educational rights of ethnic minorities, but ignore the role of education in inheriting and capitalizing their ethnic cultures. The current university curricula mainly focus on subject knowledge building and patriotic education. As a result, the “cultural self-consciousness” and “cultural capital” of EMLs are less emphasized and encouraged. Data are collected on two female ethnic minority students at Yunnan University of Nationalities (YUN) through ethnographic interview, autobiography, oral narrative, online chatting and field observation. It provides information at a micro level, on how the two students, who have successfully navigated through Chinese education system to the tertiary level, try their best to excel in the education system of YUN with English language as their major subject and construct their multiple identities, and what important factors are affecting such identity construction. The findings suggest that they negotiate their multiple identities successfully through their active engagements on and off the university campus to become legitimate participants in various “communities of practice”. These identities are shaped partly by their own heritage and partly by the present sociopolitical realities in China. Drawing mainly on poststructuralist and multicultural education theories, the study also examines the power relationship exercised in YUN and discusses the impact of this power relationship on the identities formation of the target informants. The national and local policies as well as the curriculum structures of YUN are analyzed to identify the implicit power relationship that mainly causes tensions to the education and language learning of EMLs. It is argued that multiculturalism, as a discourse of education, may help to ease the tension between being an ethnic minority and a Chinese national, and reduce the danger of assimilation and marginalization of these EMLs. To achieve the goal of multilingual education based on the notion of multiculturalism, a “collaborative” power relationship which facilitates the empowerment rather than disempowerment of EMLs should be the goal in China according to the framework of “ethnic diversity within national unity”. It is envisaged that with such multicultural mentality, EMLs will be more able to act not only as manpower for raising productivity of the country, but also as agents for social transformation and in the end become citizens of the cosmopolitan world. / published_or_final_version / Education / Doctoral / Doctor of Philosophy

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