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

Not available / text

Not available

Against the background of the lack of consensus on the definition of the concept minority and the continuing debates on minorities and their rights in education, a need exists for adequate provision of education suitable to different minorities. This study investigates the provision of education to minorities. A literature survey investigated how various countries make provision for minorities in their education systems, starting from the Constitutions and various education laws to educational practice. These countries include Belgium, Getmany, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom (UK) and Italy. Regarding South Africa, an analysis of documents dealing with the provision of education to minorities was undertaken. Unstructured interviews, from a small sample of informants selected by purposeful sampling, elicited additional data to the document analysis. Data was analysed, discussed and synthesised. The major findings are: there is no international consensus on the definition of the concept minority; the concept minority does not even appear in the Constitutions of some of the countries under investigation; the South African Constitution uses the concept communities rather than minorities. However, no definition of the concept community is provided and despite reservations expressed by a key informant on group rights, generally the South African Constitution contains enough sections regarding the provision of education to minorities. Subject to certain limitations, minority groups may open their own schools and use their own language. Based on these findings, recommendations for educational provision for minorities are made. / Educational Studies / D.Ed. (Comparative Education)

This research sought to discover whether minority and economically disadvantaged students are underrepresented in gifted and honors programs. Another goal was to ascertain attitudes of students and teachers currently participating in gifted and honors programs regarding: admission criteria; adequacy of teacher preparation to meet special needs of gifted and honors students; levels of needs satisfaction of gifted and honors students; perceptions of students and teachers about program modification.

M.Ed. / This study focuses on the problems of language and pedagogy in the teaching of English to second language learners. The aim of the study firstly, was to investigate the problems confronting teachers of English when teaching a heterogeneous classroom population which has both first language and second language learners and secondly, to investigate the problems facing Black pupils who were a minority group in the heterogeneous classroom. An extensive literature review was undertaken to examine core areas of the multicultural education and second language teaching and learning which were pertinent to the problem of this study to ascertain if the problems were peculiar to South African schools. The theory framework constructed from the review concluded with the theoretical premise that the problems confronting teachers and pupils were not peculiar to South African schools. The investigation included data collection from two sources or constituents, namely the teachers of heterogeneous classrooms in a rural independent school and their Black pupils. These data were consolidated, reduced and clustered, culminating in empirical findings which were confirmed using different methods and sources.The main emergent patterns indicated that the second language learners had not mastered reading skills, were not capable of expressing themselves in formal writing and encountered difficulty in translating from their vernacular to English. This confirmed that teachers of English in these heterogeneous classes were enountering enormous difficulty in harnessing the full potential of the second language learners.