This explanatory sequential mixed methods study explored how and why dual language (DL) teachers used technology and the extent to which their use of technology supported the goals of DL of bilingualism, biliteracy, academic achievement, and sociocultural competence. The study was guided by Mishra and Koehler’s (2006) technological pedagogical content framework, Bunch’s (2013) pedagogical language knowledge, Biesta’s et al. (2015) teacher agency framework, and Moersch’s (1997) levels of technology implementation framework. In the quantitative phase, data was collected with an original survey, and in the qualitative phase, data was generated through observations, interviews, and artifacts. Survey responses were analyzed using descriptive statistics. The qualitative data was analyzed using descriptive and in vivo coding. Codes were used to develop emergent themes. Overall, the DL teachers leveraged technology in various ways for planning, instruction, and assessment supporting their students’ academic achievement by building background knowledge, introducing concepts with comprehensible input, and providing vocabulary practice. They also used different digital tools to develop students’ sociocultural competence by building a strong classroom community, incorporating students into the curriculum, and teaching about different cultures. Moreover, the participants used technology to communicate with parents and seek professional development opportunities. DL teachers’ technology use was influenced by contributing and inhibiting contextual factors. Practical implications stipulated include providing DL teachers with appropriate planning time, supporting teachers with professional development that is relevant to DL and encouraging effective technology integration, allowing for curriculum flexibility, and investing in resources in the partner language.

There is a need to determine the degree of success which the process of deisolation has attained, as perceived by the participants in that process. In order to make positive changes and ensure progress, the evaluations and suggestions of the participants must be obtained to ensure progress. The basis of this research is a Questionnaire designed to ascertain the perceptions of one hundred and fifty-eight participants in the process of deisolation in the Worcester Public Schools. The participants were comprised of administrators, Majority and Minority parents, politicians, and teachers. The Questionnaires elicited perceptions of schools, parental expectations, student needs, methods of school/home communication, student transportation, attitudes towards the process of deisolation, their degree of input, and a general evaluation of the process. The literature review encompasses the range from the "separate is equal" doctrine of Plessy vs. Ferguson (1896) to the current Worcester Public Schools Deisolation Plan which states that as of October 1, 1990, all Worcester Public Schools should voluntarily achieve a deisolation rate of +/$-$20% of the Worcester Public Schools average of Minority/Majority student enrollment. Results of the study indicate a desire for a successful educational experience and the need for additional school services were evident with all groups, and Minority parents experienced some difficulty with school/home communication. Administrators, politicians, and teachers were generally in agreement that the deisolation process was a positive factor, and that they had adequate input into the process. Results indicate participants were nearly unanimous that both students and community would benefit from the deisolation process. It was concluded that the differences in Majority and Minority parent perceptions were important enough to warrant further study. It would be beneficial to improve parent/school communication, increase parent involvement, and investigate alternative methods to fund increased student services. Finally, any one category is important to warrant further study so as to contribute to the overall success of the process of deisolation.

The Swedish study circle is a type of popular, non-formal adult education which was adapted in Sweden from an idea which originated in the Chautauqua Literary Circles of the late 1800s. Study circles became instrumental not only in providing educational opportunities to adults but in promoting non-violent social change in Sweden. These are still the most popular form of adult education in Scandinavia. The conditions which led early Swedish educators to adopt the study circle as an educational alternative were similar to those which led a group of Latino educators in the United States to use an adapted model of the original version of study circles with three groups of Latinas in a community-based agency. Current study circles in Sweden have evolved far away from the original model and the intention of this project was to use the original concepts. This study reviews the history and variety of adaptations of study circles in different settings and explores the extent to which this model could be adapted and used for empowerment education, and how gender and differences of race, ethnicity, language, culture and class influence personal and collective development. The study uses a qualitative research methodology grounded in feminist principles. The author took a leadership role and participated in an action-oriented process which led this group of Latinas to begin a journey of reclaiming their integrity and heritage. The results of this study revealed that study circles as adapted can be a powerful strategy for Latinas to break silence about their particular experiences of oppression. The study circles promoted a safe and caring environment which allowed the women to begin a process of discovering their power and ability to name, to reflect upon, analyze and value their experiences. From this experience a different set of conditions emerged which were essential for the success of study circles. Some of these include having a foundation in an organization with a commitment to promote people-centered education within a process of consciousness-raising.

The purpose of the study was to examine reading strategies used for students whose spoken language is Spanish, and are learning to read in Spanish. The study has as one of its goals, to try to unify the methods used in the process of reading development for Spanish speaking students. The study describes events of reading in six classrooms, and explore methods used in the development of reading. The impact of these methods on students and the result of testing. Another goal is to explore the attitudes of teachers, and if these attitudes affect implementation of methodology. The information for the study was gathered through interviews and questionnaires with teacher respondents and, students, as well as test scores at the end of the trial period. The test used was the, Unit Test, used in many Bilingual Programs. The test are divided into two parts. The teacher determines when to offer the test after having taught the skills of the Unit, according to the basic series used by the Bilingual Program. The gathered information showed which of the reading strategies used for the development of reading of Spanish speaking first graders appeared most effective. The three strategies reported by teachers were: The Phonics Methods, Whole Language and a combination of both methods (and in some cases other methods were included in the combination). From the information shown in the findings chapter it can be observed that the Phonics Method obtained the highest percentage when used as a reading strategy. The combination of methods obtained the second highest percentage as a reading strategy. The Whole Language Method obtained the lowest percentage when used as a reading strategy for Spanish speaking children. Students of teachers who have an average of 17-18 years of experience, had the highest scores in the tests. This is relevant, for the methods are not the only variable that seems to affect the results.

Previous studies on the sensitivity of Subjacency by adult L2 learners whose native language does not observe the rule have drawn different conclusions concerning adult sensitivity to Universal Grammar (UG) principles. This study further explores this issue by investigating not only Subjacency but also the Empty Category Principle (ECP). Using Chinese L2 learners of English, the present study tests their limitations on extraction out of several island conditions and their sensitivity to Wh-arguments (what, who, which) and Wh-adjuncts (when, where, how and why). Participants in the study included 180 Chinese freshmen and sophomores in a Chinese university, who were non-English majors and had never been exposed to an English speaking country and 16 Chinese L2 learners who were studying at University of Massachusetts at the time of study and who had at least 3 years of intensive English training before and had continually employed English afterwards. 25 English-speakers also participated in the study as a control group. They were asked to perform a grammaticality judgment task and a reading comprehension task on Subjacency and the ECP. The proficiency of the first group was measured with CELT and Assessment of Syntactic Capabilities tests. The study has found Chinese L2 learners demonstrated limitations on extraction from island conditions. Once they had sophistication in English, their performance score on Subjacency tasks showed no difference from that of the native English-speaking group. The informants also treated the different island conditions differently. They also distinguished Subjacency violations in relative clauses from that in noun complement clauses. In the reading comprehension task, the 180 Chinese informants had similar patterns to the control group and the children in DeVilliers' study. They allowed Wh-LD movement when the COMP in the embedded clause was not filled in English; when the COMP in medial was filled, they (like children and native speakers), gave answers to the lower clause when the trace was properly governed; they distinguished argument questions from adjunct questions by giving more answers to the former than the later questions. The study considers the implications of the above results for L2 teaching.

There have been rising concerns about the lack of accessible mental health services for members of Indigenous communities impacted by colonialism. Previous research highlights a scarcity of Indigenous therapists and not much is known about the multicultural competencies of non-Indigenous therapists providing services to Indigenous clients. As such, this thesis research inquires about the lived experiences of non-Indigenous therapists in relation to the gaps and challenges they experience in their multicultural competencies when working with Indigenous clients. An Interpretive Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) approach was used to inform data collection and analysis. Participants included three psychotherapists who were interviewed using a semi-structured protocol to learn more about gaps and challenges for the following categories of multicultural competence found in the literature: cultural awareness of self, cultural awareness of other, cultural knowledge, cross-cultural skills, and culturally sensitive alliance. Themes were generated for each category from the analysis of interview transcripts as follows: cultural awareness of self (i.e., Awareness of normative Whiteness, Reflecting on marginalized identity, Observing others' lack of self-awareness); cultural awareness of other (i.e., Idiosyncratic understanding of Indigenous culture, Cautiousness surrounding essentializing, Cautiousness around stereotyping, Navigating White-passing privileges, Oppressions towards Indigenous people); cultural knowledge (i.e., Educational programs and resources, Compensating through self-learning, Supervisors' knowledge, Complexity of knowledge, Understanding experiential knowledge, Discomfort with knowledge); cross-cultural skills (i.e., Tensions with Western understandings, Departing from normative practice, Caution in conversations, Repairing relational ruptures); and culturally sensitive alliance (i.e., Inner obstacles, Race-related self-conscientiousness, Trust building, Cultural empathy, Joining through similarity). Two notable themes were additionally generated outside these categories related to workplace and systemic challenges. Learning how non-Indigenous therapists make sense of their interactions with Indigenous clients by taking a closer look at gaps and challenges in therapy could inform future research, training, and practice on developing competencies that assist therapists in navigating a durable therapeutic relationship with Indigenous peoples.

In Southern New England as well as throughout the United States, middle school and high school aged language minority students are often found to be poor readers and writers of English despite their having received extensive English as a Second Language instruction in the primary grades. By and large, these are children who did not have the opportunity to fully develop literacy in their strongest language due to the school's policy that they be exposed to English as soon and as much as possible. Such a dilemma produces two negative possibilities to the secondary student which often contributes to a decision to drop out of school: the students' taking less demanding courses in which they do not wish to be enrolled, or the students' being enrolled in the program of their choice and finding the level of scholarship which is required to be overwhelming. This study measures the effects of varying degrees of native language literacy development on the mainland Portuguese immigrant child's later reading success in English as measured at the secondary school level. Specifically, it examines the impact of four to six years of participation in a community-operated, Portuguese language after-school program (in grades two through seven) on junior and senior high school English reading achievement as measured on the MAT6. The study also examines the relationship between participation in both this program and the primary grade (K-2) public school transitional bilingual education program in terms of later reading achievement in English. The results of the study indicate that a student's chances to be a good reader in English increased proportionally with the degree of development he/she had attained in literacy in the native language. The most successful group consisted of students who had been enrolled in both the bilingual education program and the after-school, Escola Portuguesa program. Conclusions. That public schools consider either providing late-exit bilingual education programs instead of early-exit programs currently in use, or that they work to help community groups to design and implement their own structured, after-school programs whereby native literacy can develop beyond the level which is provided in the early-exit, TBE model.

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