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Parental involvement is highly important for children's success at school. Research has shown that parental involvement leads to higher student achievement, better school attendance, and a reduction in dropout rates. However, what happens with those parents who do not speak English or have limited communication skills in this language? How can they become involved in their children's schooling when the children attend school in a language foreign to the parents? This study examines the experiences of three Mexican immigrant mothers and one father getting involved in their children's education in the United States. Helena was an active participant of a service-learning program hosted by a medium-sized Land Grand University. Sandra also attended the program but only for some time. Finally, the Hernandez parents, Mercedes and Jose Luis, were randomly selected in the community and did not participate in the service-learning program. This qualitative study relied mainly upon semi-structure interviews with the participants along with observations and field notes. The conclusions from this study provide insight as to how Mexican-immigrant parents with low-income develop an understanding of the school system in the United States. Analysis revealed two main strategies that parents use to communicate with the school: 1) using interpreters as affordance networks for communication, and 2) using their own knowledge of English to take actions and comply with school requirements. Data show that, contrary to common assumptions, parents do not prefer children as their first option for interpreting functions. In terms of learning about standard cultural practices of parental involvement parents accommodate to school demands by using various strategies and resources from their funds of knowledge. Parents learn about standard cultural practices of parental involvement and at the same time they support their children's education; in this process parents rely on their own cultural repertoires. Besides, parents seek places where they can develop community ties in order to learn about the how-tos of life in the United States. Finally, findings demonstrate that parents feel frustration and anxiety about their relationship with the schools, since they are facing with great resilience the every life challenges of living in a culture and language different from their own. The main findings of this study and discussing on the implications provided a discussion for policy changes in the context of the NCLB act, and suggestions for teacher preparation programs, and local school or service programs. / Ph. D.

The overarching objective of this study is to examine the nexus of relationships that emerged between university students and Latino families paired through a university service-learning course. The relationships crossed socially constructed boundaries of ethnic groups, language, educational levels, and socioeconomic status, exploring the intersection of community service, scholarship, and teaching-and-learning. The research questions necessitated the use of qualitative research methods. The narrative attempts to capture the essence of the setting, the actors, and the resultant relationships by describing and examining the spontaneous relationships that occurred. The researcher spent 1½ years as an interpreter/participatory member in the Latino community prior to beginning the research study. She collected data collected for this case study over 2½ years, examining the backgrounds of the participants, their perspectives toward their partners, and the role of service-learning in the development of relationships between two disparate groups. She conducted 46 interviews with students and community members while collecting over 2500 reflection papers, 100 transformation papers, and 25 PowerPoint presentations from students. The participants developed relationships at different levels, some resulting in friendships that will probably continue for some time; others sharing respect and concern for each other only during the placement. A few unsuccessful partnerships had to be changed. Student and community voices presented an appreciation for the partner's language and culture. The data illustrated satisfying reciprocal relationships in which students and families emerged united in solidarity against a society they deemed unjust. This study seeks to provide information for educators considering service-learning programs, examining a course that provides opportunities for interaction between university students and community members. Through the participants' voices, the reader can explore the integration of academic learning with learning lived in the community. Finally, this study submits general proposals for the inclusion of service-learning programs in Foreign Language and Teacher Education programs as a means of nurturing paradigm shifts in student attitudes toward members of other cultures as well as paradigm shifts in the Latinos' attitudes toward their new culture, suggesting possible deeper societal transformation as the academy and the community become agents of change through service-learning in the Latino community. / Ph. D.

International service learning (ISL) has been integrated into engineering education and has become increasingly more popular in co-curricular experiences. While prior research investigates each of these avenues of ISL, we have not investigated how these experiences compare to one another in terms of student learning outcomes or understood these experiences from a national perspective. The purpose of this thesis is to address these gaps in existing literature and to provide a comprehensive, holistic perspective of ISL experiences ability to impact student learning on a national scale. To better understand student learning outcomes in engineering ethics, agency and identity and draw comparisons in student career choices, several survey instruments were used within a nationally-representative survey distributed to engineering seniors (n=1911) at four-year universities within the United States. Descriptive statistics were used to categorize he responses by type of ISL experience: capstone, work, or co-curricular. The survey instruments were used to measure the individual learning outcomes: engineering ethics contained 5 items, engineering identity contained 14 items, and engineering agency contained 12 original items. Each survey instrument was validated using an exploratory factor analysis (EFA) to determine the relevant factor groups for each construct. An ANOVA test or Kruskal Wallis, the non-parametric equivalent test, was used for each dataset depending on normal distribution of the data. Responses in engineering ethics showed a significantly higher score in students’ ethics understanding with ISL capstone (p< 0.001) and work experience (p<0.0001) and a medium effect size for both (Cohen’s d=0.3). Responses in engineering agency scores showed a significant difference with ISL capstone (p<0.05) and co-curricular experience (p<0.05) with a medium effect size (Cohen’s d=0.3). Additionally, responses to predicted career choice post-graduation showed a lower percentage of students anticipating leaving engineering from the 9% population rate to 6% for those with ISL capstone experience and 5% for those with ISL co-curricular experience. These results give reason to consider more frequent incorporation of ISL projects into engineering courses such as senior capstone design. / Master of Science / International service learning (ISL) is a way of learning that allows students to use their engineering skills to help others, while gaining experience in a global context. ISL projects allow students to interact with people around the world, gaining experience with cultural and social diversity while using and developing their engineering skills. ISL projects take many forms and have been used within engineering education in many ways. The three most common ISL experiences are integration into capstone courses, independent ISL work experience, and co-curricular programs such as Engineers Without Borders. Prior research has focused mainly on capstone and co-curricular ISL experiences. Research found ISL experiences beneficial for student learning, however prior research has not investigated how these experiences compare. Additionally, many studies are conducted within courses or programs which provides a limited general understanding. This study aims to provide more clarity between student learning by ISL experiences and provide a national perspective on the impacts of ISL experiences. The purpose of this study was to determine how effective ISL experiences are in improving student learning in engineering ethics, agency, identity, and retaining engineering students in the field after graduation. A survey with a total of 31 questions related to these topics (5 for engineering ethics, 12 for engineering agency and 14 for engineering identity) was nationally distributed to senior engineering students enrolled at four-year universities in the United States. The responses were categorized by student’s ISL experience (capstone, work, and co-curricular) and compared for each engineering topic. The data was analyzed statistically, and the survey questions were analyzed to ensure that they were measuring student learning as expected. The results showed that ISL capstone projects improved students’ understanding of engineering ethics, increased their sense of engineering agency, and led to a lower percentage of students who planned to leave the field of engineering after graduation. ISL work experiences improved ethics understanding for students but had little to no impact on engineering agency. Finally, ISL co-curricular experiences had little impact on engineering ethics understanding, but improved student’s engineering agency beliefs and led to a less students leaving the field. These results give reasons to consider integrating ISL experiences into engineering education more frequently to provide benefits to students.

Universities across the United States have integrated international experiences into their engineering students' education. International engineering programs provide learning and professional opportunities for participating faculty and students while aiding international partners in their own efforts. These programs are unique from traditional engineering courses and projects and generate outcomes desired for engineers entering the workforce including professional skills, critical thinking skills, and a strong understanding of their target audiences. While individual programs have explored the impacts of their programs on their students and their resulting project outcomes, there are significant gaps when considering the following: 1) how are programs structured, 2) what are the intended learning outcomes, 3) why do faculty participate in these programs, 4) how are relationships formed and maintained with international partners, and 5) what barriers exist that limit international engineering programs? To address these gaps, I interviewed 25 program faculty and 40 students. Through qualitative analysis of these interviews, I found that programs shared a common consideration for the program's focus on student learning or achieving international partner goals. Programs approached both structure and learning outcomes with either more emphasis on one or the other; balancing these two goals was a challenge for most programs. Faculty were motivated to participate in international engineering programs by their own intrinsic values, however, many felt limited when in traditional tenure track positions. Students tended to reflect more deeply and from a systems perspective the more exposure and time in a program. Students who engaged in either multiple programs or longer participation within a program tended to reflect their experiences contributed more to their current and future career plans. Partners were typically developed initially through personal relationships of the faculty members or through third-party organizations that specialize in international work. Maintaining relationships was highly varied between programs, but a common deficit among programs was the ability to evaluate project outcomes with partners in a numerical way. The examination of these questions about international engineering programs provides a foundation of knowledge for future programs to build on and for existing programs to compare their approaches. This is a critical step to implementing these types of programs in a more widespread and intentional way. / Doctor of Philosophy / Universities across the United States have added international experiences into their engineering students' education. International engineering programs provide learning and professional opportunities for participating faculty and students while aiding international partners in their own efforts. These programs are unique from traditional engineering courses and projects and help students learn professional skills, critical thinking skills, and a strong understanding of their target audiences to prepare them for jobs. While individual programs have explored the impacts of their programs on their students and their resulting project outcomes, we don't know the following: 1) how are programs structured, 2) what are the intended learning outcomes, 3) why do faculty participate in these programs, 4) how are relationships formed and maintained with international partners, and 5) what barriers exist that limit international engineering programs? To answer these questions, I interviewed 25 program faculty and 40 students. I transcribed and used qualitative coding to analyze the data from faculty and students. Through these interviews, I found that programs shared a common consideration for the program's focus on student learning or achieving international partner goals. Each primary focus leverages different aspects of program design, learning, and participation outcomes to achieve those goals. Faculty were motivated to participate in international engineering programs by their own personal and moral values, however many felt limited when they held traditional tenure track positions. Students tended to reflect more deeply and from a systems perspective the more exposure that they had to a program in terms of length. While participation one time led to valuable learning and reflected learning, those that engaged in either multiple programs or longer programs tended to consider more components of their experiences as it affected their current and future plans. Partners were typically developed initially through personal relationships of the faculty members or through third party organizations who specialize in international work. Maintaining relationships was highly varied between programs, but a common deficit among programs was the ability to evaluate project outcomes with partners in a numerical way. These answers help future programs to strategically build programs and helps existing programs compare their program to others.

While other texts focus on theory, Coming Full Circle emphasizes the how-to of the discipline, providing students with a clear roadmap for involvement in service fields. Written in a student-friendly, accessible style, the book combines academic instruction with participation through service. It encourages students to reflect on their service experiences, and to grow as responsive citizens. More than a textbook, Coming Full Circle is also an effective aid to self-awareness and personal development. / https://dc.etsu.edu/etsu_books/1038/thumbnail.jpg