This research study presents an investigation of interpreter trainees acquiring New Zealand Sign Language (NZSL) as a second language (L2) outside their formal classroom learning. This study was motivated firstly by a concern that a considerable reduction in learner and lecturer contact hours within an NZSL interpreting programme would compromise graduate NZSL competency, necessitating a compensatory approach predominantly in the context of the Deaf community. Secondly, the study attempts to address a marked gap in research related to L2 sign language learning from a socio-cultural perspective. Semi-structured interviews were conducted in a bilingual context (NZSL and English) in order to gain the ‘inside’ perspectives of six NZSL learners who had just completed a two-year Diploma in Sign Language Interpreting. The interviews sought to uncover the informal NZSL language learning opportunities used by the participants, especially within the social context of the Deaf community, and the individual learner strategies utilised by ‘good learners’ of NZSL. Interview data were transcribed and were analysed by employing qualitative methods. Coding of the data revealed a number of categories which were subsequently examined for salient themes relating to the research questions. The main findings of the study revolved around the significance of L2 learner access to social and material resources, especially within the Deaf socio-cultural context. Of particular significance was the enhancement of learner motivation and confidence as was the frequency and depth of interaction with Deaf people and degree of mediated NZSL learning from NZSL mentors. Of key importance were the social relationships and networks developed with L1 users, which facilitated access to an array of NZSL learning opportunities. Material language learning resources, such as NZSL video samples and equipment were also useful, when interaction with Deaf people was not possible due to heavy study demands, especially in the second year of the programme. Learner involvement in the Deaf community, particularly within Deaf social networks, resulted in significantly improved linguistic, pragmatic and socio-cultural competency. The findings of the study raise two main implications. Firstly, the study highlights the need for NZSL interpreting curriculum enrichment and the resourcing of the programme to foster learner autonomy. Secondly, to date there has been little research on adult L2 sign language learning outside the classroom context and the study may stimulate further studies of the acquisition of sign language as a second language. The study may also be of benefit to autonomous L2 sign language learners and stakeholders in sign language interpreting education around the world.

Teachers face pressures to meet the needs of an ever-changing diverse population of learners while simultaneously attempting to assist students in meeting state standards. There is a body of research that supports emergent bilinguals' growth in reading and writing. However, those practices do not necessarily reflect classroom instruction nor the needs of the students. The purpose of this study was to examine adolescent emergent bilinguals' perceptions about their learning from research-based literacy practices implemented in a classroom designed as a third space. Data were collected using participatory research and photo-elicitation and were analyzed using inductive analysis. The emergent bilinguals provided their insights about class assignments. Findings revealed that research-based literacy practices support emergent bilinguals' perceptions of learning when they are made accessible to them in distinctive yet extensive ways. For students to uncover which literacy activities they value, teachers need to present them with various opportunities to explore their own learning and encourage them to take ownership of their learning. Educators must consider the unique and individual needs of emergent bilinguals when designing the classroom environment and the lessons based on the standards. Recommendations for practitioners, professional development coordinators, and researchers are presented.

Diss. Uppsala : Sveriges lantbruksuniv., 2003.

The aim of this thesis is to investigate the writing process in the teaching of the subject of Swedish at upper secondary school. This study analyses the relations between the pupils’ writing and the school environment in which the writing takes place and how the pupils position themselves and others in relation to their use of digital artefacts and norms in the classroom. The empirical material has been created in three classes at two different schools. The data consists of participant observations of 42 lessons, all of which were video recorded using two cameras, and audio recorded semi-structured interviews with 24 pupils and 3 teachers. Theoretically, the study is based on sociocultural perspectives on literacy and learning and a multimodal social semiotic understanding of meaning-making based on an interest in the use of resources that constitute meaning in the social environment. From an ecological perspective, writing is examined as discourses in which the participants and the environment interact. Analytic concepts are used by inspiration from Kress et al (2005) and Smidt (2002). The figure “Writing roles in fields of tension” has been constructed to illustrate the students’ writing roles and positioning's in the empirical material. The results show that the shift from paper and pen to computer and screen means more than a shift change in the use of artefacts. The teaching of digital writing has a point of departure as a project in communication. In multimodal environments, pupils are often left without access to a teacher due to the layout of the room. This leads to positioning in roles, such as help seeker and helper. The classrooms are characterised by the constant presence of social media and its demands on students’ attention. Earlier generations of writing processes emphasised the importance of prewriting, drafting and revision in stages. In the digital writing process these stages are lacking. In this context, the digital writing process can be understood as a “fourth generation process” consisting of writing, saving and sending. The fourth generation of writing process stresses on the writing at a micro- rather than macro level. The word processing functions of spelling and grammar offer clickable solutions to problems, but cannot be considered as tools for learning. In the digital classroom pupils are vulnerable, left to their own resources and have difficulties in handling complex assignments.

This study explores the learning trajectories of four senior managers at the Royal Mail as they confronted new demands at work. These four managers worked at the Royal Mail during the years prior to, and during its privatisation, when it was also undergoing an intense modernisation. Theoretically, I took a sociocultural approach, drawing on Vygotsky (1998), Edwards (2010), Holland et al. (1998), and Sfard and Prusak (2005), among others. I was also provoked by Alasdair MacIntyre's characterisation of the manager and his understanding of practice, which emphasises human ourishing. Data was collected through iterative unstructured and semi-structured interviews, and by work shadowing the managers. Methodologically, I developed a useful interview protocol to capture stories about work and a more nuanced understanding of what mattered to participants. I also built a conceptual framework that draws theoretically from a sociocultural understanding of learning and development, as well as from MacIntyre (2013) and Taylor (1989). e model emerged from the dialectics of theory and empirical data. The research shows that as the Royal Mail underwent organisational change, the managers had to navigate situations of misalignment between what mattered to them and what mattered to other members of the organisation. Such situations of misalignment brought about new demands. As they confronted the demands, the managers realised the need to close a gap between who they were and who they were expected to become. Gap-closing efforts were characterised as a process of learning and development that involved intense identity work. In the process, the managers had to work through a series of contradictions, which can be expressed in the form of questions: Who am I really? Who should I no longer be? Who do I resist becoming? And, who do I struggle to become? Gap-closing was given by a dialectic between the managers' commitments and identi cations, and the stories of what was good in the gured world of managing at the Royal Mail. Contrary to some of MacIntyre's suggestions, I found that the four managers in the study, Linda, Eric, Margaret and Julian did question themselves about some of the ends they pursued. ey also exhibited varying degrees of agency, and did establish a distance with the impositions of their institutional realities. In the eld, I found instances of moral debate, the exercising of virtues and the managers' very human efforts to live a worthy life and to ourish. Yet, I also found empirical grounds for some of MacIntyre's claims. As the managers navigated misalignment, they used an array of strategies intended to persuade others in a manipulative way, sometimes treating ends as given, and sometimes eluding moral debate. The study contributes to the literature of learning and development through its original theoretical approach that draws from both sociocultural and MacIntyrean ideas.

abstract: This study explored female identity formation, of Ethiopian women and women of Ethiopian heritage as they participate in a coffee (buna) ceremony ritual. The study is anchored in the theoretical framework of a sociocultural perspective which enabled an examination of culture as what individuals do and believe as they participate in mutually constituted activities. Participants in Ethiopia were asked to photograph their daily routine beginning from the time they awoke until they retired for the night. Thematic analysis of the photographs determined that all participants depicted participation in the Ethiopian coffee ceremony in their photo study. Utilizing the photographs which specifically depicted the ceremony, eight focus groups and one interview consisting of women who have migrated from Ethiopia to Arizona, responded to the typicality of the photographs, as well as what they liked or did not like about the photographs. Focus groups were digitally recorded then transcribed for analysis. A combination of coding, extrapolation of rich texts, and identifying themes and patterns were used to analyze transcripts of the focus groups and interview. The findings suggest that this context is rich with shared meanings pertaining to: material artifacts, gender socialization, creation of a space for free expression, social expectations for communal contributions, and a female rite of passage. / Dissertation/Thesis / Ph.D. Educational Psychology 2011

The current study examined the relations among internalization of sociocultural attitudes towards appearance, magical thinking, muscle dysmorphia, and eating disorder symptoms in models of obligatory exercise for males and females. The results indicated that several different developmental trajectories exist that vary from person to person. Several of the models proposed were supported or partially supported. The first model demonstrated mediation and moderation; at low levels of magical thinking, eating disorder attitudes and behaviors fully mediated the relation between internalization of societal standards of appearance and obligatory exercise. The second model was supported for the female sample, and indicated that obligatory exercise partially mediated the relation between internalization of societal standards of appearance and eating disorder attitudes and behaviors. The second model assessing eating disorder attitudes and behaviors for the male sample was not supported. A third model evaluated a mediational effect of muscle dysmorphia, but was not evident. However, when magical thinking was high, muscle dysmorphia significantly predicted obligatory exercise. The fourth model evaluated obligatory exercise as a mediator of the relation between internalization of societal standards of appearance and muscle dysmorphia, and partial mediation was demonstrated for the males. The fourth model was not supported for the females; instead, it appears that both internalization of societal standards of appearance and obligatory exercise contribute to muscle dysmorphia. Collectively, the results of this study support the use of a transdiagnostic perspective when designing intervention and treatment programs for individuals who may suffer from eating disorders, obligatory exercise and/or muscle dysmorphia.

U.S. sociocultural expectations regarding women's bodies have been linked with women's psychological distress. In an effort to reveal the transformative ways in which women may be subverting systems of oppression, the current study surrounds development and validation of a quantitative measurement tool centered on resistance to sociocultural beauty ideals and physical standards of appearance. Theoretical reviews, focus group interviews (n =33), and expert feedback formed the basis for item development and modification. An initial pilot sample (n = 169) offered data for initial examination of reliability, while a subsequent validation sample (n = 342) provided data for investigation of factor structure as well as evaluation of reliability and validity performance. A final 63-item Resistance to Sociocultural Appearance Standards (RSAS) Scale was developed. Exploratory factor analytic findings suggested a 3-factor solution represented the data well. Good reliability and mixed evidence for validity of the overall scale and individual subscales derived from the factor analysis were demonstrated. Strengths and limitations as well as directions for future research are discussed.

abstract: One of the critical imperatives for the development of inclusive school systems is the capacity to nurture and develop teachers who have the skills, critical sensibilities, and the contextual awareness to provide quality educational access, participation, and outcomes for all students; however, research on teacher learning for inclusive education has not yet generated a robust body of knowledge to understand how teachers become inclusive teachers in institutions where exclusion is historical and ubiquitous. Drawing from socio-cultural theory, this study aimed to fill this gap through an examination of teacher learning for inclusive education in an urban professional learning school. In particular, I aimed to answer the following two questions: (a) What social discourses are present in a professional learning school for inclusive education?, and (b) How do teachers appropriate these social discourses in situated practice? I used analytical tools from Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) and Grounded Theory to analyze entry and exit interviews with teacher residents, principals, site professors, and video-stimulated interviews with teacher residents, observations of classroom practices and thesis seminars, and school documents. I found two social discourses that I called discourses of professionalism, as they offered teachers a particular combination of tools, aiming to universalize certain tools for doing and thinking that signaled what it meant to be a professional teacher in the participating schools. These were the Total Quality Management like discourse (TQM-like) and the Inclusive Education-like discourse. The former was dominant in the schools, whereas the latter was dominant in the university Master's program. These discourses overlapped in teachers' classrooms practices, creating tensions. To understand how these tensions were resolved, this study introduced the concept of curating, a kind of heuristic development that pertains particularly to the work achieved in boundary practices in which individuals must claim multiple memberships by appropriating the discourses and their particular tool kits of more than one community of practice. This study provides recommendations for future research and the engineering of professional development efforts for inclusive education. / Dissertation/Thesis / Ph.D. Special Education 2011

abstract: Using a sociocultural framework, this dissertation investigated the writing processes of 31 ESL learners in an EAP context at a large North American university. The qualitative case study involved one of the four major writing assignments in a required first-year composition course for ESL students. Data were collected from four different sources: (a) A semi-structured interview with each participant, (b) process logs kept by participants for the entire duration of the writing assignment, (c) classroom observation notes, and (d) class materials. Findings that emerged through analyses of activity systems, an analytical framework within Vygotskian activity theory, indicate that L2 writers used various context-specific, social, and cultural affordances to accomplish the writing tasks. The study arrived at these findings by creating taxonomies of the six activity system elements - subject, tools, goals, division of labor, community, and rules - as they were realized by L2 writers, and examining the influence that these elements had in the process of composing. The analysis of data helped create categories of each of the six activity system elements. To illustrate with an example, the categories that emerged within the element division of labor were as follows: (a) Instructor, (b) friends and classmates, (c) writing center tutors, (d) family members, and (e) people in the world. The emergent categories for each of the six activity system elements were then examined to determine if their effects on L2 writing were positive or negative. Overall, the findings of the present study validate arguments related to the post-process views that an explanation of L2 writing processes solely based on cognitive perspectives provides but only a partial picture of how second language writing takes place. In order for a more comprehensive understanding of L2 writing one must also account for the various social and cultural factors that play critical roles in the production of L2 texts. / Dissertation/Thesis / Ph.D. English 2012