This study, conducted in a third-grade classroom in Puerto Rico, analyzed the development of literature discussions, in which through dialogues with the teacher and each other, students learn how to discuss, analyze, and reflect upon what they are reading in class, and relate what they learn to their own circumstances. A combination of three theoretical perspectives served as guide: Reader Response Theory (RRT), which addresses how the dialogue featured in literature discussions helped develop understandings about how power, ideology and identity are interwoven in society; Postcolonial Theory (PT) and Critical Race Theory (CRT), which addresses the dynamics and relations of power in neo-colonial contexts, such as Puerto Rico. The research questions were as follows:1. How do literature discussion and critical literacy practices influence students' understandings of social issues? a) How do these discussions about social issues influence students' understandings of Puerto Rican society and identity? b) How do these discussions influence students' understandings of how political relations constitute Puerto Rican reality? c) How do students take action based on their developing understandings of society? I relied on ethnographic methods, such as participant-observation, interviews, and videotapes of literature discussions, to document how the students, with the help of their teacher, develop discourse practices that allow them to reflect, analyze and discuss their readings, and then plan and take social action on the issues they have studied. I used Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) as a central strategy of analysis, identifying three major categories that formed part of a broader Identity Theme: Personal, Gender, and Social. A significant aspect of the study is that literature discussions of books based on social issues provide multiple opportunities to reflect, create dialogue, and build understanding about who we are in our current society, who the others are, and provide spaces to develop as social agents. This production of spaces for reflecting on reality, central to this study, fosters in the students a deep process of constructing meaning, elaborates their skills and strategies in reading for a critical understanding of texts and related social issues, and enhances their taking of action for social change.

This dissertation is a linguistic ethnography of a high school Astronomy/Oceanography classroom in southern Arizona, where an exceptionally promising, novice, white science teacher and mostly Mexican-American students confronted issues of identity and difference through interactions both related and unrelated to science learning. Through close analysis of video-recorded, naturally-occurring interaction and rich ethnographic description, the study documents how a teacher and students accomplished everyday classroom life, built caring relationships, and pursued scientific inquiry at a time and in a place where nationally- and locally-circulating discourses about immigration and race infused even routine interactions with tension and uncertainty. In their talk, students appropriated elements of racializing discourses, but also used language creatively to "speak back" to commonsense notions about Mexicanness. Careful examination of science-related interactions reveals the participants' negotiation of multiple, intersecting forms of citizenship (i.e., cultural and scientific citizenship) in the classroom, through multidirectional processes of language socialization in which students and the teacher regularly exchanged expert and novice roles. This study offers insight into the continuing relevance of racial, cultural, and linguistic identity to students' experiences of schooling, and sheds new light on classroom discourse, teacher-student relationships, and dimensions of citizenship in science learning, with important implications for teacher preparation and practice.

The legacy of historical trauma continues to plague Indigenous populations throughout the world. This theoretical dissertation describes how biology (neurodevelopment, neurobiology and endocrinology) and culture (inter-generationally learned behaviors) are intricately intertwined in the development of dysfunctional coping behaviors that contribute to stress-related chronic diseases (heart disease, obesity, type II diabetes mellitus, depression, neurodegenerative disorders and memory impairment) in some individuals. The primary impact of the many episodes of historically traumatic genocide has been post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and the onset of dysregulation of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis (HPA-axis). PTSD has had a profound impact on relationships and behaviors, while dysregulation of the HPA-axis is associated with pathophysiology. It is well documented that historical trauma has caused a cultural disconnect from traditional wellness and healing practices. Despite incredible resiliency, the result of this legacy has been a genesis of intergenerational, dysfunctional, coping strategies that have become subtly engrained in a viscous cycle of self-perpetuating, self-inflicting, dysfunctional behaviors that have been carried forward into the next generation as "toxic stress" - in the form of childhood abuse, domestic violence, interpersonal violence, and substance abuse. With time, the association to the initial traumatic assault erodes, leaving behind, collectively, a fragmented society that, in many places, has become the basis for a "cultural crisis". The approach presented in this dissertation is founded upon: 1) cultural acquisition theories that describe how existing cultural constructs and traditions are internalized by children and repeated throughout a life-time into the next generation; and 2) understanding the interaction of the autonomic nervous system (specifically, the HPA-axis and its activation by stress) and the neocortex, the basis for higher psychological processes associated with learning and cultural acquisition. This dissertation offers an explanation for the continued impact of historically traumatic events on the contemporary health and wellness of American Indian and Alaska Native people. It is hoped that this approach leads to specific intervention and prevention measures that are culturally relevant in addressing pathophysiology, cognitive-behavioral issues and the collective cultural changes that have ensued as a result of historical trauma.

A large body of research exists concerning teaching students of Mexican background whose primary language is not English, who I call Potentially Biliterate Students (PBLs) in this study. The focus of the research around these students often addresses bilingual education, academic achievement, the impact of language policy, and segregation, among other areas. Yet inequalities still prevail when educating this group of students. Language policies such as Proposition 203 and House Bill 2064 in Arizona, which are not research-based, target this particular population -perpetuating inequalities that have been visible since the Mexican-American War of 1848. This dissertation is informed by sociocultural (Vygotsky, 1978) and sociocultural-historical (Rogoff, 2003) perspectives. Theories of second language (Krashen, 1982; Cummins, 1991; Collier, 1995) and the interplay with mathematics education (Moschkovich, 2002, Khisty, 1995) are also important components that frame my study. This study took place in two different third-grade classrooms, a mainstream and an English Language Development/Structured English Immersion (ELD/SEI), in an English-only environment. The school is part of a school district in southern Arizona where most students are of Mexican background. I employed ethnographic tools to address my research questions. The data sources of this study come from field notes from participant observations, video-recorded sessions, interviews (video- and/or audio recorded) with both teachers and students, and teachers autobiographies regarding their language and mathematics learning experiences, offering a rich source for analysis of the resources and classroom practices in the teaching-learning environment. This data allowed me to develop in-depth case studies for both teachers based on the nature of their classrooms. Thought the two case studies presented, I document how the sociopolitical-historical context and the teachers' training and professional development shape their classroom practices, language ideology, attitudes towards the subjects they teach, as well as their perceptions about their students and families; in particular around students of Mexican background. Additional research is needed to connect results similar to this study with the impact on students' outcomes and behavior, as also the impact on participation of the different school members -parents and other community members.

This ethnographic study of language use and English language learners in Central Java, Indonesia examines globalization processes within and beyond language; processes of language shift and change in language ecologies; and critical and comprehensive approaches to the teaching of English around the world. From my position as teacher-researcher and insider-outsider in an undergraduate English Department and the community surrounding the university, I engaged in reflections with students and educators in examining local language ecologies; needs for and access to English language resources; and how English majors negotiated "double positionalities" as both members of a global community of English speakers and experts in local meaning systems within which English forms played a role. In order to understand English, language ecologies, and globalization in situ, I triangulated these findings with language and education policy creation and negotiation at micro-, meso- and macro- levels, (Blommaert, 2005; Hornberger & Hult, 2010; McCarty, 2011; Pennycook, 2001, 2010).Globalization is found to be part and parcel of the distribution of English around the world; however, English's presence around the world is understood to be just one manifestation of contemporary globalization. More salient are the internationalization of standards, global corporate and media flows of information, and access to educational and information resources. These are all regulated by the state which, while working to maintain an Indonesian identity, relegates local languages to peripheries in space and time, and regulates access to all language resources, creating an upward spiral of peripheralization wherein the levels of proficiency in local, national, and English languages represent access gained to state-provided educational resources.

Cross-border programs are often cited as having transformative effects on educators, claiming increased cultural awareness, intercultural understanding and culturally responsive practices. However, these shifts are most commonly evaluated in the days and weeks after teachers return to the U.S. and rarely allow for a long-term, in-depth understanding of the impacts. This dissertation outlines findings from a collaborative action research study that attempted to document the experiences of a small group of K-12 teachers before, during and after their participation in a cross-border experience in Mexico. My overarching questions examined the U.S. school contexts to which four White teachers returned as the under-theorized "next step" to their cross-border experience, specifically seeking to make sense of how new understandings of Mexico influenced their perceptions of, and engagement with Mexican immigrant families. Ongoing inquiry groups were implemented as part of this study; over the course of eighteen months, teachers used this space to critically reflect on their experiences abroad and to plan how they would incorporate new knowledge and understandings into their teaching contexts. Through this process, teachers conceptualized, planned and engaged in three dialogues with Mexican immigrant parents in which they purposefully created a new, "third space" for cross-border narratives, or the mutual sharing of life stories, as they related to their own educational experiences in Mexico and/or the U.S. Utilizing an ethnographic approach, data was collected via field notes and digital recordings of interviews, inquiry group meetings and parent-teacher dialogues. Narrative methods were also used as a principal tool for inquiry and analysis. My findings suggest that the transformative effects of cross-border programs are not solely a result of time spent abroad, but an ongoing process of inquiry, reflection and action once teachers return to the U.S. It was through the transaction of the cross-border experiences, inquiry group meetings, and the powerful narratives that emerged during the parent-teacher dialogues that teachers were able to acknowledge, revisit and rewrite scripts of deficit pertaining to Mexican families at their school site.

This grounded theory qualitative study explores conceptualizations of Diné T'áá Bi At'éego, "a well-directed person," held by eighteen Diné people, ranging in age from their 20s to 70s, from three distinctly different communities. By inquiring into personal attributes and abilities valued in Diné culture, the groundbreaking work of Navajo philosopher Kenneth Begishe is extended. The purpose of this study is to identify and document specific characteristics, attributes, skills, knowledge, practices, connections, and relationships currently honored and respected within Diné communities so they might be used to develop long-term Student Learning Objectives in the creation of a Diné culture based curriculum supporting the development of a strong Diné identity in students. The data, provided by participants through interviews, leads to the emergence of four umbrella categories (Thinking, Doing, Being, Achieving Harmony) and numerous sub-categories constituting the characteristics attributes, skills, knowledge, connections, and relationships valued and respected by the participants. The results are compared to Kenneth Begishe's (1968) model of "Diné T'áá Bi At'éego," in which he indicates important characteristics of a well-directed person. The comparison suggests that Diné people continue to value many of the same characteristics Begishe identified more than four decades ago. In spite of the affirmation of characteristics represented in Begishe's model, participants in this study provide a recurring theme that is not articulated by Begishe - the achievement of harmony, which, a review of the literature reveals, is closely related to three important aspects of the Diné worldview, K'é, Sa'ah Naagháí Bik'eh Hózhó (SNBH), and Hózhó. Study findings suggest that although Diné people who participated in the project continue to value time-honored characteristics, attributes, skills, knowledge, practices, connections, and relationships in people they admire and respect, they do hold several conceptualizations that seem to be shifting away from traditional Diné perspectives and toward those held in the mainstream. Study data further reveals four categories of narratives used by participants to communicate and emphasize characteristics, attributes, skills, knowledge, practices, connections, and relationships exhibited by those who are "well-directed." The narratives range from traditional accounts involving mythical elements, to first-person descriptions of individuals with whom participants were intimately familiar.

This dissertation is grounded in stories of how Chickasaw people have restructured and dedicated their lives to ensuring the continuance of Chikashshanompa', their Indigenous heritage language. Building on an earlier study of what motivates Chickasaw people-across generations-to engage in language reclamation, these pages explore how: 1) Chickasaw young adult professionals who have established careers with the Chickasaw Nation Department of Language have made language reclamation their life's pursuit; 2) Chickasaw citizens-at-large, who reside outside of the Chickasaw Nation, engage in language reclamation, and 3) the study of Chikashshanompa' in school has impacted Chickasaw high school and university students' conceptualizations of their personal and social identities. Together, the perspectives of these groups of language learners comprise a case study of Chickasaw people's resilient and tireless efforts to ensure that Chikashshanompa' ilanompohóli bí­yyi'ka'chi¹ [we will always speak the Chickasaw language]. As a Chickasaw person and language learner myself, I worked from culturally-grounded research methodology which embraced my cultural identity and personal relationships with other Chickasaws involved in language reclamation. One key feature of this methodology was my reconstruction of in-depth, phenomenological interviews as participant profiles-or stories-as a means to present and analyze data. Individually, these stories tell of the nuanced and diverse experiences of Chickasaw language learners representing distinct generational categories and demographics. Collectively, they reflect three key themes enabling the vitality and efficacy of Chickasaw language reclamation: 1) a raised critical Chickasaw consciousness, 2) the conception of Chikashshanompa' as cultural practice, and 3) the (re)valuing of language learners.

This study investigated two questions: a) What is the relationship between reflection and professional development? and b) What is the role of reflection in teachers' instructional decision-making? Teachers are often conflicted by competing theories (e.g. behaviorist vs. constructivist) and principles (progressives vs. essentialists) at both national and state levels. Other sources of conflict teachers encounter stem from standards-based teaching, student assessments and teacher evaluations. For over eighty years educational theorists (e.g., Dewey, 1933; Fenstermacher, 1994; Schon, 1983) have suggested that reflection is an important key for resolving conflict and improving curriculum and instruction. Yet, top-down professional development models currently prevail rather than creative, individualized models that are designed to encourage reflective thinking and support teacher growth. Research has suggested that although reflection is necessary, reflective thinking can be challenging for teachers. For example, the Reading Instruction Study (RIS) (Richardson & Anders, 1994), which this study is patterned after, found that teachers who examine and link theory to their practice were more likely to change when their beliefs were challenged. In addition, other researchers (e. g., Wildman & Niles; 1987; Wlodarsky & Walters, 2006; Woolley & Woolley, 1999) have suggested that there are differences in reflection among more experienced teachers versus novice teachers. This study considers differences in reflective thinking. This instrumental case study (Stake, 1995) examined the reflective thinking of four teachers (two 3rd grade and two 6th grade) using practical argument (Fenstermacher, 1994) as a tool for analyzing their practices. Belief statements served to bridge theory and practice encouraging teachers to be more coherent in their classroom decision-making and instructional practices. The professional development sessions offered throughout this process provided opportunities for teachers to reflect. Results revealed that participants' reflected in and on practice in different ways that seemed to bring about a change. Not only did articulating beliefs provide opportunities for teachers to examine and link theory to practice, practical arguments provided a means for examining inconsistencies between beliefs and practice, differences in reflective language, and the dimensions of reflective thinking used by teachers with varying degrees of experience. Findings further suggest that when challenged, beliefs change. The language revealed in participants' reflections varied between every day and academic depending upon their dimension of reflective thinking. Language mattered. Not only was movement between personal and public theories impeded by a lack of academic language, movement throughout the five dimensions of reflective (Griffiths & Tann,1992) thinking was likewise hindered by a lack of academic language. Implications are provided for teacher education, professional development and further research. Conclusions call for educators and policy makers to recognize the complexities of teaching, the importance of reflection in coping with conflict, and the need for change in prevailing professional development models.

This dissertation documents the oral historical narratives of the lived school experiences of eleven participants in school at the passing of Brown v. The Board of Education. It is organized as a three-article dissertation where each article examines one topic that surfaced during my research. Article One critically interrogates the idea that integration over segregation is always in the best interest of students. It describes the positive experiences of Black students in segregated schools. Article Two describes the type of care Black teachers in segregated schools showed their students, which had a positive impact on their lives both academically and socially. It is this type of care that is often times missing in classrooms with White teachers in integrated schools. Article Three is a reflection about my journey as a Black, bilingual teacher in a teacher preparation program at a predominately White university. It highlights the importance of Black teacher voices in teacher preparation programs.