Like educators, speech-language pathologists can anticipate working with culturally and linguistically diverse students and their families. Data reported from the Study of Personnel Needs in Special Education (SPeNSE), 1999-2000, revealed that during the years 1999-2000 speech-language pathologists caseloads included students from various culturally and linguistically diverse groups (U.S. Department of Education, Office of Special Education Programs, 2001). Furthermore, on average, more than one-fourth of students seen by speech-language pathologists were from a culturally and/or linguistically diverse group than their own and 8.8% were English language learners (U.S. Department of Education, 2001). Thus, guaranteeing a highly qualified pool of speech-language pathologists to meet these students needs is essential. This study examined speech-language pathologists (a) beliefs about the language assessment of bilingual/bicultural/bidialectal students, (b) professional efficacy beliefs (both personal and general) as they relate to assessing the language skills of bilingual/bicultural/bidialectal students, and (c) reported supports and barriers to assessing the language skills of bilingual/bicultural/bidialectal students. It involved a mixed method research design (Tashakkori and Teddlie, 1998, 2002) and was organized into three central components that included a quantitative phase and a qualitative phase: (a) survey administration, (b) reflective analysis of the researchers experience as a speech-language pathologist, and (c) follow-up semi-structured interviews. Quantitative analyses of speech-language pathologists professional efficacy beliefs revealed that most speech-language pathologists believed they personally, and the field in general, were somewhat competent in assessing the language skills of bilingual/bicultural/bidialectal students. While none of the predictor variables were significantly related to personal efficacy, one of the predictor variables (Hispanic/Latino) was significantly related to general efficacy. Qualitative analysis of speech-language pathologists professional efficacy beliefs varied as a function of race/ethnicity. Higher beliefs of personal efficacy existed among speech-language pathologists of color. Perceived supports and barriers as well as the demographics of survey respondents, which highlight low numbers of speech-language pathologists from bilingual/bicultural/bidialectal backgrounds, confirmed the need to address assessment and intervention practices of bilingual/bicultural/bidialectal students.

There has been little research combining both groups of students who were English Language Learners (ELLs) and Exceptional Student Education (ESE) students in relation to teacher attitudes and self-efficacy. The purpose of this study was to compare teacher attitudes and self-efficacy related to instructing either ELLs with or without disabilities in elementary schools Teachers from six elementary schools in the XYZ Excellence School District participated in a 52-item comprehensive survey. Two questionnaires and the demographic form were combined to create one comprehensive questionnaire totaling 52 questions for the purposes of this study. Teachers were solicited to participate in the study by email, which generated 92 responses for analysis. The results of this study indicated there were no significant differences between the perceptions of individuals when instructing English Language Learners (ELLs) and Exceptional Student Education (ESE) students. If people feel confident teaching ELLs, they probably feel confident teaching ESE. Equally, if they do not feel confident teaching ESE students, they are more than likely to not feel comfortable teaching ELLs. Thus, there were no significant differences between beliefs and attitudes in both groups. Still, data gathered from the regression analysis demonstrated training in ELL and ESE were strong indicators regardless of which other variables were added to teacher attitudes and self-efficacy when instructing ELLS or students with or without disabilities. The results of this study also indicated teachers felt they needed additional training in special education and communication was the greatest barrier between teacher and students, since many teachers could not speak Spanish and students could not comprehend or speak English very well. The results also indicated some teachers felt resources available to them in teaching a lesson were a positive component for ELLs, with or without disabilities, to be able to grasp content. The findings from this study could serve as positive change for reform of a multi-culturally and diverse climate in public schools. States, school districts, and on-site school administrators could support teachers by creating professional development programs in the learning of learning profiles, preferences, interests, and readiness proficiency levels are essential to multicultural diverse education. The states could also encourage these actions by restructuring certification policies recognizing multicultural diverse education.

The cultural and linguistic diversity of the United States is growing rapidly and early intervention service providers are very likely to work with families whose cultures differ from their own. Service providers must consider the multiple cultural factors of families which contribute to family dynamics and the potential for miscommunication is high when the cultural frameworks of early intervention providers differ from those of the families they serve. Culturally responsive practices have been put forth in the theoretical literature as a way to increase successful communication and service provision but there is limited research investigating the beliefs, experiences, and practices of early intervention providers regarding cultural responsiveness and the efficacy of specific practices. This study utilized an exploratory case study methodology with multiple case analyses to investigate the expressed beliefs and practices of in-service early intervention providers regarding culturally responsive practices and comparing them to the tenets of best practice set forth in the conceptual literature. Specifically, the study tested the theory that cultural responsiveness is an integral component of effective early intervention service provision.

The purpose of this study was to determine whether administrator preparation programs effectively prepared administrators for work in schools with increasing Aboriginal populations. The study facilitated the reflections of eleven Aboriginal administrators; six non-Aboriginal administrators; and five Aboriginal teachers concerning the preparation of administrators for work in increasingly diverse schools. The reflections explored the specific skills and knowledge necessary for work in schools with high Aboriginal enrollments.<p> Data was collected with the aim of informing praxis. Participants volunteered to take part in focus groups, and where necessary the researcher implemented additional means of collecting data. Volunteers were asked to reflect on (a) The effectiveness of their preparation for administration in schools with high Aboriginal enrollments; (b) the necessity for changes to existing preparation programs; (c) the skills and knowledge necessary for work in increasingly diverse schools; and (d) proposed changes to the preparation of administrators. Research data formed the foundation for ascertaining changes to the preparation of administrators for the sake of education equity.<p> Research findings suggested that administrator preparation programs have not adequately prepared administrators for work in schools with increasing Aboriginal populations. Participants concluded that there was a need for changes to occur in the preparation of administrators. As well, they also identified the specific skills and knowledge, and the personal qualities that were essential for work in increasingly diverse schools. Finally, the research study suggested ways of informing praxis that included examining both the personal and institutional commitments and responsibilities required for changes to occur in the preparation of administrators for education equity. These commitments and responsibilities included undertaking reflective practices on individual cultural frames; and strategic planning with a diverse stakeholders group to ascertain changes to existing programs that would facilitate the inclusion of an education equity focus in the core of administrator preparation.

Preparing all teachers to work with culturally and linguistically diverse (CLD) populations is essential in teacher education (Banks, Cochran-Smith, Moll, Richert, Zeichner, LePage, Darling-Hammond, Duffy, & MacDonald, 2005). Simultaneously, current literacy policy serves to dictate how teachers teach literacy; requiring specific curricula and assessments, particularly in urban and low performing school districts (Woodside-Jiron & Gehsmann, 2009). As new teachers enter classrooms, they are forced to negotiate the realities of teaching in urban, diverse schools with what they learned in their preparation programs (Achinstein & Ogawa, 2006). The purpose of this study was to understand the literacy teaching experiences of three beginning teachers, graduates of an alternative teacher preparation program, who teach at the same CLD, Professional Development School. This naturalistic inquiry explored the intersection of these constructs through the questions; (1)What instructional decisions, resources, and strategies do alternatively certified beginning teachers enact when teaching CLD students? and (2) What are the contextual factors that influence beginning teachers’ literacy pedagogy? Luke and Freebody’s (1999) Four Resources Model, critical theory (McLaren, 1995), sociocultural views of literacy (Street, 1995), and constructivism (Savery & Duffy, 2001) served as theoretical lenses. Data collection took place over nine months and included interviews, observations, questionnaires, and teacher debriefs. The data was analyzed using a constant comparative approach (Merriam, 1998) and elements of Grounded Theory methodology (Strauss & Corbin, 1998). These beginning teachers struggled to negotiate the prescriptive literacy mandates from the county and school. The context of the school challenged many of the theories and strategies teachers learned in their preparation program and caused tension between what they espoused about literacy and their enacted practices. Teachers felt that they were not adequately prepared to work with English Language Learners in particular, thus, they chose to adhere closely to the prescriptive curriculum. Decontextualized literacy activities dominated instruction and constrained CLD students’ opportunities for critical literacy learning. These findings suggest that teachers should be better prepared to work with ELLs and educated about the research behind current literacy policies. A Professional Development School model offers opportunities for continued learning in these areas.

Preparing all teachers to work with culturally and linguistically diverse (CLD) populations is essential in teacher education (Banks, Cochran-Smith, Moll, Richert, Zeichner, LePage, Darling-Hammond, Duffy, & MacDonald, 2005). Simultaneously, current literacy policy serves to dictate how teachers teach literacy; requiring specific curricula and assessments, particularly in urban and low performing school districts (Woodside-Jiron & Gehsmann, 2009). As new teachers enter classrooms, they are forced to negotiate the realities of teaching in urban, diverse schools with what they learned in their preparation programs (Achinstein & Ogawa, 2006). The purpose of this study was to understand the literacy teaching experiences of three beginning teachers, graduates of an alternative teacher preparation program, who teach at the same CLD, Professional Development School. This naturalistic inquiry explored the intersection of these constructs through the questions; (1)What instructional decisions, resources, and strategies do alternatively certified beginning teachers enact when teaching CLD students? and (2) What are the contextual factors that influence beginning teachers’ literacy pedagogy? Luke and Freebody’s (1999) Four Resources Model, critical theory (McLaren, 1995), sociocultural views of literacy (Street, 1995), and constructivism (Savery & Duffy, 2001) served as theoretical lenses. Data collection took place over nine months and included interviews, observations, questionnaires, and teacher debriefs. The data was analyzed using a constant comparative approach (Merriam, 1998) and elements of Grounded Theory methodology (Strauss & Corbin, 1998). These beginning teachers struggled to negotiate the prescriptive literacy mandates from the county and school. The context of the school challenged many of the theories and strategies teachers learned in their preparation program and caused tension between what they espoused about literacy and their enacted practices. Teachers felt that they were not adequately prepared to work with English Language Learners in particular, thus, they chose to adhere closely to the prescriptive curriculum. Decontextualized literacy activities dominated instruction and constrained CLD students’ opportunities for critical literacy learning. These findings suggest that teachers should be better prepared to work with ELLs and educated about the research behind current literacy policies. A Professional Development School model offers opportunities for continued learning in these areas.

The purpose of this study was to determine whether administrator preparation programs effectively prepared administrators for work in schools with increasing Aboriginal populations. The study facilitated the reflections of eleven Aboriginal administrators; six non-Aboriginal administrators; and five Aboriginal teachers concerning the preparation of administrators for work in increasingly diverse schools. The reflections explored the specific skills and knowledge necessary for work in schools with high Aboriginal enrollments.<p> Data was collected with the aim of informing praxis. Participants volunteered to take part in focus groups, and where necessary the researcher implemented additional means of collecting data. Volunteers were asked to reflect on (a) The effectiveness of their preparation for administration in schools with high Aboriginal enrollments; (b) the necessity for changes to existing preparation programs; (c) the skills and knowledge necessary for work in increasingly diverse schools; and (d) proposed changes to the preparation of administrators. Research data formed the foundation for ascertaining changes to the preparation of administrators for the sake of education equity.<p> Research findings suggested that administrator preparation programs have not adequately prepared administrators for work in schools with increasing Aboriginal populations. Participants concluded that there was a need for changes to occur in the preparation of administrators. As well, they also identified the specific skills and knowledge, and the personal qualities that were essential for work in increasingly diverse schools. Finally, the research study suggested ways of informing praxis that included examining both the personal and institutional commitments and responsibilities required for changes to occur in the preparation of administrators for education equity. These commitments and responsibilities included undertaking reflective practices on individual cultural frames; and strategic planning with a diverse stakeholders group to ascertain changes to existing programs that would facilitate the inclusion of an education equity focus in the core of administrator preparation.

Phased array based systems have extending applications in electronic warfare, radio astronomy, civilian applications with technological advancements. The main virtue offered by these systems is the creation of agile beams with utilization of phase shifting or delay elements. In fact, the desire for flexible steering comes with a cost. Frequency Diverse Array (FDA) concept is another approach to beam steering problem. In this context, the subsequent antenna elements are fed with stepped discrete frequencies causing continuous scanning of space in time. So a range-angle dependent scanning is made possible. Also the diversity of waveforms between the antennas is another area of research especially in Moving Target Indicator (MTI) applications. Although several implementation schemes were proposed, the costs and the non-ideal behavior of building blocks make the schemes hard to implement. During this study, a new implementation scheme is proposed where a Linear Frequency Modulated Continuous Wave (LFMCW, Linear FMCW) source is used for feeding a special beam forming network, where the subsequent outputs of the beam forming network have uniform delays. The dynamic behavior of the source and the uniform (or non-uniform) delay provided by the beam forming network create the required frequency steps between antenna elements as described in conventional FDA. So, the implementation of FDA concept requires just the design of the source, beam forming network and the antenna array. Throughout the study, mathematical analysis of both conventional FDA and the LFMCW based FDA is made and various implementations are realized. Justification of the mathematical derivations is made by the results of the measurements with the implemented structures. Besides, analysis and simulation of the array in a radar environment with various scenarios are performed. The drawbacks and the proposals for overcoming these drawbacks are also reported during the analysis, which will be useful for future studies on the subject.

Despite the billions of dollars spent in the last forty years, America's efforts toward closing the achievement gaps among diverse learners and their receptive counterparts have not been realized. Limitations noted in previous research discussed the need to examine the unique contributions of diverse learner variables as a way of determining their specific academic needs. The purpose of this study was to examine the intra- and inter-group growth trajectories of two diverse student groups (English Language Learners and Students with Specific Learning Disabilities) on reading achievement. The study employed a longitudinal, quasi-experimental research design utilizing archival data from 26,947 students' files to answer two research questions. The first research question examined growth relationships between 3rd grade English Language Learner student categories on reading achievement while holding gender and socio-economic variables constant. The second research question explored the extent to which the initial levels and slopes of 3rd grade students with specific learning disabilities differed across racial and ethnic groups. Growth curve analyses were employed to answer both research questions. Findings revealed significant intercept and slope relationships for the two groups on reading fluency measures. Significant differences were found between the reference group (i.e., Non-ELL females who were ineligible for free and or reduced lunch) and two of the ELL subgroups. The slope relationships were only significant for ELL students (ELL-LY) who were in the currently enrolled (i.e., receiving some type of ELL instructional support or service) category. Gender and socio-economic variables were significant suggesting a negative influence on initial reading levels. Reading fluency (DORF) achievement findings relative to students with disabilities and their race and ethnic subgroups revealed White students' initial DORF scores were significantly different from Hispanic and Black students' scores. Race and ethnic slope variables were insignificant and homogeneous in nature. A discussion about these findings and their implications for closing the achievement gap for diverse students is provided in the document.

Most international corporations have to adopt to the requirements of globalisation by working in international joint ventures or international projects outside their well known home markets. The successful management of projects is an essential element aiming to cope with the complex challenges caused by cultural factors and other influences on the management of projects. Especially the Middle East as a cultural region has experienced a dynamic growth during the last decades, as many of the countries rich in oil and gas have heavily invested into their local infrastructure. Besides other factors, the impact of national culture on project management may lead to negative influences like project delays and project failure, or positive influences such as an increased communication. Based on the Hofstede dimensional framework this thesis is designed to investigate which cultural factors and other factors influence the PMBoK (PMI Body of Knowledge) knowledge areas while delivering projects in the Middle East. This empirical study is using a qualitative research approach in a multiple-case study design analysing six projects. The results clearly show that some characteristics of the Middle Eastern cultural context strongly determine the applicability of the PMBoK knowledge areas. Especially the interrelation of individualism (IDV) and power distance (PDI) reveals some new perspectives for project work in this region. The two case studies illustrate a strong increase in power distance if the project manager and the team member do not originate from the same cultural background. Additionally differences in time perception and the characteristics of the dimension long term orientation (LTO) result in fundamental differences for the application of the PMBoK processes. The findings help to develop a theoretical framework highlighting specific influences for PMBoK knowledge areas. The results of this thesis may form a basis for future researchers aiming to develop improved models for project management in the Middle East or other cultural regions. Finally, the theoretical franework developed herein is designed to help project practitioners to gain a better understanding of the specific challenges while working on the Arabian peninsula.