The interpersonal dimension of language use has attracted growing interest in English for Academic Purposes (EAP) for its important role in representing the writer’s evaluative position in a text and in constructing successful interpersonal relationship between the writer and the reader. The present study explores the construction of evaluative meanings in English for second/foreign language (ESL/EFL) writing under exam conditions – still an under-explored area in EAP research. This study analyses short argumentative essays written in response to Task 2 of the Academic Writing Module of the International English Language Testing Systems (IELTS) as a high-stakes gatekeeping genre by drawing on Appraisal theory and Genre theory developed within Systemic Functional Linguistics (SFL) as well as the theory of intertextuality. In so doing, it focuses on the linguistic and rhetorical resources deployed by IELTS writers to construct the intersubjective relationship between the writer and the reader and the intertextual relationship between the task prompt and the exam script. The findings of the research demonstrate that there are differences in linguistic choices of evaluative resources depending on grades awarded. Specifically, the study provides important insights into the distinguishing features of successful and less successful IELTS texts in terms of the degree of the writer’s dialogical or subjective engagement with the reader as well as the degree of intertextual density between the examination response and the task prompt as construed in the choice of what is evaluated (i.e. appraised). The results suggest that the evaluative patterns which can be identified through the different ‘voices’ that the IELTS writer projects in the IELTS task provide insights into what is valued in more successful IELTS writing.The study makes a significant contribution to our understanding of the interpersonal expectations which are ‘hidden’ or implicit in the current IELTS assessment criteria in the public domain. The tentative framework on intertextuality put forward in the study extends the current description of engagement resources captured in the existing Appraisal theory. The study has practical implications for effective IELTS preparation courses.

The interpersonal dimension of language use has attracted growing interest in English for Academic Purposes (EAP) for its important role in representing the writer’s evaluative position in a text and in constructing successful interpersonal relationship between the writer and the reader. The present study explores the construction of evaluative meanings in English for second/foreign language (ESL/EFL) writing under exam conditions – still an under-explored area in EAP research. This study analyses short argumentative essays written in response to Task 2 of the Academic Writing Module of the International English Language Testing Systems (IELTS) as a high-stakes gatekeeping genre by drawing on Appraisal theory and Genre theory developed within Systemic Functional Linguistics (SFL) as well as the theory of intertextuality. In so doing, it focuses on the linguistic and rhetorical resources deployed by IELTS writers to construct the intersubjective relationship between the writer and the reader and the intertextual relationship between the task prompt and the exam script. The findings of the research demonstrate that there are differences in linguistic choices of evaluative resources depending on grades awarded. Specifically, the study provides important insights into the distinguishing features of successful and less successful IELTS texts in terms of the degree of the writer’s dialogical or subjective engagement with the reader as well as the degree of intertextual density between the examination response and the task prompt as construed in the choice of what is evaluated (i.e. appraised). The results suggest that the evaluative patterns which can be identified through the different ‘voices’ that the IELTS writer projects in the IELTS task provide insights into what is valued in more successful IELTS writing.The study makes a significant contribution to our understanding of the interpersonal expectations which are ‘hidden’ or implicit in the current IELTS assessment criteria in the public domain. The tentative framework on intertextuality put forward in the study extends the current description of engagement resources captured in the existing Appraisal theory. The study has practical implications for effective IELTS preparation courses.

Thesis (Ed. D.)--Florida State University, 2006. / Advisors: Robert Schwartz, Stacey Rutledge, Florida State University, College of Education, Dept. of Educational Leadership and Policy Studies. Title and description from dissertation home page (viewed Sept. 19, 2006). Document formatted into pages; contains ix, 96 pages. Includes bibliographical references.

The purpose of this study was to identify and compared the causal attributes of achievement motivation for academic success possessed by international students to those causal attributes of achievement motivation by other legal immigrant student groups attending a postsecondary institution. In this study, F-1 international students have obtained permission from the federal Department of Immigration and Naturalization Services to attend Miami-Dade Community College in Miami, Florida. There were two additional groups of students selected to participate in this study: Permanent Resident students and Others comprised of asylees, refugees and paroles, which are specific categories of legal immigrant students. From the observations of the investigator, international students were more successful at the institution as compared to the other two student groups as measured by such variables as Grade Point Average, Number of Credits Earned and Honors Day awards. By identifying these attributes of achievement motivation, additional curricula, support services and activities can be developed to meet the needs of these highly motivated students. Incorporating the theories of McClelland and Weiner in the theoretical framework of the study, both quantitative and qualitative data were collected from 150 subjects using the Measurement of Achievement Motivation Questionnaire and the Guided Biography Interview as data collection instruments. Statistical analyses on the data collected from the three groups of foreign born students at the institution indicated differences in these identified attributes and their effects on academic success. Results indicated that F-1 international students at Miami-Dade Community College were highly motivated to achieve, possessed different causal attributes of achievement motivation and displayed their need for achievement in different activities and in different ways as compared to the Permanent Resident and Other student groups. Further investigation on the importance of residency status as an influencing factor of achievement motivation is suggested.

This paper analyzes the effect of culture – measured by aggregate levels of an immigrant parent’s home country educational attainment – on the educational attainment of second-generation immigrants in America. I use 2005-2014 October U.S. Current Population Surveys (CPS) data and the Barro-Lee data set to match the educational attainment of second-generation immigrants to the educational attainment averages of the respective home country from which their parents emigrated. Overall, I find that second-generation immigrants’ educational attainment is significantly and positively affected by their immigrant parent’s home country educational attainment. This suggests that cultural norms, particularly those regarding education, may persist in immigrant families even after resettling in America. I also find that the effects of home country educational attainment on second-generation outcomes do not differ by the gender of the second-generation immigrant.

For centuries, minority groups, students from low socio-economic background, and girls in public schools especially K-12 educational institutions in the United States have experienced prejudice, injustice, and bigotry. Unfortunately, the conventional approach of education, based on a one-size-fits-all approach, has failed to deal with these obstacles. In the past decades, however, there has been an increasing demand for the adoption of the Competency-Based system of education, a personalized learning approach that focuses on the acquisition of concrete skills rather than abstract knowledge. In a Competency-Based model, students advance based on the demonstration of mastery of knowledge and skills other than the amount of time spent learning. Many researchers have argued that equity is at the core of Competency-Based Education, yet critics opine that competency-based education will rather deepen inequity. The purpose of this study is to provide an in-depth understanding of how competency-based education can enhance equity in K-12 classrooms in the United States of America. Through a rapid review, the extent to which competency-based education can enhance equity in K-12 classrooms in the United States will be evaluated. This review could serve as a guide for further research on competency-based education and equity, and how competency-based education may be used to increase equity in the teaching and learning process in K-12 schools.

There are different factors associated with learning a second language such as English. Among the factors including motivation and socioeconomic is the element of cognates that may impact second language acquisition. Through exploring multiple studies, this secondary research paper aims to examine the impact of cognates on language acquisition among different participants with different language backgrounds. Through different research methodologies, the findings of each published study revealed that students whose mother tongues do share cognates with their second language have an advantage over speakers of languages that do not share cognates with a second language such as English. On the other hand, those students whose first language does not share cognates with a second language face challenges and difficulties in learning the second language. Consequently, the latter speakers might not equally benefit from academic opportunities, which are more prevalent among other students, whose first language does share cognates with a second language, due to experiencing fewer language barriers.

This in-country grounded theory study examined the lived experiences of 24 Chinese returnees who completed advanced degrees in the United States. The study found that the four types of organizations in mainland China determine the social context of the application of Western education of the Chinese returnees. Returnees working in multinational corporations apply their Western education more than the returnees working in the other types of organizations. Themes that revolved around the international educational experiences of the Chinese students, including the development of cultural intelligence and new understanding of the ‘other’, and their realization of the differences between their home and host cultures, are included in the findings of this study. The relationship between these themes has led to the construction of a new concept concerning their self-cultivation that, in the Chinese perspective, is integral to Chinese leadership. This study introduces the concept of the bridger as a role that some Chinese returnees take on within their Chinese organizations and the third space that bridgers occupy.

This case study uses post-colonial and dependency theoretical lenses to investigate the forces influencing policy, procedures, and participation in international activity in the post-colonial African university environment of Kenya’s first national public university—the University of Nairobi (UoN). The research addresses (1) the approaches and strategies adopted by UoN to engage in international activity; (2) the changes that have taken place over time in international activity engagement at UoN since the attainment of political independence by the Republic of Kenya; and (3) the rationales driving participation in international activity. This investigation included library research, document analysis, multiple campus visits, and 20 formal interviews with the faculty and administrators of the University of Nairobi, Kenya. I argue that even though the University of Nairobi now exhibits some degree of agency in her international engagement as an independent post-colonial African University, limitations to this agency are evident given her colonial genesis as a university college linked to the University of London. Despite the fact that greater control has been realized in curricula issues, institutional level governance, income generating projects, and joint research collaboration and international partnerships, the road to independence in international engagement in a post-colonial university environment is still under construction. The University of Nairobi faces many challenges in her efforts to find a place in the global community of higher education. These challenges include, but are not limited to, lack of resources for human capacity building, shortage of faculty and staff, heavy teaching load, bureaucracy, loss of faculty control in setting their research agendas, commercialization of higher education, intellectual property rights violations, and brain drain. Rationales driving internationalization at the University of Nairobi are a consequence of contextual factors, some of which are external to the university and others internal and individual in nature. For example, whereas the academic rationales for participation, including research outlet, professional development, and networking are commonly cited as key motivators for international engagement, equally powerful economic motivators drive participation. I conclude this investigation by questioning the assumption that there can be balanced interdependence between marginalized African institutions of higher education (IHEs) and the developed world, as internationalization proponents suggest, arguing that these institutions are yet to break away from the colonial mold that led to their creation. KEYWORDS: African Higher Education, Internationalization, Post-colonialism, Dependency, Agency

In the 21st century, cosmopolitanism has become an ever emerging concept, as scholars turn to this worldview with the hope to address the unavoidable impacts of globalization. Simultaneously, the new educational trends in Europe in combination with the ongoing socio-political changes create new needs that demand a more cosmopolitan interference. With this in mind, the present research attempts to examine whether and how cosmopolitan ideals are promoted through education policies in Europe and to what extent these cosmopolitan ideals succeed to reach national policies and school practice in a country as Greece. To this end, the author conducts a qualitative multilevel study between Europe and Greece and bases her study on two research methods: interviews and document analysis.     The interview and document analysis that follows leads to a comparison not only between the European and the Greek context but also between the policy and practice level that spawns a better and deeper understanding of how education promotes and can promote cosmopolitanism. The findings of the research highlight that the dilemma of whether to employ an ethnocentric or cosmopolitan educational approach can be acute. Parallel to that, the conflicting conceptions of cosmopolitanism between Greece and the European Union tend to render the moral aspects of education quite numb. Finally, the research closes with some recommendations for the future and suggestions for further studies.