Justification of the problem. A significant percentage of the children attending school in the Richgrove School District are identified as migrant students. Migratory children often were two or more grades below grade level in reading, spoke little or no English, tended to withdraw from the school environment, had poor self-concepts, lacked nutritionally balanced meals, and had few, if any, previous health records. The present study is an outgrowth of the Richgrove School District's effort to develop and provide an educational program designed to meet the needs of migratory children residing within its attendance boundaries. The problem. The problem was to examine student achievement in "pull-out" instruction classes in reading and in English as a second language, student self-image improvement, food and health services, and 2 community involvement for migrants. Delimits of the study. The study was limited to those aspects of the Richgrove School District's migrant education program during the 1970-71 school year. Hypothesis. It was the hypothesis of this study that migrant education programs can be designed to improve student achievement in reading and English as a second language classes, improve the self image of the student and improve food and health services for migrant children. Method of procedure. The procedure followed in this study was to describe the development, implementation, and observed results of the Richgrove School District's 1970-71 migrant education program. The effectiveness of the migrant education program was determined by student achievement, teacher and student ratings, observed results, records of food and health services provided, and an evaluation of nutritional and health services by a medical doctor. Findings. Migrant pupils in the Language Comprehension Improvement classes who were enrolled for pre-test and post-test evaluations of reading achievement gains in grades two through eight, as measured by the California Achievement Test, averaged more than one month's gain for each month in class . The English as a Second Language pre-class and post-class ratings revealed that children in the English as a Second Language classes learned to speak English at an accelerated rate. Teacher and student opinion indicated that children in the E.S.L. classes learned to speak English more quickly and took part in classroom activities sooner than previous migrant children who did not have the benefit of supplemental instruction. The food and nutritional services provided 11,612 free lunches to migrant students. Migrant families had the option of purchasing reduced priced lunches for their children at a cost of 10 cents per meal. The findings indicated that the food services were available for all migrant children. The findings revealed that health services were improved for migrant children. Fluoride "brush-in" treatment was provided for 96 migrant children. In addition, 85 dental examinations and treatments were conducted as well as complete physical examinations for 76 migrant children. Migrant families were assisted by the school district in obtaining glasses, shoes, and clothing for their children. Observations, student ratings, and teacher opinions indicated that migrant pupils experienced opportunities that aided the improvement of self-image and that migrant children seemed to develop a better self-concept. The related services which included cross-age tutors, recreational programs, learning experience field trips, summer school, and migrant parent involvement were deemed by the findings to have a positive influence on the school experiences offered migratory children. Implications . The project findings revealed that migrant education programs can be designed to increase achievement in reading and English as a second language, offer opportunities to improve self image, and offer increased nutritional and health services for migrant children. The findings of this study may be used to help improve educational services provided migratory children by other school districts or states.

This research project presents three phenomenological studies: (1) teachers’ experience of working with underachieving students in South Africa, (2) teachers’ experience of working with underachieving students in Russia, and (3) teachers’ experience of working with underachieving students in the United States. It also involves a comparative study of teachers’ experience of working with underachieving students in the three countries. All teacher participants in these studies were recommended as expert teachers who displayed qualities of teacher professionalism such as (1) commitment to learners; (2) the ability to make decisions in complex and ill-defined contexts; (3) reflective practice; and (4) a body of specialized knowledge (Ingersoll, 2003). The first three studies employed an existential phenomenological research methodology for studying experience. This methodology gave an opportunity to identify the thematic structure of teachers’ experience for each country and to provide a non-dualistic description of the experience of teachers working with underachieving students. A comparison of the three thematic structures provided an opportunity to describe invariant themes of that experience. Similarities identified in the thematic descriptions of teachers’ experience allowed the introduction of the concept culture of the classroom which included the following characteristics: (1) holistic approach to students; (2) creating a safe place for learning and taking time to establish a relationship with students; (3) teachers’ focus on students learning; (4) helping students become independent self-reliant individuals; (4) teachers’ involvement in students’ lives; (5) teachers and students growing and changing together; and (6) teacher knowledge in their respective disciplines and high sense of teacher efficacy. Similarities in the lived experience identified among the three groups of participants can be explained by teachers’ expertise and mastery of the art and science of mediated learning described by Feuerstein (Feuerstein, Rand, Hoffman, & Miller, 1980). The focus of existential phenomenology on the experience as it is lived by an individual allowed the identification of invariant themes of working with underachieving students across different cultures.

Most studies of language minority students' performance focus on students' characteristics. This study uses qualitative methodology to examine instead how educational policies and practices affect the tracking of language minority students who are classified as limited English proficient (LEP). The placement of LEP students in core courses (English, Math, Social Studies, and Science) is seen as resulting from the interaction between school context and student characteristics. The school context includes factors such as equity policy requirements, overcrowding, attitudes regarding immigrants' academic potential, tracking, and testing practices. Interaction among these factors frequently leads to placement in lower track courses. It was found that the absence of formal tracks could be misleading to immigrant students, particularly those with high aspirations who do not understand the implications of the informal tracking system. Findings are discussed in relation to current theoretical explanations for minority student performance.

Progressive education has the socially transformative potential to mitigate the racialized violence of neoliberal education reform, but is dominated by white norms and has failed for more than a century to articulate a coherent or purposeful political agenda explicitly committed to racial equity and justice. Informed by Critical Race Theory, Critical Pedagogy, and Critical Biculturalism, this qualitative study engaged Black progressive educators and activists in an effort not only to understand the contours and impacts of white hegemonic norms in progressive education spaces, but also to produce a framework of principles, policies, and/or practices that could disrupt them. Using Critical Narrative Inquiry as a research method, four Black progressive educators and activists participated in semi-structured interviews in two parts: first, to elicit stories that speak to emotions, environments, and past experiences of whiteness in progressive education spaces, and second, to invite participants to identify principles, policies, or practices that could move progressive education from a “white space” (Anderson, 2015) to “cultural democracy” (Darder, 2012). Analysis of participants’ stories yielded five predominant themes unveiling the complex dynamics of whiteness in progressive education spaces. Findings supplement the limited field of research on the racialized dynamics of progressive education by offering recommendations to Black and white progressive educators and activists, progressive school and organizational leaders, and progressive advocacy organizations and universities to disrupt the hegemony of white norms and advance racial equity and justice in progressive education.

The composition of the United States population and its workforce is changing rapidly with a projected increase from 249 million in 1990 to 355 million by the year 2040. The majority white population is projected to only grow by 25 percent during this time period while the Latino, and Hispanic populations in the United States are projected to increase by 187 percent. Consequently, the current minorities will constitute more than half of the nation's total population by mid century and comprise a disproportionately large segment of the workforce. as a result of these changing demographics and increasing economic globalization, America's educational institutions will be confronted with reforming their curricula to meet new societal needs by promoting knowledge and understanding of different cultures.;The purpose of this study was to determine the levels of multicultural education integrated into the general education courses that are requirements for completion of AAS degree programs. Further, it was designed to identify the factors that influenced faculty members to include multicultural education into their courses.;Levels of integration of multicultural education were determined by personal interviews of faculty and supported by evidence presented in their syllabi, tests, and handouts. Analysis of the interviews provided the factors that motivate faculty members to infuse or not to infuse their classes with multicultural perspectives.;It was concluded that the amount of multicultural concepts infused into the courses vary from none to considerable and is determined by the faculty member's commitment to achieving pluralism. Factors that motivate inclusion are the disciplines, institutional atmosphere, and personal values of faculty.;Further study is needed to determine how much of the multicultural perspective students retain from the general education courses. A comparison between two and four-year colleges is needed to help determine whether only community college instructors are deficient in the amount of multicultural education they infuse into their disciplines.

Multicultural practitioners promote cultural competence among individuals to create awareness and tolerance of others who are culturally different. Yet, current research on cultural competence education primarily focused on practitioners in the traditional school setting instead of individuals in nonschool settings. This basic qualitative study investigated how multicultural practitioners in nonschool settings experience their attempts to develop cultural competence in constituents. Bennett's intercultural sensitivity, Koehn and Rosenau's multicultural competence, and Quappe and Cantatore's cultural awareness models informed the semi-structured interviews with 8 multicultural practitioners obtained via snowball sampling. Data were manually coded and analyzed to develop themes. Results indicated four ways participants conceptualized cultural competency, a five-part approach to cultural competence promotion, seven varying efforts to develop cultural competence, seven challenges that hindered their work, and four areas of success. Future studies might investigate differences in cultural competency efforts used by specific cultural groups and multicultural practitioners' growth as professionals to help to determine professional development programs that warrant implementation. This study will generate interest in developing cultural competence in groups and settings beyond the reach of traditional educational settings, thereby contributing to social change.

Simultaneous interpretation (SI) is a special kind of translation where the interpreter listens to a speaker, processes the spoken (or signed) source language message and produces an equivalent output in a target language, i.e., the interpreter produces one part of the message in the target language while simultaneously listening to the next part of the message in the source language. This thesis examines the process of simultaneous interpretation from an information processing point of view and describes the implications of such an approach for practical SI. Following an overview of research issues in SI literature, a definition of SI is given, pointing out the special characteristics of SI and the features that distinguish it from written translation and consecutive interpretation. A model incorporating various structural and functional components is then used to describe SI in terms of information processing. The focus of this investigation is on the integrative use of bottom-up and top-down processing mechanisms as typical features of human information processing systems. Subsequently the implications of the observations made about SI as an information process are considered within the context of practical SI. The various factors that influence the quality, speed and reliability of interpretation at all stages of the process are examined. Finally suggestions for the training of simultaneous interpreters are made. The thesis is concluded with the observation that SI is indeed a special kind of human information processing. Modelling SI in terms of information processing can contribute to the understanding of this complex process and its components. It is a powerful tool to enlighten the mechanisms and skills involved in SI and to establish efficient training programs for simultaneous interpreters.

No description available.

The Standards of Learning (SOL) for Virginia public schools, and other national standards, set expectations for student achievements throughout the school year for many subjects, including science. Because educators must prepare their students for end-of-course exams based on the SOL, classroom discussion and deeper understanding of topics can be lessened. Middle school students show declines in motivations and attitudes toward science, and challenges are greater for English-learning (EL) students. Incorporating storytelling into science classrooms can be helpful to EL and non-EL students because it presents challenging topics and vocabulary in a simpler and more engaging way than traditional textbooks. This project seeks to provide middle school educators with tools to incorporate science stories into classrooms without sacrificing important SOL topics.

The purpose of this descriptive research study was to analyze the student recruitment processes employed by The College of William and Mary, one of the Commonwealth of Virginia's foremost public institutions of higher education, to recruit African-American undergraduates. This analysis was completed using Kotler & andreasen's (1991) Systematic Marketing Audit Model--a six-part conceptual framework of marketing for non-profit organizations--to determine the marketing effectiveness of current strategies implemented for the successful recruitment of African-American undergraduates and provide useful guidance to assist admission and financial aid personnel in improving their interpersonal relations with African-American prospects/applicants and their parent(s).;Data were collected from admission/financial aid administrators, financial aid counselors, admission representatives, African-American students, and parents using qualitative research methods that included 114 in-depth interviews and an analysis of historical documents.;Findings revealed that multicultural recruitment processes at The College of William and Mary were generally the same as its competition with campus visitation programs being the most successful method of attracting African-American undergraduates while national college fairs and college search tapes were the least effective. The study also revealed that students relied heavily upon the input of their parent(s) rather than upon the advice of high school guidance counselors and teachers in making a college choice decision. The social climate on campus for students of color, the general financial aid application process, and the availability of support services for students of color were the primary issues and concerns of African-American students and their parent(s). In addition, admission/financial aid representatives of African-American heritage were more desirable for parents than students.;Further, it was the finding of this case study that the African-American undergraduate recruitment strategies of a selective, state-supported four-year university (The College of William and Mary) were not "optimally adapted to the current and forecasted marketing environment" as prescribed by Kotler & andreasen's (1991) Systematic Marketing Audit Model. This first research hypothesis was supported by several weaknesses uncovered that included: (1) little in the way of measuring overall marketing achievement of the current African-American undergraduate recruitment plan to attribute success to the elements that are effective and identifying strategies that do not produce admission results; (2) lack of recruitment objectives that were defined in specific, measurable terms to better enable The College of William and Mary in evaluating its African-American undergraduate recruitment program; and (3) limited research conducted to determine if the marketing effort is "optimally structured to meet the demands" of a changing student market environment.;Consequently, the results of the case study did support the second hypothesis--if Kotler & andreasen's (1991) Systematic Marketing Audit Model reveals main marketing problem areas facing The College of William and Mary, then it will be possible to recommend various initiatives to improve the institution's overall efforts to attract African-American undergraduates.;The case study offers several recommendations for improving the current African-American undergraduate recruitment program and suggestions for future research.