Over the past twenty years, classrooms throughout the United States have becomes more ethnically and linguistically diverse with the influx of immigrant residents. The impact of this demographic change has directly affected the makeup of the mainstream classroom. One response to this rapid growth in diversity demographics has been the requirement of additional teacher preparation for instruction of English language learners. The study focuses on the impact of English as a Second Language endorsement (ESL) on the English language acquisition and academic achievement of elementary English language learners (ELL) over a two year period in a large mountain west urbansuburban school district. The rationale for the study was to examine the impact of ESL endorsement as required for continued service in this school district. Data were collected from 1,838 English language learners and their 276 mainstream elementary classroom teachers in grades two through six over a two-year period. A one-way Analysis of Covariance (ANCOVA) was conducted to compare the mean change in language levels during a two year period as measured on the IDEA Proficiency Test (IPT), including the oral, reading and writing scores, between ELL students taught by mainstream classroom teachers with ESL endorsement and those taught by teachers without ESL endorsement. A one-way Analysis of Covariance (ANCOVA) was also used to compare elementary ELL students’, taught by teachers with and without ESL endorsement, mean Language Arts and mathematics Criterion Referenced Tests score gains using the state’s Neutral Value Table point assignment. Covariates included student gender, socio-economic status, minority status, language level, and teacher’s years of experience. The results of this analysis indicate that teacher endorsement did not account for a significant amount of variance in the dependent measure of change in English language acquisition nor the dependent measure of change in academic achievement in Language Arts and mathematics. The findings raise further questions about the quality of professional development of mainstream teachers of English language learners and the accountability standards required for elementary English language learners. The study concludes with implications and recommendations for policies and practices applicable to teacher preparation for English as a Second Language and accountability levels for English language learners.

This thesis uses a Mandarin-English dual immersion program at a Southern California public elementary school as a case study to examine how culture is taught and learned in the dual immersion setting. Based on classroom observations and interviews with students, staff, and parents, this thesis argues that concepts of “China” and “Chinese culture” are conveyed, constructed, and negotiated by students as well as teachers, both implicitly and explicitly.

It was the goal of this study to examine teacher perceptions of the effectiveness of the English to Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) Sheltered program model for 9th to 12th grade students as it relates to passing scores on the Assessing Comprehension and Communication in English State-to-State (ACCESS) for English Language Learners Test. This study also measured teacher perceptions of the ESOL Sheltered Program as it relates to academic improvement. The research focused on the possible relationships that may exist between ACCESS scores and ESOL teacher demographics, ESOL teacher training, ESOL teacher attitudes, ESOL teacher challenges, ESOL teacher efficacy in the use of general strategies, and ESOL teacher efficacy in the use of specific verbal and nonverbal strategies. The research design required the use of the correlation, ANOVA, and regression statistical models to test the research questions. The Cronbach Alpha statistical model was used to test the survey for reliability while item-to-scale correlations were used to the test the survey for construct validity. The researcher found that there was a significant relationship between student performance as measured by ACCESS scores and the independent variable, School Culture for ESOL students. The dependent variable—effectiveness—revealed significant relationships with teacher attitudes, school culture for ESOL students, and teachers’ self-efficacy with the use of specific verbal strategies literacy, vocabulary, and questioning. Recommendations were suggested for policy makers, district educational leaders, school educational leaders, ESOL teachers, and future researchers.

The research objective for this dissertation study was to build a preliminary survey that would, in its final form, allow educators and administrators to establish baseline information on individuals’ global competence characteristics prior to instruction, cross-cultural experience, international study or collaboration. A secondary aim concerned length: The intent was to keep the eventual final survey at 15 minutes or less to make it adaptable to a variety of settings. The researcher extracted terms and phrases from existing global competence definitions (e.g., Boix-Mansilla, Jackson, Asia Society & Council of Chief State School Officers, 2011; Hunter, 2005), related literature (e.g., Lambert, 1994), and previous research (Todd, 2013) to develop a definition and theoretical framework for this competence. Central to the developed definition and framework were the disposition/affective realm, knowledge, skill, and action elements, and a clear connection to cosmopolitanism (e.g., Appiah, 2006). Currently, a global competence definition and survey tied directly to cosmopolitanism do not exist. The learning theories of Vygotsky (1986), Bandura (1977), Lave (1993), and Kolb (Kolb, Boyatzis, & Mainemelis, 1999) also provided insight into global competence development for measurement purposes. The four-step study method included building a draft survey from the developed global competence definition, field testing the draft survey with a purposive sample (e.g., Babbie, 2007b; Teddlie & Yu, 2007) in order to make initial revisions to the instrument, conducting a Delphi review (e.g., Cyphert & Gant, 1970; Fogo, 2014; Helmer, 1967) of the revised draft survey to further refine the instrument, and describing the field-test sample using data from items retained in the resulting survey from the Delphi review. The outcome of each of the four steps constituted the findings for this research. Future research could involve adding new items and then field-testing the survey once again to examine the statistical structure of the developing instrument.

Since Ashkenazi Jews in the United States are not a visible minority, it often becomes difficult to distinguish what/who is a Jew. As many Jewish females may appear to be of the dominant culture, they often get overlooked in discussions and courses on teacher education and multiculturalism/multicultural education. However, their identity as both Jewish and White and the absence of conversation regarding their multiple positions in education and in society can contest, as well as support, their connection to multiculturalism. The purpose of this research was to identify how four middle class Ashkenazi females in the greater Los Angeles area understand their identities and experiences as Jews and as public school educators, how these multiple identities impact their perceptions of their pedagogy, and how these women navigate the structures of public schooling. Narrative Inquiry and Listening Guide method of analysis were utilized to present multilayered portraits of these women in order to challenge the status quo of the White female teacher identity and the positioning of Jewish females in regards to the perseverance of Christianity in public education. Story threads emerged from the narratives which indicated that while Jewish identity is fluid and exists on a continuum over time, it was not a primary reason why these women became teachers. Although each woman made individual decisions regarding the degree to which her Jewishness was presented in the classroom and on campus, they did not actively design their curriculum due to them being Jewish; rather they unconsciously incorporated aspects of Judaism in their pedagogy.

In our increasingly diverse global workforce, both employers and institutions of higher learning want to know if colleges and universities equip their students with adequate cultural competence skills. Reliable instruments to measure cultural competence levels for a general student body are not widely available, however. In this report, a self-developed 33-item instrument was designed to assess college seniors’ cultural competence levels, including sub-scales for cultural awareness and cultural knowledge. An expert panel was selected to establish content validity. A pilot study was conducted to improve the design of survey format. The Cronbach’s alpha was .770 according to the reliability test. Six hundred and twenty-one seniors from two 4-year, selective public universities participated in this initial study. Analysis revealed statistically significant differences in cultural competence levels among students of different academic fields and demographic backgrounds, according to the results of t-tests and ANOVA. The study found that the students of liberal arts field had a higher cultural competence level than those of professional/vocational field did. The data also noted that female students had higher competence scores than their counterparts did. Asian/Pacific Island students had a lower mean score on cultural competence than the students of both African American and Biracial/Multiracial did. Generalizing the findings of this study should be taken cautiously given that this research was limited to a sample of two public universities. Nevertheless, all findings indicated taking classes related to cultural diversity improve students’ cultural competence.

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Discover the stories of major natural science expeditions, as depicted in award-winning children's non-fiction. Examples include Robert Siebert award winner, Parrots over Puerto Rico, and Orbis Pictus winner, Quest for the Tree Kangaroo. While sharing Common Core correlations and reading promotion activities, participants explore how literature encurages children to care for and consider the natural world of which they are part.

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