Doctor of Philosophy / Curriculum and Instruction Programs / Thomas Vontz / Offering a high-quality education to English language learners (ELLs) is a challenge in schools across the United States. Yet, few studies have been conducted to investigate high school English as a second language (ESL) programs. This study provides insights into how a Kansas urban high school ESL program promotes access to the curriculum for ELLs by providing for their social, affective, linguistic, and academic needs. The purpose of this dissertation is to use the premise of educational equity and Catherine Walsh’s (1991) educational needs for ELL school success to explore how structural components of the ESL program in this study promote the access of ELLs to the curriculum. This study offers (1) insights into how urban school districts with high ELL populations might address the issue of access to the curriculum, (2) insights into various perceptions of participant groups—administrators, teachers, and students, and (3) insights into how ESL program components address the educational needs for ELLs to gain access to the curriculum. More specifically, this study emphasizes the following four structural components of the ESL program: (1) student placement, (2) sheltered content courses, (3) teaming, and (4) Spanish for native speakers courses. These structural components are used as a lens to view how social, affective, linguistic, and academic needs of ELLs are addressed. Although the results of this study cannot be generalized to other schools or districts, this study may help other districts, schools, and individual teachers make informed decisions. By demonstrating how four structural ESL program components meet the needs of ELLs in a high school setting, other educators might replicate components on their journey for educational equity within their own venues.

Omval inom och avhopp från gymnasieskolan har ekonomiska konsekvenser för såväl skola som samhället och individen själv. En utvecklad valkompetens från grundskolan ses som ett verktyg för att nå förändring. Valkompetens beskrivs av Skolverket som kunskaper och färdigheter individer behöver utveckla för att kunna göra välunderbyggda framtidsval och är alla inom grundskolas uppdrag att arbeta med. Syftet med valkompetens är därmed att gynna samhället och arbetsmarknaden, därav denna studies koppling till arbetsvetenskap. Utifrån att valkompetens med fördel integreras i undervisning för kontinuerlig utveckling är studiens målgrupp lärare. Uppsatsen studerar således arbetet med utvecklingen av elevers valkompetens inom obligatorisk skolform utifrån ett lärarperspektiv samt lärares kunskap och kännedom om begreppet valkompetens. Studien synliggör även lärares upplevelse av ansvarsfördelningen för arbetet med valkompetens utöver en kritisk granskning av begreppet utifrån tidigare forskning och denna studies empiri. Studien är ett bidrag inom området arbetsvetenskap: karriärutveckling samt studie- och yrkesvägledning som hela skolans ansvar, den breda vägledningen.Studiens teoretiska ramverk förhålls till institutionell teori genom löskoppling och isomorfism samt läroplansteori genom förhållandet mellan samhällets krav, styrdokumentens formulerande och utövandet inom skola. Den kvantitativa metoden används med intention att studera flera svar kopplade till studiens syfte och visar att valkompetens som begrepp är okänt av lärare samt att arbetet med valkompetens sker utifrån subjektiva tolkningar av begreppet. Arbetet utförs i förhållande till styrdokument men inte alltid i förhållande till Skolverkets beskrivning av valkompetens. Huvudansvaret för arbetet ses av majoriteten som hela skolans ansvar men empirin visar att styrning i förhållande till begreppet saknas. Då begreppet inte är vedertaget och dessutom tolkningsbart ser studien problematiken med att koppla valkompetensen lärarna arbetar med till Skolverkets förklaring av begreppet och vidare för att få den önskade effekten av förändrad genomströmning inom gymnasieskolan. / Swapping programs or dropping out of upper secondary school has financial consequences for the school as well as society and the individual. Developing Career Management Skills (CMS) in primary school is seen as a way to achieve change. CMS is described by the Swedish National Education Agency as knowledge and skills individuals need to develop to be able to make well-founded choices for the future. It is all personnel’s, in primary school, task to work with. The purpose of CMS is thus to benefit society and the labor market, hence the connection of this study to occupational science. Since CMS benefits to be integrated into teaching for long-term development, this study's target group is teachers. The essay studies the work with CMS within primary school from a teacher's perspective as well as their knowledge and familiarity with the concept of CMS. The study also brings to light teachers' view of the distribution of CMS work in addition to a critical examination of the Swedish translation based on previous research and the empirical work of this study. The study is a contribution in the field of occupational science: career development and career guidance.The study's theoretical framework relates to institutional theory´s decoupling and isomorphism and curriculum theory of the relationship between society's demands, the governing documents and the practice within schools. The quantitative method is used with the intention of studying several responses linked to the purpose of the study and shows that CMS as a concept is unknown to teachers and that the work with CMS is based on subjective interpretations of the concept. The work is carried out by teachers in relation to the curriculum, but not always in relation to the Swedish National Education Agency’s description of CMS. The main responsibility for the work is seen by the majority as the entire schools, but empirical evidence shows that governance in relation to the concept is lacking. Since the concept is not accepted and open to interpretation, the study sees the problem of connecting CMS as it’s taught to the explanation of the concept. And further to get the desired effect in upper secondary school.