The primary purpose of this research was to dissect the state of Louisianas comprehensive curriculum and make suggestions for enhancement to a document that is intended to set basic standards for education in all public schools throughout the state. While the Louisiana State Department of Education acknowledged a real need for such a document, the one it originally produced fell short of many educators expectations. In taking into consideration the diversity of the states students and their heritages, the researcher makes suggestions for enriching the English language arts (ELA) curriculum for secondary students by incorporating a wider variety of multicultural, multiethnic, and womens literature and writing along with folkloristic teachings.
The researcher began her process by consulting several educational authors and texts, namely selected articles by Ogbu and Understanding by Design by McTighe and Wiggins, before embarking on personal interviews during which she conversed with a curriculum writer as well as experienced and respected educators in the Baton Rouge community. Dividing the findings into three categories, the researcher analyzed Louisiana State Universitys Laboratory Schools curriculum to serve as a model for advancement of the states public schools curriculum and then delved into the states curriculum to explore what material is being covered in the document. This research is followed by a chapter analyzing the construction of the current comprehensive curriculum and the disconnect that exists between the states intended implementation and what is really happening in many schools.
Finally, the researcher presents suggestions for diversifying the material and literature being taught by including cultural teachings from a variety of sources designed to envelope students from all ethnicities in the hopes of producing well-rounded and educated world citizens. Suggestions include utilizing the Louisiana Folklife Program and its website to implement a folklore unit within the ELA curriculum allowing students to use a kinesthetic approach to exploring their own and other cultures and working through various resources to discover literature of often times curriculum-neglected cultures, such as Cuban, Cajun and Acadian, Zimbabwean, and Nigerian, as well as womens writings.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:LSU/oai:etd.lsu.edu:etd-04082008-104150 |
| Date | 08 April 2008 |
| Creators | Comeaux, Adriane Renee |
| Contributors | Solimar Otero, Carolyn Ware, Laura Mullen, William Clark |
| Publisher | LSU |
| Source Sets | Louisiana State University |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | text |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Source | http://etd.lsu.edu/docs/available/etd-04082008-104150/ |
| Rights | unrestricted, I hereby certify that, if appropriate, I have obtained and attached herein a written permission statement from the owner(s) of each third party copyrighted matter to be included in my thesis, dissertation, or project report, allowing distribution as specified below. I certify that the version I submitted is the same as that approved by my advisory committee. I hereby grant to LSU or its agents the non-exclusive license to archive and make accessible, under the conditions specified below and in appropriate University policies, my thesis, dissertation, or project report in whole or in part in all forms of media, now or hereafter known. I retain all other ownership rights to the copyright of the thesis, dissertation or project report. I also retain the right to use in future works (such as articles or books) all or part of this thesis, dissertation, or project report. |
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