ASU Electronic Theses and Dissertations
This collection includes most of the ASU Theses and Dissertations from 2011 to present. ASU Theses and Dissertations are available in downloadable PDF format; however, a small percentage of items are under embargo. Information about the dissertations/theses includes degree information, committee members, an abstract, supporting data or media.
In addition to the electronic theses found in the ASU Digital Repository, ASU Theses and Dissertations can be found in the ASU Library Catalog.
Dissertations and Theses granted by Arizona State University are archived and made available through a joint effort of the ASU Graduate College and the ASU Libraries. For more information or questions about this collection contact or visit the Digital Repository ETD Library Guide or contact the ASU Graduate College at gradformat@asu.edu.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4
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- All Subjects: Education
- Creators: Bernstein, Katie
Description
This dissertation study investigated how Somali refugee families living in Nairobi, Kenya experience and negotiate their religious and secular identities through literacies. This study provided detailed experiences and reflections of individuals––children and parents about their literacies. The children in this study learned to read in English and Kiswahili in school, and they learned to read in classical Arabic—three languages they do not speak at home. The study explored Qur’anic schools which literacy researchers have long overlooked, yet these are spaces that shape many children’s rich multilingual, multiliterate, and multiscriptual repertoires while, at the same time, shaping and negotiating their fluid identities. Three themes, literacy as social practice, liturgical literacy, and funds of knowledge offered a complimentary lens through which this community was studied. Literacy, as a social practice, demonstrates how certain social groups use specific socially constructed literacies within specific contexts to achieve various goals. The concept of liturgical literacy foregrounds how minority languages, such as Classical Arabic, have great symbolic value for communities, including those who neither speak nor understand the language, while funds of knowledge conceptualize the knowledge and related activities present in homes that have the potential for contributing positively to children’s learning. Using the ethnographic methodology, this inquiry spanned six sites and focused on participants during their interactions with literacy, orality, and text for eight months. The study occurred in three homes, two Dugsis, and one school site. A rich description of the community was achieved by presenting language and literacy practices in a multi-sited ethnography. This dissertation ultimately also offers contemporary relevance: investigating a community whose literacies are invisible, minoritized, and marginalized, and aimed to inform educational researchers, policymakers, and teachers who are devoted to rethinking what counts as literacy, for whom, in what contexts, and with what kinds of consequences. In a time of increased movement of people across borders, this research has important implications for teacher preparation, theories of language learning, and literacy education.
ContributorsMohamed, Saida Hussein (Author) / Bernstein, Katie (Thesis advisor) / Warriner, Doris (Thesis advisor) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2023
Description
This study utilized a Culturally Responsive Teaching training and bi-weekly collaboration sessions to improve the connectedness between teachers and their Latino male students. Three first-year teachers and 21 students participated in this study to learn how teaching practice and student classroom experiences changed as a result of the innovations. The findings showed teachers modified their planning and teaching and demonstrated more frequent culturally responsive teaching behaviors at the end of the implementation period. Participating students also showed increased classroom engagement and stronger relationships with their teachers, in addition to feeling more valued and included in the classroom. This study highlights effective structures and practices in areas such as cultural responsiveness implementation, teacher collaboration processes, teaching evaluations, and professional development models.
ContributorsThomas, Richard (Author) / Bernstein, Katie (Thesis advisor) / Waite, Bryan (Committee member) / Carrillo, Juan (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2019
Description
Content-based instruction, task-based language teaching, and game-mediated learning are three pedagogical approaches that are perceived as effective in second and foreign language education. These approaches share common ground in a sociocultural and functional view of language learning and popularity as engaging classroom strategies in K-12 contexts. However, challenges may exist in attaining content-integrated language learning goals, designing engaging and efficient language learning tasks, or implementing game-mediated activities in classroom settings. Prior research has suggested an enhanced result in facilitating language learning as well as promoting student participation when combining some of these existing approaches. What is missing is an attempt to blend all three approaches which may lead to a synergistic way of utilizing task-based, game-mediated activities to help achieve the goals of content-integrated language learning. To address this gap in current literature and field practice, I proposed a game-mediated dual learning instructional model that aims to conceptually and practically discuss various ways of blending these aforementioned approaches. In addition, I adopted two analytical frameworks—a close analysis of language-related episodes and a three-step multimodal analysis of learners’ participation—to provide empirical evidence for participants’ language production and multimodal participation during a game-mediated project. This qualitative-driven study took place in a physics class in an independent high school in the northeastern U.S. from January to March 2022. Data sources for the project included (1) audio and video recorded data, and (2) observational data such as student-oriented notes taken during the stay at the research site. The findings of this project illustrate the diverse opportunities for language learning through participating in collaborative, game-mediated, and task-based activities. The findings also suggest that participants adopted multimodal ways of communication when engaging in these activities. This project contributes to the literature on game-mediated second and foreign language education by adopting an interdisciplinary approach to propose a new way of integrating several pedagogical approaches, while also providing an empirical account of this instructional model.
ContributorsGao, Yuchan (Author) / Gee, Elisabeth R. (Thesis advisor) / Bernstein, Katie (Committee member) / Reinhardt, Jonathon (Committee member) / Sykes, Julie (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2023
Description
The U.S Census Bureau (2018)’s report calculated that from the total Latinx population, 11.6 % of this community has a Bachelor of Arts. The report also estimated that less than half of the Latinx students who begin pursuing higher education would eventually earn their degrees. Given the Spanish Heritage Language (SHL) field’s fast-paced growth, Carreira (2007) argued for the field to get involved in reducing the Latino Achievement Gap since this gap has severe consequences in students’ lives. The objective of the current study is to analyze 1. What types of capital do SHL students bring to the upper-division university course? 2. How do the types of capital that SHL students bring to the upper division university course shaped by the end of the course? And 3. How do SHL students understand the knowledge they bring to the course and 3.1. How do they see the course having shaped their knowledge by the end of the semester? The data collected via semi-structured interviews and student reflective journals were coded using thematic analysis (Seidman, 2013) and Yosso’s (2005; 2013) six types of capital. The findings show that the course helped students gain linguistic confidence, reinforcing their linguistic capital. Also, students developed their Critical Language Awareness, which strengthens their resistant and aspirational capital. Students also mentioned that the assignments and discussions validated their sense of belonging at ASU increasing their navigational capital. This data reflects how the SHL classroom leads students to strengthen their linguistic capital and gives them the tools to reinforce their familial, navigational, resistant, and aspirational capital. These findings point out the different ways SHL courses support students along their academic journey and provide insights into how SHL educators could contribute to narrow the Latino Achievement Gap.
ContributorsAmezcua, Angelica (Author) / Beaudrie, Sara (Thesis advisor) / Bernstein, Katie (Committee member) / Gradoville, Michael (Committee member) / Velazquez, Isabel (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2021