Theses and Dissertations from UMD
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Item A BILINGUAL FAMILY LITERACY PROGRAM FOR FAMILIES OF ENGLISH LANGUAGE LEARNERS: EXPERIENCES, PERSPECTIVES, AND LITERACY PRACTICES FROM THREE FOCAL FAMILIES(2015) Palombo, Kimberly Marie; Silverman, Rebecca D; Special Education; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)A large body of research identifies the positive association between family literacy and reading outcomes for children. However, much of this research focuses on children in the emergent reading stage. Research aimed at family literacy for families with English language learners (ELLs) is further limited. Due to the dearth of family literacy program (FLP) literature for children in grades three through five, the current study investigated the experiences and attitudes of three parent–child focal pairs who participated in a bilingual family literacy program. This qualitative study of a family literacy program investigated the following two research questions: (1) What are families’ experiences and attitudes related to a family literacy program, implemented as part of an existing reading intervention, to support children’s reading development?; and (2) How does what families learn in a family literacy program align with at–home literacy interactions? Three parent–child focal pairs who were ELLs and had children in fourth grade, served as the participants to investigate these questions. Data sources for analysis included parent and student interviews, parent questionnaire, and audio/video recordings of the program. The constant comparative method (Strauss & Corbin, 1990) was used to analyze all data, both within and across the focal families. The analysis culminated in the development of an emergent theory that summarized the findings from the experiences of the focal families included in this study. Analyses of data revealed the three focal families desired to support their children’s literacy development through participation in family literacy programming, and they added to their skills with practical strategies to use with their children. Further, participation in family literacy programming deepened Spanish family literacy interactions related to texts children read in English through oral discourse. Finally, families’ implementation of strategies learned in an FLP extended their existing home literacy environment. A discussion of the findings, implications for families, home–school partnerships, and future FLPs, limitations of the current study, and future areas of research are then explored.Item THE RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN TEACHER VARIABLES AND OUTCOMES FOR LANGUAGE MINORITY LEARNERS IN GRADES 3-5 ON MEASURES OF VOCABULARY KNOWLEDGE AND READING COMPREHENSION(2012) Gray, Jennifer Letcher; Dreher, Mariam J; Curriculum and Instruction; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)Researchers have examined the relationships between teachers' preparation, educational attainment, and teaching experience and the overall academic achievement of their students. However, little attention has been given to the relationships between these variables and the achievement of language minority learners (LMLs) in mainstream classrooms. Likewise, though researchers have measured teachers' beliefs and attitudes related to the inclusion and instruction of LML students, researchers have yet to address how these teachers' beliefs and attitudes might relate to LML students' academic achievement. This study was designed to examine relationships between teachers' preparation, teaching experience, educational attainment, and beliefs and attitudes and the achievement of LMLs in the areas of vocabulary knowledge and reading comprehension. Participants in the study were LML students in grades 3-5 (n=173) and mainstream classroom teachers (n=51) from three schools from in the Mid-Atlantic region and three schools from the Northeastern region of the United States. Students were assessed at the beginning and end of the 2010-2011 school year using the Passage Comprehension and Vocabulary subtests of the Woodcock-Muñoz Language Survey-Revised (Woodcock et al., 2005). In the spring of 2011, teachers were asked to complete a survey designed to collect information related to their backgrounds, beliefs, and attitudes. I used ordinary least squares regression with robust standard errors to explore relationships between students' outcomes and teachers' backgrounds, beliefs, and attitudes. The results indicated that teachers' level of teaching experience was significantly and positively related to their LML students' achievement in vocabulary knowledge. I found that teachers' level of preparation for working with LML students and their attitudes toward the inclusion of LML students in their classrooms were significantly and positively related to their LML students' achievement in reading comprehension. I also found a significant, negative relationship between teachers' beliefs about school support and their LML students' outcomes on the measure of vocabulary knowledge. These findings suggest that teachers' backgrounds, beliefs, and attitudes related to the inclusion and instruction of LML students may in fact influence their LML students' academic achievement. Additionally, these findings provide insight into the complex relationships between mainstream classroom teachers, LML students, and students' academic outcomes.