Browsing by Author "Tilley-Lubbs, Gresilda A."
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- Assessment of Physical Activity in Latina Mothers in the WIC PopulationKillen, Kelleigh Dawn (Virginia Tech, 2006-03-24)In 2000, the U.S. Census Bureau reported that Latinos represented 12.6% of the total population in the United States. It is projected that by 2010 Latinos will account for 15.5% of the population (1,2). Latinos account for 32% of the population in Texas, and specifically in Corpus Christi, Latinos represent 54% of the population (3). The purpose of this study was to compare reported versus actual physical activity among limited resource Latina mothers. This study also aimed to explore the validity of the existing Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) and Seven-Day Physical Activity Recall (PAR) physical activity assessment tools. Fifty-five Latina mothers from a Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) clinic in Corpus Christi, Texas were recruited to participate in this study. Data were collected through a combined (BRFSS and PAR) physical activity questionnaire as well as through step counts using pedometers. BRFSS and PAR reported significantly different levels of moderate physical activity (p=0.0312) using Chi Square tests when appropriate. The response rate in PAR for all levels of activity intensity was higher than BRFSS. There were significant trends between the number of steps reported and BRFSS and PAR moderate physical activity. Further, the majority of subjects who averaged greater than 5,000 steps per day did not perceive themselves to be moderately active in either BRFSS or PAR. These findings question the validity of these physical activity assessment tools with this population.
- Black and White: Race, Culture, and Urban RenewalShepherd, Ann Brogan (Virginia Tech, 2020-09-08)This is a qualitative study using ethnographic methods to collect data and critical autoethnography to reflect on my personal history in the light of what I learned about others (Anderson and Glass-Coffin, 2013; Ellis, 2009; Erickson, 2011; Manning and Adams, 2015; Rennel, 2015). My research focuses on race and culture in relation to perceptions in relationships, community, and education before and after urban renewal. I present my work in two-manuscripts: Growing Up White: I Didn't Know What I Didn't Know and Gainsboro: It's Just the Way Things Were. The first portion of the study looks at growing up in a White neighborhood in Roanoke, Virginia, during the early years of integration and the Civil Rights Movement, while being unaware of the existence of another world beyond my own. The second manuscript presents findings from interviews in the corresponding Black community and archival research interrogating systemic issues associated with urban renewal.
- A case study of young Korean children's English learning experiences in the United statesPark, Eun-Soo (Virginia Tech, 2005-06-15)The present study examined five Korean elementary students' English learning experiences in the United States. By examining Korean students' experiences while they were living in the United States, the study aimed to explore what the students themselves thought about regarding what they had learned while living in an English-speaking community and the students' perceptions of how these experiences influenced their English learning. Specifically, the study investigated the linguistic, cultural, and attitudinal impact of living temporarily in the United States on Korean elementary students. Interviewing was the primary means of collecting data for the study. These data was supplemented by a short survey, classroom observation, and relevant documentation about the children's learning, such as samples of the children's schoolwork. The analysis of data for this study began with organizing a description of each case, then, analyses were constructed to construct themes that cut across the data, and these themes have been utilized to generalize about what significant experiences constituted the development of English as a second language. This document reports the findings concerning the nature of the processes of learning and development that five Korean children experienced in learning English in the United States; teacher and student interaction; student and student interaction; meaningful learning experience; and classroom activities.
- Critical autoethnography and the vulnerable self as researcherTilley-Lubbs, Gresilda A. (2015)This paper presents critical autoethnography as an innovative approach to conducting research in marginalized, vulnerable communities. Combining autoethnography, ethnography, and critical pedagogy, the researcher becomes a participant in the study, turning inward to examine the Self and the complexities of cultural perspectives through the lens of critical pedagogy. Intense reflexivity and introspection undergird this study of Self as participant, going beyond recounting facts as objectively as possible, as occurs with autobiography, to acknowledging that the researcher is interpreting the facts through cultural perspectives formed through years of sociocultural, sociohistorical, sociopolitical, and socioeconomic events and circumstances. Subsequently, the researcher, more than likely a member of the dominant culture in some categories is able to understand herself as an oppressor.
- Crossing the Border Through Service-Learning: The Power of Cross-Cultural RelationshipsTilley-Lubbs, Gresilda A. (Virginia Tech, 2003-07-21)The overarching objective of this study is to examine the nexus of relationships that emerged between university students and Latino families paired through a university service-learning course. The relationships crossed socially constructed boundaries of ethnic groups, language, educational levels, and socioeconomic status, exploring the intersection of community service, scholarship, and teaching-and-learning. The research questions necessitated the use of qualitative research methods. The narrative attempts to capture the essence of the setting, the actors, and the resultant relationships by describing and examining the spontaneous relationships that occurred. The researcher spent 1½ years as an interpreter/participatory member in the Latino community prior to beginning the research study. She collected data collected for this case study over 2½ years, examining the backgrounds of the participants, their perspectives toward their partners, and the role of service-learning in the development of relationships between two disparate groups. She conducted 46 interviews with students and community members while collecting over 2500 reflection papers, 100 transformation papers, and 25 PowerPoint presentations from students. The participants developed relationships at different levels, some resulting in friendships that will probably continue for some time; others sharing respect and concern for each other only during the placement. A few unsuccessful partnerships had to be changed. Student and community voices presented an appreciation for the partner's language and culture. The data illustrated satisfying reciprocal relationships in which students and families emerged united in solidarity against a society they deemed unjust. This study seeks to provide information for educators considering service-learning programs, examining a course that provides opportunities for interaction between university students and community members. Through the participants' voices, the reader can explore the integration of academic learning with learning lived in the community. Finally, this study submits general proposals for the inclusion of service-learning programs in Foreign Language and Teacher Education programs as a means of nurturing paradigm shifts in student attitudes toward members of other cultures as well as paradigm shifts in the Latinos' attitudes toward their new culture, suggesting possible deeper societal transformation as the academy and the community become agents of change through service-learning in the Latino community.
- Dance For Life: Exploring Dance Choreography and Performance as a tool for Educating the University Community about College Student SuicideFournillier, Jandelle Lu-Ann (Virginia Tech, 2013-01-11)Looking for ways that dance could be used as a tool for health promotion, I sought to explore dance choreography and performance as an alternative medium for educating and increasing awareness about college student suicide. Suicide is the second leading cause of death amongst college students and while research suggests that suicide is decreasing, in terms of attempted suicides, the problem may be increasing. While attempts to understand, predict and prevent the loss of lives have resulted in extensive literature, there has been very little systematic research completed. Compounded by limited proposed models for addressing college student suicide, and lack of evidence there remains a growing need to find effective health communication practices and best health promotion practices. This research study is an autobiographical case study that explores my embodied experience of choreographing and performing a dance about college student suicide. As a health promotion professional and a trained dance artist, I assumed the role of researcher and dance choreographer and I and my experience became the subject of this research study. I launched and conducted a six-week project on my university campus called "Dance For Life" and worked with a small group of three female undergraduate dancers to make the new dance piece. This dance project was the case under investigation out of which I presented an autobiographical narrative in the findings and discussion section of this paper. Reviewed health information, research findings, and data, as well as knowledge extracted from the dance group became in part material used to make the dance. As the choreographer, my role in the choreographic process spanned from expert to collaborator and rested on my vision for the story told that would be told through the dance. I collected m data in the form of:- video recordings; audio recordings; pictures; journal entries; field/ observational notes; video diaries; drawings; interviews with community-based artists; and memory recall. I then worked to sort, label, group, and analyze the data, piecing together my findings to write an autobiography that answered my research questions. My exploration highlighted the importance of community involvement in community-based health programming.Through participation in this project the dancers\' knowledge and awareness of college student suicide increased and positively affected their empathetic response toward members of the community. Using non professional dancers with varied dance skill levels did not inhibit creativity or diminish the quality of work produced. Instead it brought together real life people with diverse perspectives, creative solutions, and a passion for dance to produce a piece of art effective in its ability to \'touch\' the audience and draw them in to a place of greater awareness. Stigmas, and the lack of education and visibility about this particular health challenge, have resulted in a low community response to affecting change. The post performance discussion, brought the greatest gains, in terms of educating the audience. They interacted with the project, asked questions, gave feedback and provided comments about what they experienced, learned, and understood. The overall success of the project, points toward the possibility of dance as an art form playing a more significant role in educating communities about sensitive, and difficult to talk about, health challenges. Being able to affect the knowledge, attitudes, and empathetic response of communities is a beginning step towards overcoming the health challenge of college student suicide. Future research needs to focus on best choreographing techniques as it relates to audience interpretation.
- Dietary Acculturation, Physical Activity and Body Image in Limited-Resource Latino Women in Northern VirginiaGoetz, Margarethe E. (Virginia Tech, 2003-07-16)The purpose of this study was to collect exploratory data on dietary acculturation, physical activity, and body image in a limited resource Latina population in northern Virginia. Acculturation may be described as a process in which members of one cultural group adopt the beliefs and behaviors of another group. Acculturation has been associated with a variety changes in terms of diet, physical activity and body image. Most dietary acculturation research in the U.S. has focused on Mexican Americans, Cuban Americans, and Puerto Ricans; however this study was composed of mostly Central and South Americans. Eighty-five subjects were recruited from the Arlington County Expanded Food and Nutrition Education Program, Arlington County Women, Infants, and Children program, and the Fairfax County Parklawn Family Center. Demographic information, acculturation, fruit and vegetable intake, saturated fat avoidance, physical activity, and body image were assessed with written survey instruments. The results indicated that this Latina population with limited resources in northern Virginia was mainly from Bolivia and El Salvador, and was not highly acculturated. Almost half of the participants were overweight or obese. About 50% of the population met the 5-A-Day goal for fruit and vegetable intake and almost 95% of participants exhibited at least one form of saturated fat avoidance. Eighty-five percent of the population reported participating in 30 minutes or more leisure-time physical activity less than 3 times each week, though a similar percentage reported that physical activity was important for health. Sixty percent of respondents were on a weight loss diet. While there was a significant relationship between the number of servings of fruit consumed and acculturation, there was no significant relationship between acculturation and any other dietary, physical activity or body image factor measured. The results of this study provide a baseline for further research in the limited resource Latina population in northern Virginia.
- Finding Voice along the Appalachian Mountains: An Autoethnographic Journey of a Female Immigrant StudentChang, Rong Bai (Virginia Tech, 2019-08-05)Using autoethnography (Ellis, 2004), this study explores a female immigrant student's lived experiences in education in China, and in the United States. The theoretical framework of this study is critical autoethnography. In the study, I present my lived experiences in poems, narratives, and stories as the storied scholarship (Boylorn and Orbe, 2014). Through the study, I make sense of how a female non-traditional immigrant student navigated schooling in the complex social, cultural environment in the United States, and schooling experiences of my youth in China. I utilize the study to examine the deeper meaning of my story as an inquiry (Denzin and Lincoln, 2005; Richardson and St. Pierre, 2005). In doing so, to not only make sense of the complex lifelong experiences (Berger, 2004) of an immigrant student, but also to make connections with many other female immigrant students, and to bring new light to the understanding of their struggles, difficulties, and challenges. I use various literary styles and the metaphor of finding the voice in my writing to illustrate the process (Forber-Pratt, 2015; Luke, 2009).
- Foreign Language Teachers' Beliefs and Practices in Language Education: What to Teach and How to TeachLiu, Yuning (Virginia Tech, 2021-08-06)This dissertation is a combination of two manuscripts. By using autoethnography in manuscript one, this study first reflects on my learning English as a foreign language journey and the influences that brought to my life. The seven stories in this study cover many aspects of foreign language education, including teaching contents, teaching methods, and teacher preparation. Through the lens of autoethnography, I will further explore factors that influence foreign language education. Through detailed analysis, I discover language learning is not isolated. Foreign language teaching and learning will be influenced by economy, politics, cultures, and society. Based on these findings, I ask many thought-provoking questions on foreign language education, such as teaching contents and teaching methods. Manuscript two is traditional qualitative research using ethnographic methods. I use in-depth interviews to explore teachers' beliefs and practices of one supervisor and three foreign language teachers. I first present findings on their beliefs and practices in foreign language teaching and learning, including changes and challenges in the division's language education and foreign language teachers' beliefs and practices and their alignment with the ACTFL Standards. I will also use the ACTFL Standards as a lens to analyze how their beliefs and practices match with the 5Cs: Communication, cultures, connections, comparisons, communities. Finally, I will provide suggestions for future similar studies.
- From Bible to Babel Fish: The Evolution of Translation and Translation TheorySettle, Lori Louise (Virginia Tech, 2004-04-28)Translation, the transfer of the written word from one language to another, has a long history, and many important scholars have helped shape its perceptions, accepted processes, and theories. Machine translation, translation by computer software requiring little or no human input, is the latest movement in the translation field, a possible way for the profession to keep abreast of the enormous demand for scientific, business, and technical translations. This study examines MT by placing it in a historical context — first exploring the history of translation and translation theory, then following that explanation with one of machine translation, its problems, and its potential.
- The Importance of Reflection within the Academic Assignments of Study Abroad ProgramsPlaza, Raymond Vidal (Virginia Tech, 2016-08-16)Today, almost 305,000 U.S. college students are taking advantage of study abroad opportunities throughout the world. While study abroad experiences have has been increasing in number and scope, there continue to be questions about the importance and value of study abroad on the students' growth and development. This study highlights a summer study abroad program at Virginia Tech from 2008 – 2012. Reflection and transformative learning serve as the primary theoretical frameworks for this study. The work of Dewey (1933), Mezirow (1991, 1997), Moon (2004), Whitney and Clayton (2011) and others help to provide additional insight into better understanding reflection and transformative learning. The methodological framework is a qualitative case study focusing on the student participants from summer 2012 and examines the role of reflection in the academic components of the program and whether or not reflection helped to further enhance the influence and impact of the experience on the students. I collected data from photo journals, weekly reflection papers and their final exam paper, all of which comprised the academic requirements for this credit-bearing course. The participants consisted of seven female identified students and four male identified students, representing the following academic disciplines: Human Development, Geography, Political Science, Journalism, Studio Art and International Studies. Through content analysis (Mayan, 2009; Merriam, 1998), I discovered the themes of self-awareness and visibility and presence. These two themes provide a deeper understanding about how the study abroad experience has a distinct influence on the students, as can be evidenced through their academic work. While the two themes help to further reinforce the importance of reflective practice, the study also reveals that reflection can be problematic as well.
- The Induction and Mentoring Experiences of New English as a Second Language and Bilingual TeachersRaab, Rebecca Raine (Virginia Tech, 2020-10-14)The focus of this dissertation is on the induction and mentoring experiences of new English as a Second Language (ESL) and bilingual teachers. Included in the dissertation are three manuscripts: a systematic literature review of the experiences of and supports for new ESL/bilingual teachers, a descriptive analysis of their induction, and an inferential analysis (i.e., regression) of the extent to which working with a mentor improved their first-year instruction. The first manuscript (Chapter 2) is a systematic review of peer-reviewed articles documenting the experiences of and supports for new ESL/bilingual teachers in U.S public schools. Findings from 32 studies published from 2002-2020 were synthesized into three overarching themes (i.e., instructional contexts and roles; social contexts of teaching; formal induction supports). Many new teachers experienced challenges in their instructional contexts and roles and struggled to connect socially with others in their schools, leading to physical segregation and marginalization. Moreover, only a few studies elaborated on specific induction and mentoring supports. Manuscript 1 concludes with suggestions for researchers and implications for K-12 school leaders, teacher educators, and new ESL/bilingual teachers. The second manuscript (Chapter 3) presents the findings of a secondary descriptive analysis of new ESL/bilingual teacher induction using the nationally representative 2011-12 Schools and Staffing Survey Teacher Questionnaire. Findings provide a first of its kind national profile of their induction supports, levels of perceived preparedness for the first year, and demographic characteristics, as well as a comparison to new general educators. Findings indicate that a lower percentage of new ESL/bilingual teachers than general educators received important induction supports (i.e., administrator feedback, same-subject mentoring, and frequent mentoring) and were not well prepared for critical teaching tasks (e.g., assessing students). Demographically, a higher percentage of new ESL/bilingual teachers than general educators were teachers of color. The manuscript concludes with directions for future research and implications for teacher educators and school leaders. The third manuscript (Chapter 4) investigated which mentoring components (i.e., same-subject mentors, frequency of mentoring, and other mentoring activities), predicted new ESL/bilingual teachers' perceptions that their mentors helped improve their first year of teaching. Using a nationally representative sample of ESL/bilingual teachers. I found that frequent weekly mentoring, help with developing student assessment tools, and help with paperwork/record keeping were statistically significant predictors of the extent to which new ESL/bilingual teachers indicated their mentors improved their first-year teaching. I conclude with suggestions for future research and improving mentoring programs for new ESL/bilingual teachers.
- Interaction through Asynchronous Audio-Based Computer Mediated Communication in the Virtual Foreign Language ClassroomShrewsbury, Eric-Gene Jackson (Virginia Tech, 2012-01-26)Because distance learning (DL) programs provide students educational opportunities with minimal restrictions on location and/or time, the number of institutions that provide DL courses has grown at a tremendous rate over recent years and is projected to increase in the future. Foreign language courses through DL, however, have been criticized for limited opportunities to engage in speaking activities and to develop oral proficiency. While previous research consistently reports no significant differences, the focus of those studies has been the comparison of outcomes assessments between face-to-face and DL courses. This study analyzed the types of interactions that occurred in the virtual foreign language classroom while using asynchronous audio-based CMC, known as voice boards, to learn Spanish at a rural community college located in Southwestern Virginia, Patrick Henry Community College (PHCC). An embedded multiple-case study design and computer mediated discourse analysis were applied with activity theory to analyze the interactions holistically. During a 10-year period, the amount of students enrolled in on-line only courses or in the virtual campus at PHCC increased from 97 students in the summer 2001 session to 655 students in the summer 2011 session. These results showed a 575.3% (n = 558) increase of students enrolled in DL. Only 37.7% (n = 507) of the students attending the community college during the summer 2011 session were enrolled in only FTF courses. These increases were a result of students' needs to pursue degrees of higher education while working and taking care of family and other personal obligations. Students enrolled in the SPA 101: Beginning Spanish I course explained that employment schedules, family obligations, and financial reasons motivated their decisions for taking a DL course. When completing audio-based discussion board assignments, experimentation with the language was observed and participants took advantage of opportunities to listen to recordings multiple times before submitting responses. Forty-seven percent of the utterances were categorized as containing questions to encourage continued discussion. However, lexical chains for those utterances showed that only 11.6% (n = 11) of the utterances followed a three link chain of initial post-response-response (IRR) that represented extended conversations in the voice boards.
- It's Different People Who Are Down Here: Portraits of Three Young Women of Color Who Work in a Science MuseumMotto, Andrea Marie (Virginia Tech, 2016-07-29)Eldora, Neethi and Seraphina are three young women who work as science interpreters at a large metropolitan museum. Each woman began her tenure at the age of 15, as part of an employment program for low-income and minority youth, and have since grown to become leaders within the program. Using autoethnography (Ellis, 2004) and portraiture (Lawrence-Lightfoot and Hoffman Davis, 1997), I explore the rich cultures and histories that each woman brings to her work, present stories that counter the dominant deficit narratives around diversity in informal science education, and reflect on connections to my own practice. Through a critical pedagogy framework (McLaren, 2009; Kincheloe, 2008), I analyze power and privilege within the institution, and the roles that race, language, and culture play in the dynamics of the workplace. This includes examination of workplace microaggressions, physical barriers to cross-cultural interaction, and technocratic ideologies that limit advancement and sense of belonging. From facing subtle acts of racism to taking on life-changing opportunities for growth, I examine the complex relationships that the women have with the institution, and explore ways that they are becoming agents of change.
- La Vida en el Norte [Life in the North], Three Mexican Women in the Roanoke ValleyUribe Leon, Marcela (Virginia Tech, 2005-12-12)The purpose of this work was to investigate how identity is transformed by the experience of immigration. Two research questions were conceptualized in order to address the essence of the inquiry. How do Mexican immigrant women living in the Roanoke Valley describe their lives back in Mexico? How do Mexican immigrant women living in the Roanoke Valley describe their lives in the United States? Interviews with three first-generation Mexican female immigrants currently living in Southwest Virginia formed the basis of the qualitative study presented in this work. The study was designed to understand Mexican women immigrants through their personal experiences and stories. The two main findings about their perceptions of life back in Mexico were related to lack of economic resources and the limited opportunities they had. Also, their memories of Mexico were paired with nostalgia of their loss in terms of family relations and cultural understanding. In general, the participants perceived themselves to be in a better economic position that encourages them to stay in the United States. An unexpected finding was that in all three cases domestic violence was a constant in the women's lives. However, despite the gender construction of Mexican women as passive females, the commonality in the three cases was that they looked for alternatives on how to resist violence by seeking support and resources to escape from it on either side of the border.
- Literacy from a Different Perspective: Listening to the Voices of Adolescents from a Mulitcultural ContextLucas, Ernestine McKoy (Virginia Tech, 2009-12-10)The objective of this study was to listen to the perceptions of the experiences of adolescents from a multicultural background as those experiences related to their literacy learning acquisition. Each of the adolescent learners were enrolled in the English for Speakers of Other Languages program in one of the middle schools in the state of Virginia. The experiences, whether positive or negative, would inevitably shape the literacy learning of these multicultural learners as they interacted with family members, with members of the community, and in the academic setting at school.Open ended interview questions were used to gather data for this qualitative, ethnographic research study. This type forum allowed for an open dialogue between the researcher and the adolescent learners. As the researcher, I examined the data to determine how the learners' perceived experiences impacted their literacy learning.This study seeks to contribute to the knowledge base on adolescent literacy. The findings can be used by policy makers and educators who are dedicated to improving the quality of the educational lives of our multicultural learners. It is possible that the findings of this study could be used to inform guidelines for establishing future policies, practices, and strategies implemented in the English for Speakers of Other Languages program in the public schools.
- Metacognitive intervention for the alleviation of learned helplessnessHelena Soares, Elza (Virginia Tech, 2012-12-11)The goal of this study was to investigate if participation in collaborative professional development workshops - on learned helplessness, self-efficacy, and metacognition - would impact teachers' beliefs in their capacity to address students' helplessness. The underlying assumption was that, with deeper understanding of the theoretical background upon which instructional practices should be constructed, teachers would develop a stronger belief that, through their pedagogical practices, they could impact students' individual learning outcomes as well as the classroom environment. In order to achieve this endeavor, an eight-week intervention was conducted in a low-achieving and low SES public school in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The study's design, development, implementation, and evaluation were oriented by guidelines derived from the formative and design experiment methodology. The study benefited from quantitative and qualitative data collection and analysis methods. Triangulation of data showed strong consistency between quantitative and qualitative findings. After the intervention, participating teachers acknowledged implementing the theories in their classrooms. Reported impacts included (a) strengthened teachers' beliefs about their capacity for effective teaching in this school environment; (b) increases in teachers' instructional efficacy and metacognitive abilities; (c) increased capacity to exercise reflective practice through evidence- based self-evaluations; (d) increased capacity to create comprehensive lesson plans including the Nine Events of Instruction (Gagne, 1985), the MUSIC Model of Academic Motivation (Jones, 2009), and metacognitive strategies (Schraw, 1998). As teachers implemented the strategies in their classes, they reported positive impacts on the students' interests, attitudes towards classroom activities, and efforts to achieve.
- Motivations for Studying French: Language Orientations and Expectancy-Value TheoryNewbill, Paula Brown (Virginia Tech, 2009-03-30)French enrollment is not increasing at the rate of other modern languages in higher education in the United States. This study attempted to bring to light the reasons for studying the language and focused on the orientations, expectancies, and values students have for studying French at a large, public university. The mixed methods research investigated students' reasons for enrolling in an intermediate French course with a self-report survey including short answer questions. The aim of this principally quantitative study was to understand why students choose to study French by comparing the subscales within the orientations and expectancy-value scales. The foreign language orientation subscales used were: travel, knowledge, relationships, instrumentality, and the sociocultural orientation. For the expectancy-value scale, the subscales included: expectancy, intrinsic value, attainment value, and utility value. The mean values of the survey items were compared in an ANOVA framework. Relationships within the two scales were analyzed using a Pearson's correlation calculation. Finally, a linear regression was used to analyze the subscales as predictors of continuation of French study. Short answer responses supported the quantitative data through resulting themes and sub-themes. The data were merged in a validating quantitative data model of mixed methods. Results for foreign language choice pointed to travel reasons, such as the desire to spend time abroad, and intrinsic interest in the language. Students were likely to continue studying French due to sociocultural reasons, such as understanding French films and music, and due to instrumental reasons involving career and grades. The attainment or importance subscale of the expectancy-value scale was the best predictor of continuation. The short answer qualitative data were transformed to show the significant subscale orientations with corresponding sub-themes. The triangulation offered insight into FL choice and communication with people in francophone countries. The findings also suggested that students continue studying French due to particular career choices. Teaching implications and further study suggestions offer ideas for the significant subscales. The subscales that obtained low mean values in FL choice are also included in the implications section. This is due to the fact that the low scoring subscales are areas that have not been explored to encourage French study. Further study is needed to provide more details about students' experiences through interviews and to implement educational suggestions with enrollment tracking. The mixed methods design offers a base for similar FL motivation studies in the future.
- Negotiating Meaning: How Spanish-Speaking Mothers Make Sense of the Construct of Parental InvolvementSebolt, Stephanie Ann Doswald (Virginia Tech, 2010-09-08)Parental involvement has been at the forefront of many studies leading to the conclusion that increased parental involvement improves academic achievement. Despite findings suggesting the benefits of parental involvement, research reveals a lack of parental involvement among Spanish-speaking parents. The overarching objective of this qualitative case study was to explore how Spanish-speaking mothers make sense of the construct of parental involvement. This qualitative study was comprised of three cases: one Guatemalan mother and two Honduran mothers each with children attending elementary school. My methodology allowed me to explore and depict historical and sociocultural factors that influence how the mothers view their role in their children's education. I collected data through semi-structured interviews, informal observations, and extensive fieldnotes and I conducted on-going analysis on these data. Data provide evidence that the mothers in the study hold a different perspective of parental involvement from that of school personnel. Their views stem directly from their own historical and cultural knowledge, which differs from that of middle-class, White Americans. They are involved in their children's overall education in ways not acknowledged by educators.
- Performing Bantu: Narrative Constructions of Identity in DiasporaDeramo, Michele C. (Virginia Tech, 2017-03-30)This research asks the question of how three young adults construct identity while living in diaspora. The subjects of the research came to the United States as a part of the Somali Bantu resettlement in 2004. The study begins with a trajectory analysis of the people now known as Somali Bantu, beginning with their forced migration to Somalia and the various factors shaping their status in the country. The analysis continues through the period of displacement, flight, and human warehousing in the Dadaab and Kakuma refugee camps of Kenya and includes an examination of how bureaucratic labeling as refugees, and the public rhetoric of mainstream media further shaped the story of the Somali Bantu. Each of these moments through the refugee trajectory are foundational to the self-representations emerging in diaspora. Using autoethnographic and portraiture methodologies, the author analyzes the subjects' discursive practices associated with cultural sustainability, as well as deployment of social media in rejecting and resisting social and cultural influences that threaten the integrity of Somali Bantu identity in the United States. The dissertation also situates the subjects within the broader Somali Bantu diaspora in the United States and Europe as they create home through a Somali Bantu aesthetic, form community through mutual assistance associations, construct mediascapes that circulates information globally, and build a transnational movement that aims to end the suffering of Wagosha people in Somalia. Overall, the research demonstrates the discursivity of identity, showing how a particular group reconstitutes itself through engagements with multiple and often disparate cultures, traditions, languages, and histories.