A School's Activity System of Supporting Upper-Elementary Newcomers' English Language Proficiency Growth

Autor/in	Cowdrick, Kara E.
Titel	A School's Activity System of Supporting Upper-Elementary Newcomers' English Language Proficiency Growth
Quelle	(2018), (311 Seiten) PDF als Volltext Verfügbarkeit
Sprache	englisch
Dokumenttyp	gedruckt; online; Monographie
ISBN	978-0-3554-9325-2
Schlagwörter	Hochschulschrift; Dissertation; Elementary School Students; Case Studies; Social Theories; English Language Learners; Teacher Role; Language Proficiency; Limited English Speaking; Student Needs; Observation; Interviews; Documentation; Administrators; Elementary School Teachers; Language Teachers; English (Second Language); Intervention + Suchen Sie Ihr Suchwort? Thesis; Dissertations; Academic thesis; Case study; Fallstudie; Case Study; Gesellschaftstheorie; Lehrerrolle; Language skill; Language skills; Sprachkompetenz; Beobachtung; Interviewing; Interviewtechnik; Dokumentation; Elementary school; Teacher; Teachers; Grundschule; Volksschule; Lehrer; Lehrerin; Lehrende; Language teacher; Sprachunterricht; English as second language; English; Second Language; Englisch als Zweitsprache
Abstract	Using the sociocultural theoretical framework of activity theory, this intrinsic case study sought to investigate how administrators, mainstream teachers, and English to speakers of other languages (ESOL) teachers in one school support newcomers' English language proficiency growth. Newcomers are English learners (ELs) who moved to the United States within the past year and have no or extremely limited English language proficiency. It is critical to understand how schools support upper-elementary newcomers' English language proficiency growth because more newcomers are entering United States classrooms now than in the past (Trickett et al., 2012) and recent legislation emphasizes upper-elementary ELs' language proficiency growth for accountability measures. This study seeks to illustrate how newcomers are supported and add to the current void in research related to upper-elementary newcomers' education. This single-bound intrinsic case study used Stake's (2005) case study methodology recommendations. After a three-phase research site selection process, the researcher collected and holistically analyzed three sources of data: observations, interviews, and documents. Participants included three administrators, four mainstream classroom teachers, and two ESOL teachers. The case study's data analysis thoroughly portrayed how each component of the school's activity system connected to supporting upper-elementary newcomers' English language proficiency growth. Findings illustrated the intricacies of each component of the school's activity system: rules, division of labor, community, and tools. They also revealed that multiple primary and secondary contradictions exist within the activity system. Conclusions included the school's activity system is multifaceted and interconnected, explicit assessment rules strongly impact the activity system, and educators are using research-based pedagogy despite challenges. Furthermore, there is a need for transformation due to the contradictions that exist within the activity system. Recommendations for future study include: (a) to include more or different participants at the same school, (b) replicate the study in a middle school or high school environment, (c) conduct other studies using other qualitative methodologies to gain a better understanding of a specific component of the school's activity system, and (d) engage in a multi-case analysis to shed light on third and fourth generation contradictions of the activity system. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://www.proquest.com/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.] (As Provided).
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Erfasst von	ERIC (Education Resources Information Center), Washington, DC
Update	2020/1/01