In this dissertation, I present findings from a two-year long ethnographic study of Mandarin world language in two public high schools: primarily, an urban, working-class, ethnically/racially diverse school, and secondarily, an affluent ethnoburban high school. I study how local discourses among school participants, at the primary field site,…

While research on motivation in second language acquisition is copious and the interest in undocumented youth within the education field is growing, there is a need to closely examine the intersection of being both undocumented and an English Learner (EL) and how this intersection often limits ELs, especially those in underserved schools. Using…

This study was designed to build on the existing research on teaching and learning in community college contexts and the literature of college writing in two-year schools. The work of Pierre Bourdieu formed the primary theoretical framework and composition theory was used to position this study in the literature of the college writing discipline.…

This study investigated a little known topic: the experiences of working-class, white male, professors, who have attained tenure. Academics who have immigrated from working class backgrounds have reported experiences of navigating culturally confusing interactions within their professional settings, even years after their class migrations.…

Despite popular beliefs about social mobility in American society, research consistently shows that inequalities are reproduced across generations. And yet, while social reproduction hinges on the transmission of advantages from parents to children, scholars take for granted children's role in this process. We do not know whether children…

This ethnographic case study investigates the literacy practices one teacher and his students engaged in during a full year digital video composing English elective. The research site is an English course offered at a diverse, first-ring suburban high school. The course, Mass Media and Video Productions, is a full year English elective open to…

Fields of inquiry intent on making social class differences visible and relevant in higher education and society at large are newly developing. Researchers continue to identify significant obstacles to degree attainment and hence to social mobility for working-class and low income students. A college student's social class background can…

Consumer emotions are rarely examined from a phenomenological perspective, with few exceptions. Moreover, consumer pride is overlooked as an influence on the marketplace practices of consumers. In spite of the lack of theoretical development on consumer pride, it clearly drives consumption: take, for instance, consumers who use goods to…