Persistence and retention of international, non-native-English-speaking students represent continual and important issues that leaders of higher education institutions consistently consider, especially after the global health crisis caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. The goal of this research was to highlight the lived experiences of international,…

This study provides insight on heritage language to Greek Americans. At an important juncture of acculturation in the United States, Greek Americans risk losing their rich cultural ancestry and language to assimilate fully as Americans. A survey at a national scale was conducted with adult Greek Americans (n=1652) from all 50 states. It was…

This dissertation presents findings from a qualitative interview based study that examines the language ideological stances of former bilingual educators who now serve as school counselors. Data was collected through interviews, artifact analysis, member checks, and analytical memos with a total of ten participants. The study revealed the majority…

Do assimilationist restrictions on a minority language lead to greater national unity or a more rebellious minority population? Under what conditions might short-term backlash to language assimilation evolve into greater national unity in the long term? While much of the literature on ethnic politics implicitly treats language simply as an…

Scholars who study Southeast Asian American (SEAA) communities are in consensus that this group's realities diverge from their Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) counterparts. In fact, nearly four decades after large-scale immigration as political refugees from Southeast Asia (SEA), this population composed of Cambodians, Hmong, Laotians,…

This research study examined the process by which non-English speaking students, whose first language is Arabic, learn mathematics in English. Teachers' adaptation was investigated to reflect the effect of change in instructional methods. The effect of communication between teachers, and exchanging ideas about the efficient practice procedure to…

Spanish-speaking parents choose to enroll their children in either an English only or English-Spanish dual immersion program when presented with both choices. This ethnographic study explored parent's perceptions of the purpose, advantages, and disadvantages of learning in school in English only or in a dual English-Spanish. Through focus group…

This phenomenological study investigated the lived experiences of identity development of Chinese graduate students in the United States. Through in-depth interviews with 15 participants at a Midwestern research university, the study found that the majority of Chinese graduate students came with a strong student identity that conflated with…

This study examines the educational and societal experiences that lead students to maintain or lose their heritage language to see how these experiences affect the language choices that young Latino/a adults are making after high school. Examining the experiences that lead language learners to lose or maintain their native language is important…