This qualitative study examined the experiences of Latinx first-generation professionals within Student Affairs at a University of California campus. It focused on institutional norms and their influences on the self-efficacy of Latinx first-generation professionals as they navigated their university work environments. This study utilized…

Since the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act required classifications of students' performance levels, test scores have been used to measure students' achievement; in particular, test scores are used to determine whether students reach a proficiency level in the state assessment. Accordingly, school districts have started using benchmark assessments…

This dissertation examines the dynamic relationship between written language and literary fiction in modern and contemporary Japanese-language literature. I analyze how script and narration come together to function as a site of expression, and how they connect to questions of visuality, textuality, and materiality. Informed by work from the field…

Nationally, over the past few decades, standards-based school reform has taken root as a policy initiative and instructional model. This has advanced the use of learning standards and aligned assessments as a mechanism to bring consistency and clarity to public school curriculum and instruction, with the intention of raising student achievement.…

Critics of standards-based reform often cite an accountability policy environment that disproportionately affects teachers compared with principals and district officials. We directly examine this disproportionality. In our three study states of Texas, Ohio, and Kentucky, we use survey analysis to understand how policy environments for district…

Five years into the Common Core initiative, researchers and the general public are interested to know whether and how the standards are "working." In this introduction to the special topic, I discuss the state of the literature on these questions and offer suggestions for what I view as the most important work moving forward.

Background: People with learning disabilities have the right to choose where they live. However, evidence suggests people's choices are limited due to a shortage of housing. Methods: 200 Lives was a mixed methods research project, which evaluated supported living and residential care for people with learning disabilities in England; 107 people…

This article explores how music and lyrics serve as modes of storytelling in the language classroom, integrating a multimodal approach and the World-Readiness Standards for Learning Languages. In the 'Sing My Story' project, language students creatively write their own lyrics, which are subsequently performed by either student musicians or target…

Mixed-heritage individuals (MHIs) are known to face high levels of social exclusion. Here, we investigate how raciolinguistic ideologies related to one's heritage language abilities add to these exclusionary experiences. The results from 293 MHIs reveal frequent experiences of marginalisation from members of each of their heritage communities…

Background: The use of the Curriculum Assessment Policy Statement (CAPS) and delivery of Physical Education (PE) concerning time allocation, resources and number of learners per class is crucial for optimal delivery to the intermediate-phase (IP) learner. Aim: This study aimed to determine the gap between the understanding and the interpretation…

Since the adoption of the "No Child Left Behind Act," states have had to adopt rigorous, K-12 academic science standards to secure federal funding. Corresponding to this legislation and a concurrent call for equitable, relevant science standards, the "Next Generation Science Standards" were developed. As the country learns to…

This paper argues that descriptions of Sri Lankan English (SLE) are influenced by ideologies of linguistic racism and coloniality through an examination of the possible reasons for their neglect of Burgher English -- an underprivileged variety of SLE spoken by a minority community. Although descriptions of SLE identify different categories of the…

The developing structure of Omani higher education sector depends upon a culturally diverse group of international academics who outnumber their Omani colleagues. This creates a unique group composition that is inconsistent with the largely Omanising workplace context. Drawing on data gathered from a case study, this paper explores the reasons and…

We propose a novel method for repurposing online course discussion posts to explore educators' language ideologies. Drawing on asynchronous discussion posts from a subset of 30 educators enrolled in an online, masters-level, sociolinguistics-for-educators course at a US Southwest university, we "smooth" posts into a dialogue resembling a…

As states and districts seek to elevate learning and prepare more students for work in the digital future, they have not only a unique opportunity, but also an urgent imperative, to redesign high school math. This report examines an array of education policies that exert considerable influence on the math students learn and when they learn it,…