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38
activities while students from low SES primarily receive explicit instruction
followed by worksheet completion. Lastly, although teachers do not have much say
over curricular control, they can accommodate lessons according to the standards
and knowledge pertinent to the learning objectives for the lesson. “Educators must
make clear those standards to which we would hold our students accountable as they
move through the curriculum” (Pearson & Raphael, 1999, p. 29).
Teaching Strategies
The EL population has increased by approximately 57 percent during the last
decade (Ballantyne, Sanderman, & Levy, 2008). Unfortunately, current research
indicates that many mainstream teachers do not have sufficient knowledge to
effectively teach EL students, further aggravating the efforts to close the
achievement gap (Ballantyne et al., 2008). Additionally, the majority of educators
addressing the needs of EL students are White, female, middle-class living in
suburban or rural environments, it is vital they not only learn the pedagogy behind
instructing EL students, but also understand the sociocultural characteristics of the
EL population (McGraner & Saenz, 2009).
McGraner and Saenz (2009) present a set of six codified practices that
mainstream teachers must incorporate to effectively address EL instructional needs,
and which can be considered as key knowledge gaps if they are not considered by
teachers:
1. Sociocultural and political foundations for teaching EL students;
2. Foundations of second language acquisition;
Object Description
| Title | An alternative capstone project: A gap analysis inquiry project on the district reform efforts and its impact in narrowing the Hispanic EL achievement gap in Rowland Unified School District |
| Author | Molina-Solis, Lesette Wendy |
| Author email | lwm5995@lausd.net; molinaso@usc.edu |
| Degree | Doctor of Education |
| Document type | Dissertation |
| Degree program | Education (Leadership) |
| School | Rossier School of Education |
| Date defended/completed | 2011-01-19 |
| Date submitted | 2011 |
| Restricted until | Unrestricted |
| Date published | 2011-04-28 |
| Advisor (committee chair) |
Rueda, Robert S. Marsh, David D. |
| Advisor (committee member) | Escalante, Michael F. |
| Abstract | The purpose of this case study was to conduct a gap analysis for the pervasive underperformance of Hispanic English Learner (EL) students in Rowland Unified School District. This qualitative inquiry project looked at educational practices from elementary through middle school throughout the district and how these aligned to district initiatives for narrowing the gap. Through the use of interviews, observations and surveys, the authors gathered information to develop perceived root causes and then formulate solutions to present to the Superintendent and her executive board.; The process of change, district support and cultural proficiency all contributed to the existing Hispanic EL achievement gap in Rowland Unified. Despite the district’s efforts in addressing the students’ needs via district wide initiatives supported from a grant through the Ball Foundation, high beliefs in collaboration and de-centralized nature of the district, Hispanic EL student needs were not adequately being addressed. In actuality, the fairly recent programs identified to address EL needs had not been fully implemented by all district stakeholders. Although district level personnel demonstrated much support and commitment to addressing EL student needs, the decentralized nature of the district hampered the implementation with fidelity of EL classroom strategies. Lastly, a sufficient percentage of staff members had perceived assumptions about their students’ academic progress. The staff overwhelming demonstrated limited cultural proficiency about their students’ home life, background and knowledge base to adequately aid their students in gaining access to the classroom curriculum. In addition to sustaining and ensuring implementation of research based effective teaching practices for ELs, staff members need to increase their understanding of their students’ cultural background through guidance and increased accountability from the district. |
| Keyword | Hispanic EL; achievement gap; gap analysis |
| Geographic subject | school districts: Rowland Unified School District |
| Geographic subject (county) | Los Angeles |
| Geographic subject (state) | California |
| Geographic subject (country) | USA |
| Coverage date | 2001/2010 |
| Language | English |
| Part of collection | University of Southern California dissertations and theses |
| Publisher (of the original version) | University of Southern California |
| Place of publication (of the original version) | Los Angeles, California |
| Publisher (of the digital version) | University of Southern California. Libraries |
| Provenance | Electronically uploaded by the author |
| Type | texts |
| Legacy record ID | usctheses-m3802 |
| Contributing entity | University of Southern California |
| Rights | Molina-Solis, Lesette Wendy |
| Repository name | Libraries, University of Southern California |
| Repository address | Los Angeles, California |
| Repository email | cisadmin@lib.usc.edu |
| Filename | etd-MolinaSolis-4309 |
| Archival file | uscthesesreloadpub_Volume14/etd-MolinaSolis-4309.pdf |
Description
| Title | Page 45 |
| Contributing entity | University of Southern California |
| Repository email | cisadmin@lib.usc.edu |
| Full text | 38 activities while students from low SES primarily receive explicit instruction followed by worksheet completion. Lastly, although teachers do not have much say over curricular control, they can accommodate lessons according to the standards and knowledge pertinent to the learning objectives for the lesson. “Educators must make clear those standards to which we would hold our students accountable as they move through the curriculum” (Pearson & Raphael, 1999, p. 29). Teaching Strategies The EL population has increased by approximately 57 percent during the last decade (Ballantyne, Sanderman, & Levy, 2008). Unfortunately, current research indicates that many mainstream teachers do not have sufficient knowledge to effectively teach EL students, further aggravating the efforts to close the achievement gap (Ballantyne et al., 2008). Additionally, the majority of educators addressing the needs of EL students are White, female, middle-class living in suburban or rural environments, it is vital they not only learn the pedagogy behind instructing EL students, but also understand the sociocultural characteristics of the EL population (McGraner & Saenz, 2009). McGraner and Saenz (2009) present a set of six codified practices that mainstream teachers must incorporate to effectively address EL instructional needs, and which can be considered as key knowledge gaps if they are not considered by teachers: 1. Sociocultural and political foundations for teaching EL students; 2. Foundations of second language acquisition; |
