English Learners’ Access to Postsecondary Education


Book Description

Why does a public high school, despite having resources and educators with good intentions, end up graduating English learners (ELs) without preparing them for college and career? This book answers this question through a longitudinal ethnographic case study of a diverse high school in Pennsylvania. The author takes the reader on a journey with seven EL students through their last two years of high school, exploring how and why none of them reached the postsecondary destinations they originally aspired to. This book provides a sobering look into the systemic undereducation of high school ELs and the role of high schools in limiting their postsecondary options.




English Learners Access Postsecondary Hb


Book Description

This book provides an in-depth look into the systemic undereducation of high school English learners and the role of high schools in limiting ELs' postsecondary options, despite the availability of resources and the best of intentions, through a longitudinal ethnographic case study of a diverse high school in Pennsylvania.




Promoting the Educational Success of Children and Youth Learning English


Book Description

Educating dual language learners (DLLs) and English learners (ELs) effectively is a national challenge with consequences both for individuals and for American society. Despite their linguistic, cognitive, and social potential, many ELsâ€"who account for more than 9 percent of enrollment in grades K-12 in U.S. schoolsâ€"are struggling to meet the requirements for academic success, and their prospects for success in postsecondary education and in the workforce are jeopardized as a result. Promoting the Educational Success of Children and Youth Learning English: Promising Futures examines how evidence based on research relevant to the development of DLLs/ELs from birth to age 21 can inform education and health policies and related practices that can result in better educational outcomes. This report makes recommendations for policy, practice, and research and data collection focused on addressing the challenges in caring for and educating DLLs/ELs from birth to grade 12.







Promoting Learner Transitions to Postsecondary Education and Work


Book Description

It has been estimated that of the nearly two million immigrants who enter the United States every year, nearly half have limited access to citizenship, job training, other postsecondary education, and jobs due to low literacy levels, limited formal schooling, and limited English language skills. Adult education programs serving this population can play an important role in helping learners develop the skills they need to succeed in postsecondary education and to obtain, retain, and advance in employment. Given the skills needed for the high-demand occupations of the future, it is increasingly important that adult education programs expand the scope of opportunities offered so that adults learning English are prepared with the language, knowledge, and skills they need to be successful, whether their immediate goals include gaining a vocational training certificate, an associate's degree, a bachelor's degree, or a specific job. This brief reviews the literature on the skills needed for adult English language learners to transition to academic study and employment and the time it takes to develop those skills. It then focuses on the results of a recent survey completed by the authors, which revealed instructors' perceptions of skills needed by learners in order to be successful in academic programs. Finally, the brief offers examples of activities and strategies that can be used at beginning, intermediate, and advanced levels of English as a second language (ESL) instruction to help learners develop these skills. This brief is written for state adult education staff, program administrators, professional development staff and teacher trainers, teachers, education researchers, and policy makers. It describes a process for adult education staff to use data to plan professional development for practitioners who work with adults learning English. (Contains 2 figures and 3 tables.).




Amplifying the Curriculum


Book Description

This book presents an ambitious model for how educators can design high-quality, challenging, and supportive learning opportunities for English Learners and other students identified to be in need of language and literacy support. Starting with the premise that conceptual, analytic, and language practices develop simultaneously as students engage in disciplinary learning, the authors argue for instruction that amplifies—rather than simplifies—expectations, concepts, texts, and learning tasks. The authors offer clear guidance for designing lessons and units and provide examples that demonstrate the approach in various subject areas, including math, science, English, and social studies. This practical resource will guide teachers through the coherent design of tasks, lessons, and units of study that invite English Learners (and all students) to engage in productive, meaningful, and intellectually engaging activity. “This book offers the most detailed guide available for designing instruction for students categorized as ELLs. Theoretically grounded and informed by years of implementation and study, this work is without equal in the field. I recommend the book enthusiastically as required reading in all teacher preparation programs.” —Guadalupe Valdés, Bonnie Katz Tenenbaum Professor of Education, Stanford Graduate School of Education “Reflecting its title, this book is an amplification of what it means to provide the best learning opportunities for English Language learners. Drawing on classroom-based research, Amplifying the Curriculum offers many practical examples of intellectually engaging units and tasks. This innovative book belongs on the bookshelves of all teachers.” —Pauline Gibbons, UNSW Sydney “This timely book is a call to educators across the nation to integrate language, literacy, and disciplinary knowledge to improve the education of our new American students.” —Tatyana Kleyn, The City College of New York




Linguistic Minority Students Go to College


Book Description

Bringing together emerging scholarship on the growing number of college-bound first-generation linguistic minority immigrants in the K-12 pipeline, this ground-breaking volume showcases new research on these students’ preparation for, access to, and persistence in college.




The Wiley Handbook of Adult Literacy


Book Description

Examines the widespread phenomenon of poor literacy skills in adults across the globe This handbook presents a wide range of research on adults who have low literacy skills. It looks at the cognitive, affective, and motivational factors underlying adult literacy; adult literacy in different countries; and the educational approaches being taken to help improve adults’ literacy skills. It includes not only adults enrolled in adult literacy programs, but postsecondary students with low literacy skills, some of whom have reading disabilities. The first section of The Wiley Handbook of Adult Literacy covers issues such as phonological abilities in adults who have not yet learned to read; gender differences in the reading motivation of adults with low literacy skills; literacy skills, academic self-efficacy, and participation in prison education; and more. Chapters on adult literacy, social change and sociocultural factors in South Asia and in Ghana; literacy, numeracy, and self-rated health among U.S. adults; adult literacy programs in Southeastern Europe and Turkey, and a review of family and workplace literacy programs are among the topics featured in the second section. The last part examines how to teach reading and writing to adults with low skills; adults’ transition from secondary to postsecondary education; implications for policy, research, and practice in the adult education field; educational technologies that support reading comprehension; and more. Looks at the cognitive processing challenges associated with low literacy in adults Features contributions from a global team of experts in the field Offers writing strategy instruction for low-skilled postsecondary students The Wiley Handbook of Adult Literacy is an excellent book for academic researchers, teacher educators, professional developers, program designers, and graduate students. It’s also beneficial to curriculum developers, adult basic education and developmental education instructors, and program administrators, as well as clinicians and counselors who provide services to adults with reading disabilities.




Access at the Crossroads


Book Description

Learning assistance often operates at the crossroads of the institution where academic affairs, student affairs, and enrollment management converge. This report investigates the effectiveness of learning assistance for supporting academic affairs with better-prepared students for academically rigorous courses, working with student affairs to achieve higher student development outcomes, and supporting enrollment management programs to increase persistence rates. This report explores difficult questions confronting learning assistance: What is the obligation of colleges for providing assistance for its students? Is learning assistance a civil rights issue for historically underrepresented students attending postsecondary education? What is the history of learning assistance for serving previous generations of students, even at the most prestigious public and private institutions in the United States? Are learning assistance needs better met by high schools and two-year institutions? Do learning assistance activities benefit the postsecondary institution and society? Although it has a presence in most postsecondary institutions, the expression of learning assistance is quite diverse through credit and noncredit activities. The preferred term used in this report is "learning assistance," because it is commonly used and most inclusive of the various approaches and activities of the field. This is the sixth issue the 35th volume of the Jossey-Bass series ASHE Higher Education Report. Each monograph in the series is the definitive analysis of a tough higher education problem, based on thorough research of pertinent literature and institutional experiences. Topics are identified by a national survey. Noted practitioners and scholars are then commissioned to write the reports, with experts providing critical reviews of each manuscript before publication.




Universal Design in Higher Education


Book Description

Universal Design in Higher Education looks at the design of physical and technological environments at institutions of higher education; at issues pertaining to curriculum and instruction; and at the full array of student services. Universal Design in Higher Education is a comprehensive guide for researchers and practitioners on creating fully accessible college and university programs. It is founded upon, and contributes to, theories of universal design in education that have been gaining increasingly wide attention in recent years. As greater numbers of students with disabilities attend postsecondary educational institutions, administrators have expressed increased interest in making their programs accessible to all students. This book provides both theoretical and practical guidance for schools as they work to turn this admirable goal into a reality. It addresses a comprehensive range of topics on universal design for higher education institutions, thus making a crucial contribution to the growing body of literature on special education and universal design. This book will be of unique value to university and college administrators, and to special education researchers, practitioners, and activists.