Date of Award
2004
Document Type
Dissertation
Degree Name
Doctor of Education
Department
Fischler Graduate School of Education and Human Services
Advisor
Barbara Gerard
Committee Member
Linda Gaughan
Committee Member
Barbara Packer
Keywords
academic achievement, academic preparedness, administrators, affective needs, cognitive preparedness, decision making, educational leadership, emotional preparedness, English Language Learners, ELLs, high schools, instructional leadership, instructional models, language acquisition, language skills, leadership plans, learning environments, lesson plans, linguistic needs, Maynard Evans High School, motivation, non-English language background, parents, research-based practices, school leadership, second language learning, social adjustment, staff development, student diversity, student failure, student success, surveys, teacher support, teachers, validation studies
Abstract
English Language Learners (ELLs) are defined as those “who come from a non-English language background, and whose language skills limit their ability to function successfully in an all English classroom” (C. Beckett & P. Haley, 2000, p. 102). The problem is that ELL students at Maynard Evans High School are not academically prepared to graduate from high school in a timely manner. The social adjustment and language academic acquisition processes for ELL students require the emotional and cognitive preparedness from teachers and administrators to deal with the challenging issues presented by this new group of students efficiently and effectively. The purpose of this project was provide teachers and administrators at the target school with research-based best practices through the development and validation of an instructional model tailored to meet the linguistic, academic, and affective needs of the ELL population at the target school.
The outcome of the project was to create a learning model to help all ELLs at the target school to acquire the academic and linguistic skills they need to graduate from high school and become successful individuals in the future. A series of surveys and interviews of ELL students, staff, and parents was conducted to determine the factors that contribute to students’ failure and success in terms of learning. Second, an extensive research review was conducted to detail effective leadership practices in terms of facilitating an environment that meets the needs of ELLs in a high school setting. The development and validation of the guide presents a series of guidelines for instructional and administrative members to adopt that will ensure consistency of practices and the development of a support-based environment for the effective delivery of this guide.
A series of recommendations resulted from this study. First, all instructional staff should prepare lesson plans by using a uniform pattern that will ensure consistency of best practices for all students. The second recommendation was for leaders at the target school to provide all instructional staff with an environment that facilitates learning, support, and motivation for all instructional staff and ELLs. The third recommendation was for leaders to develop and implement a leadership plan that is proactive in nature and includes joint decision making from everyone involved with the process.