Special Education and Literacy Studies

In this article, we describe the reading practices in a public and high-achieving 6th grade English classroom in the Philippines. By utilizing a four resources model, we discuss the different roles that students assume in this classroom. Students in this class are mainly code breakers and text users and have limited opportunities to assume the other two roles of the four resources model. This case study provides a different view of reading, specifically a view of a culture of reading wherein higher status is given to oral reading performance rather than comprehension. We describe the way a high-achieving 6th grade Philippine classroom perceives reading. Through this article, we would like to contribute to the research literature on Philippine education and increase our knowledge of reading practices as they are conceived and practiced in this particular classroom.

This study examines culturally responsive pedagogy across the fields of special education, multicultural literacy education, and teaching English language learners. A systematic review of recommendations identified culturally responsive practices in five key areas: dialogue, collaboration, visual representation, explicit instruction, and inquiry. Educators are encouraged to adopt a critical and responsive stance that incorporates students’ cultural knowledge and lived experiences when implementing these recommendations. Creating classrooms that promote culturally responsive and effective instruction is grounded in the definition of literacy as a social practice and leads to more equitable learning opportunities in all areas.

As the need to better support English learners' achievement in academically rigorous content area classes increases, so does the call for expanded ESL teacher -content area teacher collaboration. However, the nature and outcomes of such collaboration depend on how these professionals are positioned within their school settings. Using positioning theory as an analytic lens, this article investigates the collaborative interactions of two ESL teachers in two separate, but demographically similar suburban middle schools. It examines the impact of these ESL teachers' collaborations on ELLs' opportunities for academic language and content area learning, and it calls for the field to purposefully consider issues of culture and agency in teacher partnerships. Overall, this article informs educators' and teacher educators' efforts to optimize school-based, ELL-focused teacher collaboration.

This study investigates the reading engagement of
four middle school English learners in their English
or English as a Second Language classroom.
Students with high levels of reading engagement are
those who (a) are motivated to read, (b) use
strategies when reading, (c) use reading as a way to
construct meaning from texts, and (d) participate in
social interactions around reading (Guthrie &
Wigfield, 2000). This study focuses on all four
aspects of reading engagement and explores whether
there are any additional components that should be
considered with English learners’ reading
engagement. Data included in this case study
research include semi-structured interviews, field
notes from classroom observations, comprehension
assessments, reading activity inventories, and
student artifacts. Findings from this case study
research indicate that all four components are
essential to consider with English learners’ reading
engagement. Results of this study also reveal that
English learners’ identities are an essential
component of their reading engagement.

This cognitive interview study aims to improve the content validity of a newly developed reading motivation instrument for English learners. Previous research has shown there is a significant need for survey developers to conduct cognitive interviews to ensure that in real world settings survey respondents interpret the items as the framers intended. The proposed study focuses on six main patterns of student misinterpretation that could suggest the need for further revision of survey items in order to improve their content and item validity: lexical ambiguity, unclear referential scope, inapplicability, long recall period, complex judgment, and cultural variation. Further implications and suggestions were discussed in relation to both classroom practice and future research.

This study investigates the reading engagement of four middle school English learners in their English or English as a Second Language classroom. Students with high levels of reading engagement are those who (a) are motivated to read, (b) use strategies when reading, (c) use reading as a way to construct meaning from texts, and (d) participate in social interactions around reading (Guthrie & Wigfield, 2000). This study focuses on all four aspects of reading engagement and explores whether there are any additional components that should be considered with English learners' reading engagement. Data included in this case study research include semi-structured interviews, field notes from classroom observations, comprehension assessments, reading activity inventories, and student artifacts. Findings from this case study research indicate that all four components are essential to consider with English learners' reading engagement. Results of this study also reveal that English learners' identities are an essential component of their reading engagement.

Current educational shifts brought about by 21 st century standards, including the New York State P-12 Common Core Learning Standards for English Language Arts and Literacy ("the Standards"), aim to ensure that all students are college and career ready. Reflected in the standards are essential practices such as critical thinking, communication, collaboration, and creativity. Students across all grade levels and content areas are now expected to engage critically with increasingly complex texts, use evidence to support their conclusions, evaluate the validity of arguments and counterarguments, present their ideas orally and in writing, and work collaboratively with their peers. Embedded within these standards are increased demands that students gain deeper understandings of content, engage in analytic and complex thinking about that content, and participate in discourse that is appropriate to the discipline. These three arenas of development-conceptual, analytical, and linguistic-grow simultaneously through participation in social interaction. Thus, it is essential that all students, especially English Language Learners/Multilingual Learners (ELLs/MLLs), be provided instructional activities that engage them in quality interactions that are intentionally structured to support their conceptual, analytic, and linguistic development and ultimately that promote their ability to apply these skills and practices on their own (autonomously) in new learning situations. By creating classroom environments and activities with abundant opportunities for purposeful student collaboration and discussion, teachers can capitalize on the ways youngsters naturally learn from one another.

This study examines culturally responsive pedagogy across the fields of special education, multicultural literacy education, and teaching English language learners. A systematic review of recommendations identified culturally responsive practices in five key areas: dialogue, collaboration, visual representation, explicit instruction, and inquiry. Educators are encouraged to adopt a critical and responsive stance that incorporates students’ cultural knowledge and lived experiences when implementing these recommendations. Creating classrooms that promote culturally responsive and effective instruction is grounded in the definition of literacy as a social practice and leads to more equitable learning opportunities in all areas.

The role of motivation in engaging students in reading activities and thus improving their reading achievement has been widely reported for the past decades. However, despite the increasing numbers of English learners (ELs) in the United States, little is known about how teachers perceive their motivation to read. Focus group methodology was used in this study to explore English as a second language teachers’ perceptions of ELs’ reading motivation. Three major themes that emerged from our qualitative analysis were (a) accessible texts, (b) self-concept, and (c) fitting in. The implications for both future research and classroom instruction are provided.

This cognitive interview study aims to improve the content validity of a newly developed reading motivation instrument for English learners. Previous research has shown there is a significant need for survey developers to conduct cognitive interviews to ensure that in real world settings survey respondents interpret the items as the framers intended. The proposed study focuses on six main patterns of student misinterpretation that could suggest the need for further revision of survey items in order to improve their content and item validity: lexical ambiguity, unclear referential scope, inapplicability, long recall period, complex judgment, and cultural variation. Further implications and suggestions were discussed in relation to both classroom practice and future research.