ORCID
https://orcid.org/0009-0001-7311-6915
Date of Award
2025
Document Type
Dissertation
Degree Name
Education (Ph.D)
Department
Education Specialties
First Advisor
Michael R Sampson
Second Advisor
Jordan Gonzalez
Abstract
As the number of students identified as multilingual learners (ML) continues to increase in schools across the United States and the accountability for states to provide rigorous and meaningful instruction rises, the daily instructional experiences of students identified as ML need more focused research. Existing research on students identified as ML often focuses on their acquisition of English. Students identified as ML often experience rote instruction and do not have access to critical literacy practices, especially in the elementary school grades. Critical literacy practices are cognitively rigorous and can include analyzing current structures of power, equity, and facilitating student talk. This mixed methods research study involved exploring the experiences and engagement with critical literacy of students identified as ML in Grades 2–5 compared to their engagement with other modes of literacy instruction in the elementary classroom. This study included quantitative data using teacher and student Likert-type scales of engagement alongside researcher-scaled experiences using the In-Class Engagement measure (IEM). Qualitative data included direct observations of student engagement in literacy instruction in the classroom and student interviews from a nested sample. Results have implications for the future of critical literacy practice with elementary students identified as ML as being a cognitively rigorous and engaging mode of instruction.
Recommended Citation
Luger, Abigail Wilson, "CRITICAL LITERACY ENGAGEMENT OF ELEMENTARY MULTILINGUAL LEARNERS: A MIXED METHODS STUDY" (2025). Theses and Dissertations. 889.
https://scholar.stjohns.edu/theses_dissertations/889