Advisor
Milian, Madeline
Committee Member
Phillips, D. Allen, 1942-
Committee Member
Walker, Dana
Committee Member
Romero, Deborah
Department
Educational Studies
Institution
University of Northern Colorado
Type of Resources
Text
Place of Publication
Greeley (Colo.)
Publisher
University of Northern Colorado
Date Created
8-1-2011
Genre
Thesis
Extent
312 pages
Digital Origin
Born digital
Description
The purpose of the study was to explore the language education program implemented for indigenous children in Taiwan at the elementary level. More specifically, this study aimed at gaining insights into the implementation of language curriculum through a qualitative case study of an indigenous elementary school in Taiwan. The researcher's intent was to explore the factors that influenced the implementation of the language education program with regard to curriculum design, instructional practices, language resources, and professional development and to gain the participants' perspectives on the language education program. Two administrators, eight language teachers, and six community members were selected as participants for interviews. Moreover, these eight language teachers' classrooms were observed. Data were collected through the sources of interviews, observations, field notes, and documents. The findings in relation to the research questions were divided into three chapters to report the overall implementation of each language area in the language education program, the influencing factors of the implementation of the language education program, and the participants' perspectives on the implementation of the language education program. A number of overarching themes synthesizing the findings were subsequently presented. The findings suggested that the language education program at the participating school was designed in accordance with the mandated curriculum guidelines. Teachers had the flexibility to deviate from the prescribed curriculum guidelines and to design their instructional goals based on students' needs and classroom schedules. Language resources, including the international youth volunteer, school signs with three languages (Chinese, English, and the Atayal language), English Express Wonderland, and Indigenous Language Wonderland, were conducive to the enhancement of multiple language learning. Teachers sought to improve their instructional strategies through weekly seminars, feedback from observation teachers, self-learning, and professional workshops. Moreover, this research reported the participants' views toward the language education program, the loss of indigenous language among children, indigenous language instruction, and their strategies in promoting indigenous language. Finally, recommendations were drawn from the research findings for elementary schools, language teachers, and policy makers. Recommendations for future research that may contribute to understanding the multi-language education for indigenous children were provided as well.
Notes
Full text released from 2-year embargo in August 2013.
Degree type
Ed.D.
Degree Name
Doctoral
Place
Taiwan
Language
English
Local Identifiers
Chen_unco_0161D_10102
Rights Statement
Copyright is held by author.
