Attrition of Hmong Students in Teacher Education Programs

Developing and Supporting Critically Reflective Teachers

“…My experience confirmed what Root, Rudawski, Taylor, and Rochon (2003) observe: "Most Hmong parents place a high value on their children's education but they may lack the resources or background to personally teach their children important academic skills" (n.p.). I wondered how different these parents would be from my own.…”

“…Later, as I learned more about what appeared to be rigid Hmong cultural codes, I had specific worries, such as how might I, a female teacher, be treated by what seemed to be a patriarchal culture (Root, Rudawski, Taylor & Rochon, 2003). Why was I anxious?…”

Diversifying the Pool of Teacher Candidates: Identifying Hurdles to Program Completion for Students of Color and English Learners in a Predominantly white Teacher Education Setting

“…Seidman, 2005), to create intersections for meeting caring faculty and staff (Cotton & Wilson, 2006;Komarraju, Musulkin, & Bhattacharya, 2010), and to review program requirements for imbedded discriminatory policies or practices (G. Ladson-Billings, 2005;Root et al, 2003;Torres et al, 2004;Um, 2003) − have been supported in the literature. The findings of the present study point to three core areas where colleges and universities can make improvements that will increase acceptance, retention, and graduation of SOC and English learners: more academic support for students, increased awareness and support of cultural heritage, and enhanced support for English learners.…”

“…Several studies have looked specifically at Southeast Asian students, a group that accounts for more than half of the participants in this study. These studies have identified hurdles to program completion, including limited access to program information, families' inability to support students academically and financially, lack of pre-college preparation, and the effects of living in a racist society (Lee & Green, 2008;McClainRuelle & Xiong, 2005;Root, Rudawski, Taylor, & Rochon, 2003;Thao, 2003;Um, 2003). Similar work focusing on Latino/as (Frey, 2002;Hernandez & Lopez, 2007), African Americans (Holmes, Ebbers, Robinson, & Mugenda, 2007;Robinson, 1990;Schwartz & Washington, 2007), and American Indian students (Belgarde & LoRe, 2007) replicated patterns of low graduation rates and consistency with regard to the hurdles that stand in the way of program admission and completion.…”

“Para aquí today, para afuera tomorrow”: Uncertainty in urban bilingual paraprofessionals’ work in the age of NCLB

“…Research has also examined paraprofessionals as promising recruits for teacher education programs to address the teacher shortage which is most imperative for urban schools (Clewell & Villegas, 1998;Dandy, 1998;Genzuk, 1997;Genzuk & Baca, 1998;Littleton, 1998). Studies have looked at the challenges bilingual paraprofessionals may encounter in such programs (Root, Rudawski, Taylor, & Rochon, 2003); the relationship between teachers and paraprofessionals (Drecktrah, 2000;Rueda & Monzo, 2002) and their sometimes shifting roles (French, 1999;Hadadian & Yssel, 1998). There are efforts centering on curriculum ideas to guide staff development for paraprofessionals (Sprick, Garrison, & Howard, 2000), some of which are specifically geared towards emphasizing skills needed for work with immigrant children (Pickett, Safarik, & Echevarria, 1998).…”