Graduate Student Dissertations, Theses, Capstones, and Portfolios
Date of Award
5-2023
Document Type
Dissertation
Granting Institution
Lynn University
Degree Name
Doctor of Education (EDD)
Degree Program
Educational Leadership
Department
College of Education
First Advisor
Jennifer J. Lesh
Second Advisor
Diana L. Morales
Third Advisor
Brittany E. Kiser
Abstract
Numerous studies have shown that, on average, English Language Learners underperform academically compared to non-ELLs, and that the achievement gap tends to increase as students move on to upper-grade levels; only 29.5% of all third-grade ELLs in Alpha County were reading at grade level in the fiscal year 2021-2022. This pre-experimental action research aimed to examine whether the parent involvement program “Leer para Triunfar” had any significant differences in third-grade ELLs’ Winter Progress Monitoring Assessment reading test scores, and in parents’ perceptions about parent involvement, before and after the intervention. This study utilized descriptive and inferential statistical protocols to address the above outcomes. Participants filled out a survey before and after completing the workshops. The sample for this investigation consisted of 36 Hispanic parents with limited or non-English language skills of third-grade ELLs attending a public elementary school in Southeast Florida. Throughout three workshops of one hour each and additional information provided through social media, parents learned about effective strategies to implement at home that could boost their child’s first language development. Also, parents learned about community events and other critical topics that could help develop their children’s reading proficiency. Although the results were statistically significant for the pre and post-intervention reading test scores, the researchers preferred to opt for a conservative approach and resolved this finding is inconclusive because of internal and external factors that could have impacted the reading test results. Question one in the pre and post-intervention surveys covering parents’ perceptions about their involvement in their child’s education proved to be statistically significant by comparing the group’s results before and after the intervention. The rest of the responses in the pre and post-intervention surveys did not have statistical significance. This study also served as a pilot for future experimental work on this topic.
Recommended Citation
Díaz Hernández, S., & Roche Rendón, D. (2023). Leer para triunfar: An action research evaluating the effects of parent involvement in reading proficiency of third-grade ELLs [Doctoral dissertation, Lynn University]. SPIRAL. https://spiral.lynn.edu/etds/397
