Date of Award
Fall 2021
Document Type
Open Access Dissertation
Department
Educational Studies
First Advisor
Yasha Jones Becton
Abstract
The objective for this research was to determine if prekindergarten African American students would show gains on English language assessments after receiving targeted Standard Academic English instruction. The research question asks, “How can a specialized English language intervention be utilized to identify the strengths and areas of improvement for African American preschool students?” The hypothesis was the students who received targeted instruction in Standard Academic English would perform better on the post-test than on the pre-test given before the instruction period. For this study, eight prekindergarten students were allowed to participate in the research. The students were administered an English Language proficiency screen. The students also received an ageappropriate speech language screener on English grammar as a pre-intervention assessment. The students participated in small group language instruction focused on listening, speaking, reading, and writing. After 20 small group sessions, the students were administered a post-intervention assessment. As part of this study, four parents participated in a parent survey on perceived student language ability, language instruction at school, and language instruction at home. All the students who participated were recognized as proficient English speakers from the initial English Language Proficiency screen. Additionally, each student demonstrated improvement from the pre- and post-data assessments. Because the study sample and the score variance was small, a descriptive analysis was completed. The students did show improvement in all areas of grammar from pre- and post-assessments. The parent information was very supportive of the preschool instruction the students received. All the parents expressed the importance of modeling and using standard English at home and school.
Rights
© 2021, Trent Gibson Rogerson
Recommended Citation
Rogerson, T. G.(2021). Supporting the African American Prekindergarten Student Through Standard Academic English Instruction. (Doctoral dissertation). Retrieved from https://scholarcommons.sc.edu/etd/6813