Date Approved

3-27-2017

Embargo Period

4-3-2017

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

EdD Educational Leadership

Department

Educational Services and Leadership

College

College of Education

Advisor

Johnson, Ane Turner

Committee Member 1

Browne, Susan

Committee Member 2

Bean-Folkes, Janeann

Keywords

Cultural Competence, Cultural Connections, Dual Language Programs, Multiculturalism, Narrative Inquiry, Poetic Reflections

Subject(s)

Education, Bilingual; Multiculturalism

Disciplines

Bilingual, Multilingual, and Multicultural Education

Abstract

The purpose of this qualitative, narrative inquiry was to explore and analyze the narrative stories of native English speaking adults who matriculated through a multicultural, dual language program from prekindergarten to 6th grade to understand the influence of the program on their lives, and the relationship between those experiences and their cultural competence. Their stories beginning with their initial experiences and early connections in the program were analyzed using multiple data analysis methods, including: thematic, structural, and theoretical analysis. I developed the Multicultural Interactive Competency Framework (MICF), which merged Vgotsky's sociocultural historical theory with an adaption of Sue's (2001) Multidimensional Model of Cultural Competence (MDCC) to examine the relationship between interaction, engagement, and human development with the adapted components & dimensions of cultural competence. The participant's narratives illuminated the influence of the dual language program on their multicultural and bilingual friendships, open-minded thinking, self-reported bilingual fluency, ability to function in diverse contexts, and cultural competence as evidenced by their acquisition of the necessary attitudes, knowledge, skills, and experiences to effectively communicate and interact on personal, professional, organizational, and societal levels in different contextual settings.

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