Date
12-4-2025
Department
School of Education
Degree
Doctor of Philosophy in Education (PhD)
Chair
Sharon Farrell
Keywords
cultural awareness, multicultural, English language learner, proficiency
Disciplines
Education
Recommended Citation
Wyatt, Tina G., "Linguistic, Academic, and Cultural Experiences of High School English Language Learners and Sustaining Cultural Pedagogies: A Transcendental Phenomenological Study" (2025). Doctoral Dissertations and Projects. 7756.
https://digitalcommons.liberty.edu/doctoral/7756
Abstract
The purpose of this transcendental phenomenological study was to describe the linguistic, academic, and cultural challenges faced by English language learners at a suburban high school in Texas. At this stage in the research, English language learners were defined as students enrolled in a Texas public high school in a suburban town living in America for no more than four years with little to no English language proficiency, no access to multicultural classrooms, limited instruction from culturally and linguistically trained teachers, and a foreign school environment. The theory guiding this study was Byram’s critical cultural awareness theory, as it aided in understanding the problem of educating immigrant students and the challenges of multicultural instruction, providing the framework for researching the challenges encountered by high school English language learners and the development of multicultural pedagogies. The central research question was: What are the linguistic, academic, and cultural challenges for English language learners who are new to the United States and attend a suburban high school in Texas? The students were studied and interviewed in their natural school setting, which provided a rich context for the phenomenon, which included the voices of the participants, a complex description of the problem, and a contribution to the literature. Data collection included individual interviews, focus groups, and responses to journal prompts. The themes that emerged, challenges of the language barrier, understanding the experiences for academic success, and significance of cultural differences, reinforce the importance of the study to further understand the challenges and experiences that newcomer English language learners encounter in a public high school that may lead to future development of cultural pedagogies and academic success.
