title: Enhancing the Reading Engagement of University English Language Learners:  An Action Research Project

authors: Lee, Jocelyn Yee Vun

subjects: Applied Linguistics

abstract: Despite burgeoning research that has been conducted on the broad term “engagement” in the past decades, research into engagement in English as a Second Language (ESL) or English as a Foreign Language (EFL) contexts remains scarce. Furthermore, in the English Language Learners (ELLs) context in Malaysia, where reading avoidance seems to be an issue, no research has specifically addressed reading engagement.

This qualitative case study aims to increase student reading engagement through a strategy-based intervention, Comprehensive Approach to Reading Engagement (CARE), designed to engage ELLs with whom it was conducted under an action research paradigm. Another purpose of the study is to investigate the extent to which reflective practice and development as an action researcher would empower the practitioner in her professional development.

Data were collected from 41 students enrolled in an intact university class for 36 hours; a duration of a semester. Six participants, each representing different engagement levels, were selected for close study. Data collected from the six participants in this study were obtained from multiple sources, including transcriptions of participants’ reflective reading logs; transcriptions of audio-recordings of group discussions and a group interview; transcriptions of audio-recordings of the researcher’s private speech during lessons; and the researcher’s reflective journal. Most of the data were qualitative, but some - such as the word count in logs, speech size, number of turns in discussion, and reading engagement scores - were quantitative. In the first phase of the action research cycle, students received explicit instruction and teacher modelling, and in the second phase, they worked more independently. The data were subject to a procedure of grounded analysis, and triangulated to achieve a thick description.

The results showed that interactional opportunities such as retelling and group discussion supported four dimensions of ELLs’ reading engagement: behavioural, cognitive, emotional and agentic. From a sociocultural perspective, ELLs need one another to achieve engagement. Peer scaffolding, or collective scaffolding, in ways analogous to teacher scaffolding exemplified students’ agency. The findings of the present investigation showed that sustained silent reading, when effectively scaffolded, tended to have positive effects on ELLs. Evidence in the present study showed that growing engagement appeared to be attributed to Comprehensive Approach to Reading Engagement (CARE), which allowed ELLs to move along the reading pathways from initial engagement, to emergent engagement, and finally, deeper engagement with texts. As a means of examining the practitioner’s position and practice, action research revealed the teaching style and tacit knowledge of the practitioner’s everyday practice. As a reflective teacher, I moved along a continuum comprised of identifying a problem (students were disaffected with reading), developing a research design, collecting data, refining the procedures, analysing the data, and presenting aspects of the study in the public domain. The present case study can be related, rather than generalised, to similar contexts. The study can make an original contribution to an academic understanding of reading engagement and the teacher’s reflective practice in relatable contexts. These findings have important implications for practitioners and researchers; they suggest that neglecting the role of reading engagement could be the cause of missed opportunities to support ELL literacy development and students’ critical thinking stance. The present study also shows that developing reflective opportunities has evident consequences for teachers who are engaging in action research.

text: Enhancing the Reading Engagement of University English Language Learners:  An Action Research Project Despite burgeoning research that has been conducted on the broad term “engagement” in the past decades, research into engagement in English as a Second Language (ESL) or English as a Foreign Language (EFL) contexts remains scarce. Furthermore, in the English Language Learners (ELLs) context in Malaysia, where reading avoidance seems to be an issue, no research has specifically addressed reading engagement.

This qualitative case study aims to increase student reading engagement through a strategy-based intervention, Comprehensive Approach to Reading Engagement (CARE), designed to engage ELLs with whom it was conducted under an action research paradigm. Another purpose of the study is to investigate the extent to which reflective practice and development as an action researcher would empower the practitioner in her professional development.

Data were collected from 41 students enrolled in an intact university class for 36 hours; a duration of a semester. Six participants, each representing different engagement levels, were selected for close study. Data collected from the six participants in this study were obtained from multiple sources, including transcriptions of participants’ reflective reading logs; transcriptions of audio-recordings of group discussions and a group interview; transcriptions of audio-recordings of the researcher’s private speech during lessons; and the researcher’s reflective journal. Most of the data were qualitative, but some - such as the word count in logs, speech size, number of turns in discussion, and reading engagement scores - were quantitative. In the first phase of the action research cycle, students received explicit instruction and teacher modelling, and in the second phase, they worked more independently. The data were subject to a procedure of grounded analysis, and triangulated to achieve a thick description.

The results showed that interactional opportunities such as retelling and group discussion supported four dimensions of ELLs’ reading engagement: behavioural, cognitive, emotional and agentic. From a sociocultural perspective, ELLs need one another to achieve engagement. Peer scaffolding, or collective scaffolding, in ways analogous to teacher scaffolding exemplified students’ agency. The findings of the present investigation showed that sustained silent reading, when effectively scaffolded, tended to have positive effects on ELLs. Evidence in the present study showed that growing engagement appeared to be attributed to Comprehensive Approach to Reading Engagement (CARE), which allowed ELLs to move along the reading pathways from initial engagement, to emergent engagement, and finally, deeper engagement with texts. As a means of examining the practitioner’s position and practice, action research revealed the teaching style and tacit knowledge of the practitioner’s everyday practice. As a reflective teacher, I moved along a continuum comprised of identifying a problem (students were disaffected with reading), developing a research design, collecting data, refining the procedures, analysing the data, and presenting aspects of the study in the public domain. The present case study can be related, rather than generalised, to similar contexts. The study can make an original contribution to an academic understanding of reading engagement and the teacher’s reflective practice in relatable contexts. These findings have important implications for practitioners and researchers; they suggest that neglecting the role of reading engagement could be the cause of missed opportunities to support ELL literacy development and students’ critical thinking stance. The present study also shows that developing reflective opportunities has evident consequences for teachers who are engaging in action research.

year: 2015

title: Corporate governance and correlation in corporate defaults

authors: Fernando, Jayasuriya Mahapatabendige Ruwani

abstract: Manuscript Type
Empirical
Research Question/Issue
This study examines the effect of weak corporate governance in terms of concentrated ownership, low board effectiveness, low financial transparency and higher shareholder rights on default correlation when firms have different credit qualities.

Research Findings/Insights
Using historical default data in the United States from 2000 to 2015, we find that the degree of default correlation increases disproportionately for firms with concentrated ownership, low board effectiveness, low financial transparency and disclosures, and higher shareholder rights. More importantly, the effect of weak corporate governance on default correlation is high during a financial crisis.

Theoretical/Academic Implications
This is one of the first studies testing the impact of corporate governance on the correlation in corporate defaults. It indicates new avenues of research for both corporate governance and credit risk management in relation to why joint default probabilities vary among firms.

Practitioner/Policy Implications
Our results imply that good corporate governance is essential for credit risk management because poor corporate governance may increase individual default risk and create the domino effect of credit defaults. Practitioners and policy makers should enhance control over poor governance practices to reduce the probabilities of default. Moreover, the impact of corporate governance on correlation in corporate defaults is more pronounced in financial crises and warrants consideration from policy makers to take steps toward cushioning its effects.

text: Corporate governance and correlation in corporate defaults Manuscript Type
Empirical
Research Question/Issue
This study examines the effect of weak corporate governance in terms of concentrated ownership, low board effectiveness, low financial transparency and higher shareholder rights on default correlation when firms have different credit qualities.

Research Findings/Insights
Using historical default data in the United States from 2000 to 2015, we find that the degree of default correlation increases disproportionately for firms with concentrated ownership, low board effectiveness, low financial transparency and disclosures, and higher shareholder rights. More importantly, the effect of weak corporate governance on default correlation is high during a financial crisis.

Theoretical/Academic Implications
This is one of the first studies testing the impact of corporate governance on the correlation in corporate defaults. It indicates new avenues of research for both corporate governance and credit risk management in relation to why joint default probabilities vary among firms.

Practitioner/Policy Implications
Our results imply that good corporate governance is essential for credit risk management because poor corporate governance may increase individual default risk and create the domino effect of credit defaults. Practitioners and policy makers should enhance control over poor governance practices to reduce the probabilities of default. Moreover, the impact of corporate governance on correlation in corporate defaults is more pronounced in financial crises and warrants consideration from policy makers to take steps toward cushioning its effects.

year: 2019

title: The Wairua of Self: A Path of Love, Simplicity, and Connectedness

authors: Frishman, Lezlie

subjects: love

abstract: Love is an action of freedom until something else steps in – often fear – that insists we create a box of survival. Whether self-imposed, forced, or chosen, it is interesting to notice how we limit ourselves with love. This thesis examines love; love in its purest intent and creation as the simplest way to live. An analysis of personal experiences, illuminated by psychological, mythological, philosophical, and spiritual literature, suggests that living from a place of love can be accomplished through a dedicated journeying back to the Self. The Māori myth of Tāne-Mahuta and Hine-Tītama shows the significance of releasing shame, as well as how a tragic situation might offer a catalytic possibility that shifts a core belief about one’s self. The complications of love that are self-created through loss and grief can easily mask the barely underlying truth of love in its nakedness. Reconnecting with this underlying truth, aroha in its purest sense, is essential for healing and allows for increased connection with the Divine. Doing so is often a difficult task, as hypocrisies fueled by fear and perpetuated by blame are bountiful. When love is used as an instrument and convenience in order to defend a closely held idea, person, or way of life, one often moves further from their true Self, thus surrendering their deepest power and knowing of love. The silent assault of expectations, power, will, and control can turn love into a complication. The complications of being utterly human only serve to further obscure love. Within families, how one initially learns love is often complicated by interrupted attachment, causing rebellion and the need to look for love elsewhere. The components of Tikkun Olam, aroha, mikveh, and wairua of spirit, are intertwined and interconnected, such that the delineation between cultures and spiritual beliefs cannot be divided as oppositional forces. The denominator lives in the magnitude of love for all that has been created; beginning with the Self. In setting the foundation of self-love and allowing it to settle into the fractures and rifts of porousness, love may then be extended without attachment. When freely proffered without agenda, love will seep into every curve of the universe; thus, changing the world. Through the practice of mindfulness and loving-kindness, perception can change. It is this change in perception which can return love to its origin of simplicity. This thesis is a story of love.

text: The Wairua of Self: A Path of Love, Simplicity, and Connectedness Love is an action of freedom until something else steps in – often fear – that insists we create a box of survival. Whether self-imposed, forced, or chosen, it is interesting to notice how we limit ourselves with love. This thesis examines love; love in its purest intent and creation as the simplest way to live. An analysis of personal experiences, illuminated by psychological, mythological, philosophical, and spiritual literature, suggests that living from a place of love can be accomplished through a dedicated journeying back to the Self. The Māori myth of Tāne-Mahuta and Hine-Tītama shows the significance of releasing shame, as well as how a tragic situation might offer a catalytic possibility that shifts a core belief about one’s self. The complications of love that are self-created through loss and grief can easily mask the barely underlying truth of love in its nakedness. Reconnecting with this underlying truth, aroha in its purest sense, is essential for healing and allows for increased connection with the Divine. Doing so is often a difficult task, as hypocrisies fueled by fear and perpetuated by blame are bountiful. When love is used as an instrument and convenience in order to defend a closely held idea, person, or way of life, one often moves further from their true Self, thus surrendering their deepest power and knowing of love. The silent assault of expectations, power, will, and control can turn love into a complication. The complications of being utterly human only serve to further obscure love. Within families, how one initially learns love is often complicated by interrupted attachment, causing rebellion and the need to look for love elsewhere. The components of Tikkun Olam, aroha, mikveh, and wairua of spirit, are intertwined and interconnected, such that the delineation between cultures and spiritual beliefs cannot be divided as oppositional forces. The denominator lives in the magnitude of love for all that has been created; beginning with the Self. In setting the foundation of self-love and allowing it to settle into the fractures and rifts of porousness, love may then be extended without attachment. When freely proffered without agenda, love will seep into every curve of the universe; thus, changing the world. Through the practice of mindfulness and loving-kindness, perception can change. It is this change in perception which can return love to its origin of simplicity. This thesis is a story of love.

year: 2011