Defense Date

6-23-2026

Graduation Date

Fall 8-2026

Availability

Immediate Access

Submission Type

dissertation

Degree Name

PhD

Department

Counseling, Psychology, & Special Education

School

School of Education

Committee Chair

Kara E. McGoey

Committee Member

Ara Schmitt

Committee Member

Xia Chao

Committee Member

Gibbs Kanyongo

Keywords

English learner, pre-service teachers, strength-based practices, positive psychology

Abstract

The increasing number of English learners (ELs) in U.S. school classrooms highlights the importance of utilizing pedagogical approaches that build upon their preexisting cultural and linguistic strengths. Strength-based teaching practices, grounded in positive psychology represent a systems-levels approach to promoting positive academic and socio-emotional outcomes for ELs. In this study, a sample of 21 pre-service teachers attending Northeastern teacher preparation programs completed a series of surveys identifying their EL teaching experience, EL coursework, multicultural attitudes, and intercultural self-efficacy. These predictors were examined to determine their cumulative impact and unique contributions to an adapted Strength-Based Practices Inventory (SBPI), which captured pre-service teachers’ self-reported strength-based teaching practices with ELs. Using exploratory factor analysis (EFA), the adapted SBPI revealed a one-factor solution, differing from the original model. Furthermore, given prior research indicating that teacher preparation factors and pre-service attitudes and beliefs are associated with pedagogical practices, this study investigated whether these predictors shared variance in explaining pre-service strength-based teaching practices with ELs. The predictors collectively accounted for substantial variance in strength-based teaching practices; however, intercultural self-efficacy emerged as the only significant unique predictor.

Language

English

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