Bilingual, Multilingual, and Multicultural Education Commons^™

Teachers' Discourse On English Language Learners: Cultural Models Of Language And Learning, Amy Heineke

Amy J. Heineke

This qualitative case study explores teacher learning about English language learners (ELLs) in a small-group, school-based context at an urban elementary school inArizona. Sociocultural perspectives on teacher learning guided the analysis of teachers’ participation in a teacher study group over six months. The teacher study group aimed to support educators of ELLs at a time of new language policy implementation, which required ELLs to enroll in an English language development (ELD) classroom for four hours of skill-based English language instruction.

In the first semester of language policy implementation, I collected discursive data that showcased the social interaction of teachers and …

High-Leverage Teaching Practices: Toward A Practice-Based Model Of Ta Professional Development, Heather W. Allen

Heather Willis Allen

No abstract provided.

The Influence Of University Coursework On Pre-Service Middle And High School Teachers’ Experiences With Multicultural Themes, Geeta Verma

Geeta Verma

The study explored the influence of university-based teacher education courses on pre-service middle and high school teachers’ experiences with multicultural themes in a secondary science alternative certification program. Eight participants (N = 8), six women and two men, volunteered to be a part of the study that took place over a period of four semesters. Qualitative data was collected, coded and analyzed to make meaning of the participants’ experiences. Data comprised of participants’ reflective journals, personal and group interviews, and classroom observations done in middle school practicum and high school student teaching placements. The findings indicated that while the participants …

Youth Participatory Action Research And The Future Of Education Reform, Oiyan Poon, Jacob Cohen

OiYan Poon

This article presents a youth participatory action research (YPAR) study, which was conducted through a theoretical lens incorporating the social justice youth policy framework and Critical Race Theory. Led by youth from the Vietnamese American Young Leaders Association (VAYLA), the study explored the impacts of post-Katrina school reforms on student experiences at six New Orleans high schools. The findings from the study exposed troubling educational disparities by race, class, limited English status, and geography. The YPAR project’s results counter neoliberal reform advocates’ narrative of a post-Katrina New Orleans school “miracle.” This article illuminates YPAR as both research method and pathway …

“Push It Real Good!”: The Challenge Of Disrupting Dominant Discourses Regarding Race In Teacher Education, Kara Viesca, Cheryl Matias, Dorothy Garrison-Wade, Madhavi Tandon, Rene Galindo

Dorothy Garrison-Wade

Despite efforts to redesign an urban teacher education program for social justice and equity, faculty became aware of racialized issues teacher candidates of color faced in the program. Therefore, this study examined the perspectives of teacher candidates to learn about how race is impacting teaching and learning for pre-service teachers. Overall, we discovered the dominant narratives, often called majoritarian stories (Love, 2004), were extremely difficult to disrupt and essentially remained largely intact for teacher candidates in our program. In addition, we found that majoritarian stories helped to maintain a level of superficiality for teacher candidates regarding issues of race. For …

The Joys And Sorrows Of Teaching High School Esl: Sarangarel's Story, Susan R. Adams

Susan Adams

Dr. Adams' contribution to: In M. Robbins (Ed.), The pressures of teaching: How teachers cope with classroom stress (pp. 87-98). New York: Kaplan Publishing.

Developing Agency For Advocacy: Collaborative Inquiry-Focused School Change Projects As Transformative Learning For Practicing Teachers. The New Educator, Kathryn Brooks, Susan R. Adams

Susan Adams

Many mainstream educators of English language learners (ELLs) have experienced neither adequate pre-service preparation nor appropriate in-service professional development. Yet, ELLs are one of the fastest growing student populations in the United States. While practicing teachers typically espouse the view that all students can learn, they often lack the knowledge and skills necessary to support ELLs in their academic and language development.This gap in preservice teacher education programs often leads general education teachers to rely heavily on bilingual paraprofessionals and language teachers for educating ELL students. This paper describes a 5-year professional development initiative, Project Alianza, during which the researchers …

A Delineation Of Asian American And Latino/A Students' Experiences With Faculty At An Historically Black College And University, Robert T. Palmer, Phd, Dina C. Maramba, Phd

Robert T. Palmer, PhD

No abstract provided.