Teacher Assignment to English Learner Content Courses in Seven Comprehensive High Schools

• In Event: Politics and Praxis of Immigrant Education

Abstract

While programs have proliferated to serve immigrant-origin youth who are identified as “English learners” (EL), a growing body of work examines how these programs may limit opportunity to learn. However, little is known about staffing and teacher quality within these programs. Drawing on data from a two-year qualitative study, this paper examines how teachers were assigned to EL courses at seven urban comprehensive California high schools revealing how institutional constraints mediated the process of teacher sorting. Findings indicate that newer teachers were most likely to be placed into EL subject-area tracks, unless teachers with more seniority requested these assignments or administrators interrupted these processes. Implications are that exposure to novice teachers potentially limited students’ opportunities to learn.

Author

• Dafney Blanca Dabach, University of Washington - Seattle