Improving Teacher Preparation for Linguistic Diversity: Using Survey Data to Support Research and Program Improvement

• In Event: 49.088 - Roundtable Session 17
  In Roundtable Session: 49.088-11 - Preparing Classroom Teachers to Succeed With Second Language Learners: Research From a Faculty Learning Community

Abstract

Objectives: This paper and presentation will: 1) give an overview of procedures used to develop a valid and reliable survey used to gauge program improvement; 2) share results and analytic techniques used from that survey; and 3) discuss lessons learned.

Conceptual frame: We apply two conceptual frames. The lens of program evaluation focuses us on community needs, program implementation, and effectiveness while engaged in a cycle of continuous improvement (Fitzpatrick, Sanders & Worthen, 2010). Self-efficacy, as a conceptual lens, informs how any performance is influenced by self-perception; people exhibit greater effort and persistence in pursuing a goal when self-efficacy is high, leading to improved performance (Bandura, 1977). We thus posit that preservice teachers who feel confident in their ability to work with emergent bilinguals will work harder and persist more, resulting in improved teaching practices. In light of the need for program evaluation, our paper shares information regarding specific needs and gaps in our program, and of the importance of self-efficacy, we developed and used an instrument measuring preservice teacher self-efficacy for work with emergent bilinguals across the course of an initiative to improve teacher preparation for linguistic and cultural diversity.

Data sources and results: Our work encompasses several stages: survey writing, content validation, data collection, examination of the instrument’s psychometric properties, and analysis of outcomes. We will briefly share experiences from all stages, but will mainly focus on psychometric results and program outcomes, using data collected from over 650 teacher candidates over a five-year period. Teacher candidates were enrolled in one of two teacher education programs co-located in a large U.S. research-extensive university. Candidates were asked to complete the survey between one and five times, depending on their cohort. The 20-item instrument showed strong internal consistency (α=.96), and analyses over time revealed that overall level of self-efficacy grew as the program matured (e.g. see Figure 2 at end; our paper unpacks figures with data from multiple cohorts and time points that similarly demonstrate improvement).

Conclusion: Our paper:
• Introduces an instrument, including its development, validation, and reliability, which might interest others seeking to improve teacher preparation for work with emergent bilinguals;
• Presents evidence of statistically significant improvement in growth of preservice teacher self-efficacy during the period when faculty engaged in the faculty learning community described in the first and fourth symposium papers;
• Demonstrates the value of—and presents a model for— evaluating any teacher education initiative.

Authors

• Elizabeth R. Howard, University of Connecticut

• Megan Welsh