The Promise of Equal Educational Opportunity Fulfilled for English Learners: Learning Good From Mainstream Instructors

• In Event: 14.045 - Roundtable Session 2
  In Roundtable Session: 14.045-8 - Pedagogical Practices for Teachers of Bi- and Multiliterate Students

Abstract

At a school with a high EL population, intensive interviews with and observations of five instructors and the principal were conducted along with weekly school-based visits to develop Lightfoot-style portraits of the teachers. Findings indicated teachers incorporated ELs in mainstream classroom instruction while allowing culture and language shifts encouraging students to work through their identity and not force them to change it. Teachers who worked well with ELs demonstrated culturally and linguistically responsive orientations, deep content knowledge, and effective instructional skills. These teachers created genuinely loving and accepting learning environments where students showed a sense of belonging and desire to excel. Ethnic identification and cultural variation were valued in ways that supported learning.

Authors

• Katy H Nichols, Saint Louis University

• Lorraine C. Schmertzing, Valdosta State University

• Richard W. Schmertzing, Valdosta State University