Dis/Abling Emergent Bilingual Students

• In Event: Hilton Roundtable Session 2
  In Roundtable Session: Envisioning Inclusion Through a Disability Studies Frame

Abstract

This instrumental case study examines the influence of a targeted professional development course on a rural teacher’s perceptions of an emergent bilingual (EB) student. The purpose of this paper is to contribute a Disability Studies in Education (DSE) analytical perspective on the effect of dis/abling pedagogy on the perception of EB student ability. Findings highlight how one teacher repositioned a student labeled as learning disabled (LD) as a capable student requiring additional second language learning support. Results suggest that an increased understanding of second language acquisition instruction and may assist teachers in creating learning contexts that reveal previously unrecognized capabilities and the attendant increase of teacher feelings of self-efficacy, and towards individualized pedagogical strategies.

Author

• Alaska H. Black, Brigham Young University