Supporting the Needs of General Education Teachers of English Language Learners

• In Event: Supporting Teachers of Emergent Bilingual Students in Professional Development

Abstract

This mixed-methods dissertation research examines the supports available to general educators of English language learners in U.S. public elementary schools. A total of 621 general educators participated in survey research which queried the types and amounts of supports provided to them and how the amount of supports influences their efficacy beliefs related to meeting the needs of their ELLs. Significant findings showed that the amount of supports offered to teachers in each of five critical dimensions (Elfers et al., 2013) correlates with higher self-efficacy and that significantly less supports are offered to teachers in rural districts as compared to general educators in urban and suburban locales.

Author

• Jillian M. Rocchio, Notre Dame of Maryland University