Interrogating the Systemic Context of English Learner Support

• In Event: Immigrants, Language, and Educational (In)Justice

Abstract

Advocates and researchers have long sought strategies to better serve English Learners (ELs). Drawing from sociocultural theories of systems, this case study seeks to better understand how important aspects of support for ELs interact within the complex system of a school to produce observed outcomes. I draw on five, semi-structured interviews with EL educators, EL reclassification data, and EL school experience survey data to illustrate that student outcomes appeared more aligned with educators’ ideology than with the resources available to them. These findings suggest a need to pay greater attention to systemic characteristics, rather than centering resources, when seeking to improve ELs’ educational experiences.

Author

• Olivia Elvira Obeso, University of California - Los Angeles