Language Proficiency and English Learner Pedagogical Practices: Assessing Teachers' Self-Efficacy After Virtual Professional Development

• In Event: Division K Section 1 Poster Session: Teaching, Teacher Education, and Professional Development in the Content Areas

Abstract

The authors evaluated teachers’ perceptions of their language proficiency and self-efficacy in teaching English learners (ELs). In-service teachers seeking their bilingual certification participated in a virtual professional development course to prepare them for the state Spanish language proficiency exam and the bilingual classroom. Using participant data gathered on a pre/post questionnaire, we conducted an analysis of variance (ANOVA) to analyze teachers’ sense of self-efficacy in working with ELs. There were no significant differences based on teachers’ school location (i.e., rural, urban, and suburban) impacting their self-efficacy growth in using Spanish in working with ELs and using Spanish during instruction after controlling for their pre-intervention performance in the same measure.

Authors

• Nilsa Ofir Perez-Cabrera, Texas A&M University - College Station

• David Daniel Jimenez, Texas A&M University - College Station

• Mayra Danielle Vargas, Texas A&M University - College Station

• Shifang Tang, East Texas A&M University

• Kara Sutton-Jones, Texas A&M University - College Station

• Rafael Lara-Alecio, Texas A&M University - College Station

• Beverly J. Irby, Texas A&M University - College Station

• Fuhui Tong, Texas A&M University - College Station