Latina Preschool Teachers' Professional Learning to Support Dual Language Learners: Lessons Learned and Future Implications

• In Event: Amplifying Early Childhood Educator Voices With an Equity Lens

Abstract

Objectives or purposes

Aside from evidence pointing to advantages of student-teacher cultural and linguistic matches and their positive effects on student outcomes (Villegas & Irivine, 2010) the call to equity and professionalization of the workforce creates a research imperative highlighting the needs of this population to increase the development and implementation of supportive policies. This study will investigate the journey of a sample of 25 Latina teachers and their coaches trained to use a self-reflective tool (the Self-Evaluation of Supports for Bilingual Acquisition; SESEBA) system and to examine its ability to guide teachers and coaches in their practice with DLLs. This would fill a gap in the research relative to coaching guides that are specific to the needs of linguistically and culturally diverse settings, which require a specific set of practices and strategies (Howard, et al., 2013). To this end, the study will examine the efficacy of this approach through teacher perspectives along two lines of inquiry including: (a) how teachers feel this approach supports them to be more agentic about their PL and practice, and (b) in what ways teachers think use of the SESEBA better enables them to be reflective about their practice and provides them with concrete strategies that are supportive of DLLs that they think are effective with their students. This study seeks to both acknowledge the assets that Latina teachers bring (cultural capital) and how they can contribute to deeper understanding of needs to professionalize the workforce. While this has been examined to some extent, more is needed to further provide guidance on PD models and policies that frame systems thinking relative to implementing DLL supports

Perspective(s) or theoretical framework

Communities of cultural wealth, LatCrit theory.

Methods

Participant’s assessments will be triangulated with a quantitative component that will examine change among various teacher groups relative to DLL supports with use of a domain-specific classroom observation tool.

Data sources

Transcripts from mini-focus groups, Attitude and Beliefs Survey, and the Classroom Assessment of Supports for Emergent Bilingual Acquisition (CASEBA: Freedson, et al., 2009).

Results

Findings will explore how use of an agentic coaching system can support growth on classroom quality as measured by the CASEBA.

Scholarly significance

Policy implications of this study include the need for attention to system level thinking about the PD of teachers working with DLLs as well as the leaders who oversee them. Further, aside from evidence pointing to advantages of student-teacher cultural and linguistic matches and their positive effects on student outcomes (Villegas & Irivine, 2010) the call to equity and professionalization of the workforce creates an imperative to conduct research that brings awareness to the needs of this population to fill the demand for Spanish-speaking teachers. Specifically this research answers a call to understand needs of the current Latinx work about what supports can be most effective and on what interventions foster successful opportunities for growth in specific contexts.

Author

• Alexandra Figueras-Daniel, National Institute for Early Education Research
  Presenting Author