Bridging, Belonging, and Bilingualism: Examining Teacher Recruitment and Retention Pipelines in Dual Language Bilingual Education Catholic Schools

• In Event: Parochialism in Catholic Education Pipelines, Recruitment, and Retention: Interrogating and Repairing Social Capital That Marginalizes

Abstract

In Catholic schools, teacher recruitment, retention, and job satisfaction are connected in meaningful ways to the distinct characteristics of the Catholic school’s educational environment (Convey, 2014; Cook, 2001; DeNobile & McCormick, 2008; Przygocki, 2004). Focusing in on an emerging sub-sector of Catholic schools with high levels of parent satisfaction – dual language bilingual education (DLBE) Catholic schools in the United States (authors, 2024) – this paper details an examination of (a) the recruitment patterns of teachers in dual language bilingual education alongside indicators of teacher retention and (b) specific organizational characteristics that might signal variances in recruitment, retention, teacher experience, and/or satisfaction. Drawing upon a conceptual framework that examines individual characteristics and organizational conditions (including school culture, school resources, and teacher demands) as factors that influence teacher investment and satisfaction, the authors developed and disseminated a survey to a statistically significant sample of educators in dual language bilingual education Catholic schools (n = 115, CI = 90%) that integrated empirically-referenced constructs such as educational background, personal motivation, interpersonal relationships, and sociocultural factors. Descriptive analysis of the total data set was conducted in addition to comparative analysis between identified subgroups.

We find first that teachers in DLBE Catholic schools deviate demographically from teachers in Catholic schools in the United States, as a higher proportion of these teachers are Catholic, foreign-born, and ethnically and linguistically diverse. Targeted subgroup analysis, including disaggregation based on bilingual/non-bilingual teachers and years of experience, reveals potential vulnerabilities in teacher recruitment and retention, including differing priorities in motivation to take positions and overall satisfaction with teachers’ current school environment. Conversely, we also detect that distinct organizational characteristics championed by DLBE Catholic schools - fostering equitable learning opportunities, diversity, and an emphasis on holistic inclusion, belonging, and formation – strongly contribute to appraisals of school impact and levels of satisfaction with teachers’ current school environment. These partial and preliminary findings begin to suggest that a purposeful embrace of particular educational models (and their implications for organizational culture) in Catholic schools have the capacity to disrupt the “parochialism” in the composition of the Catholic school teaching workforce (Noonan & Bristol, 2020). We also assert that the demographic diversity of the DLBE Catholic school teacher workforce is evidence of a bridging of social capital, given the lack of statistically significant differences in levels of satisfaction and indicators of organizational culture between bilingual and non-bilingual DLBE Catholic school teachers. This aligns with prior research on the interlocking factors of sociocultural competency and interpersonal collaboration (Howard et al, 2022), suggesting that the shared convictions and norms of DLBE Catholic school teachers parallel patterns of teacher collaboration and agency typically indicative of higher levels of teacher efficacy.

References provided in full proposal submission.

Authors

• Elena Sada, Boston College

• John Reyes, Boston College

• Michael T. O'Connor, Boston College