Examining Bilingual Teacher Candidates' Bilingual Teaching Self-Efficacy and Lesson Differentiation for Linguistically Diverse Learners

• In Event: Narrating Perspectives on Teaching, Learning, and Teacher Preparation in Bi/multilingual Contexts

Abstract

In many parts of the U.S., districts face extraordinary challenges to fill teacher positions with individuals who hold appropriate credentials to teach English Learners (ELs). When teachers lack the capacity to meet the dynamic needs of ELs it is detrimental to academic success which leads to a widening of the achievement gap. This proposal examines bilingual teacher candidates’ (TCs) understanding of differentiation for ELs and to what extent teacher candidates’ differentiation skills align with their EL teaching self-efficacy beliefs. We discovered that TCs are not as skilled at EL differentiated instruction as expected by teaching credential faculty. Of additional concern is that TCs are unaware of these deficiencies and rate their EL teaching self-efficacy as very high.

Authors

• Anna Woodcock, California State University - San Marcos

• Ana M. Hernandez, California State University - San Marcos

• Annette M. Daoud, California State University - San Marcos

• Kyle Landin, California State University San Marcos