Early Childhood Preservice Teachers' Beliefs and Attitudes Toward Teaching Dual Language Learners

• In Event: AERA Roundtable Session 6
  In Roundtable Session: Teacher Education Pedagogy: Applying Student-Centered Approaches for Learning

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to explore early childhood pre-service teachers' beliefs about teaching DLLs in the mainstream classroom. To address this question 34 pre-service teachers enrolled in a teacher education program in Tennessee completed a questionnaire. Two themes of pre-service teacher beliefs related to DLLs were explored: beliefs about DLLs’ language acquisition and expectations for DLLs. The findings show that early childhood pre-service teachers in later years in the program have higher expectations of DLLs, and they place greater value on DLLs' native language and their assets.

Author

• Chengcheng Zhou, Vanderbilt University