Attitudes, Skills, and Actions: Resilience and Improvisation in the Teachers of English Learners

• In Event: 207 - Section on Sociology of Education Roundtable Session (one-hour).
  In Refereed Roundtable: Table 17. The Role of Teachers

Abstract

In this exploratory study, I interviewed five elementary school teachers who worked in three different schools to investigate their perceptions of their work related to teaching English learners. Using a grounded theory approach, several important themes emerged as to how teachers confronted the challenges and created opportunities when teaching a culturally and linguistically diverse student body. The teachers’ compassion for the students allowed them to confront the many frustrations they experienced with resilience while their generally low levels of quality training led them to rely on improvisation within the classroom. This study is relevant given that English learners are the fastest growing segment of the student population in the United States. The conclusions add to the literature related to teacher working conditions and teacher training and while based on a very small sample, suggest implications for policies related to teacher development and support.

Author

• Daniela Torre, Vanderbilt University