Leaks and Patches: Inquiring Into the Spanish Bilingual Teacher Pipeline

• In Event: 56.080 - Roundtable Session 23
  In Roundtable Session: 56.080-17 - Examining the Experiences of Teachers From Diverse Backgrounds and Those Serving in Urban Areas

Abstract

Addressing the critical shortage of bilingual teachers is crucial to improving educational opportunities, access, and outcomes, particularly for Latino students. This proposal employs the framework proposed by Ocasio (2014) to examine how Latinos progress through critical junctures in the teacher pipeline within the specific context of becoming Spanish Bilingual teachers. Using a critical narrative approach to qualitative research, it reveals findings from an ongoing five-year longitudinal study into Spanish bilingual teachers' experiences during their preparation and early teaching. Specifically, it focuses on struggles and successes that hold implications for pre-K-20 educational practices and policies, responding to calls to increase the number of Latino and Spanish bilingual teachers, as well as to share narratives of Latino teacher experiences.

Authors

• Leslie M. Gauna, University of Houston - Clear Lake

• Christine Beaudry, Nevada State University

• Jane Mcintosh Cooper, University of Houston