The Role of Language Ideologies in the Bilingual Teacher Shortage

• In Event: Sheraton Roundtable Session 14
  In Roundtable Session: Bilingual Education's Reemergence in California: Bilingual Teachers Adapting, Responding, and Resisting

Abstract

Objectives
Dual Language (DL) programs have emerged as the single most effective program for Emergent Bilinguals’ (EBs) academic success (Steele et al., 2015; Valentino & Reardon, 2014) and are a growing trend in the United States. Recent studies found that EBs in DL classes caught up to their English Language Learner peers in English-only instruction on English language arts assessments by fifth grade, outperformed them by seventh grade and throughout high school (Valentino & Reardon, 2015), and were more likely to be reclassified as fluent English proficient (Umansky & Reardon, 2014). Unlike their peers, they were also bilingual and biliterate. An increasing demand for DL programs and bilingual teachers (Mitchell, 2016) makes staffing these programs a challenge (Steele et al., 2015). The shortage of teachers with preparation and authorizations to teach in bilingual settings is inhibiting the growth of DL programs. With an aim to increase and strengthen recruitment and preparation of bilingual teachers, this study asked: what factors influence some teacher candidates who are bilingual to become teachers in English-only settings, while others choose bilingual settings?

Theoretical Framework, Methods & Data Sources
This study is grounded in the understanding that many language ideologies stem from mainstream culture (Pimentel, 2011) and may influence actions and expectations surrounding decisions to become teachers in bilingual settings. To identify the factors that influenced teacher candidates who are bilingual to become teachers in English-only or bilingual settings, we interviewed 15 bilinguals in three teacher preparation programs in California. Nine of the participants were in bilingual teacher preparation programs and six were in English only preparation programs. We analyzed the interviews using both emic and etic codes. Specifically, we looked for the ways in which language ideologies (Pimentel, 2011) influenced teacher candidates into pursuing instruction in English-only or bilingual instructional settings.

Results and Scholarly Significance
The factors that appear to positively influence bilinguals’ decisions to become a bilingual teacher include their beliefs about their Spanish language proficiency; a desire to work for social justice for Latino children; wanting to help Latinx children maintain their home language and culture; the inclination to work with a predominantly Latinx population; and the strong job market for bilingual teachers. Two factors inhibit bilinguals in becoming bilingual teachers: the belief that their Spanish language was insufficiently academic, and the realization that teaching in Spanish would be an added challenge. Some bilinguals did not know that bilingual teaching was an option until they were introduced to the opportunity at their teacher preparation program orientations. Thus, a clear implication is the need for dissemination of information about the bilingual pathway and a way to transfer into the bilingual option from the English-only strand of a teacher preparation program. This study will inform bilingual teacher recruitment and preparation across the country, and could have a particularly important impact in California, as a proposition repealing the English-only education law has passed and the demand for bilingual educators continues to grow.

Authors

• Allison Briceno, San José State University

• Claudia Rodriguez-Mojica, Santa Clara University

• Eduardo Rafael Munoz-Munoz, Stanford University