Where Are All the Bilingual Teachers? Culturally Responsive Relationships in Bilingual Teacher Education

• In Event: Constructing a Respectful Relationship With ELLs: Colaboración, Éxito, y Posibilidades

Abstract

The state of Oregon, like the nation as whole, experiences a lack of qualified bilingual teachers to staff their growing dual-language and bilingual education programs (Taxin, 2016).
This paper explores the perspectives and experiences of bilingual teachers who graduated from a culturally responsive teacher preparation program (AACTE, 2012) in the Pacific Northwest. The qualitative study points to the power of modeling culturally responsive relationships as critical in the retention, graduation, and successful teaching positions in local school districts as bilingual teachers. Everything that we learn from the our teacher candidates - through the collection and analysis of the data - helps us improve the program and increase the number of bilingual / bicultural teachers for social justice in our schools.

Authors

• Carrie Larson, Portland State Univeristy

• Esperanza De La Vega, Portland State University