Teachers' Beliefs About Rigor of Curriculum for English Language Learners

• In Event: 45.093 - MTCC Roundtable Session 18
  In Roundtable Session: 45.093-7 - Teacher Identity and Beliefs in the Education of Emergent Bilinguals

Abstract

Survey research tested the hypothesis that teachers support less rigorous curriculum for English language learners (ELLs) than for general-education (GE) students. Teachers rated descriptions of instructional activities that differed in demand for critical thinking (CT), a proxy for rigor of curriculum. In within-subjects analyses, teachers asked about ELLs rated low-CT activities over high-CT ones, but teachers asked about GE students produced no difference. In between-subjects analyses, teachers asked about ELLs rated high-CT activities lower than did teachers asked about GEs, but these teacher groups did not differ in ratings of low-CT activities. Teachers favored less rigorous curriculum for ELL students, especially concerning high-CT activities. Beliefs as such likely contribute to achievement gaps between ELLs and GE students.

Authors

• Audrey Figueroa Murphy, Saint John's University

• Bruce Torff, Hofstra University