Do State Education Agencies Hold Teachers Accountable for Meeting the Needs of Multilingual Learners?

• In Event: Policy Dimensions of English Learner Trajectories in School

Abstract

While the population of multilingual learners (MLs) has increased rapidly across the United States, the teaching force has remained predominantly white, female, and often monolingual. This begs the question of how the needs of MLs are being met in the mainstream classroom. This project examines how State Education Agencies (SEAs) hold all teachers accountable for meeting the instructional needs of MLs through a document analysis of the Professional Teaching Standards across all 51 SEAs (i.e., the 50 US states and the District of Columbia). Preliminary findings suggest a clear variation in if/how needs of MLs were referenced across professional teaching standards. Findings raise concerns about the quality of instruction MLs receive when they are in mainstream classrooms.

Authors

• Christine Montecillo Leider, University of Massachusetts - Boston

• Erin Nerlino, Boston University

• Michaela Colombo, University of Massachusetts - Lowell