Ensuring Social Justice for English Language Learners

Abstract

Bradley University's embedded English as a Second Language (ESL) endorsement program was first implemented during the 2015-2016 academic year. This program consists of eighteen credit hours of course work specified by the Illinois State Board of Education in order to prepare teachers to work with students who do not speak English as their first language. Now in its second year, early outcomes of the program are quite positive. This chapter describes the program and its development in detail, and analyzes the program's strengths and weaknesses, focusing especially on teacher candidates' knowledge of pedagogy and cultural awareness as it relates to social justice in education for English language learner (ELL) students. The chapter concludes with recommendations for programming and future research.