How Coaching Fosters Opportunities and Constraints for Teachers of Multilingual Learners

Abstract

This chapter examines how the discourse between two coaches and two in-service elementary teachers, who were earning a culturally and linguistically diverse education (CLDE) endorsement, opened or constrained opportunities for the teachers to reflect on how to best teach and serve the multilingual learners (MLs) in their classrooms. It draws on several theoretical lenses, including sociocultural theory, positioning theory, and LangCrit. Implications from the chapter's study point to the need to critically examine the messages conveyed through coaching discourse and the potential effect that these may have on teachers' development and, in turn, the MLs in their classrooms.