How School and District Leaders Support Classroom Teachers’ Work With English Language Learners

Abstract

Purpose: This study examines the ways in which school and district leaders create systems of support for classroom teachers who work with linguistically diverse students. We attempt to uncover the intentional supports leaders put in place for classroom teachers and how this may be part of a broader teaching and learning effort. Research Design: Through a qualitative case study of four districts serving different populations of English Learner (EL) students, we examine school and district leadership actions aimed at helping teachers provide instruction that is responsive to EL learning needs. In each of the four districts, three schools were chosen for in-depth analysis. Through interviews, classroom observations, and document analyses, we highlight the efforts of school and district leaders to bring about instructional change. Findings: The findings from this study are organized around five central themes. These themes include (1) resolving fragmentation by focusing on high-quality instruction, (2) creating a productive blend of district- and school-level leadership initiatives, (3) communicating a compelling rationale, (4) differentiating support systems at elementary and secondary levels, and (5) using data for instructional improvement. This study extends research on the role of school and district leaders in supporting classroom teachers’ work with second language learners.

Righting past wrongs: A superintendent’s social justice leadership for dual language education along the U.S.-Mexico border

“…Students learn a second language through a long process that cultivates academic English proficiency over a four to seven-year period (Cummins, 1981). Supporting Latina/o emergent bilinguals requires that teachers and principals have access to extensive professional development and ongoing coaching that can perhaps only come through a long-term district-wide improvement process (Cheung & Slavin, 2012;Elfers & Stritikus, 2014). The role of the superintendent is therefore critical, given their positional authority to envision and make such investments at the district level.…”

Access to culturally responsive teaching for English language learners : mainstream teacher perceptions and practice on inclusion.

“…An important consideration when examining teaching practices aimed at serving ELLs is that ELL students come to school with a wide range of native language and English language literacy habits and skills, uneven content-area backgrounds, and vastly different family and schooling experiences (Elfers & Stritikus, 2014). Elfers and Stritikus (2014) concluded that the issues that arise from studying instruction for ELLs include the challenge of advanced academic achievement and attention to the sociocultural dimensions of the schooling experience.…”

“…Elfers and Stritikus (2014) concluded that the issues that arise from studying instruction for ELLs include the challenge of advanced academic achievement and attention to the sociocultural dimensions of the schooling experience. In-depth studies by Collier (1987) and August and Hakuta (1997) focused on students who were literate or had deep content knowledge in their native language and concluded that those students are more likely to succeed in academic performance when compared to those who do not have these skills.…”

“…The interview (Appendix B) was designed to explore with varying levels of depth the practice of inclusion through an examination of core content teachers who currently teach ELLs in the mainstream classroom. The questions on the interview guide were designed from literature to gather detailed individual responses regarding teacher practice (August & Hakuta, 1997;Collier, 1987;Elfers & Stritikus, 2014;Roxas, 2011) and access to culturally responsive teaching (Collins, 1991;Gay, 2010;Ladson-Billings, 1994). …”

“…Literature in this study explored effective principles of mainstreaming ELLs (Roxas, 2011), instructional strategies and practices (August & Hakuta, 1997;Collier, 1987;Elfers & Stritikus, 2014), transcaring (Garcia, Woodley, Flores & Chu, 2012), and social and emotional learning (CASEL, 2014). In focusing on teacher beliefs and perceptions, literature led us to examine culturally responsive teaching by engaging in culturally responsive pedagogy (Gay, 2000;Ladson-Billings, 1995a;Milner, 2011) and access for culturally responsive teaching (Achinstein & Ogawa, 2006;Olneck, 1995;Sleeter & Stillman, 2007).…”