Teachers’ perceptions about their work with EAL/D students in a standards-based educational context.

Abstract

Education in Australia is changing in ways that reflect increasing cultural and linguistic diversity of students and also teachers. Responding to increased cultural and linguistic diversity, Australian educators have recognised the importance of providing a diverse range of opportunities for social learning, multicultural engagement and support for students learning English as an additional language or dialect (EAL/D). However only a few studies examine the experience and work EAL/D teachers (Cruickshank et al., 2003; Hammond, 2014) especially in reference to the standards framework provided by the Australian Professional Standards for Teachers (APST). In this case study teachers’ perceptions about their roles, as teachers of EAL/D students, are explored. The lens of activity theory and expansive learning is used to examine the tensions and conflicts they reveal especially in respect to the APST which are currently used to describe teachers’ work. Data was collected through both focus group and individual interviews across four sites. All the participants were teachers of EAL/D students working in public schools in NSW. It is hoped that this study will raise awareness of the professional learning needs of teachers who work with EAL/D students.

Commercialisation in Australian public education and its implications for the delivery of English as an Additional Language/Dialect: An EAL/D teacher perspective

“…It is not clear the extent to which this responsibility to modify, adapt or reject commercial products not suited to EAL/D students is understood by mainstream teachers, who would be using some of the resources listed in Table 6 (Appendix 1). The expectation of inclusion would require that mainstream teachers have these skills, however they may not have the time, nor the professional guidance to do so (Nguyen & Rushton, 2022). At the same time, it is concerning that EAL/D teachers are feeling deprofessionalised by this situation, that their knowledge and skills are being replaced by such products.…”

“…Consequently, the majority of EAL/D students in Australia are participating in mainstream classrooms, with diminishing access to specialist EAL/D support. This situation has enhanced the likelihood that teachers are searching for support to deliver specialist content and/or differentiate curriculum for EAL/D learners (Hammond, 2012;Nguyen & Rushton, 2022). This support often comes from commercial providers.…”

School leadership attitudes towards EAL/D students and their commitment to professional learning for diverse contexts

“…Such suppression is evident in education, and society at large, and on multiple levels. Firstly, the Australian Professional Standards for Teachers (Australian Institute for Teaching and School Leadership [AITSL], 2011), which outline what teachers should know and be able to do, make only tangential reference to the needs of EAL/D learners, what they know, and how they should be taught (Nguyen & Rushton, 2023). Secondly, a prevalent "monolingual mindset" (Clyne, 2005, p. xi) in which monolingualism is regarded as the norm, has been described as one of the greatest impediments to recognising and valuing the diverse cultural and linguistic repertoires of EAL/D learners.…”