Teacher professional development related to emergent bilinguals: Teacher perceptions and experiences

<p>As of 2021, the National Center for Education Statistics reports that there are 5.3 million students whose first language is one other than English, or are emergent bilinguals (EBs), in the United States. If teachers are not prepared adequately, they are not able to meet the needs of students appropriately. The following study sought to determine whether or not public school elementary teachers in Southeastern Michigan felt prepared to teach EBs, as well as their perceptions of the training they received. This information is important, as it is necessary to identify gaps in professional learning by determining whether teachers feel their training is adequate, the reasoning behind their perceptions, how they feel it can/should be improved, and their awareness of guidelines related to the education of EBs. Conducting a qualitative research study, the researcher completed semi-structured with four current elementary public school teachers to gauge their preparedness and perceptions of any training they received. Overall, the teachers interviewed reported receiving little to no training related to EBs. For the most part, the teachers interviewed expressed interest in attending more trainings and were open to discussions related to creating a classroom environment welcoming to all languages and cultures. These findings indicate several areas of need. The first one is the need for more comprehensive training in schools. There is a willingness of teachers to learn; they just need to be given the opportunity. The second one is the need for outside entities to be able to get in contact with public school staff to learn about their experience.</p>

Name thesis:degree_name

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Level thesis:degree_level

Open Access Dissertation

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Teacher Education

Year dc:date.available

2025

Author dc:creator

• Simko, Courtney

Contributors dc:contributor

• Robert Carpenter, PhD
• Patrick Hamilton, PhD
• Cynthia Macknish, PhD

• Bilingual, Multilingual, and Multicultural Education

Repository record dc:identifier

https://commons.emich.edu/theses/1291

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:commons.emich.edu:theses-2641