21st Century Educators' Perceptions, Preparation, and Instructional Practices to Meet the Needs of Emergent Bilingual Students in Rural Schools in Texas
Document Type
Dissertation
Degree Name
Doctor of Education (Ed.D)
Department
Curriculum and Instruction
Date of Award
1-10-2024
Abstract
This explanatory-sequential mix-methods study explored Northeast Texas rural educators’ perceptions of language and emergent bilingual (EB) students, and educators’ preparation and practices used in the classroom to meet this ever-growing and diverse multicultural group. Educators’ ideologies and practices in the United States, especially in Texas, had been harsh and discriminatory according to the history of bilingual education (Bekerman, 2005; Flores & García, 2017; Rodríguez, 2017; San Miguel, Jr., 1987). Decades have passed and changes have been made to benefit emergent bilingual students (O. García & Kleifgen, 2010). Forty-six educators from three different rural districts in Northeast Texas completed the Modified Language Attitude of Teachers Scale (MLATS) survey electronically and seven educators further participated in personal interviews and a focus group to investigate in depth the responses of the MLTAS electronic survey. Overall, rural educators demonstrated positive attitudes towards emergent bilingual students which corroborates teachers’ willingness to do well and try to serve culturally diverse students (Bonner et al., 2018); however, the findings indicate Texas rural educators have the ideology that EB students are slowed down by their parents’ lack of English language skills as well as English language acquisition having greater importance over academic content. Although Texas rural educators recognize they are in dear need of professional development to meet emergent bilingual needs, they also acknowledge they prefer to have professional development in their respective disciplines as a first choice. The findings also indicated that Texas rural educators use practices and strategies intended for English speaking monolingual students thinking those will work well on emergent bilingual students; rural educators admitted they need training in this area to effectively instruct this wonderful diverse group.
Advisor
Jennifer Dyer
Subject Categories
Education
Recommended Citation
Garcia, Maria Daniela, "21st Century Educators' Perceptions, Preparation, and Instructional Practices to Meet the Needs of Emergent Bilingual Students in Rural Schools in Texas" (2024). Electronic Theses & Dissertations. 1151.
https://digitalcommons.tamuc.edu/etd/1151
