Teacher Perceptions Regarding the Impact of Bilingual Teacher Shortages on Mainstream Classroom Instruction in a Small Rural East Texas District

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Education (Ed.D)

Department

Educational Administration

Date of Award

Spring 2022

Abstract

Texas Education Code requires school districts to provide bilingual education to English learners when enrollment reaches 20 or more students in the same grade level with the same first language (Texas Education Code, 2019a). Rural school districts in Texas are challenged to hire sufficient certified bilingual teachers to implement a consistent and complete bilingual program due to teacher shortages. The 2017 Texas Rural Schools Task Force Report noted that teacher shortages are intensely felt in rural areas, and teacher recruitment is particularly difficult for hard-to-staff positions, including bilingual teachers (Texas Education Agency [TEA], 2017). The inability of a district to provide a complete bilingual program has resulted in students not receiving recommended bilingual services. English learners who would normally remain in a bilingual setting are reclassified and placed in mainstream classrooms, without having had sufficient instruction in English to reach an appropriate level of English language proficiency (TEA, 2020c). This qualitative research study explored teacher perceptions regarding the impact of the bilingual teacher shortages on mainstream classroom instruction in a small rural east Texas school district. This study focused on the perceptions of teachers who have personally experienced delivering instruction to students who had previously been in a bilingual program that could not be completed due to a lack of sufficient bilingual teachers. The study was conducted through open interviews with semistructured guiding questions that allowed the teachers the freedom to let their voices be heard (Creswell, 2013). Five primary themes emerged from the analysis of the data collected in the interviews. These themes were (a) lack of language support in the first language, (b) impact on instructional delivery, (c) observed behaviors, (d) impact on instructional planning, and (e) impact on the district. Each theme had several aspects, which were explored and presented in the findings. Some of the aspects were found in more than one theme.

Advisor

Melissa Arrambide

Subject Categories

Bilingual, Multilingual, and Multicultural Education | Education | Educational Administration and Supervision

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