A National
Study of Teacher Education Preparation For Diverse Student Populations
Final Report
Executive Summary
Principal Investigators:
Priscilla H. Walton – University of California, Santa Cruz
Leonard Baca – University of Colorado, Boulder
Kathy Escamilla – University of Colorado, Boulder
Introduction
The need to prepare teachers for the linguistic and cultural diversity of the US student population is well documented. Research on how programs of professional preparation address this need is not. This study is a national investigation of teacher education programs that build teachers’ competency and willingness to provide effective educational environments for culturally and linguistically diverse students. The purpose of this study is to examine and document how teacher education programs, in selected states, are addressing the need to better prepare all teachers for diverse classrooms, in particular, classrooms with limited English proficient students. The significance of this study is that it contributes to an area where research is minimal. The study focuses on programs that prepare teachers to specialize in the fields of Bilingual Education, ESL, and/or Multicultural Education. The following research questions guided this study:
- What are selected universities and states doing to prepare teachers to teach linguistically and culturally diverse students?
2. What are the goals and outcomes of these programs? What is the nature of the curriculum, course work and field experiences of these programs?
3. How are issues related to language, culture, equity, and teaching and learning addressed and developed in these programs?
4. How have professional standards, state and federal standards, and research and theory influenced the development of these programs?
5. What is the sociopolitical environment of selected states related to diversity, and how has this environment impacted teacher preparation programs?
6. What are the commonalties of selected teacher preparation programs for diverse students and what makes them unique?
7. In addition to formal programs, what professional development activities do the program participants engage in?
Research Design
The study design has three distinct components. These include: 1) a national survey that collected national data on the key elements of teacher preparation programs that prepare teachers to teach in settings that are culturally, linguistically and economically diverse and a typology that has been developed from it; 2) nine in depth case studies of teacher preparation programs in selected areas of the United States; 3) a cross-case analysis of the nine case studies to determine comparable and contrasting features of each of the case studies. The survey, case studies, and cross-case analysis enabled the project to examine how various institutions implement teacher preparation programs to prepare teachers for diverse schools.
Data Collection Methods
A team of researchers based at the University of California, Santa Cruz at the Center for Excellence and Diversity in Education (CREDE), and at the University of Colorado, Boulder BUENO Center collected and analyzed data from fall 1996 — spring 2001. All data collection procedures and analysis were aligned with the project’s major research questions and to criteria outlined in the national survey. The following describes the methodologies and data collection procedures used in the three phases of the study.
1) The National Survey of Teacher Preparation (Preservice and Inservice) Programs for Teachers of Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Students. The survey was sent to directors and faculty of over 900 teacher education and professional development programs. The survey solicited information about program orientations and practices, program offerings (licensures and degrees offered, grade levels of preparation), teacher candidates and faculty (racial, ethnic, and language backgrounds), recruitment and support practices, coursework, teaching/field experiences, induction (beginning teacher support), and program evaluation and development.
2) The Case Studies: Nine (9) case studies were conducted. Prior to data collection, the project created a uniform set of questions, variables, and data collection procedures to be used at each case study site. Data collection procedures included document analyses, surveys, structured interview protocols, and focus group interviews. Interviews were conducted with currently enrolled teacher candidates, university faculty, cooperating or guiding teachers, program graduates (alumni) and employers of program graduates. These procedures enabled the researchers to document the population of teacher candidates and faculty in each program. Interview data enabled researchers to assess the impact that the program was having on a variety of populations (e.g. teacher candidates, employers, teacher in schools, etc.). Gathering interviews and surveys from a variety of stakeholders (e.g. professors, students, employers) enabled the researchers to use triangulation of data as a method of analysis.
3) Cross-case Analysis: Case study results were compared to examine commonalities and differences across sites.
Selected Major Findings
• With the exception of New Mexico, all case study states have a negative sociopolitical environment with regard to diversity. There are tensions in these states between the goals of teacher preparation programs and the educational reform policies of the states.
• Case study states implement a variety of programs to prepare new and practicing teachers for diverse classroom settings. The intensity of focus on language and culture varies by program.
• The most comprehensive programs are university pre-service and in-service programs. These also prepare the least number of bilingual/ESL teachers. The least comprehensive programs are in-service programs, which prepare the largest number of endorsed bilingual/ESL teachers.
• The majority of teacher education programs studied were programs that prepared bilingual/ESL "specialists." The integration of bilingual/ESL preparation across the teacher education programs was minimal.
• All case study sites have made progress in institutionalizing bilingual/ESL programs within their states and colleges.
Recommendations for Policy Makers
• Greater collaboration among teacher educators, local school district educators, and others to advocate for changes in policy and legislation that would shift the sociopolitical climate in the states and at the federal level toward a more positive and supportive approach.
• Advocacy work, particularly in states like California, needs to focus on keeping programs such as the CLAD in tact. Dilution of any teacher education program is potentially harmful for teachers as well as the children they serve.
• More research and development funds be targeted at teacher preparation for diverse students. Research is needed to examine the ways that issues related to cultural and linguistic diversity can be infused and become more integral parts of basic teacher preparation programs as well as specialized programs.
• K-12 content and performance standards and teacher education standards in each state should be revised to reflect the linguistic and cultural reality of public schools.
• Opportunity to learn standards should be added to the current content and performance standards both for K-12 students and for teachers who are teaching in diverse K-12 schools.
Recommendations for Teacher Education Programs
• All teachers should be prepared to address the social, cultural, linguistic and economic backgrounds of the entire spectrum of American students.
• All teacher preparation programs should include in their curricula study of the nature of language development and first and second language acquisition and dialect.
• All teachers need to develop an understanding of the diverse cultural patterns and the historical impact of diverse populations on the development of the U.S. This understanding needs to be infused across courses in the teacher education programs.
• All teachers need to learn teaching methodologies that are specially designed to teach English Language Learners and dialect speakers. Methodologies should include methods that provide access to academic content in English, as well as access to learning the language.
• Require ESL teachers to study a second language.
• The numbers of comprehensive programs need to be expanded and better supported by institutions and states to insure quality preparation experiences for preservice and inservice teachers.
• Literacy development in L1 or L2 — critical to improvement of student achievement in all states, yet not a prominent feature of case study sites. More attention needs to be paid to literacy issues, new courses developed, etc.
• Provide opportunities for university faculty to strengthen their language skills through participation in study abroad teacher education programs that focus on teaching in the academic content areas in other languages.
• That teacher trainers and their colleagues in higher education engage in sustained and ongoing professional development related to preparing teachers for the linguistic and cultural diversity of America's schools.
Recommendations for Future Research
• That future research studies explore how the CREDE principles of effective teaching and learning might be incorporated into professional development and teacher preparation.
• Future research relating to the definition of language proficiency and how language proficiency is assessed and developed in non-English languages, both for K-12 students and teachers, is critically needed.
• Future research into models of infusion of language and cultural issues for preservice and inservice programs for mainstream teachers is a critical need.
• Research is needed to better understand how the context of K-12 classrooms either encourage or discourage teachers from applying concepts learned in teacher preparation classes to the real world of schools.
