Smashing the Glass Ceiling: Inclusive Education for English Language Learners
Location
Guzman 113
Start Date
4-19-2018 4:00 PM
End Date
4-19-2018 4:15 PM
Student Type
Undergraduate
Faculty Mentor(s)
Rosemarie Michaels, Ed.D.
Presentation Format
Oral Presentation
Abstract/Description
Teachers throughout the United States (U.S.) are educating English language learners (ELL students) in integrated classrooms that contain both native English speakers and ELL students each day. According to the U.S. Department of Education, in the 2014-2015 school year 9.4% of U.S. public school students were English language learners (2017). When teaching ELL students, teachers must be culturally responsive to various aspects of their classroom environments (Conway & Richards, 2017). All students need to feel comfortable in a classroom in order to find academic and social success, something that becomes more complicated for students who are from diverse linguistic and cultural backgrounds. It is vital that teachers acknowledge and work to understand their students’ backgrounds and adjust the classroom environment to meet students’ needs (Conway & Richards, 2017).
The purpose of this study is to explore strategies teachers use to create inclusive physical and social classroom environments to support the academic and social needs of ELL students. The research question is: What are effective strategies to create inclusive physical and social classroom environments to support English language learners? To answer the research question, data will be collected in two ways: classroom observations and teacher interviews. Specifically, I will observe in two first-grade bilingual (Spanish) classrooms for at least 30 hours over the course of one semester. I will conduct interviews with eight elementary classroom teachers in four San Francisco Bay area schools with ELL populations. I anticipate the results to include a wide variety of strategies teachers employ to create inclusive physical and social classroom environments for ELL students from linguistically and culturally diverse backgrounds.
Smashing the Glass Ceiling: Inclusive Education for English Language Learners
Guzman 113
Teachers throughout the United States (U.S.) are educating English language learners (ELL students) in integrated classrooms that contain both native English speakers and ELL students each day. According to the U.S. Department of Education, in the 2014-2015 school year 9.4% of U.S. public school students were English language learners (2017). When teaching ELL students, teachers must be culturally responsive to various aspects of their classroom environments (Conway & Richards, 2017). All students need to feel comfortable in a classroom in order to find academic and social success, something that becomes more complicated for students who are from diverse linguistic and cultural backgrounds. It is vital that teachers acknowledge and work to understand their students’ backgrounds and adjust the classroom environment to meet students’ needs (Conway & Richards, 2017).
The purpose of this study is to explore strategies teachers use to create inclusive physical and social classroom environments to support the academic and social needs of ELL students. The research question is: What are effective strategies to create inclusive physical and social classroom environments to support English language learners? To answer the research question, data will be collected in two ways: classroom observations and teacher interviews. Specifically, I will observe in two first-grade bilingual (Spanish) classrooms for at least 30 hours over the course of one semester. I will conduct interviews with eight elementary classroom teachers in four San Francisco Bay area schools with ELL populations. I anticipate the results to include a wide variety of strategies teachers employ to create inclusive physical and social classroom environments for ELL students from linguistically and culturally diverse backgrounds.