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Preparing Pre-service Teachers to Educate Emerging Bilingual Students: A Textual Analysis of Teacher Education Curriculum in Elementary-Level Language Arts Methods Textbooks
| Title: | Preparing Pre-service Teachers to Educate Emerging Bilingual Students: A Textual Analysis of Teacher Education Curriculum in Elementary-Level Language Arts Methods Textbooks. |
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| Name(s): |
Mann, David A., author Schoorman, Dilys, Thesis advisor Florida Atlantic University, Degree grantor College of Education Department of Curriculum, Culture, and Educational Inquiry |
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| Type of Resource: | text | |
| Genre: | Electronic Thesis Or Dissertation | |
| Date Created: | 2016 | |
| Date Issued: | 2016 | |
| Publisher: | Florida Atlantic University | |
| Place of Publication: | Boca Raton, Fla. | |
| Physical Form: | application/pdf | |
| Extent: | 205 p. | |
| Language(s): | English | |
| Summary: | Drawing on the principles of critical multicultural teacher education, Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL) and bilingual education, this study examined how pre-service teachers were prepared to educate Emerging Bilinguals (EBs) in ESOL-infused teacher education programs in Florida universities. The textual analysis of a purposeful sample of five elementary-level English Language Arts (ELA) methods textbooks, utilizing a combination of quantitative and qualitative methods, revealed that authors overwhelmingly referred to EBs as English learners or English language learners, rather than bilinguals or dual language learners, and devoted less than 5% of the total content of four textbooks to topics about teaching methods, curriculum, and assessment for EBs. Evidence of five forms of curriculum bias was found, including invisibility, linguistic bias, fragmentation and isolation, stereotyping, and imbalance and selectivity. The findings suggest that textbook authors value knowledge about teaching EBs less than knowledge about teaching native English-speakers. EBs were stereotyped as a homogenous group of struggling readers and essentialized in terms of their limited English proficiency. One author conflated students’ language differences with physical limitations and learning disabilities, a troubling mischaracterization in the context of the overrepresentation of EBs in special education. Meanwhile, a preference shown for ESL methods over bilingual methods, based upon misconceptions about how EBs learn, suggests that textbook authors undervalue the cultures and linguistic skills that students bring from home. The hidden curriculum in ELA methods textbooks may influence a majority of pre-service teachers, who are typically monolingual and raised in the English-dominant mainstream culture, to develop a deficit view of EBs and utilize a one-size-fits-all approach towards ELA instruction. In order to prepare pre-service teachers to educate EBs for academic success, the teacher education curriculum must include material that explains linguistically responsive instruction and describes effective bilingual education models, within a critical pedagogical framework. Without this knowledge, pre-service teachers may continue instructional practices that contribute to a persistent “achievement gap” experienced by EBs. A transformation of the ELA methods curriculum is required so that pre-service teachers are prepared to implement a humanizing pedagogy that facilitates positive identity formation as it develops bilingual and biliterate students. | |
| Identifier: | FA00004747 (IID) | |
| Degree granted: | Dissertation (Ph.D.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2016. | |
| Collection: | FAU Electronic Theses and Dissertations Collection | |
| Note(s): | Includes bibliography. | |
| Subject(s): |
Education, Bilingual. Second language acquisition. Language arts (Elementary)--Curricula. Education, Elementary--Curricula. English language--Study and teaching (Elementary)--Foreign speakers--Curricula. Teachers--Training of--Curricula. Psycholinguistics. |
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| Held by: | Florida Atlantic University Libraries | |
| Sublocation: | Digital Library | |
| Links: | http://purl.flvc.org/fau/fd/FA00004747 | |
| Persistent Link to This Record: | http://purl.flvc.org/fau/fd/FA00004747 | |
| Use and Reproduction: | Copyright © is held by the author with permission granted to Florida Atlantic University to digitize, archive and distribute this item for non-profit research and educational purposes. Any reuse of this item in excess of fair use or other copyright exemptions requires permission of the copyright holder. | |
| Use and Reproduction: | http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/ | |
| Host Institution: | FAU | |
| Is Part of Series: | Florida Atlantic University Digital Library Collections. |
