Exploration of Lived Experiences of Science Teachers of English Language Learners: A Transcendental Phenomenological Study

English language learners (ELLs) are a talented pool of culturally and linguistically diverse students who are persistently increasing both in absolute size and percentage in the U.S. school population; however, they are underrepresented in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields in college as well as in the workforce (National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, 2018). Education and scientific communities have found it challenging to improve students’ participation in STEM fields (Martinez et al., 2011). Exploring science teachers’ experiences could aid in improving academic achievement of ELLs and promoting educational equity. The purpose of this transcendental phenomenological study is to explore and describe the extrinsic and intrinsic aspects, support systems, and challenges that science teachers of ELLs experience at a public high school in a large Midwestern city in the United States. Data collection methods include individual in-depth, semi-structured and focus group interviews to analyze and search for dominant themes. The anticipated findings and discussion describe dominant themes, i.e., the overall essence of the phenomenon of teaching science to ELLs. Insights into teachers’ experiences will help educators, educational leaders, policy makers, and researchers to better understand methods to improve ELLs’ science outcomes. Potential limitations, implications, and possible areas for future research that could pave ways for increasing participation of ELLs in STEM fields and related careers are addressed

Multiracial Individuals and Educational Testing

A literature review focused on quantitative measures and methods regarding multiracial individuals and educational testing revealed that multiracial individuals are uniquely different than monoracial individuals in terms of their racial identity and these unique identities interact with test scores. Until recently, this uniqueness has been ignored by institutions and within the field of educational testing. The uniqueness of multiracial identity should be taken into consideration when using test measures to make decisions for selection and when comparing group outcomes. The review provides a brief picture regarding the history of categorization of multiracial individuals and current research which connects the multiracial experience to test score performance, followed by information on data collection, data coding, data analysis, implications, and recommendations. Suggested methods to address the methodological and analytical challenges of how to categorize multiracial individuals for purposes of group comparisons are challenging and frankly, unsatisfying. Yet, there are some clear recommendations such as allowing individuals to check as many racial/ethnic categories that apply to their identity versus forcing a choice of one race or using “Other” as an option. The limited research regarding multiracial individuals and educational tests supports the need for further research in this field.

Assessments and Accommodations for English Language Learners: A Literature Review

While research in how English language learners (ELLs) use assessment accommodations is lacking, there are some general conclusions that one can draw. First, teachers must know their students’ abilities. This includes knowledge of their English proficiency, knowledge of their first language skills, especially as it pertains to literacy skills, and knowledge of their content area understanding. If teachers are aware of areas of weakness in students’ assessments, they should work to compensate for them by either changing their instruction or providing assessment accommodations. Second, it is important for teachers to recognize the various types of assessment accommodations that are available in their teaching situation. More vitally, teachers must be able to assign assessment accommodations appropriately to their students and know differences between ELL accommodations and Special Education accommodations. If accommodations are applied without regard to individual student differences, it can cause more harm to the assessment procedures and evaluations than benefits. Finally, there is a difference between high-stakes standardized tests and classroom assessments. While content-area teachers may have more freedom in modifying their classroom assessments, standardized tests are usually more constrained in their testing format and accommodations they are allowed to offer. Identifying gaps in research related to assessments for ELLs will benefit the field as content-area teachers continue to increase their work with students of diverse backgrounds.

Triangulating Research that Focuses on Decolonizing and Race-Based Educational Theories

The normalization of white cultural and societal educational standards often produce uniform consumers of knowledge. In an effort to seek modification from conventional educational belief systems, this literature review looks at a collection of critical, race-based, and anti-/ de-colonial epistemologies and challenges traditions of inquiry. The research: 1) articulates how national culture perpetuates divisiveness through race and racism in colonized American society and institutions, 2) contemplates the amalgamation of Jewishness and whiteness, and 3) considers utilizing critical theory and social justice views to decolonize educational methodologies as a path to implement change. Historical context and the diverse array of scholarship on critical theories using the narratives of race-based epistemologies in this literature review suggest a directional shift to center marginalized voices and redefine how knowledge is acquired in our systems.

Confronting the Past, Challenging the Future: Linguistic Hegemony, Capitalism, and Neoliberalism in TESOL

Western capitalistic values that have given shape to contemporary neoliberal ideologies have, for too long now, greatly influenced the field of teaching English to speakers of other languages (TESOL) as a whole, essentially working to continue cycles of injustice and inequality throughout the field despite well-meaning intentions to the contrary. Dominant language ideologies and linguistic hegemony have greatly shaped both socialized and institutional discourse in English and have worked together to help commodify the idea of upward mobility and success for anyone and everyone who “buys-in” to learning English, reflecting neoliberal selling points that are often taken for granted as natural realities. This has resulted in a pervasive maintenance of global social hierarchies despite the fact that the field regularly promotes and markets egalitarian efforts. This critical essay draws upon contemporary research and realities within the field of TESOL to examine the current gap that exists between where the field says it is versus the neoliberal inequalities it inadvertently promotes and maintains. It argues for more deliberate and critical analysis on how these ideological systems have shaped and continue to inform the field as we know it, and how it will be impossible for TESOL to truly serve in the equitable and just capacities in which it strives to place itself without more critical reflection leading to actual and meaningful change.

Diversifying the Classroom: Masculinity and Intersectionality in (Teacher) Education: A Review of Literature

While much has been written about the gender and demographic divide in the U.S. between the population of students and their teachers, complex gendered, cultural, and socioeconomic forces appear to be widening it. In an effort to reveal the many ways that teacher education programs can attract and retain a more diverse body of candidates, this literature review lays out a general overview of masculinity’s work as it pertains to the socialization of boys and young men in K-12 schools; it examines the influence of gendered, racial, and socio-economic assumptions on both teachers and learners; it looks at the experience of men from a variety of backgrounds in teacher education programs and the obstacles to their attraction and retention; and it looks at what the research says about how teacher education programs can be adapted to better account for the intersection of racial, gendered, and socioeconomic identities. Ultimately, the literature suggests work to be done to disrupt gendered, racial, and cultural assumptions about teacher identity that lead to blind spots in teacher education in hopes of better understanding the sources of and finally bridging the gender and demographic divide.

The Effects of Self-Regulated Strategy Development on Students with Emotional/Behavioral Disorders: A Literature Review

Students identified with or at risk for emotional/behavioral disorders (EBD) face a number of challenges, both academic and behavioral (Trout et al., 2003). Individuals in this disability category especially struggle due to their challenges with self-regulation skills. These difficulties make it strenuous for students with EBD to regulate their thoughts, feelings, actions, and environments that may serve as distractions when attempting to attend to key learning tasks, including written expression. Self-regulated strategy development (SRSD) is a general framework of intervention designed to guide students through the complex process of writing while embedding necessary strategy instruction in self-monitoring, self-instruction, goal setting, and self-reinforcement (Harris & Graham, 1996). In this literature review, I examine ten studies of the efficacy of SRSD strategy instruction for students identified with or at risk of EBD. Based on the evidence provided by these studies, I venture to make the claim that SRSD is a highly effective writing intervention for students with EBD across grade levels, writing genres, namely narrative, informative, and persuasive, and educational settings such as public schools, specialized private schools, and residential treatment facilities (RTFs).

Again Awake: A White Researcher’s Iterative Positioning for Entering Black Spaces

In this blend of critical annotation and personal reflection, the author narratively frames a selection of works comprising a contextualized reading list for White researchers confronting and positioning their whiteness for the first time. Built around 21 influential texts, this personalized collection of what to read and possible directions for contemplation reflects one educator’s awakening to the crucial situating of White research in Black spaces. The texts include academic journal articles, magazine pieces, and book chapters covering topical and methodological considerations, in addition to monographs and popular press books. The narrative and annotation are interwoven, creating a mini literature review that is grounded in the author’s iterative forays into research with Black students as her own awareness of race as a power construct (Kendi, 2019) and of her whiteness are continually challenged and developed through classroom, community, and campus experiences. This iterative process is necessary and natural, but requires a zigging and zagging of racial consciousness for which semester-length course models and individual books do not automatically provide adequate guidance. The intended audience for this paper is any graduate student or professional researcher who is taking on not only the steep climb of antiracist activism out in the world, but also the internal, sincere, and cyclical self-education that comes with authentic racial awakening.