Teaching English Learners How teaching Els is related

Teaching English Learners: How teaching Els is related to teacher working conditions, teacher satisfaction, and teacher commitment Statistical Model • English learners (Els) are the fastest growing segment of school age children in the United States (Terrazas & Batalova, 2008). • Els underperform their English speaking peers in both reading and math (Batalova, Fix, & Murray, 2007) • Most Els were are taught by teachers untrained for the positions (Gandara, 1990) and who are not learning the requisite skills on the job (Britzman, 1991). • Esl/Bil and “mainstream” educators teaching Els may face challenges that effect their working conditions, which may in turn effect their job satisfaction and their commitment to teaching. These challenges include: • Lack of understanding of how to teach Els (Batt, 2008; Reeves 2004; Durgunoğlu and Hughes, 2010) • Lack of support from certified/ trained ESL teachers (Batt, 2008) • Lack of support from mainstream teachers, mentors, and school administrators (Durgunoğlu and Hughes, 2010; Batt, 2008) • Lack of time to complete administrative tasks (Batt, 2008). Conceptual Framework Working Conditions • Inadequate resources(Gersten, 2001) • Teacher student ratio (Gersten, 2001; Boe, 1990; Ingersoll, 2001) • Limited decision making power (Gersten, 2001; Weiss, 1999, Mcleskey, 2004) • • • Administrative support (Gersten, 2001; Weiss, 1999) Discipline (Weiss, 1999; Ingersoll, 2001) Professional support (Gersten, 2001; Mcleskey, 2004) Collegial climate (Boe, 1990; Mcleskey, 2004) Salary (Boe, 1990; Ingersoll, 2001) Effect on Teachers Satisfaction Commitment Research Questions 1. What is the relationship between the number of Els in a class and working conditions of general educators? 2. What is the relationship between the number of Els in a class and general educators’ job satisfaction and future intentions? Sample/ Data comes from the 2007 -2008 administration of the Schools and Staffing Survey (SASS). The SASS is conducted by NCES in order to collect information about teachers, principals, schools, and districts across the nation. SASS uses a stratified probability proportionate to size sampling strategy in which schools are stratified by type, geography, and grade level. The sampling scheme allows for nationally representative estimates of public schools, principals and teachers. For more information contact Daniela Torre at daniela. torre@vanderbilt. edu Outcomes by # of Els Teacher Commitment Teacher Satisfaction (RQ 1) Working. Cond= β 0+ β 1 eslbil+ α 1 teacher+α 2 school+ε (RQ 1) Working. Cond= β 0+ β 1 high. El+ β 2 low. El+ α 1 teacher+α 2 school+ε (RQ 2) Y = β 0+ β 1 high. El+ β 2 low. El+β 3 workcond + β 4 high. El*workingcond +α 1 teacher+α 2 school+ε Where Working. Cond represents each of the following working conditions: professional development, collegiality, student behavior, administrative support, teacher autonomy, adequate resources, class size, current salary, and salary for a teacher with a Masters and 10 years of experience. Eslbil is a dummy for ESL or Bilingual teachers, high. EL is a dummy for teachers with more than ≈ 12% Els in their class, and low. El is a dummy for teachers with fewer than ≈ 12% but more than 0 Els. Y represents teacher satisfaction or future intentions. Teacher satisfaction is measured using a scale that includes the items such as “ I am generally satisfied with being a teacher at this school”( alpha=. 79). A teacher’s future plans to remain in teachers was measured by the question “How long do you plan to remain in teaching? ”. Results Teacher Satisfaction Problem Daniela Torre Results Teachers assigned to teach Els generally do not have significantly different working conditions than general educators. They seem to have smaller average class sizes and unsurprisingly they receive significantly more PD related to Els. Teachers with high proportions of Els tend to work in districts with higher salary scales, have smaller classes, and receive more professional development regarding Els. However, they are still struggling with managing student behavior and report not having sufficient principal support. They also have significantly lower salaries and in most specifications report having less autonomy. Many working conditions are significantly related to teacher job satisfaction and future intentions implying that the basic conceptual framework posited earlier holds true. However, These relationships are not significantly different for mainstream teachers with high proportions of El students. Discussion This study indicates that general educators who are teaching Els experience some aspects of the workplace differently than teachers who do not teach Els. As the number of El students continues to grow in schools across the nation, it is imperative that all teachers, not just those that are assigned specifically to support El students, receive the training and support that they need. Districts should seek to provide more or better quality PD to all teachers so that they can effectively manage their classrooms, differentiate instruction, and communicate with diverse learners. Districts and schools should work with principals and teachers to ensure that all teachers are included in efforts to improve working conditions so that they remain satisfied and committed to teaching the diverse populations present in today’s schools. This might include giving teachers more autonomy to manage diverse learning needs by adapting materials for Els or allowing more nuanced accommodations when implementing standardized testing. Moreover, attention should be given to making sure teachers are supported by not only colleagues but also the administration.