"How Soon Should I Reclassify My Students?" How Do Successful Teachers and Administrators Talk About The Time English Language Learners Need To Reach English Proficiency?
Issue Date
2024Keywords
Arizona English Language LearnersChildren of Color
Critical Race Theory LangCrit and LatCrit
Proposition 203
Structured English Immersion (SEI)
Advisor
Combs, Mary CarolMetadata
Show full item recordPublisher
The University of Arizona.Rights
Copyright © is held by the author. Digital access to this material is made possible by the University Libraries, University of Arizona. Further transmission, reproduction, presentation (such as public display or performance) of protected items is prohibited except with permission of the author.Abstract
According to Mahoney, Lillie, Rolstad, MacSwan, DuBois & Haladyna (2022), the Structured English Immersion (SEI) program failed to improve the achievement rate of English language learners (ELLs) when Proposition 203 replaced the bilingual program in Arizona. This qualitative study examined how three teachers and two administrators successfully reclassified Arizona ELLs. The author investigated why these educators were successful, using AZELLA scores and other teaching pedagogies to find what they were doing right. The author also employed three theoretical frameworks, Critical Race Theory (CRT), Critical Language and Race Theory (LangCrit), and Latina/o Critical Theory (LatCrit), to understand how students learn in the classroom and how race and racism are intertwined and embedded in society. In addition, the author made policy analyses using federal and state laws and court cases to understand how children of color were affected in the classroom. At the end of the study, the author found that the teachers and administrators of color who treated children with culturally relevant categories were effective at making progress with English Language Learners, allowing them to be reclassified as proficient. On the other hand, teachers who did not make accommodations for English language learners in the classroom hindered the children’s progress. In the concluding Chapter, the author gave recommendations to schools and policymakers.Type
Electronic Dissertationtext
Degree Name
Ph.D.Degree Level
doctoralDegree Program
Graduate CollegeEducational Leadership & Policy