Open AccessChallenges Head Start Teachers Face with Dual Language Learners
Author(s) -
Jolene Andriaschko,
Sunddip Panesar-Aguilar,
Chris Cale,
Michelle McCraney
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
education, language and sociology research
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 2690-3652
pISSN - 2690-3644
DOI - 10.22158/elsr.v2n3p1
Subject(s) - head start , dual language , dual (grammatical number) , pedagogy , head teachers , psychology , qualitative research , face (sociological concept) , mathematics education , medical education , medicine , sociology , linguistics , developmental psychology , philosophy , social science
In the Midwestern state, there are 164,000 of the 1,064,000 children enrolled in Head Start programs are dual language learners. Although the number of dual language learners is increasing in the United States, there is a gap in educational practice about challenges Head Start teachers and education coordinators face in working with this population. An exploration of Head Start teachers’ and education coordinators’ perspectives regarding the support teachers need to meet the challenges working with dual language learners is presented. This study was grounded in Jim Cummins’s language acquisition framework, which suggests that dual language learners’ benefit from instruction in their native language and the language of the classroom. A basic qualitative study design was used with a purposeful sample of 8 Head Start teachers, 1 Head Start education coordinator, and 1 Head Start site manager. Using semi- structured interviews, results revealed that Head Start teachers realized they need additional support to meet the challenges of working with dual language learners. Three themes emerged from the data: (a) participants had a positive outlook on using native language both in the classroom and at home, (b) perspectives on support needed to meet the challenges of working with dual language learners varied from teacher to teacher and from teachers to education coordinators, and (c) participants had a positive outlook on teaching dual language learners while recognizing the need for support in working with these learners.