Why Should I Go?: Florida Teachers' Perceptions of Value in ELL Professional Development

• Other Authors: Phillips, Jennifer J. (authoraut)
• Format: Others
• Language: English; English
• Published: Florida State University
• Subjects: Educational leadership; Education and state
• Online Access: http://purl.flvc.org/fsu/fd/FSU_migr_etd-8620

Abstract Florida has undergone a 27.8% increase of ELL PreK-12 public school students within the last twenty years (www.fldoe/aala). Of the total student population in Florida, 9.4% speak 230 different languages and dialects with the highest percentage in Hispanic speakers. This is followed by Haitian-Creole, Arabic, Vietnamese, Hmong, Chinese, and Korean (http://www.fldoe.org/aala/). Despite these startling statistics, there are still teachers in Florida's public PreK-12 school systems who are not professionally prepared to meet the growing demands of the ELL population. In a 2012 report released by the National Center for Educational Evaluation and Regional Assistance (NCEERA), 41% of the teachers surveyed reported that they teach ELL students but fewer than 13% reported any ELL professional development. To better understand this phenomenon, this study offers a contextual framework that illuminates the issues that surround Florida's public school PreK-12 ELL teacher preparation: the first is teacher ELL professional development programs in Florida, the second is the policies that have influenced Florida's ELL professional development programs, and finally how teachers' perceptions of ELL professional development programs influence their classroom practices. This research argues that these constructs influence each other and directly affect teachers' perceptions of ELL professional development. The research questions addressed in this study are: (1) What are teachers' perceptions of the applicability of their pre-service and in-service preparation to teach English language learners and what are their current instructional practices?, and (2) Do these perceptions and practices differ on the following bases: (a) English as a Second Language endorsement, certification, or not, (b) Teaching experience based on the number of years teaching, and (c) The number of ELL students. === A Dissertation submitted to the Department of Educational Leadership and Policy Studies in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Education. === Fall Semester, 2013. === November 5, 2013. === Elementary School, ESOL/ell, Teacher Professional Development === Includes bibliographical references. === Robert A. Schwartz, Professor Directing Dissertation; Patrice Iatarola, Professor Directing Dissertation; Diana Rice, University Representative; Judith Irvin, Committee Member.