The Role of District and School Discourses in Authorizing Equity in an EL Full-Inclusion Context: A Comparative Case Study

Abstract

Historically the education of emergent bilinguals (EBs) varies across separate “sheltered” settings and mainstream settings . In recent years, the phenomenon of mainstreaming emergent bilinguals means that different proficiency levels, including newcomers and Beginner proficiency-level emergent bilinguals, are increasing in number in the general education classroom. A shift toward mainstreaming presents new complexities for teachers’ work with emergent bilinguals, particularly for teachers in content-area settings who may not have adequate preparation or experience teaching complex academic language and content demands to a diverse emergent bilingual student population. Additionally, the variation and unique differences within this population contribute to these complexities. The field needs to develop an understanding of the impact of programs on the experiences and achievement of emergent bilinguals in a range of settings. This study seeks to contribute to this knowledge by exploring the phenomenon of full-inclusion EL policies at the district, school and teacher levels. Emergent bilinguals have not always received equal educational opportunities compared to other monolingual peers (Harklau, 1994; Olsen, 1997; Callahan, 2005; Gándara & Rumberger, 2009; Hakuta, 2011; Valdés & Castellón, 2011; Gándara, 2013). How teachers support emergent bilinguals in the full-inclusion classroom – and continue to improve their teaching depends on a complex combination of factors. These include varying levels of teacher preparation and experiences teaching emergent bilinguals; the diversity among EL proficiency status; the nature of teacher collaboration and interaction with department colleagues; the allocation of district resources, such as time and support; and key priorities for professional development. The role of context in mediating how teachers navigate these complexities can limit or afford learning opportunities for teachers in their own practices and ultimately for students in their learning of content, skill and language development. This current movement forward provides the opportunity to explore how teachers adapt and learn to support emergent bilingual students. This study explores how school and district systems - and the role of district and school context in this work – mediate the knowledge, principles, and practices that teachers use to support emergent bilingual students in a full-inclusion context. Using a comparative case study design, I examine the experiences of six social studies teachers in two high schools to understand how they taught emergent bilinguals. In this study, I ask: How do alignment and contradictions across district discourses, school discourses and teachers’ work mediate the implementation of an EL full-inclusion policy? I further ask: 1) In what ways do alignment and contradictions occur within and across district and school discourses in an EL full-inclusion context? 2) How do these points of alignment and contradiction mediate teachers’ knowledge, principles, and practices--particularly with regard to teaching emergent bilinguals? 3) How do these points of alignment and contradiction mediate opportunities for teacher- and school-level learning? In considering the aforementioned research questions, I draw upon two areas of literature and informing concepts. The literature on EL instruction focuses on what teachers need to know as they adapt and develop practice in the context of teaching emergent bilinguals. The second area of literature focuses on how context can influence teachers’ knowledge, principles and practices over time. Together, these areas offer a rationale for the proposed study as well as guidance for the study’s design. In this study I employ cultural-historical activity theory (CHAT) (Vygotsky, 1978; Leont’ev, 1981; Engestrom, 2000) which provides a theoretical lens for understanding how individuals and systems, such as districts and schools, learn over time. Activity theory is a useful lens to explore teacher learning because it focuses on the level of and the role context plays in learning at the individual and teacher work group levels. I explore the tools of everyday activity among teachers using CHAT to better understand how contextual factors mediate their work. I specifically focus on the mediating tools of knowledge, principles, and practices. Chapter Two of this dissertation provides an outline of the research design and analysis process that led to the findings of this dissertation. The chapter also includes descriptions of the Madison School District context and portraits of the six focal teacher cases to serve as a backdrop for the findings and discussion included in the remaining chapters. Chapter Three takes a close look at the district context and discourses. Chapters Four and Five offer in-depth descriptions of each high school and the case participants. These chapters also analyze how school discourse mediated teachers’ knowledge, principles and practices across several themes. Chapter Six situates the discussion of prior chapters theoretically, conceptually, and poses implications for research, policy, and practice. In Chapter Three, I introduce the Madison School District context and leading discourses of the district. I first describe and analyze the discourses of equity and elevating teachers as professionals in the context of the district’s EL full-inclusion policy. In this chapter, I assert that teachers’ knowledge, principles and practices are mediated by district and school discourses. I use Activity Theory to examine this work in context of a large school district and across two high schools. The dimensions of knowledge, principles, and practices present one way to see how district discourses align or contradict at schools and in teachers’ experiences. Chapter Three explores how the role of racial equity, access through “AP for all”, and accountability is taken up at each high school and ultimately by each focal teacher. In Chapter Three I trace patterns across the district and both high schools, as well as across the focal participants. These patterns reflect how district and school discourses align and contradict and the consequences this has for authorizing teachers’ knowledge, principles and practices. Building on these patterns it is important to explore them in the context of each school and teacher. This is where I turn to Chapter Four and Chapter Five. Chapter Four examines discourse at the school level, specifically by looking at Woods High School. In this chapter, I argue that school discourses of rigor and tracking authorize teachers’ knowledge, principle and practices through the way they see students and engage in planning and instruction. In this chapter, we explore what happens when district and school discourses contradict. This chapter also provides a unique glimpse across two teacher cases that contradict and highlight the power of school discourses. Through the focal case of Mr. Butler, we see how his case mirrors the school discourse of rigor and tracking and contradicts a district discourse of equity. In the case of Ms. Parks, we see how her case is at odds with the Woods discourse and aligns with the district discourses of equity and inclusion. However, despite being in alignment with the district discourse, the school discourse wins out and works to limit her ability to lead and learn. Ultimately, Chapter Three takes up the broader view and context of the Madison School District, while Chapter Four takes a closer look at the school-specific details of Woods High School and how teachers experience the EL policy at Woods and the mediation of knowledge, principles and practices through alignment and contradiction of discourses. Chapter Five in a similar structure examines discourse at the school level, specifically by looking at Rivers High School. In this chapter, I argue that school discourses of equity and PBL authorize teachers’ knowledge, principle and practices through the way they see students and engage in planning and instruction. In this chapter, we explore what happens when district and school discourses contradict. This chapter also provides a unique glimpse across two teacher cases that highlight the power of school discourses and space it can create for teacher autonomy and learning. Through the focal case of Mr. Jackson, we see how his case mirrors the school discourse of equity and PBL and aligns with a district discourse of equity. In the case of Mr. Gladwin, we see how his case also aligns with the Rivers and district discourse but challenges the discourse in an effort to extend the work and support for emerging bilingual students. Chapter Five takes a closer look at the school-specific details of Rivers High School and the power of mediating factors when school discourses align with district discourses. Finally in Chapter Six, I discuss how this study’s findings contribute to our understanding of how district- and school-level discourses interact in ways that are consequential for teachers’ work. I reflect on the significance of school discourses for how content area teachers experience a new EL full-inclusion policy, and how these experiences mediate the knowledge, principles, and practices that they draw upon and seek out. In conclusion, I discuss key implications of this study for research, policy, and practice. In particular, I focus on three themes: 1) the role of school discourses in an equity-focused district; 2) the role of elevating teachers as professionals in pursuing an equity agenda; and 3) how school discourses authorize particular kinds of knowledge, principles, and practices through curriculum tools that are central to their identity.