The English-learner population is growing rapidly nationwide, but funding, staffing, and state-level expertise for those students have not kept pace.
That’s what members of the National Association of English Learner Program Administrators report, according to Khalil El-Saghir, the vice president of the organization, which includes both state and school district leaders.
Although El-Saghir has found examples where schools successfully implemented innovative English-learner programs and improved engagement with English-learner families, overall, he said, significant work remains at the national level to ensure equitable access to a high-quality education for all English learners.
New data from an EdWeek Research Center survey completed May 28 through July 1 by a nationally representative pool of 874 educators, mostly teachers, in both public and private schools, found gaps in educators’ overall preparedness to work with English learners.
Educators report a lack of professional development on working with English learners
Fewer than half of educators surveyed said the instruction and professional development they or their school or district’s teachers received on working with English learners was sufficient. In contrast, nearly 1 in 5 said they’ve received no training at all.
Further analysis of responses found that educators in smaller, rural, or majority-white districts were especially likely to report receiving little or no training.
Those working in larger districts or those with higher percentages of low-income or Hispanic students were more likely to describe their training as at least “somewhat sufficient.” Still, about a third of educators in majority-Hispanic schools and nearly half of those in high-poverty schools said they had either received no training or found the training they did receive to be insufficient.
Proper guidance and training on how to support English learners can make a difference in students’ academic experiences, especially in cases where students, such as newcomers to the country, require additional support, experts say. State education agencies can play a role in offering such guidance.
“Immigrant students are highly mobile, and often can move several times throughout their education,” said Alejandra Vazquez Baur, a fellow at the Century Foundation and director of the National Newcomer Network. “State education agencies have the opportunity to address disparities in education from district-to-district by offering special guidance and setting policies at the state level that help to ameliorate the disparities that are experienced by students on the local level.”
Educators also lack training on family engagement
Experts in family and community engagement have often cited multiple academic and social-emotional benefits from educators—not just dedicated district staff—who take an active role in building relationships with families.
But when it comes to family-engagement best practices with English-learner families, educators report a gap in professional development on best practices.
Fifty-one percent of educators surveyed said they or the teachers they supervise received no professional development on how to work with the parents or family members of English learners. More than half of teachers reported receiving no training, while just 30% of district leaders said they or the teachers they supervise hadn’t received any training.
Educators in smaller districts and majority-white schools were also more likely to report a lack of training in this regard.
By contrast, those in larger districts and schools serving mostly Hispanic students were more likely to have received at least some preparation, and were the most likely to report receiving more than a minimal amount.
Still, only a small share of educators overall said they had received more than a few hours of such training.
Educators say they need specialized training
Most educators surveyed said they, or the teachers in their school or district, never received key professional development on working with English learners—and need it—with 57% lacking training on the practice of translanguaging (the ability to switch between multiple languages in an academic context) and 52% missing support for engaging English learners’ families.
Educators from the South show the highest unmet need for personalizing instruction for English learners, with 43% having never received such training but needing it, followed closely by the West at 39%. This contrasts with lower rates in the Midwest (34%) and the Northeast (29%).
Translanguaging has emerged as a popular and beneficial approach to language learning in recent years, according to researchers.
While 57 percent of educators said in the EdWeek Research Center survey that they or the teachers in their school or district, need translanguaging training they’ve never received, only 24 percent say they don’t need it at all, suggesting most educators recognize the value of translanguaging even without formal training.
Further analysis of the national survey data found that elementary educators report the highest unmet need for translanguaging training, at 67%, compared with 50% of middle school and 55% of high school educators.
Educators in districts with 10,000 or more students show the greatest translanguaging training gaps, with 68% needing but lacking this support compared with 46% of those in districts under 2,500 students.
Data analysis for this article was provided by the EdWeek Research Center. Learn more about the center’s work.
