An official website of the United States government
As linguistic diversity continues to increase in the United States public school system, schools are expected to meet the needs of their ever‐changing student body. While much attention within education research has understandably focused on multilingual learners’ (MLs) English language acquisition, an emergent body of work points to science as an important subject for attention among elementary MLs. We suggest that understanding whatscience and language inputsare afforded to MLs in schools can contribute to understanding the needs and opportunities for enhancing MLs’ science learning. This study leveraged nationally representative data from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study of 2010–2011 to explore the science and language inputs available to MLs in elementary school. Using descriptive statistics, our analysis of science and language inputs provides evidence on what MLs have, or do not have, access to inside of their schools. Science inputs appear to be relatively evenly distributed across classrooms serving non‐MLs, MLs, and subgroups therein. In comparison, language inputs are differentially distributed across ML subgroups, but they are distributed in ways that may align with student needs. However, while the science inputs do not necessarily vary across subgroups, the language inputs do, and this may affect how students can engage with science inputs. In understanding what science and language inputs MLs are afforded, this study provides a foundation for how to improve formal learning environments for them, especially regarding science learning.
more »
« less
Reclassification and Multilingual Learners' Science Achievement
Abstract This study contributes to a growing body of scholarship at the intersection of bilingual education and education policy and examines reclassification, or the transition out of formal English language services in schools, as one potential lever in accelerating or decelerating multilingual learners’ science learning. More specifically, it traces multilingual learners’ science academic achievement vis‐à‐vis science test scores over a six‐year period using the nationally‐representative Early Childhood Longitudinal Study of 2010–11 (ECLS‐K:2011) data set. We use regression analyses with panel data to explore the relationship of reclassification with MLs’ science achievement at a national scale, and then, how variation in contextual factors (including family, school, and individual characteristics) shapes this relationship. Results show that, after controlling for covariates and prior test scores, reclassification is not significantly associated with differential science test scores when compared to students that retain their EL status. Results further show that reclassification is associated with higher science achievement for MLs who were previously in a dual‐language program but lower scores for those with higher prior achievement. We conclude with implications for the reclassification process, as well as directions for future research on reclassification, multilingual learners, and academic achievement.
more »
« less
- Award ID(s):
- 2100419
- PAR ID:
- 10472902
- Publisher / Repository:
- Wiley Blackwell (John Wiley & Sons)
- Date Published:
- Journal Name:
- TESOL Quarterly
- ISSN:
- 0039-8322
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
More Like this
-
-
Abstract As the vision inA Framework for K‐12 Science Educationand the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) takes hold in schools and classrooms, there is an urgent need for teacher professional development (PD) programs that align with NGSS‐designed curriculum materials and address the unique strengths and needs of diverse student groups, including multilingual learners (MLs). The purpose of this article is to propose our conceptual framework for PD programs that aligns with current reform efforts and is grounded in the mutually supportive nature of contemporary science and language instructional shifts. Specifically, we examine our previous NGSS‐designed curriculum development project with MLs and review the literature in science education and language education with MLs. Our conceptual framework for PD programs is grounded in the perspective ofsymmetrythat teacher professional learning experiences should be symmetrical to the learning experiences we organize for students. Grounded in this perspective, our conceptual framework consists of three design principles that describe how PD programs can guide teachers to (a) develop an asset‐oriented view of MLs and instructional practices for recognizing and leveraging their assets, (b) integrate science and language in mutually supportive ways with MLs, and (c) develop more sophisticated instructional practices for integrating science and language with MLs over time. We describe contributions of our conceptual framework, which could generate a new research agenda and inform PD programs aimed at facilitating uptake of NGSS‐designed curriculum materials in linguistically diverse science classrooms.more » « less
-
Abstract The limited availability of research instruments that reflect the vision of the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) restricts the field's understanding of whether and how teachers are making instructional shifts called for by the standards. The need for such instruments is particularly urgent with teachers of multilingual learners (MLs), who are called on to make shifts in how they think about and enact instruction related to both science and language. The purpose of this study was to develop and gather validity evidence for a questionnaire that measures elementary teachers' beliefs, preparedness, and instructional practices for teaching NGSS science with MLs. We report on the development of the questionnaire over three phases that elicited multiple sources of validity evidence: (a) domain specification and expert review, (b) item writing and cognitive interviews, and (c) piloting and final item selection. Data included feedback from experts in science and language domains, cognitive interviews with 48 teachers, and a pilot with 310 teachers. Results indicated that the questionnaire differentiates among teachers with different levels of the underlying constructs and also that teachers' scores relate to their characteristics (e.g., familiarity with the NGSS). We highlight two implications for emerging research on NGSS‐based instrumentation: (a) the difficulty of communicating with teachers about science and language instructional shifts while teachers are still developing their understanding of such shifts and (b) the potential of emerging NGSS‐based instruments to inform professional development. We close with future directions for our research project specifically and the field of science education broadly.more » « less
-
Research in science education with multilingual learners (MLs) has expanded rapidly. This rapid expansion can be situated within a larger dialogue about what it means to provide minoritized students with an equitable education. Whereas some conceptions of equity focus on ensuring all students have access to the knowledge, practices, and language normatively valued in K‐12 schools (equity as access), increasingly prominent conceptions focus on transforming those knowledge, practices, and language in ways that center minoritized students and their communities (equity as transformation). In this article, we argue that conceptions of equity provide a useful lens for understanding emerging research in science education with MLs and for charting a research agenda. We begin by tracing how conceptions of equity have evolved in parallel across STEM and multilingual education. Then, we provide an overview of recent developments from demographic, theoretical, and policy perspectives. In the context of these developments, we provide a conceptual synthesis of emerging research by our team of early‐career scholars in three areas: (a) learning, (b) assessment, and (c) teacher education. Within each area, we unpack the research efforts in terms of how they attend to equity as access while pushing toward equity as transformation. Finally, we propose a research agenda for science education with MLs that builds on and extends these efforts. We close by offering recommendations for making this research agenda coherent and impactful: (a) being explicit about our conceptions of equity, (b) paying attention to the interplay of structure and agency, and (c) promoting interdisciplinary collaboration.more » « less
-
Abstract We propose a conceptual framework for STEM education that is centered around justice for minoritized groups. Justice‐centered STEM education engages all students in multiple STEM subjects, including data science and computer science, to explain and design solutions to societal challenges disproportionately impacting minoritized groups. We articulate the affordances of justice‐centered STEM education for one minoritized student group that has been traditionally denied meaningful STEM learning: multilingual learners (MLs). Justice‐centered STEM education with MLs leverages the assets they bring to STEM learning, including their transnational experiences and knowledge as well as their rich repertoire of meaning‐making resources. In this position paper, we propose our conceptual framework to chart a new research agenda on justice‐centered STEM education to address societal challenges with all students, especially MLs. Our conceptual framework incorporates four interrelated components by leveraging the convergence of multiple STEM disciplines to promote justice‐centered STEM education with MLs: (a) societal challenges in science education, (b) justice‐centered data science education, (c) justice‐centered computer science education, and (d) justice‐centered engineering education. The article illustrates our conceptual framework using the case of the COVID‐19 pandemic, which has presented an unprecedented societal challenge but also an unprecedented opportunity to cultivate MLs' assets toward promoting justice in STEM education. Finally, we describe how our conceptual framework establishes the foundation for a new research agenda that addresses increasingly complex, prevalent, and intractable societal challenges disproportionately impacting minoritized groups. We also consider broader issues pertinent to our conceptual framework, including the social and emotional impacts of societal challenges; the growth of science denial and misinformation; and factors associated with politics, ideology, and religion. Justice‐centered STEM education contributes to solving societal challenges that K‐12 students currently face while preparing them to shape a more just society.more » « less
