CHAPTER I
INTRODUCTION
During the last several decades, the number of English learners (Els)
attending public schools has nearly doubled, making this group the fastest growing
segment of school-age children in the United States (Terrazas & Batalova, 2008).
The 2010 census indicated that 20% percent of children spoke a language other
than English at home, compared to just 10% in 1980 (CITE). In spite of programs
and policies implemented in public schools to support Els, a stubborn achievement
gap between Els and native English speakers (NESs) has persisted over time. Els
score lower on standardized tests than their English proficient peers of all races
(Batalova, Fix, & Murray, 2007) and are more likely to drop out of high school
(NCELA, 2011; Gandara, Rumberger, Maxwell-Jolly & Callahan, 2003).
One factor that is likely contributing to the persistently low achievement of
Els is that on average they attend segregated schools that are low performing and
enroll high proportions of low income and minority students (Gandara & Contreras,
2009). For instance, around 70% of Els attending elementary school across the US
attend only 10% of the nation’s schools (Whittenberg, 2011). Some evidence
suggests that Els are also segregated due to linguistic proficiency within schools
(Faltis & Arias, 2013; Callahan, 2005). To some extent, segregation from native
English-speaking students (NESs) is a direct and natural result of the way schools
structure language support programs for Els. Els may be pulled out of regular
classroom settings and grouped together in a segregated classroom setting to
receive targeted assistance in English reading, writing, speaking, and listening
(Aguilar, Canche, & Sabetghadam, 2012). In other cases, Els are segregated from
NESs when schools practice academic tracking (Kanno & Cangas, 2014; Callahan,
2004). Because Els are typically low achieving students, schools may track them in
to low-level math or Language arts classes, where they have limited exposure to
NESs or English proficient second language speakers.
There is little understanding of how Els are systematically segregated from
or included with the mainstream student population. Moreover, research
documenting whether segregated or inclusive classroom environments are better
suited for supporting the language development of Els and increasing their
academic achievement is inconclusive (Aguilar, et al, 2012). This research gap is
problematic because the way schools are structured to support Els is largely based
on assumptions about how Els learn and their potential for academic achievement
instead research-based practices (Reeves, 2004).
Els may also be systematically underachieving because their teachers are not
prepared to adequately support their linguistic and academic development
(Harklau, 2004; OTHERS). A pervasive theme across studies of teachers working
with Els is that there tends to be a shortage of ESL certified or trained teachers
(CITE) and that many teachers who teach these students feel ill equipped for the
task (CITE). However, few studies have investigated the impact of specific teacher
characteristics on El achievement. Despite an abundance of research debating the
relative merits of teacher credentialing, experience, training, and other
characteristics for increasing student achievement (CITE), studies specifically
focused on how these same characteristics impact Els are scarce (CITE). Thus,
research related to who teaches Els has uncovered systematic problems but has
discovered few policy levers, such as changing credentialing or preparation
requirements, that can be manipulated to solve them.
Finally, Els may be under-achieving at school not only because of school
characteristics, but because of their family and personal histories. Els are a distinct
group of students not only because they are learning English in schools, but also
because they are typically immigrants or the children of immigrants. Immigrants,
especially those who are minorities and who have low socioeconomic status, tend to
be a marginalized population. There is a rich theoretical and empirical literature
explaining the educational experiences of immigrant students. However, in the last
few decades, immigration patterns have changed dramatically, bringing immigrant
adults and children to states, districts, and schools that previously had little
experience providing services to this population. A new thread in immigrant
research has emerged focusing on the experiences of immigrants in these “new
destinations”; however, the classroom and school experiences of immigrants in
these locales have not been investigated across an entire state.
In my dissertation, I seek to fill some of the knowledge gaps described above
and illuminate some of the contextual variables that influence the academic
outcomes of Els in a new immigrant destination. By contextual variables, I mean the
extent to which Els are segregated from other students in their classrooms and
schools and whether their teacher has an ESL credential. To that end, I ask the
following questions:
1. To what extent are the math and ESL classroom contexts of current Els,
former Els, and NESs, similar or different?
i. To what extent do the classroom contexts of current Els, former
Els, and NESs vary over time and in schools with different
proportions of Els?
2. How does classroom context impact the academic achievement of Els in
reading and math?
i. To what extent is the relationship between the classroom context
and El achievement moderated by the school context?
To answer my questions I use descriptive analyses and multiple regression.
In order to control for non-random sorting of students into schools and classrooms,
I employ student and school fixed effects.
Theoretical Frame
To understand the academic experiences of Els I turn to theoretical
frameworks that explain immigrant assimilation and the importance of teachers for
at-risk student populations. First, borrowing from the theory of segmented
assimilation (Portes & Zhou, 1993), I conceptualize the classroom and school as an
important context of reception that impacts a student’s ability to assimilate. Within
the school context, positive assimilation is indicated by high academic achievement
and proficiency in English. I define the context of reception within the school setting
as the structures that support Els’ second language acquisition, how receptive the
school community is to El students, and the size of El population within the school.
Importantly, the school context of reception can influence the extent to which
Els are segregated from or included with English proficient students in their classes
and their access to credentialed ESL teachers. For the purposes of this dissertation, I
concentrate on two of the five dimensions of segregation defined in the literature:
evenness and exposure (Massey & Denton, 1988). Eveness describes the
distribution of Els within a unit (eg classrooms, schools, or districts) and exposure
describes the extent to which Els interact with non-Els within a unit.
Next, following Stanton-Salazar’s theory of institutional agents, I
conceptualize teachers as having a key role in helping Els access institutional
resources, such as knowledge of how American schools work and academic
opportunities. Additionally, teachers, as institutional agents, are in the position to
advocate for Els within the school community, serve as role models, and provide
guidance. I posit that teachers who have indicated a commitment to working with
Els by obtaining an ESL credential are most likely to fill the role of a positive
institutional agent.
Significance
My research lays important groundwork for understanding how segregation,
teacher characteristics, and immigration patterns impact the academic lives of Els.
Many of the research gaps described above are a result of data constraints. In order
to analyze both within school segregation and teacher effectiveness on a large scale,
researchers need access to student level data that can be liked to teacher level data
or class rosters. My dissertation uses information from a comprehensive and
longitudinal dataset from North Carolina that allows me to match students to
teachers and build class rosters to overcome many data-related obstacles that have
stymied other researchers. As such, I am able to make three distinct contributions
to the literature related to school improvement for students at risk of academic
failure. First, my study offers a unique contribution to the abundant literature on
school segregation by describing the segregation of Els from non-Els in their schools
and quantifying any impact segregation may have on achievement. Next, as the first
study to investigate the level of access Els have to credentialed or trained teachers
across an entire state as well as how access impacts achievement, my dissertation
adds both to the literature on equitable access to resources for at-risk students as
well as the literature on teacher effectiveness. Finally, my data comes from North
Carolina, a “new destination” state that has experienced one of the fastest growing
immigrant populations across the country. Thus, my study will extend what scholars
know about the educational experiences of Els to “new destinations”.
Overview
Els are a marginalized and at-risk student population, who make up an
increasingly large proportion of public school students. These students are no
longer solely concentrated in large urban centers in border states and immigrant
gateways, but are enrolled in rural, suburban, and urban schools across the country.
This demographic reality, coupled with the persistent achievement gap between Els
and native English speaking students, demands that states, districts, and schools
reexamine how they structure schools and train teachers to adequately support Els.
The purpose of this dissertation is to build a foundational knowledge around
what classroom contexts are productive for English learners. Specifically, I aim to
investigate the impact of segregation of Els from NESs and teacher credentialing on
El achievement. In chapter two I present a review of relevant literature in three
domains: school segregation and its repercussions, teacher preparation and
effectiveness, and immigration patterns. In chapter three I present a theoretical
framework based on the review of the literature that grounds my subsequent
research methods. I detail my research design, describe the data and the
construction of the analytical sample, and then lay out my analytic plan. Finally, I
discuss the limitations of my study and my strategy for addressing them. In chapter
four, I present the results of my descriptive and regression analyses and offer my
interpretation of the findings. Lastly, in chapter five I discuss the implications my
findings have for policy at the school, district, and state level.