Term
Spring 5-12-2015
Capstone
Thesis
Degree Name
MAESL
Primary Advisor/Dissertation Chair
Jill Watson
Secondary Advisor/Reader One
Julia Reimer
Peer-Reviewer/Reader Two
Amy Hewett-Olatunde
Abstract
As more immigrants and refugees make the Upper Midwest their home, many English Learner (EL) teachers are struggling to meet the various needs of students with limited or interrupted formal education (SLIFE), especially at the secondary level. The purpose of this study was to examine secondary teacher perceptions of their preparation to meet the unique needs of SLIFE and to examine what types of preparation would have been helpful to them. Sixteen secondary EL teachers who work with SLIFE were surveyed and four were interviewed to share their perceptions of their preparation. The overall result of the survey was that teachers generally did not feel prepared to meet the academic, literacy, emotional, physical, and cultural needs of their SLIFE students. Teachers shared many recommendations for ways that teacher education programs can integrate and address SLIFE needs, from second language acquisition, to literacy, to EL methods classes.
Keywords
ESL/ ELLs, Multicultural Education, Staff Development, Teachers/ Teaching
Recommended Citation
Herman Hill, Kristina Marie, "Teacher Perceptions of Their Preparation to Meet the Needs of Secondary English Learners with Limited Formal Education" (2015). School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Theses and Dissertations. 136.
https://digitalcommons.hamline.edu/hse_all/136