No. 12, October 2023. The Impact of the Bilingual Teacher Professional Development Program: Expanding Opportunities to Grow the Profession

This research brief presents a study on the Bilingual Teacher Professional Development Program (BTPDP), a legislature-approved initiative to help California schools meet the growing demand for bilingual teachers in alignment with increasing state policies promoting multilingualism. The BTPDP funded eight grantees to support their preparation and professional development of bilingual educators. The study examines the BTPDP implementation from 2017-2021 to document trends in program impact and develop policy and program recommendations that address bilingual teacher shortages. Key findings revealed successes in increasing the bilingual teacher workforce as well as challenges that must be addressed to ensure the state’s vision can be realized. Given these findings, the authors propose three recommendations to help state and local policy actors develop a coherent and sustainable bilingual teacher education system: (1) Ensure adequate investments in California’s multilingual workforce; (2) Expand multilingual/dual language teacher credential/authorization programs and testing options; and (3) Intentionally develop multilingual/dual language programs, and provide the encouragement and support needed to promote successful multilingual/dual language teachers and leaders.https://digitalcommons.lmu.edu/ceel_education_policybriefs/1013/thumbnail.jp

No. 11, November 2022: Insights from Co-Designed English Learner Improvement Networks

This research brief presents a case study of an English Learner Improvement Network (ELIN), a group of educators focused on a shared problem of practice in English Learner education and supported through extensive collaboration between researchers and practitioners in English Learner education and Improvement Science. The case study involves an urban school district and a charter organization each serving between 50-80% of students who have ever been English Learners. The research brief identifies five key themes that contribute to knowledge of the English Learner Improvement Networks’ ability to support English Learner improvement: (1) Expert Partnerships Support Improvement; (2) Context Impacts Improvement; (3) Smaller Steps Lead to Larger Changes; (4) Collaborative Coaching Counts; and (5) Teacher Leaders Support Implementation. This ELIN is highlighted as a model of a systemic and coherent approach to educational improvement for ELs through the extensive collaboration provided in English Learner content and Improvement Science process.https://digitalcommons.lmu.edu/ceel_education_policybriefs/1012/thumbnail.jp