"I'm a dual language teacher": Examining Teachers' Identities in Dual Language Bilingual Education

Abstract

Dual language bilingual education (DLBE) seeks to promote the goals of bilingualism and biliteracy, academic achievement, and sociocultural competence, upon a foundation of critical consciousness (Howard et al., 2018; Palmer et al., 2019). Due to the unique blending of content and language instruction (Cammarata & Tedick, 2012) in these programs, DLBE teachers need specialized skills and knowledge to effectively meet the goals of the program. However, research has found that teachers in DLBE programs lack DLBE-specific training (Amanti, 2019; Cammarata & Tedick, 2012; Freeman et al., 2005; Freire & Valdez, 2017; Lachance, 2017a, Lachance, 2017b) and instead have backgrounds of mainstream or content teaching (de Jong & Barko-Alva, 2015) which would not otherwise prepare them to teach language learners. For DLBE programs to meet their goals to be equitable for MLs, qualified teachers are needed. This dissertation study examines how teachers DLBE conceptualize their identity as language teachers within their DLBE programs, the factors that contribute to a language teacher identity, and the subsequent effect that their identity has on instruction. This qualitative, multiple case study (Yin, 2018) examines the teacher identities and pedagogies of eight DLBE teachers in two different schools and districts. Drawing on language teacher identity and professional learning frameworks, I developed a framework to guide my investigation of DLBE teacher identity (Bunch, 2013; Cammarata & Tedick, 2012; Lave & Wenger, 1991; Martin & Strom, 2016; Yazan, 2018). Data collection included interviews with focus teachers and observations of classroom and collaborative planning meetings, triangulated with interviews with two school administrators. Findings reveal that DLBE teachers’ professional identity acknowledges the distinct focus on language in DLBE contexts and displays nuanced levels of understanding of DLBE goals, especially about the roles of language and sociocultural competence in teaching. Findings also reveal the complex intersection of factors that contribute to the formation of a DLBE teacher identity, including teacher backgrounds, contextual influences of the program, and teacher beliefs. I discuss implications for research and teacher education in understanding and developing professional identity among current and future DLBE teachers.