Belinda Bustos Flores

Critical Need for Bilingual Education Teachers: The Potentiality of Normalistas and Paraprofessionals

Abstract Case study methodology was employed to explore the potentiality of normalistas and paraprofessionals as prospective bilingual education teachers. The evidence of this study suggests that both normalistas and paraprofessionals offer fertile ground for bilingual teachers. The evidence further suggests that careful selection of the potential candidates is crucial. Moreover, the teacher preparation program must creatively examine and implement a program of study that meets the needs of the target group. The findings also reveal that as the participants move through teacher preparation courses, members of both cohorts are willing to challenge old notions formerly held. The normalistas are recognizing that the U.S. system differs significantly from the Mexican educational system. While drawing on the richness and merits of the Mexican system, these immigrants are open to seeing merit in U.S. educational methods. Conversely, the paraprofessionals are beginning to question the deficit model pervasive in many of the schools in which they have worked and to take a different stance toward authority figures.

Teacher Efficacy: A Comparative Study of University Certified and Alternatively Certified Teachers

Abstract Research studies show a strong link between a teachers sense of efficacy and student achievement as well as teacher retention. With the recent push for a highly qualified teacher in every classroom through the No Child Left Behind Act, it is important to understand how teacher preparation programs can contribute to a new teachers developing perceptions of teaching efficacy. This study examines the perceived efficacy of teachers from traditional and alternative certification programs and their perceptions of the success of the pathways they chose to teacher certification. This study revealed that certification route, specialization area, and years of teaching experience appear to modulate teacher efficacy. Furthermore, the results of this study support the hypothesis that teacher efficacy is a developmental process dependent on the type of certification program a candidate completes.

Narrowing the Pipeline for Ethnic Minority Teachers: Standards and High-Stakes Testing

Promoters of quality teaching believe that one form of accountability is standards and standardized assessment. This has led to high-stakes testing for students, incipient teachers, and teachers. Policymakers, like George Bush, who has publicly stated that it is racist not to test (Bush, 2001), have a misguided, misinformed, and misplaced belief in the value of competency testing. They are often unaware of the conflict, pain, and struggles faced by students who demonstrate tremendous potential in the pursuit of their teaching credentials. The following vignette helps us humanize the aftereffects of shortsighted policy decisions:

Acculturation Among Latino Bilingual Education Teacher Candidates: Implications for Teacher Preparation Institutions

This study examined acculturation among Latino bilingual education teacher candidates to identify psychosocial distinctions among 3 identified groups: 1st-generation college students, 2nd-generation paraprofessionals, and immigrant normalistas (normal school foreign-trained teachers). Using acculturation scales, we observed overall group and between-group differences. Post hoc group differences showed variations for groups toward affiliation, individual and collective agency, and family values. Explored are implications for teacher preparation programs as well as important considerations for the recruitment and preparation of diverse Spanish- and non-Spanish-speaking Latinos.

Using Cultural Tools to Develop Scientific Literacy of Young Mexican American Preschoolers.

Building on the home cultural practices related to science can facilitate scientific literacy development of preschoolers. Using a sociocognitive and sociocultural approach and funds of knowledge as a theoretical framework, this article describes how Mexican American parents and young children identified the science concepts and knowledge learned from common activities found in their homes through the Family Institute for Early Literacy Development. Science skills and concepts were found in many activities related to Mexican American cultural practices such as gardening, cooking and home remedies. Parents were informed of the type of scientific readiness knowledge that schools expect children to bring from home, and in turn parents were able to explain to their children those concepts during the institute and at home. The success of the institute is founded on the opportunity given to parents to understand and implement school expectations for their young children.

Measuring the Psychosocial Characteristics of Teacher Candidates Through the Academic Self-Identity: Self-Observation Yearly (ASI SOY) Inventory

This study contends that multiple psychosocial factors mediate students’ pursuit of the teaching profession, including beliefs, ethnic identity, acculturation, efficacy, and motivation. Despite the myriad literature addressing teacher characteristics, less is known about how these factors influence the academic or personal development of teacher candidates preparing to teach in diverse classrooms. The authors examined the psychometric properties of the Academic Self-Identity: Self-Observation Yearly (ASI SOY), specifically developed to measure teacher candidates’ psychosocial characteristics. A total of 670 ASI SOY inventories were collected from teacher candidates attending a Hispanic-serving institution. It was found that the ASI SOY is reliable and valid for measuring four out of five proposed constructs. ASI SOY may be useful in identifying the academic, personal, and professional development characteristics of teacher candidates.

You Can’t Have a Rainbow Without a Tormenta: A Description of an IHE’s Response to a Community Need for a Dual-Language School

Abstract Schools, with an ever-increasing presence of language minority students, are now compelled to critically analyze the programs and the practices in which they engage their students for academic achievement. This manuscript presents a case study2 in which a school and a university worked together in a restructuring process to create a community of learners. The implementation of a two- way bilingual model at Tormenta Elementary School was the main mechanism that drove the restructuring process in both settings. The findings may assist universities in realizing their crucial roles as catalysts for change and as learners in and with the community.

Instructional Snapshots (IS) in Mexico: Pre-Service Bilingual Teachers Take Pictures of Classroom Practices

Abstract It is often said that a picture is worth a thousand words. Snapshots not only capture the moment, but also provide an everlasting impression. Likewise, instructional snapshots can provide the preservice teacher-trainee with a glimpse of instructional and pedagogical strategies employed by teachers. If the intent is to improve instructional practices, teacher performance must be viewed within different contexts. The primary goal of a retreat held in Monterrey, Nuevo Leon, Mexico, was to provide pre-service teachers with an opportunity to gather observational data of Mexican students and teachers in educational settings. Because of demographic changes and teachers’ lack of educational experiences with immigrant LEP children, bilingual teachers are faced with instructional challenges. It was hoped that these observations would provide the pre-service teacher with a better understanding of these learning needs. The purpose of this article is to provide a brief account of impressions gathered through ...

Teacher Academy Induction Learning Community: Guiding Teachers Through Their Zone of Proximal Development

This is a preliminary analysis of The Academy for Teacher Excellence (ATE) induction support provided through the Teacher Academy Induction Learning Community (TAILC). In response to current US teacher attrition rates, ATE–TAILC’s primary objective is to retain teachers in the classroom and provide support to ensure they are fully prepared to meet the needs of culturally and linguistically diverse students. In this manuscript, we will share the TAILC component as a support structure for teacher candidates/interns during the apprenticeship period, which commences while obtaining certification requirements and continues during/through their first years of teaching. Data were collected vis à vis surveys, individual and group interviews, and induction mentors’ classroom observations. Qualitative methods were used to analyze the data. We describe and discuss effective services and professional development activities provided to 69 novice teachers. We concluded that effective teacher induction support assists novice teachers through their zone of proximal development in becoming members of a community of practice.

PERSPECTIVES OF PLAY AMONG BILINGUAL STAKEHOLDERS IN PUBLIC SCHOOLSLOS PADRES Y LOS MAESTROS

This manuscript presents findings regarding teachers’ and parents’ beliefs about play in bilingual early childhood classrooms. The participants of this study included Mexican or Mexican American bilingual early childhood teachers from different parts of the state of Texas. Participants of the study also included Mexican or Mexican American parents who had children enrolled in bilingual early childhood classrooms in South Texas. Data were collected through a Likert-scale survey and interviews about play. Three functions of play that emerged from the interviews paralleled the three play constructs as derived by factor analysis.