Date

4-2012

Department

School of Education

Degree

Doctor of Education (EdD)

Chair

Carol Mowen

Primary Subject Area

Education, General; Education, Tests and Measurements; Education, Secondary; Language, Linguistics

Keywords

Attitudes and Perceptions, English Language Learners, ESOL Endorsement, Georgia End of Course Tests, Secondary Education, Teacher Preparation

Disciplines

Education | Educational Assessment, Evaluation, and Research | First and Second Language Acquisition | Linguistics

Abstract

As school districts are facing increasing pressure to meet annual yearly progress goals based upon the No Child Left Behind legislation (2001), teacher preparation and effectiveness, especially in teaching specific subgroups, is an issue that resonates with many educators today. This quantitative, causal-comparative study examined the impact teachers who have obtained an ESOL endorsement have on standardized test scores in six high schools within one district in northeast Georgia. Additionally, the researcher compared teachers' attitudes and perceptions of six themes towards ELL inclusion in their mainstream classrooms in these same schools with findings from the original survey designed by Reeves (2002). The findings suggest that the test scores of students who were taught by teachers with an ESOL endorsement were not significantly different from students' scores who were taught by teachers without an endorsement. Similarly, findings for the survey suggest that the only slight differences in the attitudes or perceptions of the inclusion of ELLs in mainstream, secondary classrooms between academic teachers in Reeves' study and the current study in the theme areas of language, training and support, and general attitudes.

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