Date
4-29-2026
Department
School of Education
Degree
Doctor of Philosophy in Education (PhD)
Chair
Heather L Strafaccia
Keywords
bilingual education, uncertified teachers, dual-language, elementary, academic achievement, English language learner, educational productivity
Disciplines
Education
Recommended Citation
Gordon, Jeini, "A Phenomenological Study: The Lived Experiences of Uncertified Bilingual Teachers in Dual Language Elementary SChools at a Mid-Sized Urban Public-School District in Texas" (2026). Doctoral Dissertations and Projects. 8265.
https://digitalcommons.liberty.edu/doctoral/8265
Abstract
The purpose of this hermeneutic phenomenological study was to understand the lived experiences teaching in a dual-language classroom for uncertified teachers at a mid-sized urban public-school district in Texas. A teacher’s lack of participation in an adequate teacher preparation program may alter students’ educational outcomes, even more so that of English language learners, influencing their academic achievement. The theory that guided this study was Walberg’s theory of educational productivity, which posits that student achievement is affected by student aptitude and motivation, instructional quality and quantity, and a student’s social and cultural learning environments. This phenomenological study focused on the shared lived experiences of uncertified teachers teaching in a dual-language classroom at a mid-sized urban public school district in Texas. Through a hermeneutic framework, participants engaged in three forms of data collection: individual interviews, journal prompts, and focus groups. I reflectively analyzed the three forms of data collection of the shared experiences of the study’s participants through three rounds of coding: holistic, selective, and detailed reading, and analyzed the codes into themes, identifying recurring patterns using clusters, modification, or generation of codes. Five themes were identified: variance in aptitudinal levels, low student motivation, language barriers, teacher preparation, and cultural connections. The themes were supported by eight identified subthemes during clustering: high and very low aptitudinal levels, academic levels, language competency in Spanish and English, teacher language barriers, administrative requirements of language, pedagogical knowledge, resource knowledge, and communication and learning environment.
