Exploring ESL specialist teacher preparation and professional development in British Columbia.
Date
2009-11-03T22:40:35Z
Authors
Beardsmore, Boe
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Abstract
This study is a qualitative and quantitative examination of the teacher preparation and professional development of ESL specialist teachers in British Columbia. Data were collected through survey questionnaires and the findings were then compared with the qualifications that were espoused as essential preparation by the experts in the research literature to determine if discrepancies existed between best practice guidelines gleaned from the research literature and extant preparation of ESL teachers in BC.
The findings of this research revealed that in general, the participants in this survey possessed the general levels of ESL preparation that were commensurate with the criteria recommended by the research literature and the criteria established by the British Columbia Ministry of Education ESL Policy Guidelines. Those who were situated in urban settings had the most access to and participated in the most ESL-related professional development workshops. They also had completed the most ESL courses and felt the most efficacious. Conversely, those participants situated in rural settings had the least access to and participated in the least number of ESL-related professional
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development activities. They also completed the fewest ESL courses and felt the least efficacious. The majority of participants in this study felt more efficacious in the skills development elements of teaching ESL than in the cultural/social aspects of teaching ESL. Many participants voiced concerns with the lack of quality ESL services offered to ESL students in their respective districts and felt that there was insufficient preparation in the various teacher pre-service teacher education programs in British Columbia to teach ESL students.
Further studies could examine why teachers view cultural/social knowledge as secondary to the skills development when experts in the field have asserted that both are essential for teaching ESL; why accessibility to ESL workshops and courses for rural teachers is still a challenge with the available technology; how the various stakeholders in education view ESL and what they foresee as changes to accommodate the demographics of the student population; and how ESL specialist teachers impact the graduation rates of ESL students and the BC Foundation Skills Assessment scores.
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Keywords
English language, Study and teaching, Foreign speakers