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Abstract
This study examines the language and literacy instruction of science educators who participated in an English to Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) professional development program. Using in-depth longitudinal case study methods, the study explores the various ways in which science educators interpret and incorporate language and literacy components into their classrooms. With a rapidly increasing immigrant population and persistent achievement inequity between English learners (ELs) and non-ELs, it is crucial for all K-12 teachers to be prepared to work with ELs. This is especially true for science teachers due to the demonstrated underachievement of ELs on standardized science tests. In addition, with the introduction of the highly language intensive Next Generation Science Standards, science teachers need ESOL professional learning to work with all students in linguistically responsive ways. The first article of this dissertation reveals that the participating science teachers adopted a new hybrid professional identity as science and language teacher as a result of the participation in an ESOL professional development program; however, their extended identity was not enacted in actual classroom practices. The second article indicates that there is a considerable gap between current policy and standards discussions and classroom realities, especially in reading instruction for ELs. The third chapter shows that science teachers offered very little explicit writing instruction despite their efforts to meet advanced writing demands and the presence of a variety of supports for ELs to engage successfully in writing tasks. In all, regardless of the teachers self-evaluation of their preparedness, they displayed starkly different enactments of their learning in the program depending on their instructional histories, personal backgrounds, previous learning and teaching experience, and current instructional circumstances including mandatory standardized tests and students literacy levels. The study thus emphasizes how each science educators uptake of the ESOL endorsement program is distinctive, complex, and multi-layered, resulting in widely varying instantiations of actual ESOL instruction in their science classrooms. This study contributes to the development of more focused and systematic ESOL education for science educators and, eventually, will help to attract more educators to ESOL professional development.