CHAPTER 7: The Role of an Online Discussion Board in Fostering a Critical Collaborative Learning Community in an Esl Specialist Credential Program

Due to a complex mix of geography and politics, the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania was one of the last states in the United States to require special credentialing for English as a second language (ESL) instruction within public education. In 2002, the first ESL specialist requirements were framed by the Pennsylvania Department of Education as an “add on” credential for teachers who had already obtained or were obtaining an instructional I or II teaching certificate (Pennsylvania Department of Education, n.d.). As a result, educational units providing ESL Specialist coursework in response to the new requirements enrolled two populations: an experienced teacher population going back for new credentials, who typically held elementary certification and years of de facto ESL teaching experience within schools, and preservice teachers, often concurrently enrolled in elementary, special education or in some cases, English secondary education certification programs.