As guest editors of this special issue of Middle Grades Research Journal, we have selected four manuscripts that share exciting developments in the field of teaching and learning for English Language Learners (ELLs). We want to express appreciation to the scholars and practitioners who submitted works for this special issue. We applaud the scope and themes of their work, which promote equity and excellence in education for ELLs.
The sequence of these research studies is presented to follow the development of teachers of middle-level English Language Learners from pre-service teacher education experiences through support during the first year of teaching ELLs. Research that explores teaching practice are found in two mixed methodological studies, one which examines professional development for teachers of ELLs, and the last study which examines issues of democracy and social justice within a multicultural and linguistically diverse middle school context. We conclude with a poem submitted for this special issue by Julie Esparza Brown that elucidates the perspective of a Latina who has successfully navigated the educational pipeline to complete a doctoral degree.
This issue begins with an action research study conducted with pre-service interns by David Virtue, an assistant professor of middle level education at the University of South Carolina. Interns participated in “rounds” within middle school settings designed to encourage observation of ELLs in classrooms and during transitions to further their understanding of the learning needs of ELLs. Through guided inquiry, interns challenged their assumptions regarding students from diverse linguistic and cultural backgrounds, resulting in the perception among interns that the “rounds” model yielded positive learning outcomes.
Courtney George, a recent graduate of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill’s Culture, Curriculum, and Change program, presents the results of an ethnographic study that explored the first-year experiences of three middle school teachers working with ELLs in North Carolina. Issues of marginalization and collaboration with nonELL teachers in the middle school context were illustrated through analysis of dialogue during new teacher meetings, and commonalities emerged between ELLs and their teachers, and their relationships and status within the larger middle school context.
A collaborative study conducted by Jennifer Friend of the University of Missouri-Kansas City, Ryan Most of the Kansas City, Kansas Public School District, and Kenneth McCrary of the Belton, Missouri School District examined changes in teachers’ perceptions regarding ELL instruction and the impact on ELL academic achievement. Data were gathered related to a professional development program designed to improve instruction for ELLs over a two-year period in two urban middle schools, with quantitative analysis of state reading and math assessment results for ELLs demonstrating significant results, and qualitative analysis of teacher surveys providing implications for professional development to improve instruction for ELLs.
Ana Knudsen, a teacher of ELLs at Oak Grove Middle School in Jamul, California, illustrated the importance of student-centered democratic education in the context of the decision-making process for class placement for English Language Learners. Themes of democracy and social justice in middle-level schools are connected to the case studies of three ELLs in mainstream language arts classrooms, with connections to curriculum, instruction, and assessment. Both quantitative and qualitative data relative to these students’ academic performance and attitudes toward education are examined, with findings that support academic rigor for ELLs.
We would like to thank David Hough and the Editorial Board and staff of the Middle Grades Research Journal for the opportunity to serve as guest editors for this special issue. The manuscripts were selected for this issue from among 14 submissions, through a multilayered peer-reviewed process. These submissions illustrated the diversity of issues and interest related to middle-level English Language Learners. Once again, we would like to thank the authors selected for this issue, and also the scholars and practitioners who submitted works for review. As former middle school administrators and current higher education faculty members, we appreciated the quality of inquiry and the level of rigor that was represented, and we look forward to further developments in this important field of middle level education research.
Jennifer Friend, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor
Urban Leadership & Policy Studies in Education University of Missouri – Kansas City
Shirley Marie McCarther, Ed.D.
Assistant Professor
Urban Leadership & Policy Studies in Education University of Missouri – Kansas City
