2010 osep leadership mega conference collaboration to achieve success from cradle to career current...

2010 OSEP Leadership Mega ConferenceCollaboration to Achieve Success from

Cradle to Career

Current and Evidence-based Practices in Special Education for

English Language Learners: Are They the Same?

Dr. Julie Esparza BrownPortland State University

English Learners who are Students with DisabilitiesPresentation #S4-202 and S4-201

Oregon’s Demographics

• The Latino population has grown from 4% in 1990 to 11% in 2008.

• The Asian population grew from 2.3% in 1990 to 3.4% in 2008.

• More than four-in-five, or 84% of children in immigrant families are U.S. citizens.

Diversity in Oregon’s Schools

• Ten percent of all students in the state’s largest school district (46,898 total students) are in the ESL/Bilingual Program.

• In this district, there are 72 different languages spoken by students.

Top Ten Languages

• Spanish• Vietnamese• Somali• Cantonese/Chinese/ Mandarin• Russian

• Maay-Maay• Chuukese• Burmese• Arabic• Oromo

Survey: Current Perceptions and Practices in ELL Education

• Brown and Chabon (in preparation) recently conducted a survey on perceptions of educator groups regarding their pre-service preparation and current practices in ELL education.

• Respondents were:– ELL/Bilingual Teachers: 81– ELL Administrators: 18– SLP/SLP Administrators: 39– Sped Administrators: 18– Sped Teachers: 82

Respondents with Preparation to Teach ELLs

Educator Roles n % of respondents

ELL/Bilingual Teachers

81 90

ELL Administrators

18 72

SLP/SLP Administrators

39 39

Sped Administrators

18 50

Sped Teachers 82 45



81 36

ELL Administrators

18 44


39 44

Sped Administrators

18 39

Sped Teachers 82 45

Respondents with Preparation to Teach

ELLs with Special Needs

Specific Training in Pre-Service to Teach ELLs


Coursework Student Teaching

Workshop


81 89 54 61

ELL Administrators 18 67 33 39


39 31 18 13

Sped Administrators 18 44 11 33

Sped Teachers 82 34 18 22

Specific Training in Pre-Service to Work with ELLs with Special Needs


Coursework Student Teaching

Workshop


81 35 11 19

ELL Administrators 18 44 11 22


39 36 21 15

Sped Administrators 18 33 11 28

Sped Teachers 82 28 12 18

Topics Covered in Preservice to Work with ELLs with Special Needs


Cross-Cult. Coll.

Assess. Instruc. &Interven.

2nd Lang.Ac Multicul.Ed


81 22 33 31 33 31

ELL Admin. 18 17 39 33 33 22


39 10 36 23 31 38

Sped Admin 18 17 33 22 33 33

Sped Teachers 82 15 24 27 16 31

Do You Believe it is Appropriate to Address ELD Services on IEPs?



81 89

ELL Administrators

18 94


39 69

Sped Administrators

18 93

Sped Teachers 82 76



81

39

ELL Administrators

18

28


39

32

Sped Administrators

18

53

Sped Teachers 82

34

Do IEPs for ELLs Address ELD Services?

Challenges Identified

• Finding qualified bilingual personnel with appropriate training

• Forming partnerships with families and communities

Findings

• Across groups, the following topics were covered in preservice :– Assessment (X = 33%)– Multicultural Education X = 31%)– Second Language acquisition (X = 29%)– Instruction & Intervention (X = 27%)– Cross-cultural Collaboration (X = 16%)

Findings

• Sped Administrator and Sped Teacher groups believe the most important approach in teaching literacy to ELLs is to use English language immersion with ELD support.

• No group perceived bilingual instruction as the most important approach.

• No group reported that understanding both special education and ELL federal regulations was a challenge.

Findings

• Less than half of the SLP/SLP Administrators, Sped Administrators, and Sped Teachers had pre-service preparation to teach ELLs with or without special needs.

• Field experiences did not include working with ELL students.

What Does the Research Say?• Goldenberg (2008) examined the research for

effective practices in ELL instruction.• The majority of ELLs students (60%) receive all-

English.• About 12% receive no ESL/ELD services.• More primary language (L1) instruction over

time leads to higher academic achievement in English.

• In other words, teaching students to read in L1 promotes higher reading achievement in English!

What Does the Research Say?

• All-English immersion does NOT lead to rapid English fluency, in contradiction to some state policies (e.g., California, Arizona).

• ELL students need explicit language instruction and opportunities to speak for genuine communication in a separate ESL/ELD block.

• Process approaches to learning showed mixed results; explicit instruction in skills and sub-skills is what is needed for ELLs to make gains.

Implications: What Does This All Mean to Special Educators?

• They need more knowledge about the instruction of ELL students, ESL/ELD program requirements, working with families across cultures and to collaborate with other departments.

• What does this mean to YOU?

Some Comments

“The ESOL teacher in my building is fantastic but I feel that what is misunderstood by other staff members. They don't understand the need for all the language supports that she provides. Many still feel that English Immersion practices are the best and that kids should just "speak American" quickly.”

Some Comments

“Students with IEPs are placed in ELD classes and modifications cannot always address the special needs without interfering with the other students' instruction. Students who are dual identified should have a separate ELD class to allow instruction to adapt to their particular needs. Administrators should be required as part of their licensing to attend and provide diverse cultural and linguistic training annually.”

Some Comments

“There is no consensus among SPED and ELL staff regarding appropriate identification assessments and protocols for ELLs.”

.” I see the need for better collaboration between the special education and the English Language Acquisition Dept. Until there is more collaboration we will continue to see ELL needs addressed inadequately. When bilingual instruction is not available, what is most important is daily access to quality ELD instruction.”

Moving Forward: State Level

• Last year, the Special Education and Title III Departments of the Oregon Department of Education collaborated to deliver VTel presentations across the state to ELL/Bilingual and Special Education personnel.

• Stakeholders were requested to submit their questions ahead of time.

Moving Forward: State Level

• Powerpoint of Vtel can be accessed at:http://www.ode.state.or.us/search/default.aspxType into Search: Decision Making for Dual

Identified Students

Moving Forward: University

• Currently, the Department of Special Education at Portland State has two federal grants.– Pathways: Early Childhood Special

Education; emphasis is to train culturally competent EI teachers to work with young children with disabilities and their families. Cultural and linguistic competencies were infused throughout program.

Moving Forward: University

• Currently, the Department of Special Education at Portland State has two federal grants.– BiSped: Special Education Licensure

(noncategorical); participants must be bilingual and are included in a part-time cohort. Recruited through district partners. Participants take three extra courses: (1) second language acquisition, (2) Biliteracy, and (3) Academic Assessment of ELL Students

Is There Anything That Surprises You?

•???

What Questions Are Missing?

•???

Closing Thoughts

• A community advocate recently commented to me that parents think they need to pick one or the other (ESL or sped). They invariably choose special education because districts imply the student will NOT benefit from an ESL program (S. Ramirez, personal communication, 2010).

• In these days, it is doubtful that any child may reasonably be expected to succeed in life if he is denied the opportunity of an education. (Supreme Court of the United States. Brown v. Board of Education – 1954)

Reference

Goldenberg, C. (2008, Summer). TeachingEnglish language learners: What the research does – And does not – say. American Educator, 8 – 44.

ResourcesNational Center for RTI:www.rti4success.orgNational Center for Culturally Responsive

Educational Systems (NCCREST):www.nccrest.orgCouncil for Exceptional Children

Division for Diverse Learners:Mast Modules: (should be available later

this year) East Carolina University

Contact Information

Dr. Julie Esparza BrownAssistant ProfessorDepartment of Special EducationPortland State UniversityPO Box 751Portland, OR [email protected]

2010 osep leadership mega conference collaboration to achieve success from cradle to career current...

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