Document Type

Article

Publication Date

2-2014

Publication Title

Educational Policy

Publisher Name

SAGE Publications

Abstract

Arizona language policy now requires English learners to enroll in English language development classrooms for four hours of skill-based, English-only instruction. In this article, I describe Arizona teachers’ interpretation and negotiation of language policy and practice during this time of change to more restrictive mandates. I conducted this qualitative case study with a teacher study group comprised of six English language development teachers and one instructional coach from an urban elementary school during the first semester of language policy implementation. Using discourse analysis of individual interviews, study group dialog, and institutional documentation, I investigated teachers’ talk as they grappled with restrictive policy mandates and effective classroom practice. Findings indicated teachers negotiated the cultural models inherent in the institutional policy in the study group setting. In the contemporary context of restrictive educational policies, implications for stakeholders center on professional and collaborative support for educators.

Comments

Author Posting. © Amy J. Heineke, 2014. This is the author's version of the work. It is posted here by permission of SAGE Publications for personal use, not for redistribution.The definitive version was published in Educational Policy, February 2014. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0895904813518101.

Creative Commons License

Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 License.

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