Abstract
The United States has received over three million refugees in all 50 states since 1975 (UNHCR, 2018). States with the largest populations of refugees included California, Texas, Washington, Ohio, and New York (Cepla, 2019). This study occurred in an urban district within a suburb of San Diego, California with the second highest number of newcomer refugee students from the Middle East (LCAP, 2018). The majority of newcomers spoke Farsi, Swahili, Arabic and Chaldean and have interrupted formal education. Decapua and Marshall (2010) suggested that students with interrupted formal education (SIFE) enter schools with high oral language but minimal Standard Academic English (SAE). SIFE refugees have short periods of time to develop EL proficiency while simultaneously learning literacy and academic content (DeCapua & Marshall, 2010). District data highlighted a need for professional development (PD) that equipped teachers with cultural competency, linguistic knowledge, and pedagogical literacy skills. The researchers implemented a PD series that modeled best practices for teaching SIFE refugees. This study answered one research question: What are the key components to effective PD practices that prepare teachers to work with and support students with disrupted language and literacy skills? This concurrent triangulation mixed methods study utilized an analysis of survey, interview, and document data. The researchers analyzed and triangulated the data to cross-validate the findings (Greene, 2007). Participants will gain practical strategies to engage educators in a reflective process that increases cultural, linguistic, and instructional competence; as well as transform their perceptions of SIFE students’ identity, social and academic needs.
Presenters
Micki Abercrombie-DonahueYazmin Pineda Zapata
Associate Professor , School of Education , Point Loma Nazarene University, California, United States Patricia Maruca
Professor, School of Education, Point Loma Nazarene University, California, United States Elsie Solis Chang
Details
Presentation Type
Theme
Education and Learning in a World of Difference
KEYWORDS
Refugee,SIFE,Learner Diversity,Language Diversity and Learning,Professional Development
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