English Learner (ELs) are the fastest growing student population in the United States. With this increase of ELs, come many challenges at the federal, state, and local level. Research shows that teachers and administrators are ill-equipped to meet the needs of culturally and linguistically diverse students. English learners face inequities in today's school- lack of qualified and trained teachers and administrators, ineffective language support programs, persistent achievement gaps compared to their non-EL peers, lack of access to advanced courses as well as institutional marginalization, segregation and racism. School administrators are key in ensuring success for all students, particularly for ELs. Administrators who are knowledgeable about issues of equity and marginalization promote social justice in their schools and increase student achievement for marginalized student populations including ELs. The purpose of this quantitative study was to identify principals' and assistant principals' self-reported levels of preparedness to assist instructional staff who work with English Learners in the school setting. The study was conducted in two school divisions in Virginia. This study used a survey of 25 Likert-scale statements. The survey used was adapted and modified from the Hiatt and Fairbairn (2018) study. This study used quantitative analyses techniques to analyze the data, to include descriptive statistics, and comparative analysis using ANOVA. This study yielded nine findings and seven implications. One of the major finding was that there was no difference between principals' and assistant principals' self-reported levels of preparedness based on the percentage of ELs in their schools. One major implication is that school districts ought to provide principals and assistant principals the necessary professional development to equip them to serve ELs as an ever-growing and changing student population. / Doctor of Education / Schools across the United States have experienced an increase of English Learner (ELs) students. Many schools today struggle to meet the needs of ELs. The challenges ELs face as well as the leadership traits and skills necessary for their success were identified in the literature. The purpose of this quantitative study was to identify principal and assistant principal self-reported levels of preparedness to assist instructional staff working with ELs in the school setting. Data were collected using quantitative methodologies. Principals and assistant principals from two school divisions in Virginia were the participants in this study. The study yielded nine findings and seven implications for practice. A suggestion for future study would be conduct the study across the Commonwealth of Virginia in order to gain a better understanding of the self-reported levels of preparedness for principals and assistant principals and to develop a state-wide comprehensive professional development plan to address their needs.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:VTETD/oai:vtechworks.lib.vt.edu:10919/102580 |
| Date | 02 March 2021 |
| Creators | Russ, Brenda Jasmine |
| Contributors | Counselor Education, Cash, Carol S., Price, Ted S., Alexander, Michael D., White, Tinkhani Ushe |
| Publisher | Virginia Tech |
| Source Sets | Virginia Tech Theses and Dissertation |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Dissertation |
| Format | ETD, application/pdf |
| Rights | In Copyright, http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/ |
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