Wanted and Used: Latina Bilingual Education Teachers at Public Schools

Document Type

Article

Department or Administrative Unit

Center for Teaching and Learning

Publication Date

3-2016

Abstract

In response to the increasing number of Spanish-speaking students at public schools, Spanish-speaking teachers are in demand. In regards to this high demand, how are Latina/o bilingual education teachers treated at school? Using critical race theory's counter-stories, this study investigated the working conditions of two Latina bilingual teachers. The participants’ stories reveal that the schools found the participants’ language skills to be both financially and instructionally beneficial. However, the participants experienced heavy workloads, which did not offer them the time and opportunity to develop stronger professional networks at school. They began to feel isolated and marginalized from their colleagues. Although eagerly hired by their respective school administrators, it seems that the participants were systematically exploited by the schools for which they worked.

Comments

This article was originally published in Equity & Excellence in Education. The full-text article from the publisher can be found here.

Due to copyright restrictions, this article is not available for free download from ScholarWorks @ CWU.

Journal

Equity & Excellence in Education

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