Date of Award
12-31-2013
Document Type
Campus Access Dissertation
Degree Name
Doctor of Education (EdD)
Department
Education/Leadership in Urban Schools
First Advisor
Tricia Kress
Second Advisor
Wenfan Yan
Third Advisor
Esta Montano
Abstract
This dissertation blends portraiture with constructivist grounded theory to bring to the forefront the voices and experiences of English as a Second Language teachers in low incidence districts in Massachusetts. By describing and exploring common themes in these teachers' experiences within their respective low incidence districts, this study examines how the three ESL teachers' professional identities and agency are enabled or limited by the district and school structures. The teachers' experiences were analyzed on the micro (student), meso (school/district) and macro (policy) levels using data including interviews, observations, field journals, and artifacts.
In response to the broad question of what constitutes the professional identities of ESL teachers in low incidence districts, I learned that my participants used their unique positions on the margins in their districts to their advantage by establishing an elevated status as the ESL experts. This position of power enabled my participants to enact their separate agencies, as informed by their different professional identities, to impact change within their districts to better the educational experiences of their English Language Learners. Each participant was able to, whether through a more activist stance or a more subtle approach, effect change on the micro and meso levels in her district. As I am an ESL teacher in a low incidence district myself, in meeting my participants and learning of their stories, I experienced a significant shift in my own mentality as to the extent of my power and agency at my place of employment. I have also come to realize the importance of fit between the district and its agents. Together with my fellow ESL teachers, I continue down a path where we must keep advocating for necessary changes so that our students will receive an adequate and equitable access to education.
Recommended Citation
Chien, Tina H., "Power from the Margins: The Professional Identities of Three English as a Second Language Teachers in Low Incidence Districts" (2013). Graduate Doctoral Dissertations. 128.
https://scholarworks.umb.edu/doctoral_dissertations/128
Comments
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