Teacher attitudes toward No Child Left Behind and part 154 in the English as a New language classroom

Abstract

As the population of English Language Learners continues to grow, policymakers, legislators and courts alike have struggled with implementing educational policy. Virtually, since its inception, the United States has struggled with determining how to best educate its linguistically diverse students. From segregation cases in the 40s, 50s and 60s, to modern day English only movements, to present day policies such as No Child Left Behind, any educational victories that have been obtained have been intermittent and disjointed (Powers, 2014). As the United States continues to grow increasingly diverse are policymakers prepared to adequately meet the demands of educating English Language Learners? The purpose of this study is to examine how English as a New Language Teachers (ENL) in Chautauqua County New York perceive No Child Left Behind and Commissioner's Regulations Part 154 in the ENL classroom, and whether these laws have influenced their teaching. Data was obtained through face-to-face interviews, observation and recording and policy analysis. Results indicate that participants felt mostly negative towards No Child Left Behind, and viewed Part 154 favorably. Participants' negative perceptions towards No Child Left Behind did not appear to negatively affect their teaching. Implications for addressing the educational needs of ELLs and Policymaking, as well as future research are also discussed. [from author's abstract]