Framework for Quality Professional Development for Practitioners Working with Adult English Language Learners
Appendix II
Background on the Need for Quality Professional Development in Adult Education
There has been interest in adult education for many years in teacher quality, effective instruction, and the impact of these on learner progress (see, e.g., National Center for ESL Literacy Education, 2003; Smith & Gillespie, 2007). The Office of Vocational and Adult Education (OVAE), U.S. Department of Education plays a leadership role in providing resources to enhance teacher quality and guide the improvement of adult education programs. One area of focus is professional development for practitioners working with adults learning English. This focus generated the development of this framework. The framework addresses the need to facilitate learner progress through and beyond programs, and the resulting need for high quality adult education practitioners and professional development programs for them.
A growing immigrant population
During the past 20 years, the immigrant population in the United States has continued to grow. Between 2002 and 2006, the immigration rate averaged 1.8 million per year (Meissner, Myers, Papademetriou, & Fix, 2006). In 2005, immigrants comprised over 12% of U.S. residents and 15% of the workforce (Migration Policy Institute, 2007a, 2007b). These population increases have not been evenly distributed across states. Instead of settling in large, urban centers, as in the past, many immigrants are now settling in states with employment opportunities in construction, industry, and tourism (Singer & Wilson, 2006). As a result, many states are experiencing record increases in immigrant populations (Capps, Fix, & Passel, 2002; McHugh, Gelatt, & Fix, 2007). For example, from 2000 to 2005, 14 states (including Arkansas, Georgia, Utah, and the Carolinas) experienced a 30% or greater increase in foreign-born populations (Jensen, 2006; Kochhar, 2006).
Learner progress
In addition to increases in the adult English language learner population, there is also increased emphasis in programs on learner progress through and beyond adult education programs, into work opportunities and academic programs of study (e.g., Burt & Mathews-Aydinli, 2007; Chisman & Crandall, 2007; Mathews-Aydinli, 2006). Thus there is a growing need for professional development that helps practitioners prepare adult learners to progress to higher language, literacy, and academic levels and to better work opportunities and further academic study.
A need for high quality adult education programs and practitioners
According to the Workforce Investment Act (1998), national leadership activities, including professional development, need to be designed and implemented to improve and enhance the quality of adult education and literacy programs. Well-qualified teachers are the most important factor in improving student learning, raising student achievement, and helping students progress through programs (according to the U. S. Department of Education’s Teacher-to-Teacher initiative, 2007, focused on K-12 teachers; see also research in Rivkin, Hanushek, & Kain, 2005; Rowan, Correnti, & Miller, 2005; Sanders & Rivers, 1993; Whitehurst, 2002). While many teachers are prepared to work effectively with adult immigrants, others, especially in states only recently experiencing increased adult English language learner enrollments, may not have extensive background in language teaching or experience with teaching adults learning English (Crandall, 1993, 2000; Crandall, Ingersoll, & Lopez, 2008; Schaetzel, Peyton, & Burt, 2007). In addition to teaching English as a second language, teachers also need to help students understand cultural aspects of life in the United States, be prepared for additional responsibilities at work, and make smooth transitions to subsequent education (Haynes, 2005; McHugh, Gelatt, & Fix, 2007). In these cases, professional development is needed. “Both professional educational organizations and federal and state legislative bodies view professional development as essential . . . and are more invested in assuring that teachers have ongoing opportunities to learn as an integral part of their practice” (Rosemary, Roskos, & Landreth, 2007, p.7).
Teachers are not the only practitioners in need of professional development. Administrators who are designing and implementing programs for adult English language learners, and volunteers working with this population, also need professional development on topics such as second language acquisition, cultural differences, and English language teaching methods. A system for professional development that is responsive to teachers’, administrators’, volunteers’, and other practitioners’ needs may enable practitioners to meet the needs of adult English language learners more systematically and help them to progress through NRS levels and transition to work and advanced education opportunities (Association of Adult Literacy Professional Developers, n.d.; Belzer, Drennon, & Smith, 2001; Brancato, 2003; Fullan, 2007).
The majority of adult education practitioners, including those working with English language learners, receive much of their preparation through in-service and on-the-job-training rather than through extensive pre-service training (Smith & Gillespie, 2007). However, practitioners are often part-time and not consistently funded to participate in professional development activities (Crandall, Ingersoll, & Lopez, 2008; Schaetzel, Peyton, & Burt, 2007; Smith & Gillespie, 2007). Working to overcome these challenges, adult education programs and state agencies are designing professional development opportunities to increase practitioners’ knowledge and skills. This framework is designed to help guide the process of planning, implementing, and evaluating these opportunities.
