THE IMPACT OF TRANSITIONING FROM A BILINGUAL TO A GENERAL EDUCATION CLASSROOM AND ITS IMPACT ON FOURTH-GRADE STUDENT WRITING

Abstract

Abstract Dudley, Tabitha, The Impact of Transitioning from a Bilingual to a General Education Classroom and Its Impact on Fourth-Grade Student Writing, Doctor of Education (Executive Educational Leadership), May 2022, Houston Baptist University, Houston, Texas. The purpose of the study was to discover the pathways and roadblocks that lead to ELLs' writing abilities in fourth grade after transitioning from a bilingual to a general education classroom. This research compared students' data points in Dual Language classes on state assessments and the writing strategies implemented by Dual Language teachers. This research will bring awareness to English-Speaking only educators regarding the ELL's needs and provide educators with strategies to develop ELL's English writing skills upon transitioning. The participants for this study consisted of nine teachers who taught general education with their English as a Second Language (ESL) certification and bilingual teachers who had a Bilingual Certification. All participants taught or were currently teaching fourth grade writing respectfully. Therefore, this study implemented a random stratified sampling. Of the nine participants, four were asked to participate in a Focus Group. Ten of the 38 Dual Language elementary schools in an urban school district that were eligible for the study were selected because their campuses implemented a 50/50 Dual Language program model for at least three years and Met Standard on the 2019 STAAR. The research findings described the various Dual Language strategies teachers used to support ELLs' writing skills. The researcher used a mixed-method, quasi-experimental design to compare participants' STAAR Writing test scores and the focus groups' responses to identify patterns, trends, and outliers.