Radical Transformation of the Power Language Dynamic in the K-6 Classroom: A Mixed-Method Study of Elementary School Teachers in the USA

This sequential explanatory mixed-methods study provides a radical transformative framing of the power language dynamic in K-6 classrooms in the U.S. The quantitative phase of the study determined the relationship between teachers' self-efficacy and the use of linguistically responsive techniques in the classroom. The study's qualitative phase explored the teaching strategies being used in the classroom to support children and their use of home languages. Teachers know how to support children who are learning English for the first time but lack strategies for helping children who speak home dialects, pidgins, creoles, Black English, and other languages that are not "standard language" in elementary schools. Implementing culturally and linguistically responsive teaching strategies in the classroom supports all children. In the final analysis the beneficiaries of this research study are the children who speak home languages and dialects in elementary classrooms and the teachers who instruct them. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://www.proquest.com/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]