Abstract
Purpose. The purposes of this study were to: (1) describe the extent to which effective beginning teachers use CREDE's five standards of effective pedagogy when working with language minority students; and (2) describe the ways effective beginning teachers use CREDE's five standards of effective pedagogy when working with language minority students. Methodology. An exploratory descriptive study was conducted. Ten effective beginning teachers were observed and interviewed. Quantitative data from the observations were analyzed to determine mean scores and other descriptive statistics. Qualitative data from the interviews and open-ended comments were analyzed and used to create frequency tables. Findings. The ten effective beginning teachers in the study implement CREDE's five standards of effective pedagogy to a high degree. Language and literacy is the standard the beginning teachers implement to the highest degree. The beginning teachers in this study implement CREDE's five standards of effective pedagogy when teaching language minority students in many ways. The beginning teachers named at least thirteen different ways to implement each of the standards. The teachers with the highest scores using CREDE's Standards Performance Continuum were teaching in a professional development school that embedded professional development with a focus on culturally relevant pedagogy. Conclusions. These findings suggest that the effective beginning teachers in the study understand the needs of language minority students and have found many ways to meet the needs of these students. The background knowledge of the BTSA advisor in culturally relevant pedagogy is important when coaching beginning teachers working with language minority students. Recommendations. Future research studies should assess whether these findings hold true when replicated with a larger sample of beginning teachers and support providers who: (1) represent districts with high numbers of language minority students within other BTSA projects in California and (2) work in a professional development school. Implications. Recruit beginning teachers who understand effective pedagogy when working with language minority students and provide BTSA support providers with a strong knowledge of culturally relevant pedagogy to all beginning teachers working with language minority students.