Abstract
Purpose. This study examined new bilingual teacher support practices provided by districts considering: pedagogical skill and content training; intensity of training and support; and, perceived helpfulness of the support. Additionally, the new bilingual teachers, levels of satisfaction with the teaching profession and the intent to return to teaching for a second year were surveyed. Methodology. The study used descriptive research, surveying 47 new bilingual elementary teachers in Los Angeles County. The study population was comprised of California public school teachers who were: (1) employed in elementary school districts in Los Angeles County; (2) in their first year of teaching during the 1992-93 school year; and, (3) teaching in Spanish bilingual classrooms. The New Biligual Teacher Support Inventory questionnaire was used. The content of the Inventory originated from Southwest Regional Laboratory survey materials used in gathering data for the California New Teacher Project. The data were presented in tabular and narrative format. There was a 68 percent response rate by new bilingual teachers in the sample. Findings and conclusions. The demographic data indicated 46 percent of the surveyed new bilingual teachers were teaching with emergency teaching credentials and 75 percent were teaching without bilingual authorization. When asked what training would have been useful if offered, new bilingual teachers perceived a higher level need for classroom management and bilingual instruction. The support provider category with the most contacts with new bilingual teachers and the highest helpfulness rating was the Staff Development/Curriculum Specialists, a non-site based position. When compared to research based quality indicators of one-on-one support and high level training experiences, new bilingual teachers had relatively low level support experience. The training offerings most directly related to the daily responsibilities of the new bilingual teachers were perceived as most useful. A high percentage of new bilingual teachers were satisfied with their choice of teaching as a profession and planned to return to teaching for a second year. Implications. School districts developing new teacher induction programs need to more fully implement the research based model that resulted from the California New Teacher Project. A model of training and support can be effective in meeting the needs of new bilingual teachers.