Abstract
Purpose. The purpose of this study was to determine which specific instructional strategies increased literacy achievement among second and third grade Hispanic English learners in ten selected Northern California public elementary schools comprised of predominantly Hispanic English learners. Methodology. The sample for this descriptive, ex post facto study included ten schools in Northern California whose second and third Hispanic English learners demonstrated literacy achievement improvement on the California Standards Test in English Language Arts and California English Language Development Test. Fifty-seven teachers completed surveys. Twenty teachers participated in interviews. The response rate for the surveys was 95 percent; for the interviews, 100 percent. Descriptive statistics and qualitative methods were used to analyze the data. Findings. Teachers rated cultural connections and cooperative learning strategies as very effective with their Hispanic English learners even though they reported using them infrequently. Teachers reported using explicit comprehension and vocabulary development frequently and rated them effective with their Hispanic English learners. More than half of the teachers interviewed used other measures, mainly teacher judgment and trial and error, to determine which instructional strategies were effective with Hispanic English learners. Conclusions. Teachers viewed the district-adopted textbook as the only curriculum. They saw the textbook as a barrier to incorporate strategies they felt were effective to increase the literacy achievement of their Hispanic English learners. Teachers relied on the structure and content of Open Court Reading to plan for instruction and literacy development. Teachers used measures other than research, literature, and diagnostic data from student assessments to identify strategies that are effective with Hispanic English learners. Recommendations. Replicate this study in upper elementary and secondary schools. Conduct a study that looks at the relationship between State Content Standards, the district-adopted curriculum, and teachers' instructional decisions about their Hispanic English learners. Conduct a study to determine to what extent elementary teachers have had the opportunity to participate in professional development about research-based instructional strategies that have proven effective with Hispanic English learners.