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Date of Award

5-2023

Document Type

Restricted Dissertation: Campus only access

Degree Name

Doctor of Education in Educational Leadership

Department

Education

First Reader/Committee Chair

Romano, Jacqueline E.

Abstract

At the turn of the 21st century, enrollments in teacher preparation programs at four-year colleges have been steadily declining since the year 2000 (Carver-Thomas & Darling-Hammond, 2017; Huhn et al., 2020). However, bilingual and World Languages teachers are in high demand as demographics show an increase in language diversity represented in students enrolled in schools. Thus, there is a need for bilingual and World Languages teachers to address the academic and linguistic needs of students (De Brey, 2019; Carver-Thomas & Darling-Hammond, 2017).

Although teacher preparation programs at four-year universities are the primary entities in certifying World Languages teachers, roughly 60% of CSU students graduating from teacher preparation programs started at a community college (CCCTPP, 2018). Furthermore, addressing California’s teacher shortage is listed as a top priority for California community colleges (CCCTPP, 2018), and while there have been several World Languages teacher recruitment initiatives to address the language teacher shortage, community colleges are under-researched in postsecondary education (Martinez et al., 2017) and there is limited research on the role of California community college World Languages programs in the recruitment and preparation of future World Languages teachers.

Because community colleges play an important role in preparing future teachers, there is a need for research to understand how California community college World Languages programs and connection with teacher preparation programs at four-year universities play a role in the World Languages teacher shortage.

The purpose of this study was to understand how a California community college World Languages program plays a role in the recruitment and preparation of future World Languages teachers and what information can be leveraged to increase interest in and support for community college students pursuing careers in World Languages teaching. This study used an instrumental case study method (Stake, 1995) to examine a California community college World Languages program. Individual, semi-structured interviews allowed for a comprehensive and in-depth understanding of the perceptions of key stakeholders that play a critical role in the functions of a California community college World Languages program. The findings from this study will help to inform improvements in community college World Languages program pathways as well as language education policymaking.

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