Heritage Spanish speakers (HSSs) in the U.S. who seek certification as bilingual teachers must show Spanish language proficiency. The state of Texas requires candidates to pass the Bilingual Target Language Proficiency Test (BTLPT) a test seen as a gatekeeping mechanism (Clark & Flores, 2002) in a field that presents chronic shortage of…

The "IDRA Newsletter" serves as a vehicle for communication with educators, school board members, decision-makers, parents, and the general public concerning the educational needs of all children across the United States. The focus of this issue is "Teaching Quality." Contents include: (1) State Policy Recommendations for…

Leadership takes on a tone of urgency when we are struggling for justice. At the same time, the right to lead -- the agency to embrace a leadership identity -- can also feel more distant when we are marginalized by the dominant society. For bilingual education teachers working with immigrant communities, the development of critical consciousness,…

This study examined the presence of internal linguistic discrimination--i.e., the negative reaction of Spanish speakers towards the varieties of Spanish spoken by heritage speakers--among bilingual teachers in a school district in Texas. To this end, we conducted a study that analyzed the responses of 84 bilingual teachers to audio utterances…

Translanguaging, or the complex, dynamic, and integrated linguistic practices of bilinguals have been recently identified as a pedagogical strategy to facilitate learning in bilingual classrooms. Given its potential implications for teacher preparation, a qualitative case study was conducted at a university on the Texas-Mexico border to explore…

Drawing on institutional theory, this study describes how cognitive, normative, and regulative mechanisms shape bilingual teachers' language policy implementation in both English-only and bilingual contexts. Aligned with prior educational language policy research, findings indicate the important role that teachers' beliefs play in the policy…

The researchers explored the benefits, challenges and preferred methods of communication of those who took part in the "¡Guiamos!" online and face-to-face mentoring program. Participants included 21 novice pre-service teachers who served as mentees and 32 experienced educators of English language learners who served as mentors. To…

Grounded in new language policy studies (McCarty, Collins, & Hopson, 2011), this qualitative study examines two bilingual Latina preschool teachers' language views, experiences, skills, and goals in a Texas/Mexico border community to determine how these factors mediate their choice to use Spanish/English in their instructional practices with…

In this paper, we describe how language "autobiographies" are used in a teacher preparation program (TEP) as a healing pedagogy to understand the impact longstanding traditions of symbolic violence in education have had on Latino students who are in the process of becoming teachers. Writing about themselves and their education experience…

Analyzes the experiences of one Texas university with the integration of legally residing foreign-trained Mexican teachers in their bilingual teacher education program. The preliminary analysis reveals that a university can assist in the integration of foreign-trained teachers, but that thinking "out of the box" to alleviate the teacher…

A Mexican American teacher/administrator describes her experiences with bilingual education as a limited-English-proficient child, college student, bilingual teacher, graduate student, district administrator, teacher of bilingual teachers, and employee in a federal technical assistance center, and traces the impact of Title VII (the Bilingual…

The 10 issues of IDRA Newsletter published in 2000 focus on education in Texas and on national and statewide educational issues concerning minority, low-income, or bilingual students. Feature articles include: "Musical Chairs and Unkept Promises" (reforming education to keep all students "in the game"); "The ENLACE…

To investigate bilingual teacher training and its effect on bilingual bicultural instruction, a review of the literature was undertaken and teacher training for a bilingual bicultural program in a Texas school district was analyzed through an interview with the program supervisor. The review focused on the academic achievement of language minority…

A local university worked with a Texas elementary school serving mostly Mexican Americans to implement a two-way bilingual program, provide inservice and graduate course work for faculty, provide parent training, connect with the community, and provide field experiences for undergraduate bilingual education teachers. Test scores and community…

Bilingual legislation in Texas requires that the Texas Education Agency provide for Bilingual Education Teacher Training Institutes. This manual was developed to serve as a guide for the implementation of such institutes throughout the state. Each institute meets six hours a day for five days. A detailed outline is given in this manuel for each of…