Campus Actions that Make a Difference with Academic Achievement for Middle School Spanish-Speaking Emergent Bilingual Learners: A Multiple Case Study

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Education (Ed.D)

Department

Curriculum and Instruction

Date of Award

Summer 8-18-2025

Abstract

There are now an estimated 4.9 million children in U.S. public schools learning the English language according to the U.S. Department of Education. The National Center for Education Statistics (2020) reported that of those 4.9 million English learners (ELs) in U.S. public schools, 3,749,314 of them identify Spanish as their home language. The state of Texas reports that they had 987,672 ELs whose home language was Spanish enrolled in early childhood education to twelfth grade during the 2019-2020 school year. Across the United States as well as in Texas, an emergent bilingual learner is more likely to drop out of school than any other student group. There is also an achievement gap between the emergent bilingual student group and many other student groups. The purpose of this study was to explore how the academic experience and outcomes of emergent bilingual learners in secondary education can be improved by identifying observable actions in the classroom that potentially impact achievement on STAAR. Two middle schools in a North Texas public school district were studied. This case study was conducted through teacher and administrator survey distribution and by using an

Advisor

Kathryn Dixon

Subject Categories

Education

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