Pre-service teachers’ implicit and explicit beliefs about English language learners: An implicit association test study

Abstract

Pre-service teachers' attitudes and beliefs about English Learners (ELs) are especially critical as they enter their professions among an increasingly diverse student population. This study uses an Implicit Asso- ciation Test to explore implicit and explicit beliefs and attitudes of pre-service teachers about ELs. Pre- service teachers from a Southeastern U.S. university hold generally positive implicit beliefs about ELs and express positive expectations for working with ELs and school support. Implicit association test measures have potential as tools for preparing pre-service teachers and evaluating the impact of in- terventions that seek to improve teachers’ readiness to serve this population.

Reference

Harrison, J., & Lakin, J. (2018). Pre-service teachers' implicit and explicit beliefs about English language learners: An implicit association test study. Teaching and Teacher Education, 72, 54-63.

Journal

Teaching and Teacher Education

Analysis

Is this article part of a larger project or series of studies?

Does this study draw on a large, preexisting data set?

Research Approach

Experimental

Geographic Setting

Southeastern United States

Institutional Context

University based

Certification Level

early childhood
Elementary
English Education

Programatic Focus

not stated

Research Location Context

Preservice Participants

undergraduate preservice teachers

Preservice Sample Size

116

Duration of Data Collection

6 weeks

Data Sources

Explicit Attitude Survey (Reeves, 2006)
Implicit Association Test

Data Analysis Tools

D-scale

Researcher Positionality

Inside (studying their own programs)

Research Questions

What are pre-service teachers' implicit attitudinal beliefs about English learners when contrasted with mainstream students?
Is this research question explicit from the manuscript? Yes

What (if any) correlations are there between implicit and explicit attitudes and beliefs?
Is this research question explicit from the manuscript? Yes

How do explicit attitudes and beliefs relate to each other?
Is this research question explicit from the manuscript? Yes