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The Educational Review, USA

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Article Open Access http://dx.doi.org/10.26855/er.2023.09.036

Teachers’ Perceptions of Challenges in Post-pandemic Recovery for English Language Learners

Audrey Figueroa Murphy1,*, Bruce Torff2

1St. John's University, New York, USA.

2Hofstra University, Hempstead, New York, USA.

*Corresponding author: Audrey Figueroa Murphy


This article belongs to Special Issue “The Impact of COVID-19 on Contemporary Education”.
Published: October 31,2023

Abstract

Survey research (N=108) examined teachers’ perceptions of challenges facing educators working to ameliorate pandemic learning losses among English language learners (ELLs). Fifteen challenges in four categories were assessed, including five student factors, three home/family factors, three curriculum factors, and four teacher/administrator factors. Both curriculum factors and teacher/administrator factors were rated as significantly more challenging than student factors. Within student factors, students’ skills in the home language, students’ motivation to learn, and students’ academic skills prior to the pandemic were rated as most problematic. Within home/family factors, respondents indicated that the most pressing challenge was students’ immigration status. Within curriculum factors, teachers expressed the greatest concern about the cultural relevance of curriculum used with ELLs. Finally, within teacher/administrator factors, teachers rated two as the most challenging: administrators’ support for pandemic recovery for ELLs and teacher skills in working with ELLs. The data suggest that teachers did not regard student factors as the primary drag force on pandemic recovery, instead judging the greatest challenges to come from the curriculum used to teach ELLs and the skills and practices of teachers and administrators who work with them. The results have the potential to inform ELL pandemic-recovery initiatives in curriculum development, administrative policy/procedures, and professional development.

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How to cite this paper

Teachers' Perceptions of Challenges in Post-pandemic Recovery for English Language Learners

How to cite this paper: Audrey Figueroa Murphy, Bruce Torff. (2023). Teachers' Perceptions of Challenges in Post-pandemic Recovery for English Language Learners. The Educational Review, USA7(9), 1422-1433.

DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.26855/er.2023.09.036