Research Notes: A Better Workplace for Bilingual Teachers

Faced with a substantial population of English language learners, U.S. school districts have stepped up their efforts to recruit bilingual teachers, but often without considering that these teachers, who work with and often belong to marginalized communities, have an increased likelihood of encountering discrimination.

In "Bilingual Teachers' Performances of Power and Conflict," Betsy Rymes and her co-authors describe how participatory drama exercises can help teachers training for bilingual education improve their ability to handle situations in which they feel devalued.

Following the methods of Brazilian political dramatist Augusto Boal, the authors set up collective performances of real-life situations, with the goal of identifying and discussing ways to deal with social oppression. For instance, bilingual teachers were asked to repeatedly act out a situation in which they felt disempowered, with different people cycling through the roles of teacher, student, parent, and administrator. In doing so, participants broadened their awareness of social contexts, forms of agency, and performances of self, providing them with a range of potential tactics for dealing with future conflicts.

Instead of feeling locked into a single identity in an antagonistic relationship with someone asserting power, the teacher can try on different voices that might lead to the mutual recognition of expertise and authority-an outcome that builds teacher confidence and a respect for differences.  

This article, by Betsy Rymes, Melisa Cahnmann-Taylor, and Mariana Scouto-Manning appears in Teaching Education, 19(2).