Examining the Impact of Acquiring the ESL Endorsement on Teacher Knowledge, Dispositions, and English Language Learner Performance on a Standardized Mathematics Test

Rising immigration to the United States has changed the demographic make-up of students in general education classrooms. Data from the 2000 Census establish that more than 14 million immigrants entered the United States during the 1990s. The percentage of English language learners (ELLs) in U.S. public schools increased from 8% (3.8 million students) in the year 2000 to 10% (5.0 million students) in 2017. Given this change, classroom teachers are expected to meet the needs of students in mainstream classrooms who are non-native speakers of English. The purpose of this study was to examine the impact of teachers acquiring the ESL endorsement on the ESL outcomes of the ELL populations in elementary school and to compare classroom teachers with and without the ESL endorsement in terms of their ELL-related knowledge, pedagogical skills, and dispositions toward the ELL students in their classrooms. A t-test, a questionnaire, and interviews were the three tools utilized to collect data to compare teachers’ dispositions and level of knowledge in second-language-acquisition with and without the ESL endorsement. The findings showed that ESL-endorsed classroom teachers acquired better knowledge, pedagogical skills, and dispositions toward ELL populations