Effective Practices for English Language Learners in the Middle Grades: Introduction to the Special Issue of Journal of Research on Educational Effectiveness

Abstract

To improve content area achievement outcomes for English language (EL) learners in middle schools, a team of researchers from around the country proposed a focused program of research that would develop and rigorously test targeted interventions focused on teachers' instructional practices, peer-assisted learning, vocabulary development, and use of the Sheltered Instruction Observation Protocol (SIOP). This special issue of the Journal of Research on Educational Effectiveness reports some of the findings from this focused program of research along with this introduction which serves to provide the context for the studies and information on lessons learned from the development and testing of these specific interventions. Here we consider the specific challenges that researchers face in conducting applied research in educational settings with EL learners, including the dynamic and developmental nature of students' status as EL learners, the heterogeneity of the population, the heterogeneity of school contexts, and statistical issues involved in estimating the effects of interventions for EL and non-EL learners in the same classrooms.