Teachers' Opinions About the Theoretical and Practical Aspects of the Use of Native Language Minority Students: A Cross-Sectional Study

Abstract

The results of studies analyzing teachers' opinions about the theoretical and practical aspects of the use of native language instruction for language minority students appear to reflect a clear discrepancy: There is strong support for the underlying theory, while there is less support for its practical implementation. The present study analyzed 218 K–8 teachers' responses to a questionnaire dealing with the aforementioned issue. In addition, the study also examined which factors influenced their opinions, and whether their opinions varied across different grades (K–2nd, 3rd–4th, 5th–8th). Consistent with previous research, support for the theoretical principles underlying the use of the students' native language was strong. Support for its practical implementation was less positive. No clear predictors of attitudes toward the issue being investigated were found. Alongside, no significant variations in opinions were found among the groups in which the teachers were clustered (K–2, 3–4, 5–8). The results of the present study appear to indicate that teachers were guided by their own beliefs at the time of answering the survey. The need for more research in this area is underscored, as is the need to incorporate and take into consideration teachers' personal opinions, feedback, and input at the time of designing teacher preparation programs.