“I Only Have Their Students' Best Interests in Mind”: Teachers' Figured Worlds in Advising Multilingual Families

ABSTRACT As language teacher educators, we studied how teachers in April's English as a Second Language (ESL) graduate‐level assessment course for practicing teachers planned to talk with families about ESL identification, including home language surveys (HLS). We studied how 30 mostly in‐service teachers planned to reassure families they had students' “best interest in mind,” a phrase problematic for its paternalistic overtones. We examined how teachers' underlying worldviews, or “figured worlds,” were present in their plans for parent conferences. We used qualitative and discourse analytic methods to explore: How do teachers consider students' best interest when planning family HLS conferences? What figured worlds are suggested in two focal teachers' plans to tell multilingual families that teachers have students' best interest in mind? We found teachers sometimes understood that not only teachers but families also wanted students' best interest. Additionally, teachers thought that if they reassured families and gave them information about ESL, then families would want ESL services. We closely examined two focal cases, illustrating how figured worlds shaped teachers' views of “best interest.” This study emphasized that educators need to hear from families how they view their students' interests and engage together in meaningful dialogue about ESL services.