Using the PLC process to enhance the knowledge, skills, and mindsets of teachers of emerging bilingual primary students: A design development action research study

The achievement gap between emergent bilingual (EB) students and their monolingual peers is a historical challenge, with systemic inequities in literacy instruction disproportionately affecting culturally and linguistically diverse students. Policies like No Child Left Behind and Every Student Succeeds Act have sought to address these disparities, yet schools continue to struggle in providing culturally responsive and research-based interventions that adequately support EB students. Deficit thinking, insufficient teacher training, and a lack of culturally relevant pedagogies contribute to persistent gaps in reading achievement. This design development action research study addressed these challenges at a local level by using Professional Learning Communities (PLCs) to close the achievement gap for EB students in a suburban North Texas elementary school. The study focused on integrating culturally and linguistically responsive pedagogy, language development, and research-based reading instruction to improve early literacy outcomes. Over a six-week period, monolingual and Spanish Immersion teachers participated in PLCs designed to shape mindsets and share effective strategies to meet EB students’ needs. Data from surveys, exit tickets, PLC transcriptions, and observations revealed that teachers’ mindsets shifted to be more likely to implement their learning about culturally and linguistically responsive pedagogy and have a more positive view of PLCs. This study highlights the importance of collaborative efforts through PLCs, emphasizing the role of cultural and linguistic responsiveness, collective efficacy, and teacher development in addressing literacy disparities for EB students. The findings offer practical implications for educators and education leaders seeking to foster more equitable early literacy practices in diverse school contexts, a responsibility all social justice leaders must undertake.