The Need for Dual Language Learner Professional Development in the California State Preschool Program
This blog is part of a series, created in partnership by the Dual Language Learner Master Plan Advocates, to uplift the areas of need, highlight opportunities for growth, and share solutions and resources in supporting Dual Language Learners in California State Preschool Programs (CSPP), which were identified during recent listening sessions with CSPP teachers and administrators from across the state.
Lead Author: Ashley Alvarez & Carolyne Crolotte, M.A., Early Edge California
Contributors: JunHee Doh, M.A. and Karina Suzette Hernandez, M.P.P., Catalyst California
Dual Language Learners (DLLs) have the potential to reap the academic, social, and cultural benefits of bilingualism when they are in early learning environments that effectively support the development of both their home language and English. Conversely, a lack of support for children’s language development brings a multitude of adverse effects, including home language loss, weakened family ties, and negative academic impacts.
In the listening sessions that the DLL Master Plan advocates held with CSPP administrators and teachers, participants raised a need for further professional development (PD) opportunities, particularly for supporting DLLs.
A Need for DLL-specific Professional Development
When asked about available supports, one district’s site coordinator said there aren’t many. “We don’t have a formal program in place” they said. “We use a curriculum, and there are Spanish components to it, which is great, but we also have children in our program who speak Punjabi or Armenian or Russian.”
Several teachers highlighted the need for PD specific to serving DLL children and families. CSPP teachers detailed how they often seek those resources independently, indicating a need for more structured, accessible, and relevant offerings. “I search out my own support and PD, but there is not always the help,” said one participant, and another added, “We need training, and time to practice, and reflect, and then repeat.”
Based on these individual reports from across the state, we see a need for a formal system of support for students that incorporates their range of home languages, including DLL-specific PD.
“Over the years, I’ve taken my own professional development courses,” said one CSPP teacher. “But I don’t feel like it’s something that is put out by the staff. It should be something that should be spoken about more, but it’s not.”
What the Research Says about Early Learning and Care Professional Development
Reflecting the concerns of the CSPP practitioners, research finds that the early learning workforce needs additional PD to support DLLs. For example, a recent report by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine emphasized the “critical” need for early learning educators who work with multilingual learners to receive PD in order to promote positive outcomes. This need is also reflected by the National Institute for Early Education Research’s 2017 State of Preschool Yearbook Dual Language Learners Special Report, which determined that only seven states’ preschool programs reported having policies related to training and PD for staff working with DLLs.
Finally, in California, a large-scale study conducted by the American Institutes for Research found that the majority of early learning and care teachers, spanning 171 programs in 16 counties, reported having received ‘only a little’ to ‘moderate’ PD on DLL-related topics.
California State Policies Supporting DLL Professional Development
In recent years, California policies have elevated the need to develop an early childhood workforce that can effectively support DLLs prior to kindergarten entry. In 2018, California provided a one-time $5 million investment to provide early childhood educators with PD to support their work with DLLs. When our state makes investments in DLL-PD, they have a positive impact on teacher knowledge, beliefs, and practice.
For example, approximately 1,400 educators benefited from the 2018 DLL-PD investment, with 99 percent of educators reporting they are better equipped to support DLLs and their families after participating in the PD. This is further illustrated by the First 5 California DLL Pilot study, which found that teachers who had received more DLL-related PD had more favorable attitudes about bilingualism and greater confidence in their ability to support DLLs; were more likely to report using evidence-based instructional practices for teaching DLLs; and, reported using a larger number of linguistically and culturally responsive family engagement strategies.
Current Policy Efforts for Supporting DLL Professional Development: AB 1947
In 2020, California Governor Gavin Newsom released The Master Plan for Early Learning and Care: California for All Kids. The Master Plan highlights the importance of providing culturally relevant learning experiences and high-quality language interaction in both English and the home language for DLLs in early learning settings. It also prioritizes advancements in PD to better prepare the early childhood workforce to provide equitable and high-quality learning experiences for all young children.
To address practitioners’ need for DLL-specific PD, and to advance The Master Plan, Early Edge California and Californians Together are co-sponsoring AB 1947, California State Preschool Programs: Contracting Agencies: Staff Training Days authored by Assemblywoman Luz Rivas. AB 1947 would expand the number of allowable staff training days under a CSPP contract from two to six days, and specify that, when a CSPP contractor enrolls 25 percent of DLLs and opts to provide 3 or more days of staff training, one of those days must include DLL-PD. Furthermore, AB 1947 specifies that PD provided during regular hours of operation would be considered days of operation. The bill has received unanimous support as it advances through the Legislature. This bill ensures CSPP teachers are equipped with the skills and training to effectively support DLL children and families.
It is critical that educators and administrators in our state preschool programs receive access to DLL-specific PD in order to support California’s younger learners. In light of this urgent need, we urge your support for AB 1947. Please visit Early Edge California’s website to find resources, including letter templates and toolkits, to voice your support and share with your networks.