| Schools in the United States have experienced a demographic shift that includes an increase in minority language students. These students face many challenges including limited English proficiency and cultural barriers. Given that students often benefit from having role models that are culturally and linguistically similar to themselves, programs must seek out and prepare more bilingual teachers. This study was designed to investigate the unique challenges and successes of bilingual candidates as well as institutional factors that affected their progress through an online post baccalaureate teacher preparation program. Using the case study method, twelve participants were selected from recent and current teacher preparation candidates at an East Texas university. The participants identified themselves as Hispanic bilingual with their primary or first language, as other than English. The challenges mentioned most often by participants included prior cultural bias, a desire for face-to-face contact, language barriers, time requirements, online course apprehension, family influence and responsibility, the Pedagogy and Professional Responsibility Exam, and campus and university mentors. The successes included self determination, role models, mentors, and flexibility. Institutional factors included the application process and financial assistance. |
