| This study examined the perceptions of bilingual teachers and the effectiveness of bilingual teacher education programs in California. The research literature on bilingual teacher education and the standards of the California Commission on Teacher Credentialing guided the design of the study.;The study collected data through the use of a Likert scale survey, and qualitative data through survey open ended questions and semi-structured interviews with faculty and staff at four teacher education programs in the California State University system. A survey was received by an estimated 1,000 elementary and secondary bilingual teachers in California. There were 320 teacher respondents.;Extensive analysis of the data was conducted using descriptive and inferential statistics. The research findings of this study suggest that bilingual teacher education programs provide teacher candidates with an effective preparation as facilitators of learning, but only adequate preparation as mediators of culture, and less than adequate reparation as counselors to their students and as a link with the community.;Factor analysis identified five areas of importance for the restructuring of bilingual teacher education programs: (1) diversity; (2) teaching skills; (3) socio-cultural context; (4) beliefs; and (5) planning.;The study addressed four major areas: Bilingual teachers' perceptions of their training with respect to selected bilingual teacher education training components; participants' perceptions of the effectiveness of their teacher education program over three periods of time; the challenges bilingual teachers face in their work; and bilingual teachers, faculty and staff perceptions of the structure and pedagogy of programs.;Recent graduates perceived their training as more favorable than those trained before 1990. Also, teachers with previous field experiences were more satisfied with their preparation than those with limited field experiences. Teachers who worked under an emergency credential while completing their program were consistently the least satisfied with their preparation.;The more significant challenges facing bilingual teachers relate to the prejudice against bilingual education, classroom management, availability of classroom materials, parent involvement, and students who are at different levels linguistically and academically.;Lastly, the structure of existing bilingual programs suggests tensions between autonomous and integrated programs, and in recruitment and admission of students, faculty pedagogical approaches, and program curriculum. |
