Speaking Up, Pushing Back, Closing the Door: Agency of Open and Covert Teacher Resistance in Dual-Language Bilingual Education

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Bibliographic Details
Title: Speaking Up, Pushing Back, Closing the Door: Agency of Open and Covert Teacher Resistance in Dual-Language Bilingual Education
Language: English
Authors: Brandon Sherman (ORCID 0000-0003-2953-480X), Trish Morita-Mullaney (ORCID 0000-0001-5324-500X), Jennifer Renn (ORCID 0000-0002-1661-6745)
Source: AERA Open. 2025 11(1).
Availability: SAGE Publications. 2455 Teller Road, Thousand Oaks, CA 91320. Tel: 800-818-7243; Tel: 805-499-9774; Fax: 800-583-2665; e-mail: journals@sagepub.com; Web site: http://sagepub.com
Peer Reviewed: Y
Page Count: 17
Publication Date: 2025
Sponsoring Agency: Office of English Language Acquisition (OELA) (ED)
Contract Number: T365Z170213
Document Type: Journal Articles
Reports - Research
Education Level: Elementary Education
Descriptors: Resistance (Psychology), Bilingual Education, Professional Autonomy, Coaching (Performance), Teacher Role, Professional Identity, Elementary School Teachers, Bilingual Teachers, Spanish, English, Faculty Development, Teacher Attitudes, Immersion Programs
Geographic Terms: Indiana
ISSN: 2332-8584
Abstract: The increasing prominence of dual-language bilingual education (DLBE) in the United States necessitates deeper understanding of institutional roles and professional identities of DLBE teachers, particularly when incongruent. We qualitatively analyzed teacher resistance in discordant situations as discussed in conferences between DLBE teachers and a bilingual instructional coach in two districts over 2 years. In these conversations, we found a distinction between nonconfrontational and open, direct resistance. We applied an agentive triad model of teacher identity, agency, and power to understand how DLBE teachers navigated discordant situations in their schools. Teachers acted from different identity positions, including agentive compliance, anagentive compliance (without agency), and nonconfrontational resistance. Findings and theorization demonstrate that DLBE programs present special considerations for teacher identity, role, and resistance. Moreover, context-specific characteristics, including program age, model, and administration, may impact teachers' approach to resistance. Findings and theorization are relevant to successful DLBE program implementation and equity focused instructional coaching.
Abstractor: As Provided
Notes: https://doi.org/10.3886/E213501V1
Entry Date: 2026
Accession Number: EJ1494742
Database: ERIC
Description
Abstract:The increasing prominence of dual-language bilingual education (DLBE) in the United States necessitates deeper understanding of institutional roles and professional identities of DLBE teachers, particularly when incongruent. We qualitatively analyzed teacher resistance in discordant situations as discussed in conferences between DLBE teachers and a bilingual instructional coach in two districts over 2 years. In these conversations, we found a distinction between nonconfrontational and open, direct resistance. We applied an agentive triad model of teacher identity, agency, and power to understand how DLBE teachers navigated discordant situations in their schools. Teachers acted from different identity positions, including agentive compliance, anagentive compliance (without agency), and nonconfrontational resistance. Findings and theorization demonstrate that DLBE programs present special considerations for teacher identity, role, and resistance. Moreover, context-specific characteristics, including program age, model, and administration, may impact teachers' approach to resistance. Findings and theorization are relevant to successful DLBE program implementation and equity focused instructional coaching.
ISSN:2332-8584