Rethinking the His panic Teacher Shortage: Dual Language Schools as Identity-Affirming Organizations

Abstract

Research has established the connection between the academic suc cess of culturally and linguistically diverse students, and their schools’ abil ity to recruit and retain teachers that reflect such diversity (Shirrell et al., 2019). Studies have also high lighted the critical ity of the stu dents’ home language use as a way to enhance academic growth and develop their socio cultural competence and well-being (Feinauer & Howard, 2014). There is no research, however, addressing the di ferences between the experiences of Hispanic teachers in bilingual Catho lic education compared to those in mono lingual English Catho lic education. This article high lights the di f erences captured by a recent study, and discusses the potential lessons learned from these di f erences—includ ing their connection to the recruitment and retention of Hispanic bilingual teachers. It concludes by proposing mean ing-ful future research, and by ofering rec ommendations to (a) affirm bilingual Hispanic identities and (b) positively impact educators’ career choices and their stu dents’ academic experiences.