Date of Award
2025-08-31
Degree Name
PhD Leadership Studies
Dissertation Committee
Robert Donmoyer, PhD, Chair; Fred J. Galloway, EdD, Member; Valerie Peterson, EdD, Member
Keywords
multilingual pedagogy, translanguaging, teacher ideologies, scale development, exploratory factor analysis, K-12, community college, higher education, ESL
Abstract
In an increasingly globalized world, substantial numbers of multilingual learners occupy K–12 and higher education spaces bringing diverse linguistic resources that, when intentionally and appropriately leveraged, can significantly enhance English language learning outcomes. Multilingual pedagogies, which honor and build upon students' full linguistic repertoires, are essential for fostering equitable and inclusive learning environments. This quantitative exploratory study investigated teachers' attitudes toward multilingual teaching with the goal of developing a reliable survey instrument—the Multilingual Pedagogy Scale (MPS)—to measure how teachers perceive language learning in multilingual classrooms and what they report doing in their classrooms.
First, a review of the research helped identify five key constructs that served as the foundation for the initial instrument: beliefs, knowledge, openness, confidence, and positionality. I created an initial survey comprising 45 survey items with 8 - 10 questions per construct. I collected 220 responses from participants using convenience and snowball sampling methods. After collecting the responses, I tested the psychometric properties and conducted an exploratory factor analysis to assess the reliability of the tool and examine the relationships between the items. The analysis resulted in a shorter, 15-item survey with three main areas: (a) Collaboration and Community, (b) Instruction, and (c) Beliefs About Language Learning.
The instrument that was developed can be used as a summative tool to assess teachers’ attitudes toward multilingual pedagogies. It can also be used formatively to design professional development initiatives related to teaching multilingual students and then, to evaluate these development initiatives. In short, the instrument constructed in this dissertation study can help ensure that more appropriate and effective teaching strategies will be used with multilingual learners across both K–12 and higher education contexts.
Document Type
Dissertation: Open Access
Department
Leadership Studies
Digital USD Citation
Ramers, Lauren H., "Developing An Instrument to Measure Teacher Attitudes Toward Multilingual Pedagogies" (2025). Dissertations. 1079.
https://digital.sandiego.edu/dissertations/1079
Copyright
Copyright held by the author
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a CC BY-NC-ND License.
Included in
Adult and Continuing Education Commons, Adult and Continuing Education and Teaching Commons, Bilingual, Multilingual, and Multicultural Education Commons, Higher Education Commons, Higher Education and Teaching Commons, Junior High, Intermediate, Middle School Education and Teaching Commons, Other Teacher Education and Professional Development Commons, Secondary Education Commons, Secondary Education and Teaching Commons