Bilingual teaching assistants have carried out a variety of roles in kindergarten, elementary, junior-high, and high schools since 2009, including support for multicultural students’ learning and regular students’ understanding of cultural diversi...
Bilingual teaching assistants have carried out a variety of roles in kindergarten, elementary, junior-high, and high schools since 2009, including support for multicultural students’ learning and regular students’ understanding of cultural diversity. Bilingual teaching assistants play a central role in multicultural education in school, and it is anticipated that their role and needs may be further strengthened. The purpose of this study, then, is to provide the groundwork for political and academic support for bilingual teaching assistants to fully develop their capabilities as core professionals of bilingual education in public schools. To achieve the purpose of this study with regards to the role of bilingual teaching assistants and their training programs, this study proceeded with three research criteria, as follows:
First, this study reviewed relevant literature from case studies of other countries, such as the United States and the United Kingdom, to draw implications for the desirable role of bilingual teaching assistants in the context of Korea.
Second, this study administered questionnaires to grasp how bilingual teaching assistants carry out their role and how much they are satisfied. The responses provided documentation showing that their experiences and opinions as professionals could be reflected in future policies and programs.
Third, this study examined training programs for bilingual teaching assistants implemented mainly by Seoul National University of Education in an effort to make expansive suggestions to help them carry out their roles and develop their capabilities.
The results drawn from comparative reviews on roles of bilingual teaching assistants of the U.S. and the U.K. and those of Korea's bilingual teaching assistants show that the major role of the U.S. and the U.K. bilingual teaching assistants is counseling service for multicultural students/ adaptation to school and support for their schoolwork. In addition, other extensive roles they carry out include basic student support, instruction assistance for general teachers, school culture guidance for multicultural parents, and ties with local community. Their performances inside school are similar to those of Korea's bilingual teaching assistants, bur their supporting efforts outside were found very extensive.
The results of the survey administered to bilingual teaching assistants show that they carry out various roles and are highly satisfied with their performances in their roles as bilingual teaching assistants. By contrast, they showed strong demands for improvement of employment, benefits, and work environment, which was commonly agreed by general teachers and school administrators. On the other hand, general teachers and school administrators expressed their concern about bilingual teaching assistants’ qualifications. Thorough management and assessment during the process of selection, training, and hiring of bilingual teaching assistants can ease their concern.
The examination of training programs reveals that training programs were undertaken for international marriage immigrants with 4-year college education or higher for 6 months, and their curriculum consisted of liberal arts courses, teacher education courses, major courses, practicum, and cultural experiences. Their curriculum has been improved ever since 2009, reflecting demands for bilingual teaching assistants as multicultural education professionals such as bilingual education, basic study guidance, and counseling.
A brief summary of the significance and implications of this study is as follows:
First, as case studies in other countries show, their bilingual teaching assistants have a wide scope of activity and contribute greatly to their school’s education. Their activities, performance in their role, and academic and political discussions can shed light on Korea’s bilingual teaching assistants, which is still at its early stage, to provide specific guidelines for their roles. Considering heavy workload, lack of communication with general teachers, negative educational effect due to unstable employment, limited information sharing, and conflicts due to unequal status within the school organization that those countries have faced with regard to bilingual teaching assistants, desirable measures to prevent these issues should be sought in every way.
Second, precise guidelines for bilingual teaching assistants should be provided. The results of the survey show that their roles are so extensive that they have to perform duties out of their area of expertise. By providing precise guidelines for their roles, confusion can be reduced and conditions in which they can fully demonstrate their expertise can be created.
Third, extensive changes in training programs for bilingual teaching assistants are needed. The success of their activities and Korea’s multicultural education through them depends on training and proper qualifications required for teachers in charge of multicultural education through appropriate curriculum of training institutions. Political and academic discussions about training programs and improvement of relevant systems should also be implemented in order for bilingual teaching assistants to better carry out their roles and expand their professionalism in multicultural education.
This study can hopefully be a foundation to create a positive system for Korea’s bilingual teaching assistants and further develop multicultural education.
KEY WORDS: Bilingual teaching assistant, Multicultural education, Bilingual education, Training program
* A Thesis Submitted in July 2013 to the Graduate Committee of the Seoul National University of Education (in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements) for a Masters Degree in Education.