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Education Sciences
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Supporting Multilingual Students in Schools: Perspectives, Challenges, and Opportunities, 2nd...
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Supporting Multilingual Students in Schools: Perspectives, Challenges, and Opportunities, 2nd Edition

A special issue of Education Sciences (ISSN 2227-7102). This special issue belongs to the section "Language and Literacy Education".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 July 2026 | Viewed by 1587

Editors

Prof. Dr. Margarita Jimenez-Silva

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
School of Education, University of California, Davis, CA 95616, USA
Interests: multilingual education; bilingual education; translanguaging; bilingual teacher preparation; teacher professional development; culturally sustaining pedagogy; family engagement; place-based learning
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Karen Guerrero

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Mary Lou Fulton Teachers College, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ 85281, USA
Interests: teacher preparation; working with emergent multilinguals; family engagement to support building community through conversations around community cultural wealth; dual language teacher professional development; supporting diverse learners through place-based learning; gamification for emergent multilinguals
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Supporting students in our K-12th-grade classrooms who are learning English and content simultaneously remains a critical issue. The terms used to describe students who are learning English as an additional language have varied over the years and include the following, among others: limited English proficient students, language minority students, English language learners, and English learners. In more recent years, the field has shifted away from deficit-perspective language to using more asset-based terms, including "emergent bilingual students" and "multilingual students."  Currently, the U.S. federal government continues to use the term English learners. The number of multilingual students our schools serve continues to grow, while we are experiencing a teacher shortage, especially in bilingual/multilingual education. The COVID-19 pandemic drew focus to the additional supports needed to address the academic and linguistic needs of our multilingual students and their families.

This Special Issue will address various perspectives, challenges, and opportunities for supporting multilingual students in K-12  schools. We encourage submissions that address various models of bilingual and multilingual education serving multilingual students. Manuscripts focused on various language approaches, particularly those that employ translanguaging, are also encouraged. We are also seeking manuscripts that examine issues related to the preparation of teachers, paraprofessionals, and other specialists who support this student population. Manuscripts that examine how to support teachers of multilingual students are also encouraged. Attention to current issues and trends, such as the use of AI, related to supporting multilingual students is also welcome.

Prof. Dr. Margarita Jimenez-Silva
Dr. Karen Guerrero
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a double-anonymized peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Education Sciences is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 1800 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • multilingual learners
  • emergent bilinguals
  • bilingual education
  • teacher preparation
  • teacher professional development
  • translanguaging
  • language and identity
  • heritage language speakers
  • heritage language programs
  • dual language programs
  • bilingual models
  • international contexts
  • STEM content areas
  • social studies/social sciences
  • culturally sustaining pedagogy
  • culturally responsive pedagogy
  • culturally relevant pedagogy
  • language loss
  • family engagement

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Further information on MDPI's Special Issue policies can be found here.

Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

25 pages, 835 KB  
Article
Pedagogical Collaboration for Language and Knowledge Development of Second Language Learners—From the Perspective of Teachers in the Early Years of Schooling
by Christa Roux Sparreskog, Johanna Hedlund, Désirée Ivarsson and Alexandra S. Dylman
Educ. Sci. 2026, 16(7), 1003; https://doi.org/10.3390/educsci16071003 - 25 Jun 2026
Viewed by 161
Abstract
Schools in Sweden support multilingual students’ language and knowledge development in various ways, including through pedagogical collaboration among multiple professionals. Despite the recognized benefits, however, little is known about how such pedagogical collaboration is understood and practiced by classroom teachers in Sweden. The [...] Read more.
Schools in Sweden support multilingual students’ language and knowledge development in various ways, including through pedagogical collaboration among multiple professionals. Despite the recognized benefits, however, little is known about how such pedagogical collaboration is understood and practiced by classroom teachers in Sweden. The purpose of the present study is to deepen the understanding of how teachers in the early years of schooling collaborate with heritage language teachers, Swedish as a second language teachers, and special educational needs teachers, in order to support language and knowledge development in second language learners. Individual semi-structured interviews were conducted with 15 Swedish teachers working in the early years of schooling, i.e., from reception year to Grade 3. The interviews were analyzed thematically. Results showed that teachers generally perceive collaboration with other professionals as beneficial. They conceptualized varying forms of pedagogical collaboration, encompassing frequent and flexible collaboration with close colleagues, interdependent collaboration with heritage language teachers (often complicated by structural constraints), and regular, structured collaboration within the student health team. Identified opportunities associated with pedagogical collaboration included the provision of holistic support for second language learners, as well as opportunities for professional development and collegial support. At the same time, several challenges were highlighted, including time-related and structural constraints that hinder collaboration, as well as language barriers and the influence of individual characteristics. Student health teams were highlighted as important for integrating expertise; however, limited teacher insight and the infrequent inclusion of Swedish as a second language teachers were reported to result in multilingual perspectives being overlooked. This study therefore recommends greater consideration of multilingual expertise in assessments of special educational needs and calls for further research on the role of student health teams in supporting second language learners. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Supporting Multilingual Students in Schools: Perspectives, Challenges, and Opportunities, 2nd Edition)
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19 pages, 279 KB  
Article
What Will Happen to the Mother Tongue? Parental Perspectives on L1 Support During the Transition to Estonian-Medium Education
by Diana Vender and Birute Klaas-Lang
Educ. Sci. 2026, 16(6), 881; https://doi.org/10.3390/educsci16060881 - 3 Jun 2026
Viewed by 239
Abstract
In 2024, Estonia launched a major educational reform: kindergartens and schools began a gradual transition to Estonian-medium education, to be completed in preschool and basic education by 2030. In Tartu, the transition began already in 2023. Until now, Estonia has maintained a dual [...] Read more.
In 2024, Estonia launched a major educational reform: kindergartens and schools began a gradual transition to Estonian-medium education, to be completed in preschool and basic education by 2030. In Tartu, the transition began already in 2023. Until now, Estonia has maintained a dual school system—Estonian- and Russian-medium—inherited from the Soviet occupation. This paper examines the attitudes of Russian-speaking parents toward supporting their children’s mother tongue during the transition in Tartu’s bilingual schools and kindergartens. While Estonian legislative and strategic documents emphasise the importance of maintaining the mother tongue of pupils who study in a language different from their family language, institutional support and resources remain limited, placing the responsibility largely on families. The qualitative study is based on 25 in-depth interviews conducted in early 2023 with Russian-speaking parents whose children were attending transition schools and kindergartens in Tartu. The theoretical framework is based on research highlighting the importance of first-language development for additional language learning, academic achievement, and cognitive development. Content analysis reveals divergent parental attitudes. Some emphasise the need to preserve the mother tongue and expect schools to provide support, viewing multilingualism as a resource that strengthens identity and future prospects. Others prioritise rapid transition to Estonian-medium education, considering L1 development in educational settings less important. The findings highlight how legislative appreciation of multilingualism is undermined by the lack of institutional support. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Supporting Multilingual Students in Schools: Perspectives, Challenges, and Opportunities, 2nd Edition)
14 pages, 364 KB  
Article
Multilingual Literacy for All? Aligning Clinical Practice of Bilingual Teacher Candidates in California
by Jordi Solsona-Puig and Fernando Rodríguez-Valls
Educ. Sci. 2026, 16(1), 40; https://doi.org/10.3390/educsci16010040 - 29 Dec 2025
Viewed by 578
Abstract
Literacy is at the core of teaching. Teacher candidates in California need to complete a minimum of 400 h of clinical practice, the key component for their training. The Teacher Performance Expectations (TPE) standards that guide the evaluation of bilingual teacher candidates have [...] Read more.
Literacy is at the core of teaching. Teacher candidates in California need to complete a minimum of 400 h of clinical practice, the key component for their training. The Teacher Performance Expectations (TPE) standards that guide the evaluation of bilingual teacher candidates have added TPE7 specifically on Literacy. The state evaluation tools for clinical practice—the California Teacher Performance Assessment (CALTPA), the edTPA, and the Fresno Assessment of Student Teachers (FAST)—are aligned with these TPEs. This ecosystem creates a series of challenges for bilingual candidates who complete their student teaching practices in dual-language instruction and/or bilingual classrooms since the Teacher Performance Expectations (BTPEs) are the standards applied to coursework but not necessarily to Clinical Practice. In this article, we critically analyze these challenges to promote multiliteracy for all, not only from an English-Only perspective. In this article, we aim to offer recommendations to (a) prepare bilingual teacher candidates, (b) scaffold their development as educators, and (c) assess their work through student teaching. We also provide support systems to be set in place for to Teacher Preparation Programs (TPPs) to ensure multiliteracy in an equitable and inclusive framework that should guide the training of bilingual teacher candidates. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Supporting Multilingual Students in Schools: Perspectives, Challenges, and Opportunities, 2nd Edition)
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