“I feel the Responsibility”

Rural schools in the United States are facing an increase in the number of Emergent Bilinguals (EBs). Teachers in rural communities must facilitate learning for EB students whose linguistic and cultural backgrounds differ from the mainstream. However, rural teachers are less prepared to address EBs’ educational needs, and little is known about the actual teacher knowledge (TK) required to provide effective EB instruction in secondary rural settings. Grounded in teacher knowledge and place-based education frameworks, this qualitative study examined what teachers say they know related to the teaching and learning of EBs in a rural secondary school community. The study addressed two main questions: (1) What personal and professional knowledges do secondary teachers reveal about teaching EBs in rural settings? and (2) What place-based knowledges do secondary teachers reveal about their work with EBs? Primary data from four secondary teachers teaching EBs in a rural school in the southeastern United States consisted of video-recorded interviews and photo elicitation that illuminated teachers’ told narratives of their personal, professional, and place-based experiences via stories. Thematic data analysis followed an iterative approach. Findings from this study demonstrated that the teachers’ personal and place-based knowledges emerged as the most prominent influences in their work. Teachers’ bilingualism, hispanidad, and faith were leveraged to build relationships with their rural secondary EBs. Thus, relationship-building was central to teachers’ knowledge-base of working with EBs. A four-dimensional teacher knowledge model is proposed. Findings may inform teacher education programs and extend the research base on rural secondary EB education