The Look Act (2017) in Massachusetts: implications to society and teacher education

Abstract This article presents some implications of the Look Act to education in Massachusetts, by first discussing the latest USA educational laws, as they set the scene for the Look Act, which will then be examined in correlation with teacher education and the educational tensions generated by its implementation. Some of its implications to society, resulting from the recent changes in English Language Learners (ELL) teaching in Massachusetts, will be addressed, since teacher education, educators, families, students, and other education-related stakeholders are closely interwoven as they seek to prepare individuals to live in society. Of qualitative approach, this research seeks to construct new knowledge, without necessarily generating solutions to specific problems. For schools equipped with skilled ELL teachers, priority should be given to assigning them leader roles so that they can advocate successfully for ELL and its future. Administrators, however, seem to forget that changes should be implemented according to teachers, who are usually ignored. Besides, ELLs bring strengths from their cultures, and must be valued for their language competence.