The Teacher's Dilemma: Balancing Trade-Offs in Programming Education for Emergent Bilingual Students

TL;DR

This paper explores how K-12 computing teachers navigate the complex trade-offs between language accessibility, curriculum standards, and industry readiness when selecting programming tools for emergent bilingual students.

Contribution

It provides an analysis of teachers' decision-making processes and the factors influencing their choices in balancing inclusivity with educational and professional objectives.

Findings

Teachers prioritize accessibility to support EB students.

Curriculum alignment influences programming language choices.

Trade-offs impact student engagement and learning outcomes.

Abstract

K-12 computing teachers must navigate complex trade-offs when selecting programming languages and instructional materials for classrooms with emergent bilingual students. While they aim to foster an inclusive learning environment by addressing language barriers that impact student engagement, they must also align with K-12 computer science curricular guidelines and prepare students for industry-standard programming tools. Because programming languages predominantly use English keywords and most instructional materials are written in English, these linguistic barriers introduce cognitive load and accessibility challenges. This paper examines teachers' decisions in balancing these competing priorities, highlighting the tensions between accessibility, curriculum alignment, and workforce preparation. The findings shed light on how our teacher participants negotiate these trade-offs and what factors influence their selection of programming tools to best support EB students while meeting broader educational and professional goals.