Institutes of Higher Education

It is important to highlight that as the standards were being developed, we recognized that we would be opening up an all-new space, professional activity, and path forward for faculty dedicated to the preparation of dual language bilingual education teachers and personnel.  EMMA represents a vehicle that has never quite existed prior to establishing the specialized professional association or SPA under CAEP.  Other faculty engaged, for example, in preparing teachers specializing in early childhood, mathematics, or English as a second language have access to teams of reviewers that can provide guidance and feedback on their program’s progress toward meeting their respective SPA standards.  Such an option has never existed for the field of dual language bilingual education teacher preparation.  We are excited about teams of experts being available across the United States that will be able to engage in conversations with faculty with the sole purpose of preparing better dual language education teachers or related personnel through CAEP.  

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EMMA is also committed to creating an all-new space for university faculty and researchers at large to move the field forward through research anchored specifically to dual language two-way and one-way bilingual education programs.  We envision university faculty from across the US engaged in conversations and activities aimed at improving dual language teacher preparation curriculum, instructional approaches, and assessment practices tethered to the national dual language teacher preparation standards.  We are determined to create a space that will allow university faculty and researchers to advance related theory, practice, and policy.  We further envision promoting grant writing activities to support this research.  We recognize that while dual language K-12 education approaches have been examined by researchers over the last three decades, challenges remain.  However, those challenges are not exclusive to the school personnel but also include what transpires during the preparation of those personnel either through university-based programs or professional in-service development.   We invite faculty and those interested in engaging in research centered on higher education to join us as EMMA breaks this new ground.