The number of Multilingual Learners (MLs) enrolled in U.S. schools increased from 8.1% of the total student population to more than 10% between the 2000-2001 school year and the 2016-2017 school year (NCELA, 2016; U.S. Dept. of Education, NCES, 2020). Like all learners, MLs need support to ensure their engagement in mathematics classrooms (Kena et al., 2015; Silva & Kucer, 2016). While the number of MLs has been increasing, there has been limited research about how teachers support these students' engagement in content area classrooms (Hos, 2016). A notable paucity of studies focuses specifically on mathematics teachers' experiences supporting MLs' learning and engagement in mathematics classrooms (Warren et al., 2014). This study investigated mathematics teachers' beliefs, perceptions, experiences, and strategies in teaching and engaging MLs in 6th -12th grade mathematics classrooms. The dissertation study contributes to the field of mathematics education by providing practical and theoretical implications.This dissertation is built on an extensive review of the relevant literature about 6th-12th-grade mathematics teachers' beliefs, perceptions, and experiences in teaching and engaging MLs in the mathematics classroom. I used a combination of Teacher Cognition (TC) and Culturally Responsive Teaching (CRT) as the theoretical framework. Mixed methods were used, and data were collected in two phases: (1) quantitative data (i.e., adapted survey using Karabenick and Noda's (2004) survey and Rhodes's (2017) CRT survey) and (2) qualitative data (i.e., teacher interviews). Results revealed that teachers frequently used appropriate materials, instructional resources, standards, objectives, scaffolding strategies (e.g., grouping, pacing, wait time, transparency in teaching, comprehensible input), and assessment tools to support MLs' learning and engagement in the mathematics classroom. Data sources clearly illustrated that teachers strongly agreed they were comfortable with having MLs in their classroom and were willing to support MLs in learning mathematics by boosting their engagement. The results also showed that teachers needed to (1) learn and design strategies for academic support of MLs, (2) learn about the systematic school and district resources available to support for MLs' identification and placement; (3) learn about district and school-level supports available at the administrator level; (4) make data-driven decisions about curriculum and instruction for MLs; (5) have more willingness to work with MLs; (6) have professional development and support for culturally responsive teaching and MLs' learning and engagement; (7) notice their beliefs about language acquisition (bilingualism and translanguaging); (8) establish inclusion; (9) encourage autonomy and cultural awareness of students and collaborative decision making with all; (10) establish trust and relationships; and (11) provide transparent feedback and assessment. It is believed that the results of the study will help teachers of MLs to comprehend the prominence of culturally responsive teaching. Additionally, implications include advising policymakers to acknowledge that covering the curriculum in a timely manner for MLs is not enough for sustained success.
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