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Abstract

This study investigated public school teachers’ awareness of family engagement as a linguistic and cultural resource for multilingual students. Multilinguals are typically described as individuals who can communicate in more than one language, with English not being their native language, and their linguistic choices are influenced by societal norms and systems (Šifrar Kalan et al., 2024; Wei, 2008). Preparing pre-service teachers to enhance opportunities for multilingual students remains a critical need in teacher education programs, as they strive to move beyond monolingual ideologies in their teaching practices (Cárdenas Curiel et al., 2024; Kim & Choi, 2020; Williams & Ewing, 2019). As public schools implement instructional programs for multilingual students, teachers should consider family engagement in preparation to teach culturally and linguistically diverse students. Teacher training for family engagement is essential for enhancing teaching effectiveness and promoting students’ academic achievement, thereby creating a more enriching educational experience for educators, students, and their families (Boyd et al., 2009; Farmer, 2024; Grolnick & Pomerantz, 2022; Ma et al., 2022). The participants in the current study, who are mainstream schoolteachers, were given a survey to analyze the overall level of teachers’ awareness of family engagement as a linguistic and cultural resource for multilingual students. The descriptive statistics showed that 70 percent of the teachers who had any kinds of ESL related training were aware of the importance of family engagement in teaching multilingual students compared to the teachers without ESL training. This study invites educators to re-examine their pre-service course objectives to ensure that teacher candidates are equipped with the knowledge and skills to teach multilingual students and provide them with an environment to feel they are included and that their identity is valued.

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