Introduction

A look at the data available on the professional preparation of science teachers for work with students for whom English is a second or additional language indicates that of the science teachers who instruct more than 50% of such students in their classes, 71% report receiving “some training.” While this number may, at first glance, seem promising, consider the experience of those students in the classrooms of the 29% of science teachers who have not received “some training” and consider the fact, that “some training” may be a single course on multicultural education, in which the education of language-minority students was the topic of just one session. More disturbing is that science teachers who instruct fewer numbers of these students report having received “some training” in lower numbers. Thus, culturally-and linguistically-responsive science education for language-minority students is far from ensured. While it appears that teaching in geographic areas where the presence of these students is more strongly felt tends to predict teacher exposure to training, the quality of that training is highly variable. This is evidence of how the current system is configured to predispose such youth toward negative outcomes in science. This is the system we want to transform. We hope that, as you read this volume on the work of language in multicultural science classrooms, you will become part of this transformation by taking advantage of this and other opportunities in your professional preparation to equip yourself with the knowledge and skills to be an effective teacher for all of your students.