AAE and variation in teachers' attitudes: A question of school philosophy?

Linguists and other social scientists have identified school curriculum, teacher education, language policy and testing as pedagogical domains in which to address issues and develop tools that foster greater academic achievement of African American English-speaking students, and nonstandard English speakers more generally. This article focuses on the intersection between teachers' attitudes toward African American English and language policy, or lack thereof, at the secondary school level. The analyses are based on questionnaires completed by teachers from several public schools located in the New York metropolitan area. This study includes teachers with large populations of students for whom English is a second language or whose primary language is a dialect of English other than that spoken by the mainstream. Thus, we inquire to what extent teachers are sensitized to the educational needs of these students. The results point to the importance of school policy in affecting teachers' sensitivity towards AAE.