Come for the Professional Capital, Stay for the Community Cultural Wealth: Motivations and Pedagogical Outcomes for Educators Earning ESOL Endorsements in a Test‐Only State

Culturally responsive teaching is a set of theoretical and practical principles aimed at improving instruction and academic achievement amongst the United States' (U.S.) diverse student body. Using professional capital and community cultural wealth as conceptual frames, this mixed‐methods research study examined the effects of the completion of English to Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) graduate coursework on the uptake of culturally responsive teaching practices and behaviors by inservice teachers seeking an ESOL endorsement in a test‐only state. In conducting pre/post self‐efficacy assessments ( n = 50) and follow‐up qualitative interviews ( n = 40) with teachers who completed graduate ESOL coursework programs via National Professional Development (NPD) grant projects, this study found statistically significant improvements to teachers' self‐efficacy to use culturally responsive strategies upon completion of coursework. We also found evidence of professional capital at play in teachers' motivations for pursuing—and pedagogical outcomes from completing —an ESOL endorsement through coursework. Last, we found that many teachers demonstrated an increased critical awareness of their students' lives and leveraged forms of community cultural wealth to support their diverse students. By engaging a mixed methods approach, this research paper seeks to contribute to a growing body of literature on teacher efficacy in working with culturally and linguistically diverse students.