ESOL teachers' experiences in their role as advocate: Making the case for transitive advocacy

This mixed-methods study investigated ESOL teachers' experiences in their role as advocate. Surveys were completed by 144 ESOL teachers located in the southeastern United States. Ten participants were selected from the pool of 144 to participate in semistructured interviews to explore their experiences in the advocate role. Results from this study indicate that ESOL teachers perceived their role to include a high degree of advocacy and felt effective as advocates, yet they also perceived implicit resistance to their advocacy work. Themes from interview data describe the role of advocacy as improving educational outcomes and enhancing life chances, supports and barriers, and working with others. The term transitive advocacy is introduced as a new dimension within the existing conceptual typologies of transformative versus nontransformative advocacy. Theoretical and pedagogical implications are addressed.