“I Didn’t Even Know That Was a Thing”: Preparing Dual Language Bilingual Education Teachers in the New Latinx South

Numbers of Dual Language Bilingual Education (DLBE) programs are rapidly growing in the United States, especially in the New Latinx Diaspora in the South. With fast expansion comes a need for DLBE teachers, but there is a lack of programs in this region to prepare teachers with specialized knowledge for DLBE instruction. This phenomenological study examines the efforts of one university to prepare DLBE teachers in the unique context of Georgia, where the establishment and growth of DLBE is a recent development. Interviews with study participants reveal recruitment and preparation challenges, which have implications for teacher preparation and research, both in the New Latinx South and more broadly.