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Dissertation
Bridging language gaps: a qualitative insight into team dynamics and success among multinational autism educators
Doctor of Education (Ed.D.), Drexel University
Sep 2025
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.17918/00011199
Abstract
Language diversity is a defining feature of multinational autism education centers, where precise communication underpins teamwork, professional growth, and student outcomes. This qualitative ethnographic study explored how nine educators in a center in Abu Dhabi perceived and managed language diversity in their daily work. Participants represented varied cultural and linguistic backgrounds and roles ranging from classroom therapist to department supervisor. Data were gathered through semi-structured interviews and analyzed using a two-stage thematic process, producing thirty subthemes across four themes: Policy and Practice of Language Use, Functional Multilingual Strategies, Translation and Communication Roles, and Language, Identity, and Leadership Culture. Findings showed that English, while the official lingua franca, also acted as a gatekeeper of credibility and advancement. Staff described developing multilingual strategies such as code-switching, simplification, visual supports, and back-translation as essential for accuracy and inclusion. Translation was seen as indispensable yet burdensome, with bilingual staff carrying hidden labor that was rarely acknowledged. Language further shaped professional identity and leadership recognition, reinforcing inequities while also fostering resilience and informal peer learning. The study concludes that language diversity is not peripheral but structural in shaping organizational culture and professional success. Recommendations include clarifying and consistently applying language policies, formalizing translation roles, redesigning professional development for accessibility across proficiencies, and expanding leadership recognition to value multilingual and intercultural competencies. These insights situate communication equity as inseparable from inclusivity, program fidelity, and student success in therapeutic education contexts.
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Details
- Title
- Bridging language gaps
- Creators
- Christina Coley
- Contributors
- Michael G. Kozak (Advisor)
- Awarding Institution
- Drexel University
- Degree Awarded
- Doctor of Education (Ed.D.)
- Publisher
- Drexel University; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
- Number of pages
- 116 pages
- Resource Type
- Dissertation
- Language
- English
- Academic Unit
- School of Education (1997-2026); Drexel University
- Other Identifier
- 991022098142604721