As evidence mounts of persistent disparities in academic outcomes by English learner (“EL”) classification status, it is critical that we better understand how to create more equitable classroom learning environments. The present study investigates the role of classroom peer academic collaboration networks within linguistically diverse, “English-medium” middle school classrooms. Across 29 classrooms, 491 early adolescents (including 158 EL students) identified whom they “usually work with” in class; from these data, we operationalized two characteristics of each classroom's peer network: social network equality (the extent to which academic collaboration ties were equally distributed) and linguistic integration (the extent to which cross-group ties between ELs and non-ELs were as common as same-group ties). In multilevel models, we tested across-year mean and fall-to-spring change in each of these network characteristics as predictors of relative across-year growth in EL students’ assessed oral language proficiency, and in all students’ academic outcomes, including teacher-rated class participation and content understanding, and standardized test scores in the content area of the observed class. We additionally tested whether EL status moderated associations between classroom network characteristics and academic outcomes. Findings suggest benefits of positive across-year change in social network equality and linguistic integration for all students’ academic development in class. In addition, classroom network characteristics may help to reduce disparities: mean social network equality was more positively associated with relative growth in content understanding and standardized test scores for ELs than for non-ELs, and change in linguistic integration positively predicted oral language development among EL students.

中文翻译：

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语言多样化中学课堂的学术发展和差异：社会网络平等和语言整合的作用

随着英语学习者（“EL”）分类状态在学业成绩方面持续存在差异的证据越来越多，我们必须更好地了解如何创建更公平的课堂学习环境。本研究调查了课堂同伴学术合作网络在语言多样化的“英语媒介”中学课堂中的作用。在 29 个教室中，491 名早期青少年（包括 158 名 EL 学生）确定了他们在课堂上“通常与谁一起工作”；从这些数据中，我们操作化了每个教室的同伴网络的两个特征：社交网络平等（学术合作关系平均分布的程度）和语言整合（EL 和非 EL 之间的跨组联系与同组联系一样普遍的程度）。在多层次模型中，我们测试了这些网络特征中的每一个的跨年平均值和秋季到春季的变化，作为 EL 学生评估的口语能力和所有学生的学业成绩（包括教师）的相对跨年增长的预测因子- 评估课堂参与和内容理解，以及观察课堂内容领域的标准化考试成绩。我们还测试了 EL 状态是否会调节课堂网络特征和学业成绩之间的关联。调查结果表明，社会网络平等和语言整合的积极跨年变化对所有学生在课堂上的学业发展都有好处。此外，