Dual language programs: Questions of access in the state of Arizona

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.14507/epaa.28.4680

Keywords:

Dual Language Programs, English Language Learners, Interest Convergence, Case Study

Abstract

Public schools across the country are increasingly working with children who enter schools speaking a language other than English. Using a case study methodology, the authors examined Dual Language Program (DLP) implementation in Arizona, which by law supports English-only education. Several benefits (bilingualism, bi-literacy, biculturalism, globalization) and challenges (curriculum, teachers, state policy, funding, and lack of access to DLPs for minority language students) are highlighted from stakeholder perspectives. Participants in this study described the paradox of excluding ELLs from dual language programs as inefficient, unnecessary, and wrong. Taking Interest Convergence as a theoretical framework to understand the Arizona context regarding English-only education, this study raises implications for research and practice.

 

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Author Biographies

Laura M. Gomez, Los Angeles City College

Laura Gomez investigates education policy from an equity lens. Her research focuses specifically on language policy and its impact on English language learners.

Jesus Cisneros, University of Texas at El Paso

Jesus Cisneros takes a critical interdisciplinary approach to education policy and practice, providing a nuanced and complex understanding of identity, power, resistance, and oppression. His research moves gender, sexuality, and immigration status, and their conceptual margins, to the center of analysis in an effort to explore and understand the way politics and identity interact with various axes of inequality.

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Published

2020-01-26

How to Cite

Gomez, L. M., & Cisneros, J. (2020). Dual language programs: Questions of access in the state of Arizona. Education Policy Analysis Archives, 28, 18. https://doi.org/10.14507/epaa.28.4680

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Section

Articles