Policy Discourses and Schooling for New Populations of English Learners

• In Event: Community and School Narratives, Policies, and Practices for New Immigrant Populations

Abstract

Increasing numbers of immigrants and refugees are settling in small towns that have little experience dealing with cultural and/or linguistic diversity. In Wisconsin, newcomers from around the globe are entering school districts that have little experience dealing with English learners. Significantly, these districts have experienced an unprecedented influx of English learners at the same historical moment that NCLB began requiring the annual assessment of and accountability for all students, including English learners. Previous research suggests that the implementation of high stakes testing in response to NCLB has created barriers for poor and minority students, including English learners (Au, 2009; Menken, 2008; Valenzuela, 2005, Valli et al., 2008). This paper examines how NCLB-mandated testing policies shape the way educators in three small districts in Wisconsin understand and conceptualize the home cultures and educational needs of English learners.

Data for this paper was collected as part of a larger mixed method study of the way rural and suburban communities in Wisconsin are responding to the recent influx of immigrant students. In the first phase of our research, we surveyed roughly three hundred districts to find out the types of programs in place for English learners. Based on responses, we then conducted qualitative case studies of ten districts. Case study districts included ones that had not historically had ESL programs and had experienced a significant increase in their English learner population within the last 10 years. We paid particular attention to the way staff talked about the newcomer populations, the nature of the classroom instruction, and the factors that shaped educators’ decisions regarding educational programming and curriculum.

Our research confirms many of the dangers of high stakes testing for English learners identified by previous researchers, including the tendency to view students from a deficit perspective. While there were similarities across the cases, however, there were also significant differences that reflected the social, political, cultural and historical context of the specific receiving communities and differences in the immigrant populations. This paper will examine three of the case studies, which represent three distinct stories. The first case will focus on the way a small northern Wisconsin town responded to the arrival of Somali immigrants. As one teacher explained, these newcomers had “three strikes against them because they are Black, Muslim and non-native English speakers.” The second case will focus on a community with a newer and growing Mexican immigrant population, but with a long history of serving migrant children from Mexico. For this district, the adjustment had to do with seeing these students as permanent members of the community. The final case looks at a community that is experiencing the most “typical” growth pattern in Wisconsin. Here, the majority of newcomers are Mexican immigrants with a much smaller number of immigrants from Eastern Europe and Asia. All three school districts were faced with challenges related to new populations and the demands of testing, but each had different perspectives on the immigrants and the role of schools that reflected the unique situation in each community.

Author

• Stacey J. Lee, University of Wisconsin - Madison