Policy and Practices: Challenges for Involvement of Latino Parents of Children in Bilingual Education Programs

• In Event: 66.058 - Roundtable Session 28
  In Roundtable Session: 66.058-11 - Promises and Perils of Alternative Education Policies and Bilingual Education Programs

Abstract

Despite the aimed support from policy for home-school relations and parent awareness of bilingual education for Latino parents of ELLs, challenges are found in the research. The purpose of this research was to explore the politics and practices at school for Latino parents of ELLs. A mixed-method design was used for this study. The theoretical frameworks used were Bahktin’s (1986) theory of double discourse and Delgado Bernal’s (2002) Latino Critical Race Theory. The results indicated double discourses in the practices the school personnel claimed to provide and what was actually offered. The understandings of school personnel were framed with deficit perspectives on the Spanish language, bilingual education, and culture. These perceptions affected the quality of Latino parental involvement.

Author

• Vanessa Espitia Mendoza, The University of Texas - El Paso