"Kids Naturally Segregate": Exploring Integration and School Culture in a Two-Way Dual-Language Program

• In Event: 58.083 - Roundtable Session 26
  In Roundtable Session: 58.083-18 - Critical Perspectives on Dual-Language Education

Abstract

This case study of a Two-Way Dual Language school explores the complexities of integrating Spanish-speaking and English-speaking student populations and creating a school culture to support the often cited goal of "biculturalism." I argue that the school's culture of compliance, individualism, and exclusive focus on academic achievement, as well as institutional segregation for the purposes of language instruction, contributed to the school's lack of a cohesive bicultural mission. Drawing from social identity theory, I argue that DL schools must examine issues of group boundary creation and make an explicit effort to develop a school culture that encourages cross-cultural interaction and connection, not just individualistic academic achievement.

Author

• Meg Burns, Lesley University