Community Enactment of Dual-Language Education Amid Neoliberal Policies and Diverse Local Histories

• In Event: Sheraton Roundtable Session 19
  In Roundtable Session: Dual Language Education Explosion: A Critical Analysis of Policy Making Across the States

Abstract

Objectives
Despite Missouri’s relatively small proportion of immigrants, ~4% in 2013, some suburban and rural areas have seen significant increases in foreign-born settlement since 2000 (American Immigration Council, 2015). Meanwhile, long-time, urban immigrant destinations like Kansas City are also experiencing increasing diversity (Driever, 2004) as well as intensified competition from charter schools. Accordingly, a few school districts have responded with the creation of new language education policies, despite the fact that there is little state expertise in multilingual education (Author 2015; Author et al,. forthcoming). In turn, this research project asked: How are policies for dual language education developed and implemented across Missouri? How do different local contexts shape language education, especially for young children from im/migrant and multilingual families?

Theoretical Framework
This study is framed by theories of “policy enactment” (Ball, Maguire, & Braun, 2012), the idea that policy implementation is a series of ongoing, discursive interpretations, which shape practice and, in turn, policies themselves (Author, 2011). Using the four contextual dimensions of “situated, professional, material, and external” contexts (Braun, Ball, Maguire, & Hoskins, 2011), we examined how local histories and individuals interacted to shape dual language education across Missouri. By DL education, we refer to both “one-way” (designed for mainly one language group) and “two-way” programs (designed for mix of ~50% native English speakers and ~50% speakers of another language) (Tedick & Wesely, 2015).

Methods and Data Sources
Data came from research-practitioner partnerships developed since 2009, and included 16 interviews with board members and administrators; news articles about language education and concurrent educational policies; school board policies guiding language education; demographic data; and field notes from visits to three public school districts: one rural (two-way program within a school), one urban (two-way and one-way magnet schools), and one urban charter network (one-way programs). Merging a constructivist approach to grounded theory (Charmaz, 2003) and discourse analysis (Fairclough, 2013), these local data were analyzed in contrast to Missouri state policy, specifically: “Educating Linguistically Diverse Students: Requirements & Practices” and “Instructional Program Models.”

Findings
Results demonstrate that the enactment of DL education in Missouri is not framed or dictated by state-level policies. Instead, it is shaped by local-community histories, demographics, public demand, and concurrent educational policies. Often, native English-speaking parents—who were not immigrants—were instrumental in advocating for DL education, which they saw as “enriching” for “all students.” In the two urban areas, DL schools were designed to integrate students across Black-White racial lines, rendering students of other races, ethnicities, languages, and immigration backgrounds invisible. Meanwhile, neoliberal educational reform policies (e.g., charter schools) led to challenges for program implementation and competition for students. Detailed case analyses will demonstrate how such contextual factors can lead to enacting policies that neglect children from immigrant and multilingual families, even as policymakers used such reform to support their “English Learners” as best they could.

Significance
This work highlights the significance of contextual dimensions, too often missing in policy research, and the importance of examining how local conditions may lead to inequalities for transnational youth.

Authors

• Lisa M. Dorner, University of Missouri - Columbia

• Jeong-Mi Moon, University of Missouri - Columbia