Social and Cultural Capital of Teachers for the Success of a Dual-Language Program

• In Event: Sheraton Roundtable Session 13
  In Roundtable Session: Challenging Language (Im)Possibilities in Dual Language Programs: Capital, Context, and Hope

Abstract

This case study explores the social and cultural capital of teachers in a dual-language immersion (DLI) program as they overcome challenges in their daily practice. Working from Bourdieu’s (1986) theory of social capital and Rios-Aguilar and Kiyama’s (2012) approach to funds of knowledge, this research shows that DLI teachers face challenges ranging from resistance by non-DLI teachers in the school afraid of losing their jobs, to broader fear of the DLI program taking resources away from the monolingual classrooms. To overcome these challenges, the DLI teachers draw extensively on their global social networks to bring resources into the school and build trust with students and parents, leveraging their existing social and cultural capital to benefit the community as a whole.

Authors

• Katrina Liu, University of Nevada - Las Vegas

• Jorge Luis Inzunza, Delavan Darien School District

• Richard C. Miller, University of Nevada - Las Vegas