Policy as Practice: Administrator Perspectives on Implementing Dual-Language and Structured English-Immersion Programs

• In Event: Sheraton Roundtable Session 14
  In Roundtable Session: Policy Development and Debate

Abstract

In this study, we present findings from a larger ethnographic project on language policy as practiced and latinx student identities. This paper highlights the perspectives of school administrators on dual language and structured English immersion (SEI) programs serving emergent bilinguals at their school. Using both a language policy and planning perspective (LPP) and the construct of “policyscapes,” we present findings from a series of administrator interviews on the ways they navigate, implement, and resist the continued hegemony of SEI policy, while simultaneously providing pathways to dual language opportunities for emergent bilingual students. The results and discussion underscore both the continued challenges of SEI policy in Arizona and the role of educational leaders in fostering spaces for biliteracy development.

Authors

• Evelyn C Baca, Arizona State University - Tempe

• Margarita Jimenez-Silva, University of California Davis