"How Do We Rebuild Bilingual Education?" Challenges and Opportunities in Post–Prop 58 California

• In Event: Latinx Experiences in U.S. Schools: Students, Teachers, Teacher Educators, and Education Allies as Collaborators

Abstract

Objectives/Purposes
Currently, there are 1.3 million English Learners (EL) in California public schools who comprise 21.4% of the total population. Of the total number of EL students, 83% speak Spanish. Further, 54% of all public school students are Latinx (CDE, 2018). California's demographics combined with a shift in viewing bilingualism through an asset lens, were instrumental in the 2016 passing of Proposition 58, referred to as California Education for a Global Economy Initiative (CA Ed.G.E.) in effect as of July 1, 2017. The overall impact of CA Ed.G.E. was to lift previous restrictions on bilingual education programs and spur a rapid increase of demand for both programs and bilingual teachers. It is critical that we engage with experienced and novice key stakeholders as we undertake rebuilding bilingual education.

Theoretical Framework
Interest Convergence theory emerged from Critical Race Theory (CRT) and contains a social and racial justice research agenda (Bell, 1987; Delgado, 1995). It draws from an interdisciplinary perspective to challenge dominant ideologies, including color blindness (Bell, 2009; Delgado, 2006). Interest Convergence serves as an analytical lens to understand how each participant is understanding the various challenges and opportunities as California rebuilds its bilingual education programs.

Methods and Data Sources
Six teacher educators (3 Latinx, 3 White) who prepare teachers to teach in California’s bilingual classrooms were interviewed using a semi-structured interview protocol. Individual interviews ranged between 60 and 90 minutes in length. Two of the teacher educators had over 25 years of teaching experience, two had between 10-25 years of experience, and two had less than 10 years of experience. We employed the descriptive method when analyzing the interview data. This method is “the method of choice when straight descriptions of phenomena are desired” (Sandelowski, 2000, p. 334).We then conducted a content analysis (Miles, Huberman, & Sandaña, 2014).

Results
Two main themes emerged that surfaced tensions between faculty. First, faculty with more experience (25+ years) were wary of fostering translanguaging, which in practice means that in one class period, one will hear two languages being used instead of more traditional language separation (Garcia & Wei 2013). Faculty with less than 10 years experiences advocated for translanguaging as a central tenet of new bilingual programs. Second, faculty raised concerns over the extent to which resources would be allocated to English language speakers learning a second language as compared to English language learners learning English and developing their native language(s). Latinx faculty in particular were in favor of the latter.

Significance
Bilingual education programs are growing rapidly in California. Decisions regarding program design and populations being served are often informed by stakeholders’ underlying beliefs about the purpose of such programs. For example, faculty with more experience point to lessons learned from years past while faculty who are more recently graduated are excited about newer models related to bilingual education. These various points are all valid and should be considered as all of us work collaboratively to best serve our students.

Authors

• Margarita Jimenez-Silva, University of California Davis

• Janine Bempechat, Boston University