Discursive Gentrification of Dual-Language Bilingual Education Across 12 of the Largest U.S. School Districts

• In Event: Gentrification 2.0 in Dual-Language Bilingual Education: New Ways of Peeling the Layers From Districts to Schools

Abstract

Purpose and Background
Examining 12 of the largest U.S. school districts’ websites for their discursive framing of dual language and other bilingual education programming, we analyzed the primary messages asserted to the public about their programming and how they appeal to particular audiences. Building on previous work at the district level (Dorner, 2011; Wall et al., 2019), this study takes a national purview of different sociopolitical contexts, including how Emergent Bilinguals (EBs) are positioned. We ask: How do very large US school districts’ websites frame EB students within their dual language and school choice programming? We focused on analyzing large school districts because they impact many students and are high-profile models for other districts. Thus, their public-facing web content can play an important role in either reproducing or countering patterns of discursive DLBE gentrification.

Theoretical Framework
We employed a critical language planning and policy framework (Tollefson, 2006) viewing how planning and policy are never neutral and have traditionally been exercised by dominant stakeholders, usually white. By discursive gentrification we refer to ways privileged groups’ interests colonize discursive spaces, while marginalizing minoritized groups and their needs and interests, such as heritage language maintenance and development.

Methods
This study uses an interpretive policy analysis (Yanow, 2000) of publicly available website content devoted to dual language in the 12 largest school districts in the U.S. without repeating states or metropolitan areas in the sample. Content analyzed included a description of the dual language program, visual images, videos, enrollment eligibility, registration forms and whether content was furnished in languages other than English. Over 150 policy texts were collected. Using thematic content analysis (Strauss & Corbin, 1998), the team identified the degrees of explicitness and implicitness of their intended student audience and how it moderated the inclusion or exclusion of EBs.

Results
In comparison to previous work studying the gentrification of dual language education, this study showed a new level and form of subtle discursive gentrification. While districts varied in their discourse priorities, preliminary findings show three main themes. First, EBs’ unique interests and needs related to heritage language maintenance and reasons related to family, home and community reasons were mainly overlooked. Second, school districts located in newer immigrant destination states had little target content about EBs and their families, nor discussion of language maintenance and development. Lastly, in the case of districts in newer immigrant destination states, dual language content was generally situated in the world language department’s pages targeted to the majoritized language group, thereby gentrifying the program in its genesis (rather than pushing EBs out from extant programs), making it less accessible to EBs.

Scholarly Significance
This study identifies more nuanced forms of DL gentrification and how this is represented at different levels throughout the US. This discursive gentrification reflects school district priorities and who is constituted as an idealized DL student. The Phase II of this study is to share our findings with district personnel and examine the mechanisms and ideologies that represent website content.

Authors

• Juan A. Freire, Brigham Young University

• Trish Morita Mullaney, Purdue University

• Garrett Delavan, Georgia State University