Language and Equity in a Montessori Dual-Language Public School

• In Event: AERA Roundtable Session 9
  In Roundtable Session: Comparative Perspectives on Education for Bi/multilingual Students

Abstract

The purpose of this article is to describe a bilingual, two-way immersion Montessori public school, which offers children a public education that is bilingual and follows the Montessori methods of instruction. Within this context, the goal of this study was to ascertain teacher's ideas around language and equity, given not only the unique instructional context but also the larger socio-political context of an area undergoing gentrification. Based on informal visits to the school as well formal semi-structured interviews with teachers and the leadership team, this analysis presents the major themes in how teachers understood language, how language was structured through the ways in which instruction was organized and students were grouped, and how teachers talked about equity in their context.

Authors

• Sofia Chaparro, University of Colorado - Denver

• Kate Schamu, University of Colorado - Denver

• Elena Bacmeister, University of Colorado - Denver