Heteroglossic Ideology Challenged: Impact of bilingual education on immigrant family dynamics

• In Event: Poster session 2

Proposal

Presentation Objective
This study examines existing literature regarding how immigrant primary schoolchildren use language in dual-language bilingual schools. Through writing a literature review with a heteroglossic ideology lens, this theoretical research strives to understand the impact of bilingual education on immigrants. In addition, we investigate and consider how children’s bilingual school experience affects family dynamic.

Background
About 1% of immigrants who migrated to the United States (US) were under five years old, and approximately 5% were children between 5-17 years old in 2016 (Zong & Batalova 2016). These children mostly attend school and learn in an English language dominated society. However, many of these children were not exposed to English nor do they utilize the language at home. Bilingual schools offer families options for their children’s education that encourages English language acquisition and maintenance of native languages. 
 
Immigrant children are enriched with culture and language values, which are central in Dual-language Immersion (Garcia 2009). Dual-language Immersion programs teach in two languages, informed by the heteroglossic ideology. Heteroglossic ideology is a dynamic and hybrid cultural competent paradigm for bilingual education (Garcia 2009). This ideology includes various models of bilingual education that promote inclusiveness and maintenance of native languages (Baker 2011). In such an educational environment, children are presented a method to utilize their native language, as well as learn English (the main academic and social language of the US), as they investigate academic topics. 
 
It is vital to understand how children’s bilingual education affects not only their academics, but also their family dynamics. As Hilton (2015) suggests, English dominates native languages in bilingual schools; a dynamic that can influence the family. We will investigate: Do children maintain bilingualism/multilingualism in Dual-language Immersion programs and if so, is there a dominant language? Secondly, we will extend the research by asking: What underlying implications does bilingual education have on family and social dynamics? 
 
Relevance to CIES: 
This literature review will explain the language roles in dual-language bilingual schools and its affects on the children’s bilingualism/multilingualism. Due to factors like peer pressure, academic work, and assimilation, children’s native language may diminish, affecting their language use at home. In a cultural context, language shifts may create problems in family dynamics, which ultimately will affect the children’s culture identity. 
 
Research Method: 
Our research study will engage on reviewing literature through a heteroglossic lens, to enhance a hybrid understanding of the cultural impact of bilingual schools on immigrant children. In addition, we intend to collect qualitative data through interviewing primary schoolchildren and their families on how bilingual schools have affected family dynamics. 

Contribution: 
The contribution of this study is to better understand the cultural and social context of immigrant children in bilingual schools, and the role bilingual schools play in supporting cultural and social development of immigrant children and families. The study will look at the influence of children’s language use on their family and vice versa, an important aspect under-investigated in scholarly literature. 

Authors

• Xiong Her, University of Pennsylvania Graduate School of Education

• Meilin Raquel Chong, University of Pennsylvania