TEACHER PERCEPTIONS OF DUAL-IMMERSION IN ARIZONA’S ENGLISH-ONLY LANGUAGE ENVIRONMENT
Abstract
Seventeen years after the passage of Arizona’s English-only education mandate, a growing number of schools in the state have implemented dual-language programs. Although Arizona’s English Learners lack access to public education in their heritage languages, the emergence of these programs signals hope for an expansion of these students’ options. This mixed-method study assessed the perceptions of “dual-immersion” teachers – who are members of a professional development consortium in Maricopa County, Arizona – towards their program and its overall role in serving all students in their classrooms. Using Bronfenbrenner’s Ecological systems model as an interpretive framework, this study examined interview and survey data in order to develop an understanding of how the systems’ environment affects teacher’ beliefs and perceptions. Key findings included dual-immersion teachers’ lack of agency in affecting language policy, the need for instructional materials, the positive impact of team learning facilitated by leaders, an economic or practical rationale for programs’ existence, and teachers’ beliefs in the abilities of English Learners to succeed in the dual-immersion classroom. Understanding how dual-immersion teachers position themselves towards their programs and students offers educational leaders insight into promoting an expansion of program options to underserved students in the state. Future research directed at teachers in Mandarin and French schools in the state could provide new information or reinforce existing themes uncovered during the research.
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