Description
An exploratory study of Latino majority elementary (LME) schools was launched to investigate if parents of English Language Learners (ELLs) are provided due process to biliteracy programs in low-income schools in San Diego County. The main research question of the study asked: How are the instructional programs in LME schools preparing Latino ELLs to fully participate in a multilingual global society from the perspective of ELL parents? To answer the main research question, three sub-questions guided the study: (1) Are Latino-majority schools providing parents due process to research-based biliteracy education (BE) programs? (2) Are Latino-majority schools providing adequate resources and personnel in addressing the instructional needs and biliteracy skills of ELLs? (3) Are Latino- majority schools providing effective instructional programs that address the instructional needs and biliteracy skills of ELLs? research framework of the study used the Castañeda Guidelines, derived from the Fifth Circuit court ruling of Castañeda v. Pickard (1981) that outlines three conditions of due process to educational benefits addressing ELLs, namely, (a) instructional services that are pedagogically research based, (b) necessary resources to support the instructional approach, and (c) demonstrating instructional program effectiveness. One main case study school was the focus of the study, with three LME schools observed to contrast the identified themes of the study using the Castañeda Guidelines. The four LME schools, with student enrollments of over 70% Latino and 50% ELLs, were examined using qualitative methods, involving semi-structured interviews, collection of field study data and applying content analysis methods to identify salient themes. For the school observations, the Guiding Principles of Dual Language Education (Howard, Sugarman, Christian, Lindholm-Leary, & Rogers, (2007) were used as a blueprint, upon which an enhanced system of rubrics that incorporated the Castañeda Guidelines, were developed into an assessment tool. The results of this study identified nine themes, corresponding to the Castañeda Guidelines, which suggest that in LME schools a high level of instructional tension exist, consisting of (a) philosophical and pedagogical tensions in promoting dual language education (DLE) for Latino ELLs; (b) a shortage of biliteracy curriculum materials and teachers committed to DLE; and (c) a disregard for the primary language of Latinos who speak a language other than English. Above all, the results of the study point to the sad fact that the rights of Latino parents, as legitimated educational surrogates of ELLs, are often compromised and not honored as both state and federal regulations mandate.
