Skip to main content

Advertisement

SpringerLink
Log in

The fiftyfication of dual language education: one-size-fits-all language allocation’s “equality” and “practicality” eclipsing a history of equity

  • Original Paper
  • Published:
Language Policy Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

The rising popularity of dual language education programs resembles gentrification in policy spaces where the influx of privileged newcomers coincides with some form of pushing out of the former beneficiaries or their interests, which can include the promotion or exclusion of certain program models. Using critical discourse analysis, we examined state policy documents regarding these programs for a trend in the U.S. toward what we call fiftyfication or 50:50 eclipse, that is, subtle or obvious privileging of the 50:50 model (equal language allocation) over equitable models that allocate more instructional time in the partner (non-English) language. Since quantitative research has consistently documented several advantages of equitable over equal language allocation, we argue that it is problematic to educational equity to find marginalization of equitable allocation in state policy documents. Such fiftyfication functions as part of what we term programmatic gentrification, one of three processes where programs, program options, and public discussion begin to provide less attention and benefit to marginalized communities than are provided to more privileged communities. Beyond the recognized case of Utah, we found six states whose policy documents contained contradictions and assertions that privileged 50:50. Delaware and Georgia emerged as heavily fiftyfied because they silenced or misrepresented relevant research, significantly privileged English-dominant students, reinforced intersectional English hegemony, and unethically overemphasized feasibility to rationalize fiftyfication. We discuss (a) consequences of this policy discourse for educational equity, (b) future research needed, and (c) ways the field can counteract 50:50 eclipse.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Acosta, J., Williams, J., III., & Hunt, B. (2019). Dual language program models and English language learners: An analysis of the literacy results from a 50/50 and a 90/10 model in two California schools. Journal of Educational Issues, 5(2), 1–12.

    Google Scholar 

  • Agirdag, O. (2014). The literal cost of language assimilation for the children of immigration: The effects of bilingualism on labor market outcomes. In R. M. Callahan & P. C. Gándara (Eds.), The bilingual advantage: Language, literacy, and the US labor market (pp. 160–181). Bristol: Multilingual Matters.

    Google Scholar 

  • Alvear, S. A. (2019). The additive advantage and bilingual programs in a large urban school district. American Educational Research Journal, 56(2), 1–37.

    Google Scholar 

  • Babino, A., & Stewart, M. A. (2017). “I like English better”: Latino dual language students’ investment in Spanish, English, and bilingualism. Journal of Latinos and Education, 16(1), 18–29.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ball, S. J. (2017). The education debate. Bristol: Policy Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Boyle, A., August, D., Tabaku, L., Cole, S., & Simpson-Baird, A. (2015). Dual language education programs: Current state policies and practices. U.S. Department of Education. Retrieved from http://www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/oela/resources.html.

  • Calderón, M., & Minaya-Rowe, L. (2003). Designing and implementing two-way bilingual programs: A step-by-step guide for administrators, teachers, and parents. Thousand Oaks: Corwin Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Canagarajah, S. (2013). Translingual practice: Global Englishes and cosmopolitan relations. New York: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cervantes-Soon, C. G., Dorner, L., Palmer, D., Heiman, D., Schwerdtfeger, R., & Choi, J. (2017). Combating inequalities in two-way language immersion programs: Toward critical consciousness in bilingual education spaces. Review of Research in Education, 41(1), 403–427.

    Google Scholar 

  • Collier, V. P., & Thomas, W. P. (2009). Educating English learners for a transformed world. Mexico: Fuente Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Collier, V. P., & Thomas, W. P. (2017). Validating the power of bilingual schooling: Thirty-two years of large-scale, longitudinal research. Annual Review of Applied Linguistics, 37, 203–217.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cummins, J. (2003). Challenging the construction of difference as deficit: Where are identity, intellect, imagination, and power in the new regime of truth. In P. P. Trifonas (Ed.), Pedagogies of difference: Rethinking education for social change (pp. 41–60). New York: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • De Jong, E. J., & Bearse, C. I. (2014). Dual language programs as a strand within a secondary school: Dilemmas of school organization and the TWI mission. International Journal of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism, 17(1), 15–31.

    Google Scholar 

  • Delavan, M. G., & Freire, J. A. (Under review). Equal and equitable language allocation programs in dual language bilingual education: Conceptualizing (un)strategic simplifications in planning for ratios and translanguaging.

  • Delavan, M. G., Valdez, V. E., & Freire, J. A. (2017). Language as whose resource? When global economics usurp the local equity potentials of dual language education. International Multilingual Research Journal, 11(2), 86–100.

    Google Scholar 

  • Fairclough, N. (2010). Critical discourse analysis: The critical study of language. London: Pearson Education.

    Google Scholar 

  • Fortune, T. A. (2012). What the research says about immersion. Chinese language learning in the early grades: A handbook of resources and best practices for Mandarin immersion. New York: Asia Society.

    Google Scholar 

  • Freire, J. A. (2014). Spanish-English dual language teacher beliefs and practices on culturally relevant pedagogy in a collaborative action research process (Doctoral dissertation). Retrieved from Proquest.

  • Freire, J. A. (2020). Promoting sociopolitical consciousness and bicultural goals of dual language education: The transformational dual language education framework. Journal of Language, Identity & Education, 19(1), 56–71.

    Google Scholar 

  • Freire, J. A., Delavan, M. G., & Valdez, V. E. (2021). Grassroots resistance and activism to one-size-fits-all and separate-but-equal policies by 90:10 dual language schools en comunidades latinas. International Journal of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1080/13670050.2021.1874868.

  • Gándara, P. C., & Contreras, F. (2009). The Latino education crisis: The consequences of failed social policies. London: Harvard University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Genesee, F., & Lindholm-Leary, K. (2013). Two case studies of content-based language education. Journal of Immersion and Content-Based Language Education, 1, 3–33.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gillborn, D. (2012). The white working class, racism and respectability: Victims, degenerates and interest-convergence. In K. Bhopal & J. Preston (Eds.), Intersectionality and “race” in education (pp. 37–64). New York: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gonzales, M. L. L., Gatbonton, E., & Grégoire, P. (2018). Immersion programs and preserving endangered indigenous languages. EDUCADI, 1(2), 99–118.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hawaii State Department of Education. (2019). Hawaiian language immersion program. Retrieved from http://www.hawaiipublicschools.org/TeachingAndLearning/StudentLearning/HawaiianEducation/Pages/translation.aspx.

  • Henderson, K. I., & Palmer, D. K. (2019). “I wonder why they don’t do the two-way”: Disrupting the one-way/two-way dichotomy, re-envisioning the possibilities of dual language bilingual education. NABE Journal of Research and Practice, 9(1), 47–59.

    Google Scholar 

  • Johnson, D. C. (2013). Language policy. London: Palgrave Macmillan.

    Google Scholar 

  • Jubas, K. (2015). Discursive inconvenience: The dis/appearing rhetoric of LGBT rights in post-secondary internationalization texts. Canadian Journal of Educational Administration and Policy, 173. Retrieved from http://journalhosting.ucalgary.ca.

  • Leite, J., & Cook, R. (2015). Utah: Making immersion mainstream. In P. Mehisto & F. Genesee (Eds.), Building bilingual education systems: Forces, mechanisms and counterweights (pp. 83–96). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lewis, C., Enciso, P., & Moje, E. B. (2007). Reframing sociocultural research on literacy: Identity, agency, and power. New York: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lindholm-Leary, K. (2016a). Bilingualism and academic achievement in children in dual language programs. In E. Nicoladis & S. Montanari (Eds.), Bilingualism across the lifespan: Factors moderating language proficiency (pp. 203–223). Washington: APA Books.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lindholm-Leary, K. (2016b). Students’ perceptions of bilingualism in Spanish and Mandarin dual language programs. International Multilingual Research Journal, 10(1), 59–70.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lindholm-Leary, K., & Block, N. (2010). Achievement in predominantly low SES/Hispanic dual language schools. International Journal of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism, 13(1), 43–60.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lindholm-Leary, K., & Genesee, F. (2010). Alternative educational programs for English learners. In: California D. (Eds.) Improving education for English learners: Research-based approaches (pp. 323–367). California Department of Education Press, Sacramento.

  • Linell, P. (1998). Discourse across boundaries: On recontextualizations and the blending of voices in professional discourse. Text, 18(2), 143–158.

    Google Scholar 

  • Louisiana Department of Education. (2013). Louisiana World Language Standards. Retrieved from https://www.louisianabelieves.com/resources/library/world-languages-immersion.

  • Macedo, D., Dendrinos, B., & Gounari, P. (2015). Hegemony of English. New York: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Marshall, C. (1988). Bridging the chasm between policy makers and educators. Theory into Practice, 27, 98–105.

    Google Scholar 

  • McIvor, O., & McCarty, T. L. (2017). Indigenous bilingual and revitalization-immersion education in Canada and the USA. In O. Garcia (Ed.), Encyclopedia of language and education: Bilingual and multilingual education. Springer.

  • Menken, K., & Solorza, C. (2014). No child left bilingual: Accountability and the elimination of bilingual education programs in New York City schools. Educational Policy, 28(1), 96–125.

    Google Scholar 

  • Molina, R. (2020). Keeping TWBI/DLI programs viable in a virtual instructional setting (amid the COVID-19 outbreak) planning elements to carefully consider for a successful opening of school in the fall of 2020. Retrieved from ATDLE.org.

  • Moore, S. C. K., Fee, M., Ee, J., Wiley, T. G., & Arias, M. B. (2014). Exploring bilingualism, literacy, employability and income levels among Latinos in the United States. In R. M. Callahan & P. C. Gándara (Eds.), The bilingual advantage: Language, literacy, and the US labor market (pp. 45–77). Bristol: Multilingual Matters.

    Google Scholar 

  • Morcom, L. A., & Roy, S. (2017). Learning through language: academic success in an Indigenous language immersion kindergarten. Journal of American Indian Education, 56(2), 57–80.

    Google Scholar 

  • Morita-Mullaney, T., Renn, J., & Chiu, M. M. . (2020). Contesting math as the universal language: a longitudinal study of dual language bilingual education language allocation. International Multilingual Research Journal. https://doi.org/10.1080/19313152.2020.1753930.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Olson Beal, H. K., Haj-Broussar, M., & Boudreaux, N. (2012). Foreign language immersion programs and school policy: Conflicting agendas. Research in the Schools, 12(2), 1–16.

    Google Scholar 

  • Palmer, D. K., Martínez, R. A., Mateus, S. G., & Henderson, K. (2014). Reframing the debate on language separation: Toward a vision for translanguaging pedagogies in the dual language classroom. Modern Language Journal, 98(3), 757–772.

    Google Scholar 

  • Pennycook, A. (2010). Language as a local practice. New York: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Poza, L. E. (2019). “Where the true power resides”: Student translanguaging and supportive teacher dispositions. Bilingual Research Journal, 42(4), 408–431.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ramirez, P., & Ross, L. (2019). Secondary dual-language learners and emerging pedagogies: The intersectionality of language, culture, and community. Theory into Practice, 58(2), 176–184.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rogers, R., Schaenen, I., Schott, C., O’Brien, K., Trigos-Carrillo, L., Starkey, K., & Chasteen, C. C. (2016). Critical discourse analysis in education: A review of the literature, 2004 to 2012. Review of Educational Research, 86(4), 1192–1226.

    Google Scholar 

  • Salama, A. H. (2011). Ideological collocation and the recontexualization of Wahhabi-Saudi Islam post-9/11: A synergy of corpus linguistics and critical discourse analysis. Discourse & Society, 22(3), 315–342.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sánchez, M. T., García, O., & Solorza, C. (2018). Reframing language allocation policy in dual language bilingual education. Bilingual Research Journal, 41(1), 37–51.

    Google Scholar 

  • Santibañez, L., & Zárate, M. E. (2014). Bilinguals in the U.S. and college enrollment. In R. M. Callahan & P. C. Gándara (Eds.), The bilingual advantage: Language, literacy, and the US labor market (pp. 211–233). Bristol: Multilingual Matters.

    Google Scholar 

  • Secada, W. G. (1989). Educational equity versus equality of education: An alternative conception. In W. G. Secada (Ed.), Equity and education (pp. 68–88). New York: Falmer.

    Google Scholar 

  • Shannon, S. (2011). Parent engagement and equity in a dual language program. In E. M. Olivos & O. Jiménez-Castellanos (Eds.), Bicultural parent engagement: Advocacy and empowerment. New York: Teachers College Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Shaw, K. M. (2004). Using feminist critical policy analysis in the realm of higher education: The case of welfare reform as gendered educational policy. The Journal of Higher Education, 75(1), 56–79.

    Google Scholar 

  • Smith, P. H., & Arnot-Hopffer, E. (1998). Exito Bilingüe: Promoting Spanish literacy in a dual language immersion program. Bilingual Research Journal, 22(2–4), 261–277.

    Google Scholar 

  • Smith, P. H., Arnot-Hopffer, E., Carmichael, C. M., Murphy, E., Valle, A., González, N., & Poveda, A. (2002). Raise a child, not a test score: Perspectives on bilingual education at Davis Bilingual Magnet School. Bilingual Research Journal, 26(1), 103–121.

    Google Scholar 

  • Solorza, C., Aponte, G., Leverenz, T., Becker, T., & Frias, B. (2019). Translanguaging in dual language bilingual education: A blueprint for planning units of study. New York: The Graduate Center, The City University of New York.

    Google Scholar 

  • Thiesmeyer, L. (2003). Introduction: Silencing in discourse. In L. Thiesmeyer (Ed.), Discourse and silencing. Amsterdam: John Benjamins Publishing.

    Google Scholar 

  • Thomas, W., & Collier, V. (2012). Dual language education for a transformed world. Mexico: Fuente Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Tollefson, J. W. (2006). Critical theory in language policy. In T. Ricento (Ed.), Introduction to language policy: Theory and method (pp. 42–59). New York: Wiley-Blackwell.

    Google Scholar 

  • Torres-Guzmán, M. E., Kleyn, T., Morales-Rodríguez, S., & Han, A. (2005). Self-designated dual-language programs: Is there a gap between labeling and implementation? Bilingual Research Journal, 29(2), 453–474.

    Google Scholar 

  • Umansky, I., & Reardon, S. (2014). Reclassification patterns among Latino English learner students in bilingual, dual immersion, and English immersion classrooms. American Educational Research Journal, 51(5), 879–912.

    Google Scholar 

  • Valdez, V. E., Freire, J. A., & Delavan, M. G. (2016). The gentrification of dual language education. The Urban Review, 48(4), 601–627.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wiley, T. G., & García, O. (2016). Language policy and planning in language education: Legacies, consequences, and possibilities. The Modern Language Journal, 100(1), 48–63.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wilson, W. H., & Kamanā, K. (2011). Insights from Indigenous language immersion in Hawai‘i. In: D. J. Tedick, D. Christian, & T. W. Fortune (Eds.), Immersion education: Practices, policies, possibilities (pp. 36–57).

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Teacher Education, Brigham Young University, Provo, UT, 84602, USA

    Juan A. Freire

  2. Department of Middle and Secondary Education, Georgia State University, Atlanta, GA, USA

    M. Garrett Delavan

Authors
  1. Juan A. Freire
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. M. Garrett Delavan
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Juan A. Freire.

Additional information

Publisher's Note

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Freire, J.A., Delavan, M.G. The fiftyfication of dual language education: one-size-fits-all language allocation’s “equality” and “practicality” eclipsing a history of equity. Lang Policy 20, 351–381 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10993-021-09579-z

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10993-021-09579-z

Keywords

Search

Navigation