Title

Perceived impact of two-way dual immersion programs on Latino students' relationships in their families and communities

School/Department

School of Education

Publication Date

11-2012

Abstract

This study examined how participation of Latino students in two-way dual immersion versus mainstream programs might have impacted students' relationships with Spanish-speaking adults, thus affecting contexts for students to develop resiliency. Participants were parents of 90 fifth- and sixth-grade students (initially English proficient [EP] as well as initially English language learners) in dual immersion, and parents of 103 students of similar language backgrounds in mainstream programs, located in three schools. Also, the students themselves completed questionnaires. Findings showed that a greater number of parents in dual immersion programs perceived that their children grew closer to Spanish-speaking family and communicated more with Spanish-speaking community members, with marked enthusiasm noted especially in open-ended responses by parents of EP students. Statistical analysis showed significantly higher means of responses for dual immersion parents compared with parents of mainstream students on questions related to these issues, which was the case for students' responses as well.

Keywords

Intergenerational relations; Education, Bilingual

Publication Title

International Journal of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism 

Volume

15

Issue

2

First Page

235

Last Page

257

DOI of Published Version

10.1080/13670050.2011.620079

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