Beyond Grades: A Holistic Parental Report Card for Korean Dual Language Programs

Bilingualism characterizes not only people, but homes, schools, and communities across the United States. While some bilingual people are forced to suppress their bilingualism, others are encouraged to develop their skill set to a level of becoming biliterate. Bilingualism and biliteracy are key features in dual language bilingual education (DLBE) programs where students are provided daily opportunities to develop two languages simultaneously, along with grade-level academic content. Research in DLBE suggest closure of the achievement gap (Valentino & Reardon, 2015). Traditionally, DLBE programs were designed to keep the two target languages (for example, Spanish and English) separate as designated by time, space, teacher, and academic content area. Teachers who work under these strict guidelines often find that policing language use is both restrictive and unnatural, thus interfering with the flow of bilingual language development. This qualitative case study included 10 teacher participants from one rural school district in the Midwest. The study investigated how teachers perceive and respond to the constraints of language separation during instructional activities. Data were gathered from teacher interviews, classroom observations, and written informal interviews. Findings from this study indicate that under the strict separation of language program model, DLBE teachers brought their unique personal bilingual experiences to their practice by creating opportunities for dynamic and flexible bilingual language use during instructional time. The following strategies contributed to their students’ dynamic bilingualism: (a) the student as teacher, (b) active learning, student engagement, and group work, (c) the use of cognates, (d) strengthening bridges between languages and metalinguistic transfer, (d) reading the word and the world or learning literacy with culturally and contextually relevant literature, and (e) code-switching and translanguaging as a means of addressing the subtractive nature of language learning within an additive bilingual model. On the basis of the findings, the researcher recommends that DLBE program models open spaces for practicing dynamic and flexible bilingualism. Strategizing spaces for the use of two languages during instructional time fosters growth and development for students to become functionally bilingual and biliterate.

This qualitative case study explored the perspectives of school administrators on implementing structured English immersion (SEI) and dual-language bilingual education (DLBE) programs serving emergent bilingual learners at one urban Arizona elementary school. Using a sociocultural policy perspective, I analyzed findings from a series of interviews examining the ways the participating administrators navigated and implemented restrictive language policies, while simultaneously providing pathways to DLBE opportunities for emergent bilingual learners. I found there was ongoing tension between compliance and resistance to state-mandated policies. In addition, there were differences in how the administrators positioned emergent bilingual learners as a good or bad fit for the DLBE program at the focal school site. The results and discussion underscore both the continued challenges of SEI policy in Arizona and the role of educational leaders in fostering spaces for biliteracy development.

The purpose of this study was to examine Mexican and Mexican-American mothers’ perspectives about the construction of two-way dual language bilingual education (DLBE) programs in the context of an urban area in South Texas and to analyze the factors that contribute to their decision about their children’s participation in such programs. Our main data sources included 14 interviews, two personal narratives, field notes, and audio recordings from school and district meetings. We found that in addition to the general goals of DLBE programs (i.e., academic achievement, bilingualism, and biculturalism), there are additional factors that DLBE programs need to consider to better serve Mexican and Mexican-American communities. These factors include: a) bilingualism for heritage sustainability, social integration, and occupational inclusion; b) school-community building; c) meeting families’ basic needs; and d) attention to the dissemination of program information and misinformation. DLBE must adopt these components in order to foster a social justice stance as a central program tenet.

This mixed-methods study investigates how second-grade Spanish-English bilingual children develop both linguistic and sociocultural competence in a dual language bilingual education (DLBE) program. It focuses specifically on their early biliteracy and bilingual identity development across school and home contexts. Participants included 37 students and four teachers. Data sources included student and teacher surveys and interviews, standardized language assessments, and school records. The fsindings revealed strong cross-linguistic associations between Spanish and English, particularly between reading and writing. Children’s bilingual identities and aspirations were also positively linked to language proficiency in both languages. Notably, aspirations toward biliteracy showed stronger and more consistent associations with proficiency than oral-language goals. These findings underscore the critical role of literacy in supporting bidirectional cross-linguistic transfer. Despite this, both children and families appeared to inadvertently prioritize oral fluency over literacy, reflecting gaps in both perception and access to resources. This highlights a need for DLBE programs to broaden family engagement and reframe understandings of biliteracy. Given that identity-affirming experiences at home and school appear to support biliteracy development, sociocultural competence might be more intentionally integrated into instructional goals alongside linguistic and academic goals to better promote the holistic development of bilingual learners.

In recent years, neoliberal interests in U.S. Chinese/English dual language bilingual education (DLBE) programs have emphasized white, English-speakers’ use of Mandarin for economic and political gains. Such interests reify white supremacy and contribute to the erasure of Chinese and Chinese American voices, histories, and cultures in curriculum and instruction. While early literature on Chinese DLBE contexts examined program success based on students’ academic achievement and biliteracy development, there has been limited attention to cultivating critical consciousness to resist the commodification of language and multiculturalism for capitalist enterprise. Therefore, we propose a cohesive programmatic framework informed by Asian Critical Race Theory (AsianCrit) for Chinese DLBE programs to cultivate critical consciousness as a foundational educational goal. In this conceptual paper, we apply the seven tenets of AsianCrit to U.S. Chinese DLBE contexts to reimagine a community-based, historically-situated, and equity-oriented educational space. We hope this proposal will inform efforts toward just and innovative Chinese DLBE pedagogies and inspire new lines of critical research in the field of bilingual education.

ABSTRACTThis article describes the implementation process of a top-down dual-language bilingual education (DLBE) program in a large urban district, specifically examining the development of one-way (OW) and two-way (TW) DLBE programs. We explored how teachers made sense of, interpreted, and executed the educational language policy with these two distinct program tracks. We found educational disparities, inequities, and misconceptions both articulated and enacted by participants regarding the distinctions between OW and TW DLBE. The study contributes to the current conversation in the field that interrogates potential racial and socioeconomic inequity in the implementation of DLBE. We finish with a discussion of how these static language policy program labels could be re-envisioned to center the bilingual language development opportunities of all learners, including emerging bilinguals, multilinguals, English-dominant students, and heritage language learners.

Dual language bilingual programs aim to develop bilingualism, biliteracy, and sociocultural competence while meeting grade-level academic standards. There are at least four dual language bilingual education (DLBE) program models, which are traditionally defined by the student groups they imagine serving. One of these groups is transnational and racialized language learners who are, more often than not, otherwise marginalized in US schools. Well-implemented DLBE programs, with their roots in the historical and political fight for civil and educational rights for children who speak languages other than English, have been shown to be demonstrably effective for this group. Unfortunately, not all programs are well implemented, and they exist in spaces with colonial and racist histories, as pointed out by Guadalupe Valdés’s cautionary note decades ago. Even when DLBE programs are designed specifically for racialized and transnational language learners, research has documented persistent challenges to equity.

Comprehensibility Matters: Effective English Language Arts Instruction in Indiana's Dual-Language Bilingual Education Programs

This article presents a narrative inquiry of a Chinese heritage mother to theorize and explicate how historical, relational, and spatial processes impacted her negotiation with power and agency in relation to her own heritage language (HL) identity development. A narrative approach enables us to draw on participant counter-stories against master narratives that erase experiences of marginalization of Asians in Asian language education in the United States. We do this through a model of HL identity development (Zhou & Liu, 2022) supplemented by an AsianCrit lens (Iftikar & Museus, 2018). We show the importance of normalizing Chinese as a HL outside of the home in terms of language maintenance as well as the impact such normalization has on the development of an affirmative Chinese HL identity. We add that spaces for such identity development are deeply associated with language programs like dual language bilingual education (DLBE), especially as the number of DLBE opportunities grow in number and in popularity. Thus, language programs, including DLBE, have a responsibility to ensure that the language education they provide address the interests and investments of families with respect to their HL in order to decenter a primary focus on the interests of ethnolinguistic majoritized families.

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As we began to review articles for this special issue, we realized that we knew very little about the interaction between program implementation and program evaluation on the Federal Targeted Capacity Expansion Program for Substance Abuse Treatment and HIV/AIDS Services grants. Although it seemed obvious to us that the relationship between program directors and evaluators is important for the collaborative success of the Targeted Capacity Expansion Program for Substance Abuse Treatment and HIV/AIDS Services grant-funded projects, we felt that further information was needed to help identify the strengths and limitations of the various structural arrangements that guide these relationships. This article presents the results of a survey of Targeted Capacity Expansion Program for Substance Abuse Treatment and HIV/AIDS Services program directors and evaluators that explored the working relationship between the directors and evaluators in the implementation of Targeted Capacity Expansion Program for Substance Abuse Treatment and HIV/AIDS Services grant-funded projects.

Rubrics are well-established tools used in a variety of educational settings, such as student assessment, teacher performance, and curriculum review. This study investigates the extent to which and how rubrics are being used in program evaluation. After exploring the background, or etymology, of the word rubric, a review of literature is conducted. Results reveal that rubric use in program evaluation is relatively rare, although increasing. Rubrics are predominately used in education and health program evaluation to transform data from one form to another, to characterize organizational functioning, and to derive explicitly evaluative conclusions. Program evaluators use rubrics during data collection and data analysis study phases, and to synthesizing findings into conclusions. This paper is the first systematic study of the use of rubrics in program evaluation. It presents a picture of how program evaluation practitioners and scholars are using or discussing rubrics.

Let’s get technical: Enhancing program evaluation through the use and integration of internet and mobile technologies

The evaluation of Competence by Design (CBD) residency programs is crucial for enhancing program effectiveness. However, literature on evaluating CBD programs is limited. We conducted a 2-phase mixed-methods study to (a) assess the extent of program evaluation activities in CBD residency programs in Canada, (b) explore reasons for engaging or not engaging in these activities, (c) examine how CBD programs are conducting program evaluations, and (d) identify ways to build capacity for program evaluation. Phase 1 involved surveying 149 program directors from specialty/subspecialty programs that transitioned to CBD between 2017 and 2020. We calculated descriptive statistics for 22 closed-ended survey items. Phase 2 comprised interviews with a subset of program directors from Phase 1. Data analysis followed a 3-step iterative process: data condensation, data display, and drawing and verifying conclusions. In Phase 1, we received 149 responses, with a 33.5% response rate. Of these, 127 (85.2%) indicated their programs engage in evaluation, while 22 (14.8%) do not. Among the 127 programs that engage in evaluation, 29 (22.8%) frequently or always develop evaluation questions, and 23 (18.1%) design evaluation proposals/plans. Reasons for engaging in evaluation included decision-making and stimulating changes in educational practices. Conversely, reasons for not engaging included lack of knowledge, personnel, and funding. In Phase 2, 15 program directors were interviewed. They reported that CBD programs face challenges such as limited resources and buy-in, rely on ad hoc evaluation methods, and use a team-based evaluation format. To enhance evaluation capacities, interviewees suggested (a) developing expertise in program evaluation, (b) acquiring evaluation resources, and (c) advocating for clear evaluation expectations. Most CBD residency programs are engaged in program evaluations, but the quality is often questionable. To fully realize the potential of program evaluation, CBD programs need additional resources and support to improve evaluation practices and outcomes.

Effective program evaluation is a systematic way to improve and account for public health actions by involving procedures that are useful, feasible, ethical, and accurate. The framework guides public health professionals in their use of program evaluation. It is a practical, nonprescriptive tool, designed to summarize and organize essential elements of program evaluation. The framework comprises steps in program evaluation practice and standards for effective program evaluation. Adhering to the steps and standards of this framework will allow an understanding of each program's context and will improve how program evaluations are conceived and conducted. Furthermore, the framework encourages an approach to evaluation that is integrated with routine program operations. The emphasis is on practical, ongoing evaluation strategies that involve all program stakeholders, not just evaluation experts. Understanding and applying the elements of this framework can be a driving force for planning effective public health strategies, improving existing programs, and demonstrating the results of resource investments.