Among the various forms of bilingual education in the United States, dual language immersion education has grown rapidly during the past decades (Lindholm-Leary, 2001; Wilson, 2011). Particularly, while the implementation of Mandarin Chinese immersion programs attracted educators and stakeholders' interest, limited attention was paid to research…

Considerable research on the two-way Spanish immersion model of education highlights benefits such as biliteracy, high academic achievement in both languages of instruction, and sociocultural competence for students of various linguistic and sociocultural backgrounds. The desire to gain these 21st century skills has caused a proliferation of dual…

This dissertation draws on both qualitative and quantitative approaches to investigate the linguistic practices of teachers and children who are learning Mandarin Chinese as a Heritage Language (CHL) in two dual immersion preschools in California. CHL children have been interpreted as novice members in local speech communities who actively explore…

China's rising economy has increased the popularity of learning the Chinese language. Chinese immersion programs have gained popularity in K-12 education, particularly for younger learners. However, research on the optimal instruction design for Chinese and English biliteracy development in one-way Chinese immersion programs is scarce. This…

Purpose: Situated within a complex social-political and developmental context marked by racialization and identity formation, this research aims to illuminate the nuanced ways Latinx youth navigate their bilingual experience amidst varying educational models and linguistic environments. The overarching goal of this dissertation is to investigate…

This dissertation examined the ways in which African American Language (AAL) speakers utilized AAL in various discursive contexts in an elementary two-way immersion (TWI) Spanish/English dual-language program. In this study, I problematize the notion of TWI programs as an additive program for AAL speakers by investigating the phenomenon from three…

To keep the United States economically competitive in a rapidly changing world, business leaders are calling for employment candidates who can work efficiently in a globalized context with both language skills and cross-cultural dispositions critical to the economic success of the country. These language proficiency skills and cross-cultural…

The achievement of mathematics within Hispanic youth is of great concern across the nation. In order to improve student achievement in mathematics, the nature of a mathematics teacher's complex belief system must be understood (McGee & Wang, 2014). The purpose of this exploratory qualitative study is to investigate the K-5 bilingual teachers'…

This dissertation covers the purpose, findings, and implication of a 10-week ethnographic research study in a dual language immersion (DLI) third-grade classroom in the northeastern U.S. The purpose was to promote a better understanding of the processes and products of identity development in a DLI setting. Sense of belonging and language…

This mixed-methods study investigates the ideologies, attitudes, and understandings of language, bilingualism, and second language acquisition among students, teachers, and parents in a Bay Area dual immersion (DI) program. The work shows that despite rhetoric and awareness of language variation, students' and teachers' approaches to language…

Spanish-speaking parents choose to enroll their children in either an English only or English-Spanish dual immersion program when presented with both choices. This ethnographic study explored parent's perceptions of the purpose, advantages, and disadvantages of learning in school in English only or in a dual English-Spanish. Through focus group…

In 2007, Arizona voters passed House Bill (HB) 2064, a law that fundamentally restructured the Structured English Immersion (SEI) program, putting into place a 4-hour English language development (ELD) block for educating English language learners (ELLs). Under this new language policy, ELL students are segregated from their English-speaking peers…

Increased interest by political leaders and parents in educating linguistically competent U.S. students to compete in the global society has emphasized the need for early foreign language learning for all students. Language education researchers have identified core elements of sustainable long-term successful programs that begin in elementary…

Environmental education researchers have long identified a connection between formative play experiences in nature settings and pro-environmental behaviors (i.e., career paths) of their subjects later in life. Most studies have been post-hoc retrospective looks that have not had the ability to assess causation. As more children are removed from…

Even though there are increasing numbers of Early Partial Immersion (EPI) programs in Louisiana, there was no data available on the long-term impact of these programs. The purpose of this study is to delve into the experiences of 10 former immersion students in order to reveal their accounts and perceptions of their bilingual abilities, their…