Dual language education is an innovative educational model available for families selecting schools through school choice. While extensive research supports the academic benefits of dual language programs (DLPs) for non-English native speakers and communities of color in the United States, enrollment often does not reflect these populations. This…

Research on bilingual education presents clear advantages for children's linguistic, cognitive, and social development (Lindholm-Leary, 2011; Thomas, Collier, and Abbott, 1993). However, recent criticism of dual language education programs has led to claims of dual language education as a marker of "elite bilingualism" (de Costa, 2010)…

The use of subtractive bilingual models in Puerto Rico may influence children's construction of social categorizations. There is a gap in the literature related to linguistics, ethnicity, and systems of education and acculturation of a majority group. The purpose of this multiple case study was to examine the influence of the language of…

By the start of kindergarten, there are already large gaps in achievement between black and Hispanic children and their white peers, between children from lower socioeconomic backgrounds and their higher socioeconomic counterparts, and between dual language learners (DLLs) and their native English-speaking peers. This dissertation examines the…

The purpose of this study was to examine the influence of selected academic, demographic, and instructional program related factors on the retention rates of elementary school students. More specifically, this study was concerned with the relationship and predictability of the reading and mathematics variables scores, gender, ethnicity, program…

The purpose of this inductive and quantitative research study is to examine the influence of dual language education upon the development of literacy skills in English proficient kindergarten through grade 2 students. Secondly, this research is purposed to aid in filling the void in the limited way in which educational researchers have examined…

This study explores the effects of a Two-Way Bilingual Immersion (TWBI) program on language majority and minority students. The fundamental hypothesis was that the process of receiving instruction in two languages (English and Spanish) throughout elementary school (i.e., attendance at a TWBI school) would help the native Spanish-speaking students…

Native-like pronunciation is necessary for membership into some social groups and to be considered a legitimate speaker of a language. Language immersion education aims to develop bilingual individuals, able to participate in multiple global communities, and while the lexical, syntactic, and sociolinguistic development of immersion learners is…