Contextualizing Policy Appropriation: Teachers’ Perspectives, Local Responses, and English-only Ballot Initiatives

Abstract

Few studies have focused on practitioners' perspectives on and interpretations of official language policies in schools and how such policies shape their practices. Teachers are an integral part of the process of policy appropriations that occur within and across policy levels (state, district, school, and teacher). Through interviews with eighteen elementary teachers, this qualitative study focused on the experiences of teachers in one district as they negotiated the impact of Question 2, an English-only law passed by Massachusetts voters in 2002. Specifically, the study examined the teachers' perspectives on the passage of a top-down English-only state law, its implementation in their district, and its impact on their classroom practices. The study illustrates the multiplicity of policy appropriation: interpretations of the meaning of the policy for practice varied according to policy level (intent of the law, district administrator's interpretation, school-based interpretations), often leading to contradictory discourses. As a result, the teachers in the study had to (be able to) negotiate often contradictory policy discourses in their daily practices. The findings also underscore the importance of contextualizing policy processes: teachers' views of Question 2 were shaped by their own beliefs but also by the way the district conceptualized and interpreted the law.

Teacher Advocacy in Bilingual Programs

“…Advocacy efforts to sustain bilingual programs in districts or schools with an established history of supporting native language instruction and bilingual programs can generate less risk than in contexts where English-only, monolingual-oriented policies prevail. In the latter, advocating for bilingual programs can become more challenging, more isolating, and more risky (Arce, 2004;Cahnmann & Varghese, 2005;Constantino & Faltis, 1998;De Jong, 2008;Dixon et al, 2000;De Jong, Gort, & Cobb, 2005;Varghese & Stritikus, 2005). Even in these contexts, however, teacher advocates can and do engage in bilingually oriented practices that resist the monolingual ideologies through the use of bilingual materials and hybrid language practices.…”

“…However, many teachers taught in programs where English was given preferential treatment and where language allocation policies were unclear or nonexistent. These teachers found ways to promote a classroom discourse that valued both languages and maintained an additive bilingual stance (Brito et al, 2004;Constantino & Faltis, 1998;De Jong, 2008;Dubetz, 2004;Lemberger, 1997;Leone, 1995;Manyak, 2002;Shannon, 1995). They often engaged in hybrid language practices in what Constantino and Faltis (1998) refer to as a "contained underlife" where teachers resisted the status quo "by working within and around the institution" (p. 115).…”

“…No Child Left Behind (U. S. Department of Education, 2001), combined with state mandates to abolish bilingual education, have all but eradicated public support for bilingual approaches to the education of immigrants despite decades of research in support of bilingually oriented practices (Brisk, 1998;Cummins, 2000;García, Kleifgen, & Flachi, 2008;Genesee, Lindholm-Lleary, Saunders, & Christian, 2006). A significant consequence of the shift in public opinion is that bilingual educators find themselves in contested environments where notions of best practice for emergent bilinguals 1 contradict dominant, i.e., publicly sanctioned, practices (Crawford, 2004;De Jong, 2008;Dixon, Green, Yeager, Baker, & Fránquiz, 2000;Hornberger & Johnson, 2007). More than ever before, teachers of emergent bilinguals must go against the grain to advocate for bilingual practices in their districts.…”

The Confidence to Teach English Language Learners: Exploring Coursework's Role in Developing Preservice Teachers' Efficacy

“…Only three states have policies that require all teachers to have some expertise in working with ELLs effectively (NCTE, 2008). Although some research exists examining how various states are preparing teachers to work with ELLs (see Arias, in press;de Jong, 2008;Mora, 2000;Olson & Jimenez-Silva, 2008), there still exists a dearth of research examining the curricula and pedagogy within courses especially designed to prepare teachers to work with this increasing population.…”

Preparing Teachers to Support English Language Learners

“…Furthermore, few states require that public school and public charter school teachers be trained to teach ELLs. This is a lack in teacher accountability despite the increased numbers of ELLs and research supporting the benefits of having trained teachers in this area (de Jong, 2008;English, 2009).…”