Who Chooses Dual Language Education for Their Children and Why

Reasons for enrollment at a Spanish–English two-way immersion charter school among highly motivated parents from a diverse community

“…In fact, 92% of the parents in our sample named this reason for enrollment. These findings are supported by previous work carried out by scholars (Howard, Sugarman, and Christian 2003;Lindholm-Leary 2001;Parkes 2008) who have noted bilingualism and biliteracy to be the primary reason that parents select TWI programs. However, this study also highlights how parents perceive that bilingualism relates to educational experiences and future and career opportunities suggesting that parents may see bilingualism as important for different reasons.…”

“…Specifically, it is important to look at how background characteristics might be related to the reasons parents cite for enrollment. However, it is imperative to go beyond merely looking at parents in terms of their linguistic or cultural background (Lindholm-Leary 2001;Parkes 2008). Although important, focusing only on ethnic and language categories overlooks other important aspects of parents' lives that influence their educational decisions.…”

“…Asking parents to write in their own responses, rather than choosing from a list of preconceived categories, allowed parents to articulate in their own voice what matters most to them. This is advantageous over previous studies because the categories of parental reasons for enrollment emerge directly from the parents themselves (Parkes 2008).…”

“…In other words, other social and demographic variables seem to come into play, outside of language dominance, that need to be taken into consideration and examined when investigating parent reasons for enrolling their children in TWI programs. However, few studies (Lindholm-Leary 2001;Parkes 2008) have looked beyond language groups as an explanation for differences in parent choices for enrollment and as these authors point out, more work needs to be done in this area.…”

“…This work, though illuminating, often overlooks how other family characteristics might influence parents who choose TWI for their children, or how they may fit into multiple demographic categories. Further, some parents are highly motivated to provide a dual language educational experience for their children, while others play a more passive role in the placement of their children in these programs (Parkes 2008). Therefore, it is important to pay attention to the reasons where parents from different backgrounds articulate for choosing a TWI program.…”