Sixth International Conference on Immersion and Dual Language Education: Connecting Research and Practice Across Contexts

Paper/Best Practice Session (1 hour)

Based on a French dual-immersion program, although recommendations are not language specific.

Two-Way Bilingual Immersion

Elementary (K-5)

This study explores parent engagement in a 90/10 French dual immersion program in an urban public school in Southern California. Parents who do not speak the instructional language struggled with providing academic support for their students at home. Results of the parent survey will be presented.

There is an extensive body of research that explores parent engagement in different contexts and posits frameworks for such engagement (Epstein, 2010), and identifies a positive relationship between parent engagement and student achievement (Henderson & Mapp, 2002) as well as a discrepancy in types of engagement between different ethnic groups (Lee & Bowen, 2006). One focus area for research has been diverse communities that serve emergent bilingual students who are served in bilingual programs (Caspe, 2002). The growth of dual-immersion programs has attracted many middle-class English-only families, which is adding another layer to the notion of parent engagement. These parents enthusiastically offer their child(ren) the opportunity to learn a second language, however, they rapidly realize the difficulties in supporting their students academically when they do not speak the language of instruction. In this paper, results are presented from a survey of French dual-immersion English-only parents, spanning across four grade levels at one urban school in Southern California. The survey was distributed via e-mail through GoogleForms to 43 parents with a brief description of the intent of the survey. It included 19 short answer, multiple choice, Likert scale, and open response questions regarding the experience of the parents. Twenty-seven responses were received and analyzed through graphics while open-ended responses were coded with keywords to capture parent sentiments. The results highlight their needs, struggles, and successes within the school community. For example, 85% of the parents are interested in receiving a pamphlet that includes available free resources to support student learning and 66% would like a list of research-based “do’s and don’t’s” in dual-immersion learning. In addition, this paper also suggests technology implementation that teachers can include in their instruction and assistance provided by the administration so that English-only parents feel less anxious about the dual-immersion process.