Political and educational perspectives of effective ELL education

Abstract

This dissertation examines the political and educational perspectives regarding English Language Learner (ELL) education. The broad context is the state of Arizona between 2000 and 2004. The specific context is the community of Rio Verde, a border town in Arizona. The data for this study consisted of a document review and analysis and interviews. The document review was of public documents. The interviews were with 10 study participants from the community of Rio Verde consisting of teachers, administrators, former students, and parents. The document analysis revealed two distinct positions regarding the education of ELL students; those in favor of English-only policies and practices and those against English-only policies and practices. The study participants from Rio Verde focused on beliefs about bilingualism and binationalism, immigration, the local history of ELL education, systemic inequities, and the role of the teacher in ELL education. Implications from this study that may be used to inform ELL policy and practice included: effective methodologies for ELL students based on educational research, collaboration in language policy development, placing value on the local context and history, discussion, reflection, and research as decision-making, and, teacher education programs' focus on ELL education.