Language Orientations and Leadership Amidst Arizona's Restrictive Language Policies

Abstract

This critical case study examines elementary school principals' perceptions of language and how those perceptions influence educational opportunities (i.e. curriculum and instruction) provided for English language learners in Southern Arizona elementary schools in two school districts. These schools have an above state average population of second language learners, high levels of student achievement according to the state letter grade and the four-hour English Language Development (ELD) block. This study draws heavily on the notion of language orientations as a conceptual model as proposed by Richard Ruiz (1984, 1994) to better comprehend the complexity of the bilingual education debate, however in this study, the focus is the four-hour ELD block from Arizona’s law ARS 15-752—English Language Education Law. Implications from the research indicate that there is limited principal mediation and inconsistent curriculum and instruction for English Language Learners in the four-hour ELD block. Recommendations for school leadership call for continued professional development on effective second language acquisition practices that are research based and not district initiated, resistance to the alternative language program and advocacy for ELLs.