A SociologicalCaseStudyof

BilingualEducationand lts Effectson

the Schoolsand the Comrnunity

'Virginia Parker
Collier

Semifinalist,
OutstandingDissertations
NafionalAdvisoryCouncilon BilingualEducation

DegreeconferredJuly 19S0
Universityof Southerncaliforniaschoolof Educafion
LosAngeles,California

DissertationCo mmittee:
HenryD. Acland, Chair
CarlosJ.Ovando
Eugdne J.Bridre
C o p y r i g h te l 9 3 l b y V i r g i n i aP a r k e C
r ollier

About the Author

Dr. VirginiaParkerCollieris AssistantProfessor of Educafion and Associaie
Direciorfor BiiingualZMuliicultural Education at GeorgeMasonUniversity.
Shewaspreviouslyinstructorin bilingual/multiculfural educationat Trinity
Collegein Washington, D.C.,and a teachingassistant in ESLat the Univer-
sity of SouthernCalifornia's AmericanLanguage Instituie.Shehasalsobeen
a b i l i n g u a l Z E St el a c h e ri n t h e D i s t r i c to f C o l u m b i ap u b l i c s c h o o l sD
. r.
Collierhaswritfen Orr Biltncuill Clnssrooms with CarlosOvando,to be pub-
lishedin 1982.
 SUMMARY
This studywas designedto examinethe complexities of implementationof
bilingualbiculturaleducationand its effectson both the communityand the
schools.The Washington,D.C. bilingualprogramwas chosenas a manage-
able unit for this ethnographicstudy, as it servesa small,heterogeneous
populationusing a variety of models of bilingualeducationin eleven
elementary and threesecondary schools.
The casestudy descriptionprovidesdetailsof adminisfrativedecisions
and negotiations, federalinfluence,bilingualteachers'and counselors'per-
cepiions,relationships betweenbilingualand regularschoolstaff,parentand
community involvementin schools,effectson studentsas perceivedby
adultsconnecfedto fhe program,and Hispanicand Chinesecommunity
development, from 1970to 1980.
' of
One overallthemeof the analysis focuseson the gradualemergence
ihe Hispaniccommunifyas an identifiedpoliiicalfaciorin ihe schoolsand
the wider community.The secondtheme examinesthe changeprocess
within schoolscreatedby the bilingualinnovation. Thiscasestudyiliustrates
the importanceof holisticstudy for a fuller examinationof fhe complexity
of schoolprograms,rather than relying on narrow evaluationsthat only
stressstudentoutcomesas a measurement of the success or failureof a
schoolprogram.

BACKGROUND AND STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM

Bilingualbiculturaleducationr asit hasdevelopedin the UnitedStatesin the

lasttwo decadesis highly politicaland complicatedto implement.As the
mostrecenteducational strategyfor studentsof limitedEnglishproficiency,
modelsof implementation haveincreased in complexityasfederaland state
legislationand court ordershave mandatedor encouragedsome form of
bilingualeducation.After projectsare begun,refundingdecisionsbecome
highiy politicizedas target constituencySroups become advocatesand
monolingual, assimilationistoppositiongroupsform. Deep-seated questions
are raiseJin debatesin legislatures asto whetherif is the role of federaland
stategovernmentsto encouragea culLurallypluraiisticsocietyor to follow
the paitern of the early twentiethcentury of assimilationthrough immer-
sioninto the dominantmainstream.
Yet thosecommitLedto bilingualeducationclaim that it is worth ihe
painsof implementation: it providesan optimal environmentfor learninga

'Throughoutthis study, the shortenedterm bilingual is used to refer to bilingual

education
biculturaleducatron.Withtut going into detail on the controversysurroundingthe relation-
is assumedin this study that cultureis an integralpart of
ship betweenlanguageand cult-ure,-it
languageand is &pr"s"d in many ways through the vehicleof language.Therefore,hilinguol
impliesthat bicultural
edtrcqtioi teaching is an integralcomponentof any instructiongiven in
two languages.
66/Collier
second language,for both studentsof limited Englishproficiency and
English speakers(Dulay and Burt, 7976); it enhancesself-conceptfor
sfudentsof minority statusin the society(Troike, 7978);a two-way model
includingEnglishspeakersprovides for learningin an integrated,equal-
statussetting(Fishman,7976);and bilingualeducationprovidesan avenue
for closerschool-communily relations(Read,Spolsky,and Neundorf,7976).
These affirmationsconcerningthe effects of bilingual educationin the
UnitedStatesarelike articlesof faith;they havea smallempiricalbase.Re-
searchers are just beginningto examineseriouslysomeof the most basrc
questions. In an emergingfield2with ihis type of complexity,holisticstudies
are usefulin sheddinglight on the natureof an innovationand providing
insightinto research questionsfor futurestudies.
To date,a very limitednumberof studieshaveexaminedthe totalcon-
text of a bilingualprogram.Most of the studiesavailableat this time are
programevaluations. Federal-and state-required evaluations tend to place
emphasis on measurement of short-termoutcomes, suchasstudentachieve-
ment;yet research on bilingualeducationin other countrieshasconcluded
that only longitudinalstudiesof at leastthreeto four yearsin a stablepro-
gram demonstratethe effectiveness of bilingualeducation(Swain,7979;
Tucker,1980).An equallyseriouslimitationof currentevaluationpractices
is the emphasis on measurement of the effectiveness of the policymakers'
goals,rather than examinationof broadersocioculturaldimensionsthat
considerthe total contextof the schoolenvironment,includingits relaiion-
shipto the community(Spolsky,7978).
Therefore,the approachto thisresearch is in the form of a sociological
casestudyof one particularschoolinnovation,the bilingualprogramof ihe
Washington,D.C. public schools.This study has been carriedout to shed
lighi on the complexitiesof implementafion of bilingualbiculturaleducaiion
and its effectson both the communityand the schools. The studywas born
out of the researcher's intimateknowledgeof the Washington,D.C. bilin-
gual programas a parentand teacherover a five-yearperiod and grew
through physicalseparationfrom the program with two yearsof reading
and reflectionon that experience.The researchculminatedin sixieen
monthsof total immersionin the setfingLhroughobservation of schooland
communiiyaciivities; datacollectionfrom BilingualOffice and community
files,the CensusBureau,administrative officesof the D.C. public schools,
and the iocalmedia;and 204 formaland informalinterviewswith randomly
selectedparticipants amongHispanic,Chinese,and English-speaking bilin-
gualandregularschoolstaffandcommunitymembers.

t B i l i n g u ael d u c a t i o ni s " n e w " o n l y f o r t h e U n i f e d S t a i e si n m o d e r nd e c a d e isn t h e p u b l i c

s c h o o l sI.t h a s b e e n i n e x i s t e n c e i n c o u n t r i e sa l l o v e r t h e w o r l d f o r c e n t u r i e sI .n t h e U n i t e d
Staies,instructionin languages other ihan Englishwas u s e di n p u b l i cs c h o o l ds u r i n gt h e n i n e -
f e e n t hc e n i u r y ,a n d i h e r eh a v e a l w a y sb e e nb i l i n g u a ls c h o o l si n t h e p r i v a t es e c t o r( F i s h m a n ,
1966,1,976).
 Collrtr/o 7
The researchdesignof this study has been guided
and influencedby
anthropological
and sociological descripiionsand inulyr., of schoolssuchas
^(tgZg),Levy
tfo:. by Hargreaves (tgOZ),Kleinfeld (tgZO),Modiano (797j),
Ogbu (tgzq), Peshkin(tgra), philips (tgzo), Rosenfeld(tgzt),
Spindler
(7974),andWolcott(7g73,1g77).These
studiesatiempfto tell a wholestory
by being inclusiveratherthan narrowly focusing
on individualvariables.
They try to capiureseverallevelsof ,"uiity in allih.i,
complexity,through
examinationof uninfentionalas well as conscious
goalsund oui.omesof
schooling'Similarly,this study describesmany levels"ofrealiLyas ferceived
by the adulfswho participaied in or wereaffectedby ihisschoolinnovaiion,
and fhe analysisexaminesconscious, changing,uni unconscious processes
iakingplace.

OVERVIEWOF CASESTUDYDESCRIPTION
The overallfocusof fhe studycenfersaroundhow change
occursin a school
s y s i e ma n d i t s i m p a c io n t h e c o m m u n i t y .W i t h i n t h [ f o c u s ,
iwo broacl
themesare developed:the graduarmaiurationof the D.c.
Hispaniccom-
munity and its relationship to the publicschools, and the p.o..r, of change
within schools. The casesiudy descriptionbeginswith backgroundinfor-
maiionon the Hispaniccommunityand the D.i public,.hooi,
in the mid-
1960s,as eachis perceivedby Hispanics and schoolpersonnelinvolvedin
publicschoolpolificsof that time.The readeris introduced
to the process
fhroughwhich the ideaof bilingualeducationevolved,the
early stagesof
adaptation o f b i l i n g u a ls t a f f t o t h e s c h o o ls y s f e ma n d t h e r e s i s t a n coef
regularsfaff,and ihe gradualevolutionof a complexand expanding
innova-
tion' The emergingHispaniccommunityis described, alongwifh ifs close
connections wiih the D.C. bilrngualprogram.parentand co-munify parti-
cipationin schoolsis analyzedwith focus on the Hispanic
community,
althoughsome of the impacton Chineseand English-speaking
parentsis
alsodescribed. A shift away from innovaiionand toward institutionaliza-
tion of the programis increasingly evidentas federalfunding addsmore
office staffpositions,beginningin 7974,and federallegisla6on
and court
decisions influencethe cours"of th" schoolreform.Thelnalysisends
with
fhe schoolyear 7g7g-7980, with all bilingualpositionssupporfedby federal
fundsabsorbed inLothe localschoolbudget.

ANALYSISAND FINDINGS
Throughoutthe casestudy description, analysisis woven info the story.
one overallthemeof fhe analysisfocuseson the
changeprocess within
'generaliy
schools'Whereas the literatuie on insiitutional
.hun!. has
examinedthe goalsof federalor ceniralistplanners
and measuredthe im-
plementation processby fidelityfo the origi"uigoul,.onrbinedwith adapta-
tion fo the local schoolsysfem(Farrar,D.su.,.tir,
and Cohen, 1979;Rand,
r974-7977),this study exfendsthe changeliterature
fhroughfocuslesson
 an oriSinalplan and more on a complexview of evolutionof a programin
responseto multiple changinglocal and federalinfluences.None of the
observedchangesin schoolsin this study canbe seenas linearprogressions
from A to B; rather,changeis seenasthe creativeuseof confliclbetweenA
and B, here labeledunresolvedtensions, which emerge,disappear, reappear,
or find new manifestationsin the courseof evolution oi th" bilingual
program,
The subthemewhich best capturesthis characteristic of changeis the
tensionbetweena desireto remaininnovative,flexible,and charismatic, and
to prod the localschoolsystemfrom outside,on the one hand,and the need
to institutionalize the program,which is associated with bureaucratization
and standardizaLion, on the other. Additional subthemeswhich exhibit
similarcharacteristics are the unresolved tensions betweencontinuingflexi-
biliiy in teachingmethodsand useof materials, and the pushfor standardza-
tion through curriculumwrifing and testing;befween the reality of con-
stantlyexpanding,shifting,never-endingproblems,and the desireto solve
one fixed, predefinedproblem;beiween informality and professionalism;
between democraticdecisionmakingand authoritarianpatterns;between
deepconcernfor and directinvolvementwith studentsin schools,and office
isolafionfrom schoolproblems;betweenpressingfor new rulesfor inter-
nationalsfudentsand acceptingthe system'srules;and betweenthe desire
for cohesionamongstaffand the development of professionaldistance.This
study illustrateshow both sidesof each tensionmanifestthemselvesin a
varietyof ways throughoutthe nine yearscoveredin ihe research. These
tensions arenot seenasproblemsto be solvedbut assources of constructive
and unending,complexchange.
This kind of unresolvedtensionmay especiallycharacterize fhe nature
of bilingualeducationbecaupe of the many inherentconflictsthe innovafion
is intendedto addressin the United States.For example,in Washington,
D C., ihe informalknowledgeamongbilingualsfaffexiststhat the full, iwo-
way maintenance bilingualeducationhasbeenhighly successful in siudent
achievement and attitudes,with full equal-status integrationof both His-
panicsand Englishspeakers. Yet the reality of small numbersof Spanish
speakers in other schoolsnecessitates providingonly transitional biiingual
and Englishas a secondlanguage(ESL)services,which are regard"J by
staff and sfudentsas a lower-status, compensarory programwith iomewhaf
limifedsuccess. The sametensionexistsin bilingualeducationviewedfrom
ihe federallevel.Goalsof bilingualprogram,ui. frequentlybroadlysiated
and unspecificbecausethey reflecifhe valueconflictsinheientin the legis-
lation and prograrnguidelines,which in turn reflectlegifimatedifferences
and conflictswithin the broadersocietyitself (Marsh,Lassidy,and Mora,
1980).
The secondthemeof this casestudy focuseson the maturationof ihe
Hispaniccommunity and its relationshipto the public schools.Within this
theme, the following issuescome into the discussionand analysis:fhe
 C o l l t u/ 6 Q
process of emergingleadership within a small,new, mafuring,urbanethnic
communityu ; s eo f t h e s c h o o l sa s o n e v e h i c l ef o r c o m m u n i t ye m p o w e r -
ment and consciousness raising;negotiations befweengroupsfor controlof
schoolsin a pluralisticurban setting;and the processof greaterparent
parficipation in schoolsand fhe limitsof parentalinvolvementin decision-
makrng.
over the ten yearscoveredby the study,many changeshave taken
placewithin the D.C. Hispaniccommunity.It hasmovedfrom earlyexperi-
menial,haphazard effortsaf communityorganizafion to the presenf,more
organized,but democratically expanded,basefor decisionmaking in the
community. Even though the Hispaniccommunity is relafively small,
Hispanicshave made considerable progresstoward becominga working,
effective,poliiicallyvisible,lively force within the iotal D.C. community.
Thissiudy found that the publicschoolshaveservedan importantfunction
i n t h i sp r o c e sos f c o m m u n i t yd e v e l o p m e nM
t . e m b e r so f f h e H i s p a n i c o m -
munity wereablefo usethe schoolsasone meansof providingsupportfor a
senseof communityidentity.They thenbuilt upQnthatraisedconscrousness
to makefull useof a minorifycommunity'srighfswithin thissociety.
The bilingualprogramwasan integralpart of thisprocess throughroles
played by the school-community coordinatorand bilingualcounselors,
actualhiring of Spanish-speaking bilingualstaff and ieacheraides,close
contacfwifh and leadership in the Hispaniccommunity,parentaltraining,
and many strucfures for directparentalinvolvementin schools.The even
smalleC r h i n e s ec o m m u n i t ys e e m st o b e f o l l o w i n ga s i m i l a rp a t t e r ns i n c e
bilingualservices wereestablished in 1925.
TheD.C.Setting
The D.C. bilingualprogramservesa relativelysmall populationin com-
parisonwiih otherlargeurbanschooldistricts, providingdireciinsiructional
servicesor counselingfor approximately1500 students who speak
languages other than Englishand 500 English-speaking sfudentsin eleven
elemeniaryand threesecondaryschools.The programhasthus servedas a
manageably researchable miniaturewhich can be comparedwith the ex-
perienceof others.It is hopedthat the detaildescribedwill yield insightsfor
ofhersimplementing bilingualeducationprogramsaroundihe country.No
one bilingualprogram can provide others with an exporfablemodel,
becauseihe socialand linguisticcontextof eachschoolsystemihat has
studentswiih limitedEnglishproficiencyis unique.Therefore,this sfudy is
not meantto serveasa prototypefor otherbilingualprogramsbut ratheras
a guideto fhe complexityof evolutionof this innovation,alongwith ihe
hope fhat it provide for a differentkind of schoolenvironmenifor boih
studeniswith limitedEnglishproficiencyandfor Englishspeakers.
One characterisfic unique to Washington,D.C. is ihat the minority
Hispaniccommuniiy(estimated to be roughly5-10percent)existswithin a
Blackmajority(73percent),with Blacksdominatinglocalpoliticsand school
administration. The give-and-take at the centraladministrative
level in iocal
schoolpoliticsis thereforelargelynegotiatedwith a minority group already
somewhatsensitiveto ihe need for different school structuresfor the
varietyof schoolchildrenbeingserved.
Another feature is the great heterogeneityof the linguisticgroups
beingservedby the bilingualprogram.For the lastfifteen to twenry years,
the Washington,D.C. area has played host to an increasingnumber of
immigrantsfrom many differentpartsof the world. Within the D.C. pubiic
schools,the largestgroup of internationalstudentsis Spanishspeakers
(r,os-lin7979),but thisgroup is very heterogeneous, with no singledomi-
nant group.CentralAmericansare a slightmajority when the six countries
are countedas one unit, but thosewho dominatethe Hispaniccommunity
powersiructureareof middle-class background and comefrom a variefyof
Lafin Americancountries.Likewise,the secondlargestlinguisticgroup in
ihe public schools,the Chinese,is greatlyvaried in background,with zzg
students(in 7979)who speaksevendifferent Chinesedialectsand come
from many different parts of China, Taiwan, and Hong Kong (Bilingual
Office, 1979).Because of the heterogeneityof studentsto be servedand the
fact that ihey are scatteredthroughoutthe schoolsof the District,the D.C.
bilingual program has a variety of models being implementedin each
school,rangingfrom two-way maintenance bilingualeducaiion,io transi-
tional bilingualclasses,to Englishas a secondlanguage(ESL)classes with
someconteniareainstructionin the nativelanguage, and includingSpanish
as a secondlanguage(SSL)instructionfor English-speaking studentsin
schoolsorganized arounda clusterconcept.Therefore,thisstudydiscusses a
variefyof modelsof implementation of bilingualeducationwithin a very
heterogeneous schoolsetting.

QUALITATIVE RESEARCH
With thistype of study,therecanbe no true beginning,middle,or end.Ncr
problemsare solved(Diesin g, 1971).For the researcher,eachnew insighi
uncoverednew areasthatraisedadditionalquestions and concerns.In tryLng
to be ascomprehensive aspossible
in a studyof thisnature,one mustcheck
and cross-check data throughcommunityand schooloffice files,through
interviewswifh many peopleat many differentlevels,and throughpartici-
pationin day-to-dayactivifiesin the schoolsand communify.This process
of soakingin the total environmentis endless. Therefore,fhe unulyiisdoes
not presenifidy answers;rather,if tries to describethe many layersof
reality thai are a part of everyday school life. No one .un ,uy that ihe
Washington,D.C. bilingualprogramhas solvedall problemsfor students
who speakother languages. Thereare many questionsleft unanswered, and
many unresolvedtensions,unaccomplished goals,and new concerns. yei
somechanges havetakenplacein both the communityand the schoolsthai
:9.rn to be significaniin variousways for many of the peopleinvolved.
Thiscasestudytriesto showthe constructive natureof thatcomplexiiv.
 Colliu/7t
IMPLICATIONS OF THE STUDY
The casestudy descriptionhas significant
messages for bilingualprogram
administraiors, bilingualschoolpe.rsonnel, programevaiuators, parenis,and
communitymembers.It extendsthe change
literaturethroughfo.u, on the
prioriiiesof localplannersascentralto
the-successful evolutionof a projeci,
ratherihan evaluationbasedon implementation
of an originalfederalor
ceniralistblueprinf'It providesdeiaiieddescripfion
of fhe complexitiesof a
schoolinnovation,demonstrating the needfo. ,.hool personnelto be open
to consiantadapfationto changingpriorities
mafcheclwifh the unpredict-
ablerealifies of schoolpolitics.lt itirrt.utesihe creafiveuse
of many aspecis
of what are iermed unresolvedtensions
in working toward constructive
change.