Date of Award:
8-2018
Document Type:
Dissertation
Degree Name:
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
Department:
School of Teacher Education and Leadership
Department name when degree awarded
Teacher Education and Leadership
Committee Chair(s)
Amy Wilson-Lopez
Committee
Amy Wilson-Lopez
Committee
Steven Camicia
Committee
Sylvia Read
Committee
Shireen Keyl
Committee
Maria Luisa Spicer-Escalante
Abstract
This study is framed in Bourdieu’s theory of capital, which asserts that the choices we make are usually designed to help us become better off economically; that economic capital is, to some degree, exchangeable with other types of capital (e.g., social and cultural); and that other types of capital can be exchanged for economic capital. The purpose of this study was to understand which forms of capital native English-speaking and native Spanish-speaking families believed they would acquire by choosing to participate in or not participate in Spanish dual language immersion.
In this study I interviewed four native Spanish-speaking students who did not participate in dual language immersion, and their parents, and four native English-speaking students who did participate in dual language immersion, and their parents. I also conducted a focus group with the teachers of both the native Spanish and native English-speaking students.
I found that the native English-speaking families perceived that they were able to use the dual language immersion program to gain many forms of capital. By contrast, the native Spanish-speaking families also perceived that they gained capital by not participating in the program, but not as much as if they had participated in dual language immersion. I suggest some ways to make participation in dual language immersion more equitable for all families.
Checksum
fc9c77f1c527635ae59d7e3ebb490569
Recommended Citation
Smithee, Allen, "Changes in Cultural Capital for Native English and Native Spanish-Speaking Families' Children Who Do and Do Not Participate in an Elementary Spanish Dual Immersion Program" (2018). All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023. 7074.
https://digitalcommons.usu.edu/etd/7074
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