Educational language policy in practice: a critical analysis in a midwestern high school

Current estimates from the U.S. Department of Education show that English Learners (ELs) make up about 1 in every 10 students in U.S. schools today, a sharp increase from 20 years ago. While many of these students live in urban areas, there has also been substantial growth of in more remote areas of the country. Little has been written, however, about the tools and methods that districts in the Midwest utilize to instruct ELs in these less traditional resettlement areas, particularly at the secondary level. As a result, this research highlights how teachers and administrators in a mid-sized Iowa school district and high school go about creating language instructional education programs (LIEPs) in this unique context.

Using ethnographic tools including interviews, classroom observations, and document analysis, this dissertation uncovers the nuanced ways that policies from the federal and state levels impact the creation of language learning programs. It also focuses on secondary level teachers and how they go about balancing expectations placed on them from the district while at the same meeting the needs of the ELs. Findings indicate that the top-down policies from federal and state levels play a substantial role in LIEP development, at times constraining what teachers feel appropriate for their students. At the same time, though, they leverage their backgrounds and experiences to guide how they instruct. Additionally, districts and schools in the Midwest face challenges in finding qualified instructors and building specialized programs that provide ELs with an equitable and meaningful educational experience.