Author

Emily Mattson

Term

Spring 2024

Capstone

Dissertation

Degree Name

EdD

Primary Advisor/Dissertation Chair

Michelle Benegas

Abstract

This study examined the factors influencing multilingual families’ decisions to accept or waive English language (EL) services. The number of multilingual learners in the United States has increased by half a million over the past ten years (National Center for Education Statistics, 2021). This growing population of students requires teachers with specialized knowledge and training in specific areas of second language acquisition, culturally relevant teaching practices, and targeted language instruction to participate fully in classroom content (Cadiero-Kaplan, 2010; Olsen, 2010). However, not all multilingual families choose for their children to receive targeted language instruction and decide to waive English language services. Previous research has reported that multilingual students who have had services waived may experience academic difficulties and are at a higher risk of dropping out of school (Waters, 2001; Thomas & Collier, 2002; Cummins, 2008; Honigsfeld, 2009; Gandara & Hopkins, 2010). A case study approach was used to collect data. Data were collected through surveys and interviews and analyzed using the Decision-Making Factors (DMF) Framework, which asserts that a person’s values, knowledge, and experiences influence their decisions. Findings were organized according to each decision-making factor. They revealed that values influencing a multilingual family’s decision to accept or waive EL services include the value of English language acquisition, educational advancement, embracing and leveraging available opportunities, and societal integration. The findings also revealed that the knowledge of their children’s English abilities, knowledge regarding the specifics of EL program models, the knowledge of the status English holds in society, and the knowledge of systems influence a multilingual family’s decisions regarding EL services. Last, experiences such as personal history with language learning and observations of others navigating English language services were shown to influence families’ decisions.

Keywords

ESL/ ELLs

dc_type

text

dc_publisher

DigitalCommons@Hamline

dc_format

application/pdf

dc_source

School of Education Student Capstone Theses and Dissertations

Included in

Education Commons

Share

COinS