The Life Course and Sense-Making

Immigrant Families’ Journeys Toward Understanding Educational Policies and Choosing Bilingual Programs

Bibliographic Data

ID8222014
AuthorsLisa M Dorner (University of Missouri–St. Louis), Lisa Dorner (0000-0002-4314-6064, University of Missouri–St. Louis, corresponding author)
Year2012
Volume49
Issue3
Pages461-486
Publication date2012-06-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueAmerican Educational Research Journal (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0002-8312 • E-ISSN: 1935-1011
PublisherAmerican Educational Research Association (AERA) (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.3102/0002831211415089
OpenAlexW2101195398
LanguageEN
Citations received17
References cited55

Implementing policies relies on their design, the will and capacity of implementors, the organizations within which implementation occurs, and individuals’ interpretations. Despite the fact that families’ decisions are critical to the successful implementation of educational programs, however, few studies examine their sense-making processes. Using life course theories, this ethnographic study examines how historical time and place and developmental timing shape immigrants’ choices for bilingual education. Findings demonstrate that the intersections of time and place (the history/structure of organizations, people, policies) and timing (family members’ composition and developmental needs) shape parents’ interactions with schools, understandings of policies, and children’s pathways toward bilingualism. Such findings have implications for theories about the policy process and for districts with growing immigrant student populations

Bilingual education · Ethnography · Immigration · Life course approach · Neuroscience of multilingualism · Pedagogy · Political science · Process (computing · Public relations · Sociology · Computer Science · Global Education and Multiculturalism · Multilingual Education and Policy · Parental Involvement in Education · Psychology · Social Psychology

Tools

Open DOISci-Hub