Lisa M. Dorner

“I Helped My Mom,” and It Helped Me: Translating the Skills of Language Brokers into Improved Standardized Test Scores

This study illustrates the regularity with which the children of mostly Mexican immigrants in Chicago interpret languages and cultural practices for their families. It also tests the hypothesis, generated from qualitative research, that such “language brokering” is related to academic outcomes. Using data collected from a subset of children ( \documentclass{aastex} \usepackage{amsbsy} \usepackage{amsfonts} \usepackage{amssymb} \usepackage{bm} \usepackage{mathrsfs} \usepackage{pifont} \usepackage{stmaryrd} \usepackage{textcomp} \usepackage{portland,xspace} \usepackage{amsmath,amsxtra} \usepackage[OT2,OT1]{fontenc} \newcommand\cyr{ \renewcommand\rmdefault{wncyr} \renewcommand\sfdefault{wncyss} \renewcommand\encodingdefault{OT2} \normalfont \selectfont} \DeclareTextFontCommand{\textcyr}{\cyr} \pagestyle{empty} \DeclareMathSizes{10}{9}{7}{6} \begin{document} \landscape

Contested Communities in a Debate Over Dual-Language Education: The Import of "Public" Values on Public Policies

n=87

From Relating to (Re)Presenting Challenges and Lessons Learned From an Ethnographic Study With Young Children

\end{document} ), longitudinal regression models, which controlled for early school performance, showed that higher levels of language brokering were significantly linked to better scores on fifth‐ and sixth‐grade standardized reading tests. We suggest studying how to cultivate similar experiences at school to improve bilingual students’ achievements. We also call for further mixed‐method studies on this topic.

The Importance of Improving Implementation Research for Successful Interventions and Adaptations

This article examines how immigrant adolescent development is shaped by the cultural and linguistic practice of language brokering. Framed by theories on interdependent/independent developmental scripts, the changing experiences and views of 12 Latino/a children of U.S. immigrants over 5 years were analyzed. It was found that translating is a relational, interdependent activity in which adolescents both help and receive help from family members. As adolescents, they extend this helping orientation beyond their household, but in these public spaces, they sometimes meet up with other developmental scripts. This articles examination of brokerings effects on immigrant adolescence leads to the discussion that one must consider the manner in which all adolescents and parents are negotiating independent and interdependent worlds.

‘Everybody kind of looked at me like I was from Mars:’ preparing educators through qualitative service-research projects

This study examines how public debate can shape school district policy. Using qualitative methods and an interdisciplinary framework that weaves an interpretive approach to policy implementation with the language policy and planning literature, the analysis demonstrates that immigrant voices were mostly absent in a debate over a new dual-language program. Instead, English-dominant participants alluded to various “community” values and persuaded policy makers to implement dual-language classes throughout the district rather than in sites favored by policy advocates, including immigrant families. The article concludes that language policy implementation is a value-laden process in which public deliberation reflects dominant cultural “discourses,” which can shape what a policy ultimately becomes.

I Think Immigrants “Kind of Fall Into Two Camps”: Boundary Work by U.S.-Born Community Members in St. Louis, Missouri:

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.

English and Spanish 'para un futuro' or just English? Immigrant family perspectives on two-way immersion

This article advances the conversation on conducting ethical research with children by examining the process and products of a longitudinal ethnographic study about the implementation of a new bilingual policy in one midwestern school district. Framed by “procedural ethics” and “ethics in practice,” and drawing from earlier considerations of power and representation, this re-analysis considers the following: What activities were designed to elicit children’s perspectives on the policy? How did the researcher and children relate to one another? How was children’s knowledge ultimately represented? The discussion concludes thus: As researchers address power imbalances, they must examine when and where real power shifts are ethical and desirable. Researchers must also create an “ethics-post-practice” to ensure ethical representation of children’s knowledge at the end of the process.

Organizing for instruction: A comparative study of public, charter, and Catholic schools

This special issue explores the theoretical underpinnings, triumphs, and challenges of implementing four early childhood education interventions. In doing so, each article highlights the importance of studying the implementation context as part of the evaluation process. This commentary reflects on the entire issue, ultimately arguing that future evaluations must continue to conduct—and improve on—implementation research. Specifically, to understand evaluation findings and scale up or adapt interventions effectively, researchers must examine implementation processes systematically, using both quantitative and qualitative methods. This includes: explaining how interventions were designed, theorizing the relationships between implementation processes and outcomes, defining the implementation phase under study, examining the validity and reliability of implementation measures, and using accessible language in reports.