Jennifer Walsh successfully defended her dissertation, A QUALITATIVE INQUIRY INTO THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE SOCIOCULTURAL COMPETENCE PILLAR IN AN ELEMENTARY DUAL LANGUAGE PROGRAM, on Monday, March 18th. Her qualitative inquiry explored the implementation of the third pillar of dual language education (DLE), sociocultural competence and teachers’ perceptions of the structures that supported or challenged the implementation of the pillar. Jen interviewed teachers, visited schools, observed classrooms, and conducted a document analysis. Institutional theory served as the guiding theoretical framework for this study. Jennifer’s major conclusions were related to finding opportunities for the development of cross-cultural awareness through elements of successful classroom design and targeted training on sociocultural competence. Her recommendations for future research included the following: exploration of teacher preparation programs and DL; engagement of parent and alumni via interviews; a study the transitional period in early parts of DL experience; and an exploration of the role of time in terms of expectations placed on DL teachers.
Dissertation Chair:
Dr. Kenneth Mitchell
Dissertation Committee Members:
Dr. Joanne Marien
Dr. Dulce Barker
