The influence of literacy instructional practices on the achievement of English language learners in two-way bilingual education programs

The purpose of this study was to address the need for more definitive understanding regarding factors that can contribute to closing the achievement gap for English language learners (ELLs). The dissertation employed a mixed-method, ex-post facto design to investigate which literacy instructional approaches and which related practices within the early grades of two-way bilingual education programs influence long-term growth in literacy achievement. The sample consisted of 300 students and 57 teachers in five two-way bilingual immersion programs in the Houston, Texas Independent School District. During Phase 1 of the study, qualitative and quantitative data from teacher and administrator interviews and surveys were examined in order to identify independent variables for subsequent analyses. During Phase 2, outcomes from standardized tests of reading were analyzed to assess literacy achievement gap closure for native English speakers (NES) and native Spanish speakers (NSS) in each language. After controlling for prior differences in student background variables, data were assessed to determine the predictive power of the independent variables identified in the first phase of the study on reading outcomes in each language in Grades 3 to 6. Results indicated that students from both language groups were achieving on or above grade level in Spanish in Grades 1--4, and that ELLs had closed the achievement gap in English reading by the early grades of middle school. Predictors of Spanish reading differed for each language group. For upper grade English reading, students who had experienced a balanced set of instructional practices within a literacy instructional approach that was consistent with the goals of TWBI tended to outscore those who had been exposed to either a scripted approach or to other, less principled approaches to literacy instruction. Results from this study challenge the designation of "at-risk" for ELLs and suggest that, within an enriched, additive bilingual program, implementation of thoughtful professional judgment by well prepared teachers is more appropriate to biliteracy development than the use of rigidly controlled instructional practices, restricted definitions of literacy, or a narrow focus on test scores.