Navigating the policy landscape: Dual immersion teachers' roles and work in professional learning communities

Employing critical qualitative methods, this study explored dual immersion teachers' experiences as they engaged in policy implementation processes within their unique school context. Specifically, the research focused on the dual immersion teachers as they navigated their school's policy environment, honing in on their work around the interaction of two key policies: dual immersion instruction and collaboration in professional learning communities.;Through participant observation, semi-structured interviews with both administrators and teachers, and interpersonal process recall with teachers, the researcher probed teachers' identity formation as dual immersion teachers, their conceptions of equity for their ELL students, and how their collaborative work in professional learning communities impacted on these. Data analysis was grounded in scholarship on professional learning communities and policy implementation and framed by theories of communicative action and communities of practice. Findings revealed disparities among teachers and administrators regarding teachers' roles in and administrators' support of PLC work, as well as variation among participants in their identity statements and perceptions of educational equity. Furthermore, the intersection of policies for dual immersion instruction and collaboration in professional learning communities led to emerging identities and communities of practice for the dual immersion teachers. Recommendations for leadership practice center on empowering teachers as implementers of education policy. Implications for policy research include an increased focus on policy actors' experiences and perspectives, as well as value of rigorous and in-depth qualitative research.