A comparative analysis of school membership and ethnic identity between dual language and English as a Second Language instruction

Demographic changes within the United States necessitate the development of educational programs designed to address the scholastic needs of linguistically diverse students. A review of the literature revealed substantive empirical evidence in support of the academic efficacy of dual language instruction. While these results are compelling, there appears to be a lack of research on or about the different role psychological constructs play amongst the various bilingual programs. This study was designed to compare the perception of school membership and ethnic identity between dual language and English as a Second Language (ESL) students. Participants of this study consisted of 105 students of Hispanic descent enrolled in either dual language or ESL programs located in Long Island, NY. Participants were administered the Psychological Sense of School Membership PSSM (Goodenow, 1993) and the Multigroup Ethnic Identity Measure MEIM (Phinney, 1992).;Statistical analysis revealed that students attending dual language programs endorsed statistically higher scores on both instruments assessing school membership and ethnic identity. Data did not support the hypothesis that the psychological constructs moderated performance on the NYS English Language Arts Examination. The program students were enrolled in dual language or ESL did not account for statistical variance amongst the ELA scores; however, once one controls for years of instruction, program had a significant effect. Analysis of the data resulted in two significant main effects and a statistically significant interaction for program and years of instruction. Simple regression functions of program suggest that as dual language students progress in years of instruction, ELA scores are expected to increase at a slope of .237. However, analysis indicates that as time progresses, scores for ESL students decline at a slope of -.081. Data compiled in this study demonstrate that sufficient years of instruction within a dual language program is an effective and viable means of closing the achievement gap for linguistically diverse students.