Mexican and Mexican-American mothers’ visions and decisions amidst dual language bilingual education expansion

ABSTRACT The purpose of this study was to examine Mexican and Mexican-American mothers’ perspectives about the construction of two-way dual language bilingual education (DLBE) programs in the context of an urban area in South Texas and to analyze the factors that contribute to their decision about their children’s participation in such programs. Our main data sources included 14 interviews, two personal narratives, field notes, and audio recordings from school and district meetings. We found that in addition to the general goals of DLBE programs (i.e., academic achievement, bilingualism, and biculturalism), there are additional factors that DLBE programs need to consider to better serve Mexican and Mexican-American communities. These factors include: a) bilingualism for heritage sustainability, social integration, and occupational inclusion; b) school-community building; c) meeting families’ basic needs; and d) attention to the dissemination of program information and misinformation. DLBE must adopt these components in order to foster a social justice stance as a central program tenet.