Cultivating a culture of bilingualism: Evaluating a home language arts curriculum for SIFE

Abstract

This study is a mixed-methods exploratory study of a Spanish Home Language Arts (HLA) pilot curriculum designed for Students with Interrupted Education (SIFE) as it was implemented across six different schools in New York State during the 2019–2020 school year before the onset of COVID-19. The focus of the study was to observe whether the HLA curriculum improved teacher practice in the increased use of the gradual release of responsibility and the curriculum-prescribed protocols. Another goal was to examine whether the use of the curriculum helped to improve student writing and bilingual literacy. A final goal of the study was to survey teachers on their perceptions of the curriculum, especially in how the lesson design fostered student engagement and collaboration with others. The results of the internal evaluation showed that the teachers improved in their practice, especially in the areas of gradual release and increased student time on task. The students were able to develop specific text analysis and writing skills using instructional protocols used in the home language and in English that were transferable across classroom contexts. In addition, the lessons encouraged students to leverage literacy skills and background knowledge in Spanish as a way to support learning new skills in both Spanish and English. Finally, the study showed that the use of the curriculum increased student engagement and collaboration in the classroom.