Gentrification of Educational Programs: A Critical Race Spatial Analysis of Programming Allocation for Linguistically Diverse Students in Texas

Abstract

This dissertation investigated the relationship between two-way dual language program placement and surrounding neighborhood and/or county level demographics, including socioeconomics, immigrant density, urbanicity, and the social constructs of race/ ethnicity. Current literature centered on two-way dual language programming, or programs that support bilingualism for linguistically diverse students alongside English dominant students, has demonstrated that these particular programs overly benefit White, affluent English dominant families. Relying on qualitative methods, previous research has termed this phenomenon the gentrification of bilingual education, however what is yet to be established is a quantitative measure of the prevalence of gentrification. Thus, the goal of the present study was to establish who is most likely to benefit from two-way dual language programming through a more quantitative approach. Grounded in critical race theory and specifically whiteness as property, the nexus of program placement and neighborhood demographic was explored using critical race spatial analysis (CRSA) and mapping technology known as geographical information systems (GIS). After combining data from the Texas Education Agency, the United States Census, and GIS county and school level data, the results of the CRSA showed that it is primarily affluent, White and Latinx neighborhoods in urban spaces that are most likely to contain two-way dual language programs, while rural areas and areas of high immigrant density and/or low wealth were least likely to house two-way dual language programs. These results support previous literature and contribute to future implications for educational stakeholders including policy makers, district leadership, administrators, and classroom teachers.