A history of bilingual education in the US: Examining the politics of language policymaking

Abstract

In A History of Bilingual Education in the US: Examining the Politics of Language Policymaking, Sarah C. K. Moore offers educators, researchers, language policy and language planners a two-fold objective: (1) a review of the establishment, growth, and expansion of bilingual education in the United States, and (2) a political lens through which to view the challenges, policy implications, and future direction of bilingual education. Moore uses a political lens framework to explore the inherent tension between the differing language ideologies and white racism that drive the debate and policy decisions concerning the equitable education of minoritized students. Moore’s work also includes a critical analysis of current trends and organizations involved in bilingual education and the importance of past experiences to inform the future. Throughout the book, the author’s experience and expertise in language planning and policymaking are evidenced in the review of their impacts on bilingual education over time. Moore’s call for sociopolitical consciousness to acknowledge privilege and microaggressions in dual language programs is an essential part of future policymaking. The book is divided into seven chapters and contains photos, charts, and graphs to help the reader grasp the intricacies of previous iterations of national agencies as well as past and present research concerning bilingual education. The introduction, and first and final chapter focus on current political events and their relationship to the ideology shaping the implementation and direction of bilingual education and minoritized students’ identities. Chapters 2 through 6 review the pioneering advocates whose research and activism preceded the Bilingual Education Act (BEA), and who, along with political policymakers shaped, refined, and contested the meaning of bicultural, bilingual education. Moore intertwines the stories of important advocates with the legal actions and federal mandates that have shaped the history of bilingual education. The final chapter of the book explores the current trends in bilingual education and the importance of a historical perspective with which to critically examine the extant language ideologies. Moore concludes with a call for a reexamination of a national infrastructure that includes sociopolitical consciousness in order to engage all voices for the future development and implementation of bilingual education in the United States. Moore’s introduction and first chapter titled “A Racist in the White House,” contain an examination of the rise of white supremacy and racism during the Trump administration. The author defends this attention to the “Trump effect” while also acknowledging that the “immediate utility” of this stance may be unclear and unaffiliated with the aim of promoting bilingual education (p. 2). Moore uses personal anecdotes from students, social media postings, and surveys to illustrate the ways white supremacy and racism seeped into schools during the Trump Administration. The presence of racism has shaped the past and present of bilingual education in the United States and the author devotes several pages to outlining a conspiracy designed by white supremacists to put Trump in the White House, focusing on the backgrounds of Steve Bannon, US Attorney General Jeff Sessions, and senior White House advisor Stephen Miller. Moore asserts that the restrictive immigration policies of the Trump administration, including the so-called “Muslim ban” were evidence of xenophobia and tied to white separatist efforts to make English the official language of the United States. Moore connects these anti-immigration stances to the Trump administration’s attack on “failing” public schools and