Lisa M. Dorner, Ph.D.

teacher, researcher, life-long learner

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Lisa M. Dorner, PhD
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Families & Two-Way Immersion

lisa-dorner-casa-lessonIn the early 2000s, I followed the development of one suburban school district’s new two-way immersion (TWI), bilingual education policy. As they decided to shift from a typical/transitional bilingual education program to two-way immersion for all of their Spanish-dominant students, there was much public discontent and debate. I explored:

  • how immigrant parents navigated the public debate and made choices about “TWI” (Dorner, 2012; Dorner, 2011)
  • the public discourse and “zone of intolerance” about TWI, as seen in school board meetings, newspaper reports, and parent-run listservs (Dorner, 2011)
  • how children take part in families’ sense-making about policy (Dorner, 2015)

More recently, colleagues and I (Cervantes-Soon, Dorner, et al., 2017)  have reviewed research on two-way immersion education, critically pointing out that TWI programs do not always live up to their promise of equality, equal opportunity, and superior outcomes for all students and families.

Research Areas

  • Language Policy & Planning
  • Educational Policy Implementation
  • Immigrant Integration
  • Program Evaluation

Research Projects

  • Families & Two-Way Immersion
  • Creating One-Way Immersion
  • Language Brokering

Partners

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