Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Language Learners, Inequality Regimes, And Secondary Schooling: Dilemmas Of The New South, Karen Gober

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This paper explores the structure of the secondary education system in Northwest Arkansas and how it shapes the culture of education for newly arrived Latino immigrants. Significant achievement gaps remain between non-Hispanic white students and Latinos within secondary education. Uncovering possible causes for this gap is necessary in order to allow equal educational opportunity for all students. While prior researchers debate the method of language instruction as a barrier to education, there has been little attention to the relationship between organizational structure and levels of achievement. In-depth interviews with teachers and administrators reveal a consistent theme: large amounts of time …