Date of Award
Fall 2025
Document Type
Dissertation
Degree Name
Doctor of Education (Ed.D.)
Department
Educational Foundations and Counseling
First Advisor
Dr. Maite T. Sánchez
Second Advisor
Dr. Jennifer Flores Samson
Third Advisor
Dr. Kate Menken
Academic Program Adviser
Dr. Jody Polleck
Abstract
This qualitative multiple case study examined the decision-making processes of immigrant Latine caregivers selecting schools and language programs for their children classified as Multilingual Learners (MLLs) in New York City. Although policy frameworks position caregivers as central decision-makers, bilingual program access remains limited, especially in charter schools, and families must navigate language ideologies that privilege English as the safest educational pathway. Ten immigrant Latine participants, nine mothers and one grandmother, whose children attended traditional or charter elementary schools in one NYC district, shared their experiences through semi-structured interviews conducted in Spanish. Data were analyzed through iterative coding and thematic analysis to explore caregivers’ ideologies of bilingualism, their descriptions of school and program choices, the roles of keyholders they relied on, and how their own ideologies shaped decision-making. Guided by idealized language ideologies (Chang-Bacon, 2021), raciolinguistics (Flores & Rosa, 2015), and LatCrit (Solórzano & Yosso, 2001), this study illustrates how policy rhetoric of caregiver choice obscures structural inequities and institutional exclusion from bilingual education (BE).
Findings situate immigrant Latine caregiver decision-making within an illusion of choice. The dominance of English as a New Language (ENL) programming functioned as the de facto option across charter schools, while conflicting educator and caregiver ideologies in a traditional public school further constrained BE access. Three caregiver profiles, The Confider, The Historian, and The Traditionalist, illuminated distinct decision-making pathways. Trust emerged as both a bridge and a barrier, enabling reliance on community networks while simultaneously limiting options. Ultimately, caregiver agency reflected both resistance to and reproduction of dominant ideologies. Implications call for dismantling the illusion of choice, expanding BE opportunities in charter schools, and positioning immigrant Latine caregivers as co-constructors of linguistically inclusive schooling.
Recommended Citation
Ortiz, Emmeline, "DECIDIENDO LO MEJOR PARA SU EDUCACIÓN: IMMIGRANT LATINE MADRES AT THE INTERSECTION OF CONFIANZA, IDEOLOGY, AND THE ILLUSION OF CHOICE" (2025). CUNY Academic Works.
https://academicworks.cuny.edu/hc_sas_etds/1417
