The Unique Skills and Traits of One-Way and Two-Way Dual Immersion Principals
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Brigham Young University BYU ScholarsArchive Theses and Dissertations 2014-11-01 The Unique Skills and Traits of One-Way and Two-Way Dual Immersion Principals Ryan K. Rocque Brigham Young University - Provo Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/etd Part of the Educational Leadership Commons BYU ScholarsArchive Citation Rocque, Ryan K., "The Unique Skills and Traits of One-Way and Two-Way Dual Immersion Principals" (2014). Theses and Dissertations. 4372. https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/etd/4372 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by BYU ScholarsArchive. It has been accepted for inclusion in Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of BYU ScholarsArchive. For more information, please contact [email protected], [email protected]. The Unique Skills and Traits of One-Way and Two-Way Dual Immersion Principals Ryan K. Rocque A dissertation to be submitted to the faculty of Brigham Young University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Scott Ferrin, Chair Steven J. Hite Clifford T. Mayes Julie M. Hite E. Vance Randall Department of Educational Leadership and Foundations Brigham Young University November 2014 Copyright © 2014 Ryan K. Rocque All Rights Reserved ABSTRACT The Unique Skills and Traits of One-Way and Two-Way Dual Immersion Principals Ryan K. Rocque Department of Educational Leadership and Foundations, BYU Doctor of Philosophy The principal is an important key to school success and student achievement (Anderson & Togneri, 2003; Met & Lorenz, 1997). Considering the role of principals of dual immersion schools, few studies have considered factors leading to their success (Nicholson, Harris-Johhn, & Schimmel, 2005; Simmons et al., 2007). With current advancements in skill mapping and meta- analyses, the understanding of skill and trait theory has improved, greatly enhancing the researcher’s ability to effectively identify a leader’s skills and traits (Derue, Nahrgang, Wellman, & Humphrey, 2011; Marzano, Waters, & McNulty, 2005; Scouller, 2011; Zaccaro, 2007). A clearer understanding of the skills and traits dual immersion principals need would help other dual immersion principals and the districts and states that train these principals (Waters, Marzano, & McNulty, 2003). Through a set of interviews and surveys, the researcher explored themes and patterns based on principals’ opinions of the skills and traits they use. The researcher compared one-way dual immersion schools with two-way dual immersion schools in an effort to distinguish how principals’ opinions vary between these two contrasting immersion paradigms. An analysis of principal responses from the surveys and interviews revealed that a number of traits and skills identified in previous research are also important for dual immersion principals. In addition, the research found a number of new skills and traits unique to the dual immersion context. This research also found that many skills and traits of dual immersion principals varied between the contexts of one-way and two-way. These findings indicate an important shift in our understanding of the role of principal and the ways that dual immersion principals are trained. Keywords: dual immersion, bilingual education, educational leadership, professional learning communities, professional development, foreign language education, skills-based leadership theory, trait theory of leadership, leadership responsibilities ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Being a leader requires so much time and effort. The dual immersion principals I have interviewed have inspired me. They are change agents; they are dedicated to all students achieving at higher levels; they are the hope of our diverse students. These dual immersion principals are the unsung heroes of the real equality in education that we need in our nation today. It goes without saying that without their willingness to self-reflect, enabling me to see and understand their role as leaders, I would never have been able to accomplish this project. I am so grateful for that support, and for their wonderful insights. I must also acknowledge the great sacrifice and tenacious support of my sweet wife. Her devotion to me through this doctoral adventure has been unfailing. I am especially thankful for her willingness to allow me the space to accomplish this goal. She has been a wonderful mother, a mentor, an editor, and a friend throughout this process. It is true to say that beside every good man is a great woman. I have been richly blessed to have such an incredible helpmeet at my side throughout this challenging task. Finally, I wish to acknowledge the great strength and support of my chair, Dr. Scott Ferrin, and the other committee members. I see them as colleagues and friends. There has never been a time that I haven’t felt their complete willingness to answer my questions, to make me think through a problem, to put me back on track, or to offer me words of support. They have fine-tuned my skills as a writer and researcher, helped me think deeply, and shown me my potential for contributing to the field of educational research. For all of their help, I express my sincerest gratitude and pay my utmost respect. iv TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT .................................................................................................................................... ii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ............................................................................................................. iii TABLE OF CONTENTS ............................................................................................................... iv LIST OF TABLES ......................................................................................................................... vi LIST OF FIGURES ...................................................................................................................... vii INTRODUCTION OF STRUCTURE AND CONTENT............................................................ viii TEXT OF ARTICLE The Unique Skills and Traits of One-Way and Two-Way Dual Immersion Principals ................. 1 Role of the School Leader ............................................................................................................ 1 Dual Immersion Model of Utah ................................................................................................... 2 Adapting Leadership Research to Dual Immersion Context ....................................................... 3 Methods........................................................................................................................................... 4 Participants and Procedures ......................................................................................................... 5 Analyses ....................................................................................................................................... 6 Results ............................................................................................................................................. 8 Phase I Findings ........................................................................................................................... 8 Phase II Findings........................................................................................................................ 11 Essential Focus Areas of Dual Immersion ................................................................................. 17 Discussion ..................................................................................................................................... 24 Future Research Recommendations ........................................................................................... 27 Conclusion ................................................................................................................................. 28 References ..................................................................................................................................... 30 APPENDIX A: REVIEW OF LITERATURE ............................................................................. 35 Introduction ................................................................................................................................... 35 Foreign Language Instruction: A Brief History ............................................................................ 36 One-way Immersion in Canada ................................................................................................. 36 The Bilingual Education Movement .......................................................................................... 37 The Dual Immersion Movement ................................................................................................ 39 Foreign Language Instruction: A Utah Perspective ...................................................................... 40 Foreign Language Study in Utah Schools ................................................................................. 40 Immersion in Utah ..................................................................................................................... 41 Utah’s Dual Immersion Model .................................................................................................. 42 Theories of Second Language Acquisition ................................................................................... 44 Mental Cognition and Foreign Language Learning ..................................................................