Bridging Divides: The Research–Policy–Practice Nexus in Bilingual Education and Bilingual Teacher Education in the United States

Tendiendo puentes: El nexo entre investigación, legislación y práctica educativa en educación bilingüe y formación docente bilingüe en los EUA

Authors

  • Dr. Cristian Aquino-Sterling Texas Tech University
  • Dr. Weverton Ataide Pinheiro Texas Tech University
  • Dr. Delia Carrizales Texas Tech University
  • Dr. Rosa Chávez California State University, Fresno
  • Claudia Coronado Texas Tech University
  • Dr. Lydiah Kananu Kiramba University of Nebraska, Lincoln
  • Dr. R. Mata Western Washington University
  • Dr. Mario Molina Naar Universidad de los Andes, Colombia
  • Dr. Fernando Valle Texas Tech University

Keywords:

Bilingual education, bilingual teacher education, research, policy, practice, United States of America, Educación bi-/multilingüe, formación docente bi-/multilingüe, investigación, legislación, implementación educativas, Estados Unidos de América

Abstract

In this article we examine the complex relationship between research, policy, and practice in U.S. bilingual education and bilingual teacher preparation. Although these intimately interrelated fields have made significant scholarly advances and gained international recognition, they continue to experience systemic challenges rooted in contradictions in policy, barriers to implementation, and political tensions. Despite existing research on effective programs and approaches for educating bi-/multilingual learners and preparing future bilingual teachers, misalignments across research, policy, and practice have contributed to persistent gaps in opportunity and achievement for both bi-/multilingual learners and teacher candidates. These issues are especially urgent in today’s political climate, where ethnocentric and nativist ideologies threaten institutions such as the U.S. Department of Education Office of English Language Acquisition and a body of robust research developed since the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Bilingual Education Act of 1968, undermining decades of progress. We conclude by making a call for policies that are research-informed, equity-driven, culturally sustainable, and supportive of bilingualism, biliteracy, and the preparation of teachers to serve bi-/multilingual learners in ways that promote their academic achievement and well-being.

En este artículo examinamos la compleja relación entre investigación, legislación y práctica educativa en los ámbitos de la educación bilingüe y de la formación docente bilingüe en los Estados Unidos. Si bien estos campos, íntimamente interrelacionados, han logrado avances académicos significativos y reconocimiento internacional, éstos continúan enfrentando desafíos sistémicos a raíz de contradicciones legislativas, obstáculos en la práctica educativa y tensiones políticas. A pesar de la investigación existente sobre programas y enfoques eficaces para educar a estudiantes bi-/multilingües y preparar a futuros docentes bilingües, las discontinuidades entre investigación, legislación y práctica educativa han producido desigualdades en el acceso y el rendimiento académico de cuyos actores. Esta problemática adquiere particular urgencia en el actual contexto político, donde ideologías etnocéntricas y nativistas amenazan instituciones como la Oficina de Adquisición del Idioma Inglés del Departamento de Educación y décadas de investigación desarrolladas desde la Ley de Derechos Civiles de 1964 y la Ley de Educación Bilingüe de 1968. Concluimos haciendo un llamado a la formulación de marcos legislativos sustentados en la evidencia científica, orientados a la equidad y que promuevan el desempeño académico y el bienestar social y humano tanto de los estudiantes bi-/multilingües en el sector escolar público como de sus docentes.

Author Biographies

Dr. Cristian Aquino-Sterling, Texas Tech University

Cristian R. Aquino-Sterling is an Associate Professor of Bi-/Multilingual Education at Texas Tech University, where he also coordinates the Language Diversity and Literacy Studies (LDLS) doctoral program. He holds an interdisciplinary Ph.D. in Curriculum and Instruction (Arizona State University), an M.A. in Spanish Literatures and Cultural Studies (Columbia University), and a B.A. in Philosophy (Fordham University). His recently expanded line of research focuses on philosophical and international-comparative dimensions of bi-/multilingual education research, with particular emphasis on bilingual teacher education. He is lead co-editor of Curricular and Pedagogical Innovations in Bilingual Teacher Education: Bridging the Distance with School Contexts (Information Age Publishing, 2022). Aquino-Sterling is founder and director of the International and Comparative Bi-/Multilingual Education Research Group (www.icberg.org). Aquino-Sterling serves as Chair of the AERA Bilingual Education Research Special Interest Group (2025-2026).

Dr. Weverton Ataide Pinheiro, Texas Tech University

Weverton Ataide Pinheiro (he/they/ele) is an Assistant Professor of Curriculum and Instruction (STEM Education) in the College of Education at Texas Tech University. His research focuses on transformative issues in education, with recent work addressing gender and sexuality, bilingualism, and technology. He holds a Ph.D. in Curriculum and Instruction (Mathematics Education) from Indiana University Bloomington, an M.S. in Mathematics Education from National Taiwan Normal University, and a Licentiate degree in Mathematics from the University of Brasília. Weverton is currently a co-Principal Investigator of iBET (Investing in Bilingual Educators in Texas), a $1.2 million grant from the U.S. Department of Education aimed at advancing bilingual education across the state of Texas.

Dr. Delia Carrizales, Texas Tech University

Delia Carrizales is an Assistant Professor and Special Populations ESL Bilingual Curriculum Program Anchor in the Teacher Education Department at Texas Tech University. Her research agenda centers on bilingual teacher preparation. Delia is a former classroom bilingual dual language teacher and currently she is a co-Principal Investigator iBET (Investing in Bilingual Educators in Texas), a grant focused on improving bilingual education.

Dr. Rosa Chávez, California State University, Fresno

Rosa Chávez is an Assistant Professor of Mathematics Education in the Curriculum and Instruction department at the Kremen School of Education and Human Development at California State University, Fresno. She holds a Ph.D. in Curriculum and Teacher Education (Mathematics Education) from Stanford University, an M.S. in Mathematical Sciences and a B.A. in Mass Communication from The University of Texas Pan-American (now UTRGV). Drawing on her experience as a mathematics teacher in the borderlands of South Texas, her research centers around policy implementation and its interaction with teaching and learning mathematics for students from historically marginalized communities. Her recent work seeks to bridge mathematics, literacy, and translanguaging practices in culturally and linguistically responsive ways for emergent bilingual students in Dual Language programs in the Rio Grande Valley of Texas and the San Joaquín Central Valley of California.

Claudia Coronado, Texas Tech University

Claudia Coronado is a Ph.D. student in Education Leadership Policy at Texas Tech University. She has previously worked as a public-school teacher and administrator. Her research focuses on teacher quality, the implementation of education policy and its impact on instructional practice and advancing equitable outcomes for marginalized student populations.

Dr. Lydiah Kananu Kiramba, University of Nebraska, Lincoln

Lydiah Kananu Kiramba is an Associate Professor of Educational Linguistics in the Department of Teaching, Learning, and Teacher Education at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln. She also serves as the coordinator of the English as a Second Language (ESL) program. Her research focuses on the communicative practices of multilingual students in super-diverse classrooms and examines the literacies of migrants, immigrants, and multilingual populations in K–12 educational settings.

Dr. R. Mata, Western Washington University

R. Mata is an Associate Professor of Linguistics at Western Washington University. He obtained a Ph.D. in Linguistics (University of California San Diego) and an M.F.A. in Creative Writing (University of Alaska, Fairbanks). His research explores the language attitudes and lived experiences of Spanish speakers in the United States, with a particular focus on the San Diego–Tijuana border region. He investigates the linguistic features of Spanish in this transborder context, emphasizing issues of linguistic insecurity and linguistic discrimination, especially among college-aged heritage speakers of Spanish. His most recent work, co-authored with Ana Celia Zentella (Emerita, UC San Diego), is a chapter titled “El español en los Estados Unidos,” published in Dialectología hispánica aplicada: variación, enseñanza, interdisciplinariedad (Routledge 2025).

Dr. Mario Molina Naar, Universidad de los Andes, Colombia

Mario Molina Naar is a lecturer in the Department of Languages and Culture at Universidad de los Andes, Colombia, where he also coordinates the pedagogy of foreign languages section. He holds a Ph.D. in Education (specializing in plurilingual and intercultural education) from the Autonomous University of Barcelona, Spain, and an MA in TESOL from Greensboro College, North Carolina, USA. Molina Naar’s research focuses on bi-/multilingual education, English-medium instruction (EMI), and the internationalization of higher education in multilingual contexts. He has participated in transnational research projects across Brazil, Germany, Mexico, and Spain. Additionally, he has authored and co-authored various journal articles and book chapters and has been a guest speaker at academic conferences and led workshops in universities across Brazil, Colombia, Honduras, and the USA. He is also the country liaison for Colombia in the EMI SIG, part of the British Association of Lecturers in English for Academic Purposes, BALEAP (https://emisig.baleap.org/committee-members). Molina Naar is co-director of the International and Comparative Bi-/multilingual Education Research Group (www.icberg.org).

Dr. Fernando Valle, Texas Tech University

Fernando Valle is a Professor of Educational Leadership in the Educational Psychology, Leadership, and Counseling Department in the College of Education at Texas Tech University. His research focuses on leadership development through social justice, and critical lenses to prepare the next generation of executive, school, and community leaders.  His research represents advocacy and action for marginalized and oppressed populations in communities and schools. A former K12 teacher, counselor, and principal, his scholar-practitioner approach has fostered Program Coordinator, Department Chair, and PI leadership roles with over 30 million in federal and state university-to-district education funding. Publications and national presentations document the development of Educational Leaders and The Latinx Principal Pipeline and implementing culturally relevant school leadership practices. He remains active in research, teaching, and scholarship advising and graduating/advising doctoral students, collaborating with national and state leadership organizations, and serving on leadership and education advisory boards.

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Published

2025-09-15

How to Cite

Aquino, C., Pinheiro, D. W., Carrizales, D. D., Chávez, D. R., Coronado, C., Kiramba, D. L., … Valle, D. F. (2025). Bridging Divides: The Research–Policy–Practice Nexus in Bilingual Education and Bilingual Teacher Education in the United States: Tendiendo puentes: El nexo entre investigación, legislación y práctica educativa en educación bilingüe y formación docente bilingüe en los EUA . Bilingual Review Revista Bilingüe , 37(2), 185–208. Retrieved from https://bilingualreviewjournal.org/index.php/br/article/view/580

Issue

Vol. 37 No. 2 (2025): Bi-/multilingual Education Around the World: Advances in the International and Comparative Dialogue

Section

Research and Criticism / Investigaciones y Crítica