Article published In:
Journal of Immersion and Content-Based Language EducationVol. 12:1 (2024) ► pp.1–24
Vol. 12:1 (2024) ► pp.1–24
Academic achievement of minority home language students with special education needs in English language of instruction and French immersion programs
This study explored the academic achievement of students who speak a minority language (ML) at home (i.e., a language
other than the official languages of Canada, English and French) and who have special education needs (SEN), in two educational programs
that differed in language of instruction: English language of instruction (ELoI), and Early French Immersion (EFI). The proportion of
students (n = 131) meeting the provincial standard in reading, writing, and mathematics and the effect of gender, place of
birth, socio-economic status, English proficiency level, and program were analyzed. Writing was the strongest domain, followed by reading
and mathematics. ML-SEN students were equally likely to meet the provincial standard whether in ELoI or EFI, and there were few significant
predictors of achievement. Participating in EFI did not increase students’ risk of academic difficulty. Additional supports may be
beneficial to ML-SEN students in ELoI and EFI programs.
Keywords: academic achievement, minority language students, students with special education needs, dual language education, immersion
Article outline
- 1.Introduction
- 1.1ML-SEN students: Language of education and special education
- 1.2Academic achievement of ML-SEN students
- 1.3Individual differences
- 1.4The current study
- 2.Method
- 2.1Participants
- 2.2Procedures
- 2.3Analyses
- 3.Results
- 3.1Overall achievement (Research Question 1)
- 3.2Achievement by domain (Research Question 2)
- 3.2.1Reading Achievement
- 3.2.2Writing Achievement
- 3.2.3Mathematics Achievement
- 4.Discussion
- 4.1Achievement
- 4.2Predictors
- 4.3Comparison with similar studies
- 4.5Limitations
- 4.6Conclusions
-
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