Date of Award

Fall 2025

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Education (EdD)

Committee Chair

Jennifer Putnam

Abstract

Dual language immersion programs have continued to grow in North Carolina, providing students with learning opportunities focused on bilingualism, biliteracy, and sociocultural competency. This qualitative case study explored the influence of ecological systems on internal stakeholders (teachers, instructional coaches, and administrators) within one dual language strand within a school’s Chinese immersion program in North Carolina. Bronfenbrenner’s (1979) Ecological Systems Theory was utilized as the framework for this study. Data were collected through focus groups, interviews, and document analysis to examine the perceptions and experiences of key stakeholders pertaining to the program’s integration into the larger school setting. The analyzed data led to findings that revealed networked interactions between the school’s internal stakeholders and the ecological systems. The micro and mesosystems were the most immediate factors that influenced the support and collaboration among the immersion and non-immersion staff members. Exosystemic factors such as Participate Learning professional development, school, and district structures also played a significant role in the stakeholders’ daily experiences. Despite the program being an asset to the school community, the chronosystem led to a lack of understanding of the program’s goals over time, which affected the program’s visibility and the school culture, the macrosystem. These findings represent a need for stronger alignment between the immersion and non-immersion strands, cultural training, and increased opportunities for cross-cultural collaboration to fully integrate and sustain the program within the larger school setting.

Creative Commons License

Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial 4.0 License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial 4.0 License

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