Policy and practice: bilingual education at San Francisco's Filipino Education Center

This thesis is a case study of the Filipino-English bilingual program at the Filipino Education Center in the San Francisco Unified School District (SFUSD). Using naturalistic research methods over the course of three years, including participant observation and interviews, this documents the political and classroom practices from the past fifteen years and questions why Filipinos have been repeatedly denied equitable bilingual education. Specifically, this thesis examines the relationships and roles which parents, teachers, and community advocates have in influencing the district’s policies; how generation and cultural perspectives can divide the community, further complicating the fight for a strong, unified program; and how financial, social, and racial inequities influence policies which determine the future of the Filipino bilingual program in the SFUSD.