| Summary: | Thesis (M.A.) University of Alaska Fairbanks, 2010 In one rural Alaska school district, parents have a choice to place their child in an English only school or a Yup'ik immersion school. In the English only school, all subjects are taught in English. In the dual immersion school, English is introduced at third grade and progressively increases with each grade level until the sixth grade, when students exit the program. The researcher will seek to find why parents choose to place their child in the English only school or in the Yup'ik Immersion School. This inquiry is to help the researcher understand the thoughts and perceptions that are being held by parents and members in the community about each of the schools. The study will use qualitative research methodology that includes questionnaires and personal interviews to find out the thoughts and feelings that are being held by the parents. This research seeks to find the reasons why parents choose one school over the other. After reviewing the questionnaires, the researcher will select five parents from each school with various backgrounds to interview. The researcher will conduct ethnographic interviews designed to elicit more in-depth information. The interviews will be coded and emergent themes identified. Through data analysis, the researcher hopes to discover the reasons why parents are choosing each of the schools.
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