Educational Transformation

There is a growing need for teachers to engage linguistic diversity additively and equitably in the classroom in a way that empowers multilingual learners and the knowledge they bring. Translanguaging offers a potentially transformative approach to teaching that centers the agency of multilingual learners to critically and creatively disrupt the language borders of their classrooms. The purpose of this article is to review foundational and current translanguaging research as a theory of language as well as a pedagogical practice. It also proposes an approach to translanguaging as a qualitative research methodology, demonstrating a translanguaging pedagogical framework can be supplemented with analytic criteria to represent a qualitative research methodology that meets the multidisciplinary needs of translanguaging in research and practice. Finally, it discusses how future translanguaging inquiry can engage critical frameworks and multidisciplinary methodologies that center teachers and analysis of their agency to enact translanguaging pedagogies for multilingual learners.

There is a growing need for teachers to engage linguistic diversity additively and equitably in the classroom in a way that empowers multilingual learners and the knowledge they bring. Translanguaging offers a potentially transformative approach to teaching that centers the agency of multilingual learners to critically and creatively disrupt the language borders of their classrooms. The purpose of this article is to review foundational and current translanguaging research as a theory of language as well as a pedagogical practice. It also proposes an approach to translanguaging as a qualitative research methodology, demonstrating a translanguaging pedagogical framework can be supplemented with analytic criteria to represent a qualitative research methodology that meets the multidisciplinary needs of translanguaging in research and practice. Finally, it discusses how future translanguaging inquiry can engage critical frameworks and multidisciplinary methodologies that center teachers and analysis of their agency to enact translanguaging pedagogies for multilingual learners.

As a challenge to social and material inequities in the opportunities and outcomes of U.S. public schooling for students of color, more teachers are being prepared to teach with culturally responsive and sustaining pedagogies (Ladson-Billings, 1995; Paris, 2012). As teachers in mainstream, English-medium classrooms encounter more linguistic diversity, they must also be prepared to teach with linguistically sustaining pedagogies, such as translanguaging pedagogy (García, Johnson, & Seltzer, 2017). The objective of the present study is to explore one example of how translanguaging pedagogy can be integrated into an English-medium teacher education curriculum. This paper analyzes a case study of effective instruction, student learning, and reflective practice in teacher education, examining how undergraduate Education Studies majors in a linguistic justice course define translanguaging as a pedagogical framework and negotiate it in conversation with monolingual orientations. Through thematic analysis of qualitative data, including student work, course artifacts, and reflection surveys, this study demonstrates how a group of future teachers developed translingual awareness through specific course activities. This study ultimately highlights both the challenges and successes of promoting translingual awareness in traditionally "monolingual" teacher education, and provides concrete steps towards preparing all teachers to teach with culturally and linguistically sustaining pedagogies.

This article presents an overview of Project ELEECT (English Learners' Educational Excellence Capitol Teacher Training Project), a U.S. Department of Education-funded program designed to prepare teachers in Culturally and Linguistically Responsive Pedagogy (CLRP) for multilingual learners (ML). The purpose of Project ELEECT is to promote educational justice for MLs by revising a Master of Arts + ESL Licensure program for pre-service teachers and creating a professional development program for in-service teachers. It prepares pre-service and in-service teachers of MLs in CLRP through teacher research, and specifically offers a novel professional learning tool, which we call Impact on Learning Studies (IOLS). This teacher research tool represents a framework for the systematic and intentional self-study of their teaching practices. In this article, we lay the foundations for a research agenda that investigates pre-service and in-service teachers' understanding and implementation of CLRP, documents concrete examples of CLRP in various classroom contexts, and examines the efficacy of teacher research initiatives to prepare teachers in CLRP. Project ELEECT prepares teachers to invite students' cultural and linguistic experiences into their classrooms, create spaces for CLRP, and foster critical consciousness in learning settings, thus taking a major shift towards cultivation of anti-racist dispositions in education.

As the number of multilingual learners in U.S. classrooms continues to grow, so does the need for teachers who are critically aware of how language, identity, and power unequally shape these learners’ classroom experiences. Through the lens of translanguaging theory, this study aims to map preservice teachers’ conceptualizations of language, linguistic competence, and teaching. It draws on qualitative analysis of written survey responses from 76 preservice teachers about their understanding of language, competence, and teaching upon entering their English as a second language (ESL) licensure program. Thematic analysis is used to identify strong, medium, and weak themes of the participant responses and to further evaluate the extent to which their views toward language, competence, and teaching reflect critical language awareness. Conclusions highlight the need to support preservice teachers’ critical consciousness related to translanguaging. In mapping the translingual awareness of incoming preservice teachers, this study contributes to a more comprehensive understanding of where to start integrating translanguaging theory into teacher education curricula to support preservice teachers’ critical language awareness, for which implications are offered.

This article examines reactions to the changing linguistic ecology in the U.S. state of Iowa, which is experiencing a demographic phenomenon often referred to as the New Latino Diaspora (NLD) (Hamann et al., 2002). We first examine the historical processes and social structures that link current language policy initiatives within Iowa to local and national nativism. We then analyze public policies and texts to reveal how language ideologies circulate across diverse texts and contexts, forming discourses that shape the experiences of Latin@s in Iowa.

To the memory of my mother, Suzanne, who taught me about power in caring. And to Lila, my daughter, who makes learning about complex identities a source of evolving joy. iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Thank you, first, to Oscar. I don't think many can fully understand the sacrifices you made so that I could complete this PhD, but I see and feel them. Te agradezco y te amo. To Tammia and DeeAnn and everyone at Wilson St./Morningside, who know how many acts of kindness and casserole it takes to put a dissertation into the world. You are our community. You have made our time here rich and we have loved sharing life with you. Thank you, also, to the members of my committee. To my advisor, David Johnson, for your time, feedback, and critique that strengthened this project and shaped my work through the years. To Amanda Thein, who reminded me of my own identity when I needed it. To Laurie Graham, whose work and teaching I respect deeply. To Leslie Schrier, whose support is a source of encouragement. To Lia Plakans, who is a model of kindness, professionalism, scholarship, and humility. And to Elana Shohamy, who first appeared in my life as an unexpected comfort in grief and is now an example of advocacy for fairness though scholarship. Each of you has taught me, each of you has shown me something about whom I hope to become. Deep thanks to Jamie Schissel, Nita Schmidt, Aliza Fones, and Phil Striegel for the intellectual and emotional work you put into this project. You did this for free, but I could never put a price on it. To my dad and sister, you are the best cheerleaders. Finalmente, me gustaría reconocer la valentía y la contribución de los participantes en este proyecto. Los maestros tal como las familias tomaron una posición iv vulnerable y valiente para crear la transformación. Esto no fue para nada fácil y es mi privilegio haber aprendido y participado junto a Uds./ Finally, I would like to acknowledge the courage and contribution of the participants in this study. Both educators and families put themselves into courageous, vulnerable positions in order to create transformation. This is no easy task, and it was my privilege to have learned from and participated alongside you in it.

This article considers the impact of the Lau v. Nichols Supreme Court decision on the education of English learners in Washington State, US In particular, we focus on the most popular educational program in the state, Sheltered English Instruction. We first examine how intertextual links to various policy texts and discourses shape Washington language policy and then look at how educators in four school districts interpret and appropriate this policy. Based on fieldwork in four school districts, we argue that English learners are often submerged in English-only classrooms, in which the curriculum is not fundamentally changed to meet their needs, thus denying them equal educational opportunity according to Lau v. Nichols. Mirroring national trends, the English Learner (EL) population in Washington State was 9.4% of the total school population in 2014 and the number is steadily rising (National Center for Education Statistics 2016). Educational equity for linguistic minorities is a central concern for educational scholars, practitioners, and activists all over the world. In the United States, the 1974 Lau v. Nichols Supreme Court ruling is a landmark policy regarding educational access for English learners (ELs 1). In a unanimous decision, the judges ruled that ELs could not be placed in mainstream English-only classrooms without additional instructional adaptations. While the Lau decision has been very influential, constitutionally derived federalism forces the federal government to share power with the fifty states, and therefore US state departments of education and school districts are the arbiters of how Lau is interpreted and appropriated. This paper looks at how Washington's language policies and programs relate to the Lau decision. Particular attention is paid to the Sheltered Instruction program-how it is depicted in state language policy and how it is implemented in schools. We show that, while Washington language policy promotes several forms of bilingual education, the vast majority of ELs are enrolled in Sheltered Instruction programs, which are interpreted and appropriated in ways that might not accommodate the linguistic needs of students.

The New Latino Diaspora is a demographic phenomenon that describes the immigration of Latinos from across Latin America to small cities and towns in the United States, which have historically not been popular destinations for Spanish speakers. As a result of this demographic shift, Iowa has experienced a 452% increase in its population of English learners (ELs) in public schools over the past 20 years. Thus, communities throughout Iowa (and the rest of the New Latino Diaspora) have struggled to put a support network in place for newcomers, including educational programs that provide educational opportunity for non-native English speakers. The purpose of this study was to examine how Iowa’s educational language policy has adapted to growing numbers of ELs. Findings suggest that policymakers and educators alike have struggled to develop coherent plans for accommodating native Spanish speakers and leverage resources to enact what plans exist. While there is support at the state-level f...

This article presents an overview of Project ELEECT (English Learners' Educational Excellence Capitol Teacher Training Project), a U.S. Department of Education-funded program designed to prepare teachers in Culturally and Linguistically Responsive Pedagogy (CLRP) for multilingual learners (ML). The purpose of Project ELEECT is to promote educational justice for MLs by revising a Master of Arts + ESL Licensure program for pre-service teachers and creating a professional development program for in-service teachers. It prepares pre-service and in-service teachers of MLs in CLRP through teacher research, and specifically offers a novel professional learning tool, which we call Impact on Learning Studies (IOLS). This teacher research tool represents a framework for the systematic and intentional self-study of their teaching practices. In this article, we lay the foundations for a research agenda that investigates pre-service and in-service teachers' understanding and implementation of CLRP, documents concrete examples of CLRP in various classroom contexts, and examines the efficacy of teacher research initiatives to prepare teachers in CLRP. Project ELEECT prepares teachers to invite students' cultural and linguistic experiences into their classrooms, create spaces for CLRP, and foster critical consciousness in learning settings, thus taking a major shift towards cultivation of anti-racist dispositions in education.

Place is an inescapable aspect of daily life and is intimately linked to our life experiences. An expanding body of research has investigated how place shapes the “geography of opportunity” as well as students’, families’, and stakeholders’ experiences in and around schools. While researchers have begun to investigate the spatial context of education, the notion of place remains somewhat underconceptualized in education research. This chapter draws on an interdisciplinary review of 60 empirical, education-related studies to understand how researchers have accounted for place, the theoretical and conceptual frames in which they ground their work, and their data collection methods. We find that researchers have used place inquiry and spatial methods to investigate diverse education-related phenomena, such as school choice and teaching and learning. Beyond using place to identify and describe inequalities, we argue that place inquiry and spatial methodologies can strengthen the potenti...

Place is an inescapable aspect of daily life and is intimately linked to our life experiences. An expanding body of research has investigated how place shapes the “geography of opportunity” as well as students’, families’, and stakeholders’ experiences in and around schools. While researchers have begun to investigate the spatial context of education, the notion of place remains somewhat underconceptualized in education research. This chapter draws on an interdisciplinary review of 60 empirical, education-related studies to understand how researchers have accounted for place, the theoretical and conceptual frames in which they ground their work, and their data collection methods. We find that researchers have used place inquiry and spatial methods to investigate diverse education-related phenomena, such as school choice and teaching and learning. Beyond using place to identify and describe inequalities, we argue that place inquiry and spatial methodologies can strengthen the potenti...

Although student-based budgeting (SBB) is a multifaceted finance, governance, and management reform, little research has examined its governance effects. This article addresses that gap by reporting findings from a “critical case” of SBB, implemented under conditions that might promote meaningful teacher, parent, and community engagement in site-based policy decisions. Anchored in theories of the micropolitics of schools and conceptions of democratic decision making, this case demonstrates that SBB did not alter how principals engaged teachers, parents, and community members in budget decision-making processes. Generally speaking, decision-making processes represented narrow and shallow forms of actor engagement and democratic decision making. Study findings reveal that SBB in its current form is not a robust mechanism for realizing its governance aims and suggest that other factors, including but not limited to the misalignment of accountability and authority, warrant the attention...