Responsibility and Resistance: Building on the Social Practices of Latina Middle School Students

Abstract

This study analyzes the engagement of midwestern Latino immigrant students for whom key moments within their collaborative work with low-income peers at a multicultural after-school program coincided with 2 controversial political events, the introduction of English-only legislation into the state House of Representatives in the spring of 2005 and a demonstration in which Latino immigrants boycotted work and school in May 2006. The connection between the personal and the political in the culturally relevant program pedagogy served to promote the agency of the young participants.

Keywords:

• culturally relevant pedagogy
• critical pedagogy
• multicultural education
• multilingualism
• new literacies

Notes

¹All names of programs, people, and places are pseudonyms.

²I transcribed this segment of the literacy event using Jefferson conventions. I have included a key in the Appendix.