“Compromises that we make”: Whiteness in the dual language context

ABSTRACT

This case study of a two-way dual language school explores the role of whiteness in a bilingual space, specifically with regards to parent involvement. I ask how whiteness operates in this setting and how the school’s response to parent involvement reflects and/or challenges white supremacy. Using the concept of interest convergence and additional concepts from whiteness studies, I argue that the focal school offers a unique example of administrators explicitly working against the domination of white parents by asserting the legitimacy of Mexican-American parents’ cultural capital. However, structural factors, specifically lack of funding, created a context for white parents’ continued influence. Additionally, I examine the variety of ways in which white parents explained their involvement, arguing that notions of “compromise” and “sacrifice” undermined their—and administrators—social justice orientations.

Acknowledgments

The author would like to acknowledge Dr. Kathy Escamilla, Dr. Susan Hopewell, Dr. Terrenda White, Dr. Bianca Williams, Dr. Guillermo Solano-Flores, and the BUENO Center for Multicultural Education at the University of Colorado, Boulder for their support of this project.

Notes

¹. At the risk of oversimplification and despite the decreasing relevance of these terms given new demographic realities, I use the terms “English-speaking,” “Spanish-speaking,” “language majority,” and “language minority” throughout this article for the purposes of clarity.

². All names of people and places are pseudonyms.