Their words, their worlds: Critical literacy in bilingual spaces

ABSTRACT

Historically, the teaching of literacy in American classrooms has been “restricted to formalized, monolingual, monocultural and ruled-governed forms of language” (The New London Group, 1996, p. 60–61) which disproportionately negatively affects bilingual children of color. In this case study we aimed to understand how bilingual second graders collaborated 1:1 with pre-service teachers to enact social change through critical literacy tutorials using a LatCrit framework. Findings show how bilingual students took up social action through critical literacy tutorials and the stories they authored about themselves, their learning and their families.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Nathaly S. Batista-Morales

Nathaly S. Batista-Morales is a Puerto Rican doctoral candidate in the Bilingual and Bicultural Education program at The University of Texas at Austin. Her research focuses on the preparation of bilingual teachers while centering Decolonizing Critical Literacies. She is a teacher and mentor in the undergraduate program at her university.

Cori Salmerón

Cori Salmerón is a Chicana doctoral candidate and instructor in the Language and Literacy Studies program at The University of Texas at Austin. Her work explores students’ language and literacy practices, how teachers leverage them as academic resources, and preparing teachers to work with culturally and linguistically diverse children.

Samuel DeJulio

Samuel DeJulio is a former bilingual elementary school teacher. He is currently an assistant professor of literacy at the University of Texas at San Antonio. His work is focused on literacy teacher preparation, particularly on experiences within field-based courses and collaborations between universities, schools, and local communities.