Disciplinary Literacy for Language-Minority Students in Community Colleges: Genres and Metagenres in Two Program Areas

• In Event: Writing and Literacies Across Disciplinary Contexts: Implications for Students Learning English as an Additional Language

Abstract

Compared to a century ago, when literacy demands of higher education were more “predictable, narrow, and consistent”—and when college students largely came from elite backgrounds—today’s diverse students face a “dizzying array” of sites requiring various forms of “postsecondary literacy” (Yancey, 2009, pp. 256-257; Russell, 2002). Yet the preparation of students for literacy after high school, and institutional responses toward “underprepared” students, are still often aligned with an antiquated vision of a homogenous college curriculum for homogenous students (Beaufort, 2007; Rose, 1985; Russell, 2002; Shanahan & Shanahan, 2008).

In this paper, we explore disciplinary literacy in community colleges, sites of higher education now critical for the postsecondary aspirations of the linguistically and culturally diverse “New Mainstream” of U.S. students (Enright, 2011). With a particular eye on implications for students from language minority backgrounds, we utilized Carter’s (2007) notion of metagenres (empirical inquiry, research from sources, problem solving, and performance) to examine two programs at one California community college: Allied Health and Early Childhood Education. We collected program descriptions, course outlines, syllabi, and key assignments; observed classes; and interviewed faculty members. In addition to documenting genres and metagenres associated with each program, we used open coding to examine emerging themes related to disciplinary literacy for language minority students.

Some Allied Health courses required students to use the tools of empirical inquiry (analyzing and presenting data, drawing conclusions, and evaluating hypotheses) and sometimes to engage in actual inquiry (formulating hypotheses and designing experiments). Students were also called upon to engage in problem solving (developing health career plans) and performance (keeping phlebotomy records and actually drawing blood). But in addition to written genres associated with these “ways of doing” (lab manuals and lab reports, scholarly scientific articles), students were also required to engage with more general, less defined academic genres (reading textbooks, taking multiple choice and short answer exams, writing research papers). Meanwhile, courses in the Early Childhood Education program emphasized demonstration of understandings through the performance of teaching, manifested through genres such as online observation journals, professional teaching portfolios, curriculum projects, and self-assessments. Problem solving was also emphasized, in assignments calling for students to select effective learning materials and experiences, model and facilitate conflict resolution strategies, apply principles of effective advocacy, and design adaptations for children with special needs.

Interviews with faculty members indicated different stances toward and levels of engagement with disciplinary literacy practices associated with their fields. Several emphasized the importance of students’ “critical thinking” yet had difficulty articulating central literacy practices associated with their program area and how they themselves had developed this literacy. Instructors also held a range of perspectives on the needs of students from language minority backgrounds, how to support them, and what, if anything, distinguished these students from monolingual English speaking peers who were also developing disciplinary literacy. Overall, the findings illuminate the need for better understandings of what students actually do with literacy in postsecondary settings and how we might reconsider preparation, support, and faculty development for language minority students across disciplinary contexts.

Authors

• George C. Bunch, University of California - Santa Cruz

• Nora W Lang, University of California - Santa Cruz

• Heather Schlaman, University of California - Santa Cruz

• Kylie Alisa Kenner, University of California - Santa Cruz