Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Preschool Child's Participation Patterns at Home and at School

• In Event: Roundtable Session 37
  In Roundtable Session: Biliteracy Trajectories: Patterns of Language Use and Development

Abstract

Analyzing participation and non-participation patterns helps to question assimilation as an educational goal. In this paper I analyzed the participation and non-participation patterns at home and at school of a four-year old culturally and linguistically diverse boy, José, who speaks English, Q’anjob’al, and Spanish in these settings. José participated in the pullout classroom to a desirable extent, but was marginalized in the English classroom. At home, José had varied opportunities for participating, using different linguistic resources and interacting with diverse purposes. I discuss the extent to which participation in the mainstream culture is the goal with diverse students’ education. Instead, I use a critical approach to question asymmetrical relations of power that move José away from future social participation.

Author

• Beatriz Eugenia Guerrero Arias, Universidad del Valle