Advocating for the Public Education of Minority Students: What Is Needed for Literacy Learning?

• In Event: 18.028 - Operationalizing School-Community Collaboration: Reimagining the Role of Educational Research Through Community Roundtables

Abstract

Overview Purpose: The U.S. Census Bureau (2012) predicts that by 2018, fewer than half of all children in the Unites States will be White, and by 2043 America will become a nation of predominant minority populations (Hernadez & Napierala, 2013). However, the numbers of minority teachers are not increasing in proportion to their student populations, and teachers of this new minority majority will need resources educate students within an equal educational opportunity. The focus of this paper presentation is on the perceptions of stakeholders about the pressing issues and solutions to these pressing matters in education that will support teachers and students from developmentally appropriate and culturally and linguistically relevant perspectives.

Theoretical Framework and RQs: A sociocultural framework is used for this paper: literacy is a sociocultural process rooted in a person’s sociocultural background and the sociocultural context in which a person learns about literacy (Behizadeh, 2014). This paper seeks to uncover: (1) What choice do parents of color have when seeking the best education for their children? (2) Is the classroom the only resource for teaching literacy? (3) How do school and community leaders perceive achieving equal educational opportunities in literacy to help students from diverse settings? (4) How can schools and communities partner to meet the literacy needs of their students?

Analyses: Analysis of transcriptions from subsets (parents, school, and community) of the roundtable discussions included multiple readings. Initial readings identified emergent patterns. Subsequent readings produced a descriptive matrix to further analyze the data (Miles & Huberman, 1994).

Result/Substantiated Conclusions: Initial findings indicate an important tie between the school, community participants, and community place to support literacy. Also, links between the school and community are important for both students and parents. Finally, connections between the school and the community must be fostered to provide consistent educational support.

Significance: This paper has significance in areas of advocacy not just for the teaching profession and students but also for parents, and the community with the goal of creating an action plan for participants to take back to their communities regarding social justice issues, literacy, and learning. It also provides an opportunity for all partners, including scholars, teachers, parents, students, administrators, community leaders, and researchers, to reflect on the changes needed that advocate for an equitable learning of literacy. Frequently, the challenges historically marginalized groups in American face to access, success, and equity in educational settings is unexplored.

Author

• Jane Bean-Folkes, Marist College