A Humanizing Pedagogy for Multilingual Students

• In Event: 28.059 - Humanizing Schools for Multilingual Learners in the "Post-Truth" Era

Abstract

Purpose: This paper introduces the research goal for all of the presenters in this session – to find and describe schools with humanizing approaches to education that supported the achievement of multilingual students in underserved communities. Achievement was defined by improved graduation rates or learning growth as determined by standardized tests or alternative assessment data. I will first describe the factors that undermine the education of emergent bilingual students and then present the theoretical framework of humanizing pedagogy that is used to select and describe the schools that supported these students' achievement.
Perspectives: Several factors conspire against multilingual students in underfunded schools in the United States. These include 1) a neoliberal agenda for education that has given rise to curriculum standardization and high-stakes testing, 2) English-only programs that seek to erase students' heritage languages and cultural identities, 3) underfunded schools that lack fully-resourced classrooms, and 4) educators who are not well-versed in issues of bilingual education. The shift toward subtractive language practices is not theoretically sound or supported by the empirical research (Garcia & Kleifgen, 2010). Additionally, President Trump’s vicious attacks on immigrants from Mexico and other parts of Central America has created a hostile environment for many emergent bilinguals in the United States, particularly those identifying as Latinx. All of these factors combine to limit learning opportunities for emergent bilinguals, with dire outcomes for the 65% of Latinx students who do not graduate from high school.
Theoretical Framework: To protect students against these elements, we need schools that provide supportive conditions for acquiring English proficiency while preserving and growing the cultural and linguistic knowledge they bring to school (Salazar, 2013). Research shows that students’ use of and growth in their home language enhances their cognitive and literate development and their ability to learn English (Goldenberg, 2008). These ideas are part of a humanizing pedagogy – a concept that includes ten principles and practices to guide the education of immigrants and emergent bilinguals. These include: 1) the reality of the learner is crucial; 2) critical consciousness is imperative for students and educators; 3) students’ sociocultural resources are valued and extended; 4) content is meaningful and relevant to students’ lives; 5) students’ prior knowledge is linked to new learning; 6) trusting and caring relationships advance the pursuit of humanization; 7) mainstream knowledge and discourse styles matter; 8) students will achieve through their academic, intellectual, social abilities; 9) student empowerment requires the use of learning strategies; 10) challenging inequity in the educational system can promote transformation (p. 138). Each presenter will address how these principles are embraced by educators and embedded into policies, practices, and structures across the different schools. Since the theoretical framing is done in this first paper, the papers that follow have not included a “Perspectives/Theoretical Framework” section in their summaries. Presenters, however, will refer to humanizing pedagogies, resulting in a theoretically coherent symposium.

Author

• Althier M. Lazar, Saint Joseph's University