Title Pending

• In Event: 34.067 - WITHDRAWN: Dismantling Hierarchies in a "Post-Truth" Era: Reenvisioning Equitable Educational Opportunities in International School Contexts

Abstract

For nearly five decades, scholars have investigated academic self-concept in myriad contexts (e.g., primary, secondary, and post-secondary grade levels, American and international schooling systems, ELL students, gifted students, low-income students, etc.) (Niehaus & Kumpiene, 2014; Ockey & Abercrombie, 2013; Reidl Cross, O’Reilly, Kim, Mammadov, & Cross, 2015), with many noting the construct’s significant relationship with important educational and socioemotional outcomes (Seaton, Marsh, & Craven, 2009). Despite the various takes on self-concept in extant studies, however, none appear to directly acknowledge the connection between educational policy and students’ formation of academic self-concept. Arguably, educational policy, the discourse surrounding policy, and the practices engaged in the name of policy converge to actively shape learning environments, and thus may have significant bearing on how students have formed and continue to form academic self-perceptions based on their navigation of these learning environments. Thus, the focus of the present study is to use the lens of policy ecology (Weaver-Hightower, 2008) to illuminate the potential for connection between individual students’ identity formation (e.g., academic self-concept) and federal/state-level educational policy, discourse, and practice. In particular, emphasis is placed on the policies and educational conditions unique to Arizona elementary schools. When viewing emergent bilinguals’ reports of academic self-concept through the lens of policy ecology, I argue that the combination of No Child Left Behind and Proposition 203 (English-only) educational policies create a learning environment that rife with negative messages regarding academic performance and for low-income, Latinx, emergent bilingual students, which is reflected in their self-reports of academic self-concepts. (REFERENCES COMING SOON)

References

Niehaus, K., & Kumpiene, G. (2014). Language brokering and self-concept: An exploratory study of Latino students’ experiences in middle and high school. Hispanic Journal of Behavioral Sciences, 36(2), 124-144.

Author

• Angela M. Labistre Champion, The University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ