Counter-Spaces in the Making: Children's Civic Dialogue on Playing Spanish Songs

• In Event: Marriott Roundtable Session 30
  In Roundtable Session: Media Integration in Social Studies Education

Abstract

To fill the research gap in the counterspaces in elementary schools, this paper, drawing on Latinx Critical Theory, explores the collective making of counterspaces of the Latinx and non-Latinx students. I conducted interviews and civic dialogue sessions in a culturally diverse fourth-grade classroom. Through thematic analysis, I find deficit narratives and linguistic hierarchy, to which students used various strategies to counter. I note the vital coexistence of racially exclusive and inclusive counterspaces and conclude with implications for educators.

Author

• Xiaoying Zhao, Illinois State University