Languaging, Learning, and Shared Narratives: Breaking the Cycle of Subtractive Education for Newcomer Students

• In Event: Moscone Center North Roundtable Session 8
  In Roundtable Session: Narratives, Testimonios, and Counterdiscourses to Transform Immigrant Education

Abstract

In this qualitative analysis, we examine outcomes associated with an innovative arts- and literacy-rich summer enrichment program for newcomer and emergent bilingual students in California. Through the analysis of data from newcomer students across 3 school districts, we consider what student-authored narratives reveal about how students make meaning of their experiences, identities, and languaging processes. Key themes include how students see themselves as newcomers and members of educational communities; shifts in students’ languaging practices in response to their political, social, and academic context; and how teachers make meaning of and respond to students’ languaging practices. The paper concludes with implications for K-12 and teacher education policy and practice.

Authors

• Alison G Dover, California State University - Fullerton

• Fernando Rodriguez-Valls, California State University - Fullerton