Transforming Schooling Outcomes for Emergent Bilinguals in Rural California: A Multilingual Placed-Based Approach to Farmworker History

• In Event: AERA Poster Session 5
  In Poster Session: Bilingual Education Research Poster Session: Research and Implications for Bilingual and Multilingual Students

Abstract

Long a setting known for restrictive language practices, dual language education—as in many settings throughout the state--has begun to flourish in California’s Central Valley post-Proposition 58. With this rapid expansion, educators have sought to identify pedagogies that promote growth in biliteracy and the content areas while being culturally and geographically responsive to the student population.This paper provides a portrait of pedagogical possibilities in rural California through documentation of a multi-year critical “place-based” project by which Latinx and Filipino dual language learners explore the region’s legendary Farmworker’s movement through oral history methodology. Utilizing mixed methods, our research examines the impact of the project on student biliteracy development, historical thinking skills, and the fostering of healthy bicultural identities.

Authors

• Adam Sawyer, California State University - Bakersfield

• Joyce H. Burstein, California State University - Northridge