"Well, I'm an Immigrant, So": Evidentiality and Epistemological Positioning in Principals' Narratives About Their Dual-Language Programs

• In Event: Moscone Center North Roundtable Session 3
  In Roundtable Session: Cross-Cultural Explorations in Language and Literacies

Abstract

This paper examines interviews with principals of 19 elementary Spanish-English DL programs in Arizona and California, exploring the ways that principals encode evidentiality (how they know what they know) in their narratives about their programs. We analyze: first, what sources of knowledge and beliefs principals cite or index; second, the ways in which principals discursively orient to various sources; and third, the discursive function(s) that this epistemological positioning plays in our interview. Finally, we discuss the relationship between the evidential sources principals choose and the societal discourses (e.g., instrumentalism/economic v. social justice/equity) that they draw on to talk about their programs’ missions.

Authors

• Katie Bernstein, Arizona State University

• Noah Katznelson, UC Berkeley

• Angélica Amezcua, Arizona State University

• Saida Mohamed, Arizona State University