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

• In Event: Latinx Males/Manhood, Students in Rural Schools, and Educational Responsibility

Abstract

Although critical players within the powerful agricultural economy and history of California’s Central Valley, Latinxs are nevertheless the community most vulnerable to poverty, poor health, and low schooling outcomes in the region. This paper provides a portrait of the challenges and promise of schooling in rural California through documentation of a multi-year critical “critical place-based” project by which Latinx and Filipino high school and community college students learn of the region’s legendary Farmworker’s movement through a multilingual 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.

Author

• Adam Sawyer, California State University - Bakersfield