Fostering Inclusive Conceptualizations of U.S. Civic Identities Through Pluralist Discourses of Bilingualism

• In Event: Bilingual Education Research Poster Session 2

Abstract

Drawing on the existing literature on transformative approaches to civic education, I define five components of transformative civic education. In this paper I draw on two of those components and the distinction between assimilationist discourses and pluralist discourses (de jong, 2011) to explore how one dual language teacher and her fourth-grade elementary students both invoked and critiqued assimilationist discourses and drew on pluralist discourses of bilingualism in ways that fostered more inclusive conceptualizations of U.S. civic identities. I argue that engaging students in pluralist discourses of bilingualism must be a central part of transformative approaches to elementary civic education as they help foster more inclusive conceptualizations of U.S. civic identities.

Author

• Jessica Somerville-Braun, Skidmore College