Signs of Equity Rather Than Gentrification: District Administrators Navigate Dual-Language Politics in the Southeast

• In Event: Equitable Perspectives to Language and Growth Trajectories in Policy and Programs

Abstract

Studying how demographic, discursive, and programmatic gentrification are either reinforced or countered in the discourses and practices of schools, districts, and their administrators can illuminate equity problems and potential solutions. This study takes the case of one district with 10 DLBE programs and a significant number of multilingual families. Five administrators participated in interviews then analyzed with critical discourse analysis that also analyzed the district practices. We found that the participants strategically marshaled equality discourses of serving all stakeholders–converged interests–in order to prevent a backlash phenomenon from dominant constituencies. Simultaneously, their discourse and the district practices they identified showed ample evidence of acknowledging the equity differentiation needed for particular student constituencies–some measures currently in place and others aspirational.

Authors

• Trish Morita-Mullaney, Purdue University
  Presenting Author

• Garrett Delavan, Georgia State University
  Presenting Author

• Juan A. Freire, Brigham Young University
  Presenting Author