A Seat at the Table: Reimagining Multilingual Classrooms as Culturally Sustaining Spaces for Black Languages and Literacies

• In Event: Toward a Future of Culturally Sustaining Pedagogies in Early Literacy Classrooms

Abstract

Critical scholarship has collectively challenged multilingual spaces, particularly dual-language bilingual education classrooms, as operating under a Latinx/Anglo dualism that excludes the knowledge, voices, and experiences of young Black multilingual children (Author, 2021, Valdés, 1997; 2018). Additionally, critical scholars have also pointed to the myriad of ways in which dual-language education upholds the ideals of white supremacy through the continued cycle of underserving linguistically-minoritized students with language restrictive contexts and policies. Therefore, we must reimagine multilingual spaces that are not only inclusive of Black languages and literacies; but also see them as vital resources that contribute to linguistic justice for Black children in elementary multilingual classrooms.

Perspectives/Theoretical Frameworks
This paper utilizes culturally sustaining pedagogies to proclaim the importance of affirming and maintaining the languages and literacies of Black children (Author, 2014) that are often not recognized as valuable in academic spaces, especially in Spanish/English dual-language classrooms, where White Mainstream English is often conflated with correctness. To that end, CSP calls upon educators to intentionally invite practices that value linguistic flexibility in schools and classrooms.

Methods & Data Sources
This study was a qualitative case study that drew upon multiple data sources to explore how teachers of multilingual students reimagined their classrooms with Black languages and literacies at the center. The data sources included in the study were semi-structured interviews, artifacts, and classroom observations. Data was analyzed through an open coding process with a critical lens where multiple themes were generated.

Findings and Scholarly Significance
Findings demonstrated several themes across the data collected. First, teachers of multilingual students who utilized culturally sustaining pedagogies to reimagine their classrooms consistently engaged in a process of critical consciousness that included challenging language policies, mandated curriculum, and unlearning classroom norms that rejected Black languages and literacies. Second, teachers with multilingual classrooms invited the children to freedom dream (Kelley, 2002) about ways to bring Black languages and literacies to the forefront with them. For example, one teacher mentioned that she engaged in critical conversations about language with her students to disrupt and dismantle white linguistic norms that often did not provide space for multiple languages and literacies. Another teacher reimagined their classroom through critical linguistic awareness with their students. This approach provided space for broader conversations about anti-Blackness, language, identity, history, and white linguistic and cultural hegemony (Baker-Bell, 2020). Other findings included critical reflective practices and ongoing professional (un)learning.
This paper has several implications for educators practicing culturally sustaining pedagogies that prioritizes Black languages and literacies in multilingual spaces. Further, this study highlights the importance of continuing to reimagine multilingual classroom spaces in light of linguistic liberation for Black children.

Author

• Brittany Frieson, University of North Texas
  Presenting Author