What Advocacy for Multilingual Learners Looks Like: A Social Network Analysis of Two Rural Teachers

• In Event: Rethinking Inclusivity, Equity, and Diversity for Rural Multilingual Learners

Abstract

With demographic, economic, and sociopolitical changes in rural communities, rural schools have increasing numbers of multilingual learners (MLs). While there is limited research on how to meet MLs’ linguistic, academic, and socioemotional needs in rural schools, less is known about what networks of support and advocacy look like for MLs in these settings (Author, 2022). The goal of this presentation is to delineate the social networks that are critical for advocating for MLs, and to visually map out what advocacy for MLs in a rural school district looks like by highlighting the social practices of two teachers.
This study draws from social practice theory to investigate how people adjust their practice to fit the demands of local institutions (Dreier, 2009), how people negotiate dilemmas to motivate change and learning (Engeström & Sannino, 2010; Mørck, 2010), and how people learn by inventing new ways to participate in practice (Calabrese Barton & Tan, 2009; Gutiérrez et al., 2000). Research questions that guided this study include: 1) with whom, when, and how are the two focal teachers connected in their local rural community and beyond to support MLs; and 2) how do their social networks contribute to advocacy for their MLs?
To answer the research questions, presenters conducted a case study using social networks analysis methods with two focal teachers in a distant rural (NCES, 2006) school district in Upstate New York (Carolan, 2013). The district enrolls 600 students and around 50 multilingual learners primarily from Spanish-speaking dairy-farm-working families. The district has two English as a New Language (ENL) teachers who both identify as white, English-Spanish bilingual, and local: from families who own dairy farms in the community. Ms. Allison has been working at the high school for 25 years and Ms. Bev has been at the elementary school for nine years. Data collection started with ethnographic observations. The first presenter (Li) shadowed the two teachers for three weeks, familiarizing himself with the school context, the students, and the teachers’ practices. Subsequently, presenters worked with each teacher to identify people with whom they are connected in support of their MLs, create a sociogram of their social networks, and describe how the mapped relationships facilitate their work with MLs. Finally, the two teachers met with presenters to discuss their sociographs and the implication of these relationships for ML advocacy.
Findings in the forms of sociographs and narratives reveal that the teachers’ social practices yield a complex nexus of relationships. These include family engagement initiatives with farm owners and workers, collaborations with other teachers and administrators, and support networks with the school bus driver/dispatcher, migrant worker advocacy groups, pastors, food pantries, and former bilingual students. Visual representations of two teachers’ social networks demonstrate the multifaceted social practices of rural teachers who serve as the pivotal persons in the community for MLs. This study contributes to the ongoing conversations surrounding rural ML education by highlighting the social processes of ML advocacy that are consequential for the academic, linguistic, and socioemotional well-being for MLs in rural schools.

Authors

• Shuzhan Li, Ithaca College
  Presenting Author

• Evanne Gordon, Ithaca College
  Presenting Author