Unacknowledged Education: Development of Critical Consciousness in Dual-Language Bilingual Educators (Poster 9)

• In Event: Case Studies of Critically Conscious Practice in Dual-Language Bilingual Education Schools, Classrooms, and Communities

Abstract

Purpose
This presentation draws on three studies examining critical consciousness in DLBE. Research suggests (Cervantes-Soon, 2014) the importance of critical consciousness in DLBE and this presentation explores how DLBE educators developed their understanding of critical consciousness through shifting the emphasis of their school-based professional development and opening spaces for testimonio (Valenzuela, Epstein & Unda, 2021). The findings lend useful insight for those who prepare critical DLBE educators.
Perspectives
Increasing attention has focused on the preparation of bilingual teachers and the potential critical consciousness represents for teachers to enact meaningful social change (Alfaro, 2019; Rodriguez-Mojica & Briseño, 2019). Authors (2019) argue that critical consciousness should be central to DLBE programming. Yet, preparation of teachers to challenge systemic inequities is insufficient (Patel, 2019). Furthermore, one should not assume that “teachers will have sociocultural knowledge or a critical consciousness simply because of shared identity, cultural group, or languages” (Flores & Clark, 2017, p. 5) with students they teach. And yet critically conscious teachers can recognize inequity and “create a learning context in which minority students and others will flourish” (Flores & Clark, 2017, p. 5). The question is how to develop this precious critical consciousness.
Data
The data referenced in this presentation draws from three ethnographic case studies and semi-structured interviews conducted with teachers and leaders from multiple DLBE sites in small university towns in the U.S.. We focused on participants' comments that lent insight into how and when they developed notions of critical consciousness. Through thematic analysis (Saldaña, 2021) we identified trends resulting in insights that led to our crafting of a narrative case example. .
Findings
Findings are striking: formal preparation was often described as lacking criticality, and informal or unconventional sources of preparation were described as key to participants’ development of criticality. Participants’ teacher education lacked sufficient elements of social justice or criticality, although they may have learned good teaching strategies. Participants’ comments revealed that contact and communication with critically conscious colleagues assisted them most in their growth and development as critical DLBE educators. This education was often unacknowledged, as it occurred outside the boundaries of the traditional teacher education and development structures.
To illustrate what critical transformative teacher preparation might look like in DLBE schools, we crafted a narrative example that combined the experiences of teachers and leaders at all case study schools, describing a school's process of embracing new paradigms for their professional development time. Grounded in the data, our narrative recounts Mr. Galeano’s experience approaching a colleague, sharing his own story to open her eyes to possibilities for transformative teaching, in the context of Ms. Eleanor’s collaborative shift toward using professional development time at the school for critical reflection and praxis.
Significance
A critical DLBE educator seeks to make positive change in students’ lives. Adequate preparation can provide a DLBE educator the tools - and the awareness - to disrupt injustice and realize the potential of DLBE. Stakeholders, especially teacher educators, administrators, coaches, and professional development specialists, will gain practical insights from this presentation: preparation can come from surprising and often unacknowledged sources.

Author

• Caroline A. Hesse, University of Texas - Rio Grande Valley
  Presenting Author