Bilingual and Dual Language Educators Exploring Equitable Practices in STEM Through Funds of Knowledge

• In Event: Equity and Social Justice in Science and Engineering Education in Bilingual and Dual-Language Education

Abstract

Purpose:
In this paper, we sought to explore, in collaboration with middle-school teachers, how Funds of Knowledge (FoK) could mediate a challenge to normative STEM practices in their classrooms. This collaboration was grounded on the principle that FoK recognizes the ways of being, knowing, and doing that are typically unrecognized or devalued in formal school settings. Building on those principles we collaborated with teachers to develop a set of teaching and learning practices that address FoK.
Theoretical Framework:
The primary goal of FoK was to emphasize that a wealth of knowledge exists within a community and household, and that this knowledge has strategic importance for economic well-being and survival (Velez-Ibañez & Greenberg, 1992). FoK fosters principles of equity and social justice by recognizing a system where labor, skills, linguistic practices, ingenuity, and creativity are strategically used as "currency of exchange" (Velez-Ibañez & Greenberg, 1992, p. 318). FoK seeks to deconstruct the ways in which household knowledge is rich and important for the well-being of children while accentuating a positive and realistic view of the household (Moll, 1992).
Methods:
This paper is part of a larger study that brought together a group of three researchers and five middle-school bilingual and dual language teachers to co-create activities that integrated FoK. The study took place at a STEM-based Title I school located in the U.S.-Mexico border. For this paper, we were guided by the question: How does FoK help teachers center their teaching practices on principles of equity and social justice related to STEM in bilingual and dual language contexts? Data collection involved classroom observations, field notes, and interviews. The data was analyzed following a deductive coding approach to qualitative research.
Results:
FoK contributed to the creation of spaces that fostered equitable access to STEM content by enhancing their integration of language and STEM. Teachers recognized that bilingualism plays a key role as an entry point to STEM. FoK also allowed teachers to recognize linguistic practices (e.g., translanguaging) as an asset when engaging in STEM, and be more conscious of the lived realities of their students.
In addition to developing bilingualism, teachers created lessons for students to make connections between ways of knowing in Mexican households and engineering design. A dual language science teacher engaged newcomers by encouraging them to see how the devices they fixed around the home could be a form of engineering redesign.
Teachers also reported that they promoted FoK in the classroom by drawing on community values and beliefs. For example, they indicated the importance of confianza and honoring student’s ways of knowing.
Significance:
Rather than adhering to a romanticized view of FoK as a framework that will automatically lead to curriculum, this research highlights the importance of teachers to challenge the academic and educational systems in which we are all embedded. FoK can help teachers to critically engage in conversations that transform power and agency, and to reflect on how students may become active participants in STEM education by challenging their own deficit models.

Authors

• Joel Alejandro Mejia, University of Texas - San Antonio
  Presenting Author

• Luis E Montero Moguel, University of Texas - San Antonio
  Presenting Author

• Alberto Esquinca, San Diego State University
  Presenting Author

• Vitaliy Popov, University of Michigan
  Presenting Author