Preparing Preservice Teachers by Cultivating an Assets-Based Mindset in Raciolinguistic Equity-Driven Instruction (Poster 3)

• In Event: Advancing Raciolinguistic Equity for Emergent Bilinguals While Cultivating Grassroots Knowledge and Expertise

Abstract

California is home to over 1.2 million K-12 Emergent bilingual (EB) students (Billings & Lagunoff, 2020). Although EBs account for nearly twenty percent of the K-12 student population, there exists a major gap of inequities and challenges between EBs and their English only counterparts. This past year, those inequities and challenges have increased due to the COVID-19 pandemic. According to Sugarman and Lazarin (2020), there was a great digital divide that affected EBs particularly those in the lower socioeconomic status. There were many EBs who lacked access to digital resources, had language barriers, and or untrained teachers. In addition, many EB students resulted in not logging onto their online courses and may now face seven to eleven months of learning loss. It is evident that new incoming teachers must be aware of these inequities and challenges some EB students have faced. These aspiring teachers must learn about approaches that will help serve their future EB students. According to Ennser-Kananen & Leider (2018), pre-service teachers’ (PSTs) education based on an assets-based approach is critical, particularly since “teacher perceptions play a critical role for the success of culturally and linguistically minoritized students…”(p. 4). Now more than ever, PSTs need to be equipped with the assets-based approach, [mindset], and more specifically an “asset-based approach of language teaching” versus the deficit language/perspective approach (Ennser-Kananen & Leider, 2018). In addition, PSTs need to be exposed to cultivating an asset-based equity driven classroom that steers away from the raciolinguistic inequities that many EB students experience. This qualitative study sought to identify effective pedagogical approaches for preservice teachers working with Emergent bilingual students through virtual/hybrid learning spaces. Results indicated that an assets-based mindset and approach were one of the key factors that PSTs’ education must include for the benefit of viewing EBs positive qualities they can bring to the classroom. Implications on how teacher preparation programs should cultivate assets-based mindset of preservice teachers in a raciolinguistic equity-driven instruction will be further discussed.

Author

• Elsie Solis-Chang, California State University - San Marcos
  Presenting Author