Bi/multilinguals in STEM Subjects: Racializing Language That Reproduces the Othering of "Not-From-Here" Students

• In Event: Interrogating Othering Processes and the Hidden Racialization of Minoritized Students Through Good Intentions

Abstract

Science education in the United States has been influenced by its colonial past using language as a tool for Othering oppressed populations (Kirchgasler, 2022). For instance, science experts have raised concerns about the nation’s position in the global economy, recommending K-12 STEM literacy for all students as a priority on the national agenda (Bybee, 2010; National Research Council, 2012). However, using inclusive language in science education initiatives that seek to support linguistically minoritized populations elucidates hidden raciolinguistic ideologies (Flores & Rosa, 2015) that point to the existence of different kinds of learners (Kirchgasler, 2017; Popkewitz, 2004).

This study analyzes the English Learners in STEM Subjects NASEM Consensus Report (2018), a seminal document written to address the shifts in U.S. demographics leading to an increasing number of bi/multilingual students classified as English Learners (ELs) in public schools. The report shows how language and content learning are interrelated and identifies perceived barriers that prevent ELs from succeeding in STEM learning. The recommendations offered include asset-based instructional strategies for STEM and language development. However, the language used to characterize ELs and their lived experiences portrays them as a separate category of learners, risking the reinscription of raciolinguistic ideologies that Other them and their multilingual practices as deviant from the ‘norm’ (Flores & Rosa, 2015; Martínez, 2018).

Building upon Popkewitz’s (2009) lens of double gestures that reproduce exclusion via efforts of inclusion and Flores and Rosa’s (2015) lens of raciolinguistic ideologies, we analyzed the (un)intended Othering of ELs in STEM based on the characterization of their language. Employing a document analysis approach (Babbie, 2020), we identified sections that describe the making of ELs as a unique category of learners. We then categorized examples of descriptive (e.g., “foreign-born ELs”) and inclusive language (e.g., all, including) used to characterize students as a different kind of learner. Finally, we examined ways these characteristics were leveraged to make instructional recommendations to increase their academic performance.

Our analysis reveals colonial assumptions that (un)intentionally exclude and racialize bi/multilingual learners as different from the norm (e.g., non-white and not-from-here). The prevalence of inclusive language shows good intentions. Yet, phrases such as “including English Learners” mark assumed distinctions of a separate category needing different pedagogies and STEM content. We also found a reflection of raciolinguistic ideologies, such as expectations of standard English proficiency to improve STEM learning, that informed how ELs are defined. Finally, we highlight how the students’ place of origin is used as a marker of difference - not-from-here - although most students classified as ELs were born in the U.S.

This study contributes to a growing discourse of an imagined educational norm that may (un)intentionally exclude and reproduce inequalities. We aim to bring awareness about the unintended consequences of inclusive language that result in the Othering of minoritized populations. We encourage educators, curriculum developers, and researchers to explore raciolinguistic assumptions about bi/multilingual students so that these guides do not become a tool to segregate educational practices for minoritized populations.

Authors

• Cynthia T Baeza, University of Wisconsin - Madison
  Presenting Author

• Sam A. Evans, University of Wisconsin - Madison
  Presenting Author