Whose Choice? Sociospatial Politics of a Racially and Socioeconomically Diverse Mandarin-Immersion School

• In Event: Sheraton Roundtable Session One
  In Roundtable Session: Culturally and Linguistically Sustaining Pedagogical Practices (Table 13)

Abstract

In the multicultural/multilingual context of the U.S., dual language immersion (DLI) programs are becoming increasingly popular amongst families and communities. While most research on DLI focus on Spanish immersion programs (SIP), this paper addresses the dearth of research on Mandarin immersion programs (MIP). An ethnographic case study of a racially and socioeconomically diverse MIP program 1) extends scholarship often focused on affluent, and majority white schools, and 2) complicates racial categories often privileged in DLI analyses. Further, by bridging literatures on DLI with urban political economy, the paper examines how local sociospatial tensions are constituted through the development of a mixed-income MIP. Such research has consequences for interrogating “Truths” on who benefits/does not from DLI schooling, and offers emancipatory possibilities.

Author

• Catherine Park, University of California - Berkeley
  Presenting Author