In/equality and Belonging: Brazilian Im/migrant Children's Experiences in a Dual-Language Bilingual Education Program in the United States (Poster 39)

• In Event: Promising Scholarship in Education Research: Dissertation Fellows and Their Research

Abstract

This poster presentation explores the educational experiences of 50 Brazilian im/migrant children (ages 6-10) in a Dual Language Bilingual Education (DLBE) program in a U.S. public elementary school. This study took place in Massachusetts, a state that has recently emerged from a 15-year period of English-only instruction. Leveraging multimodal ethnographic methods over four years (2018-22), this project draws upon three conceptual pillars to analyze how the children navigated the DLBE program: theorizing on care and education, border thinking and politicized funds of knowledge, and in/equality. In this presentation, three main findings are explored. First, before the pandemic, participation in the DLBE program allowed Brazilian im/migrant children to assemble complex visions of in/equality across transnational social fields and collectively make sense of their im/migration and im/mobility experiences. Second, Brazilian im/migrant students’ narratives and actions worked to sustain their DLBE program, but their contributions oftentimes went unnoticed by school personnel. For example, children often acted as language and cultural brokers and shared their knowledge about cultural practices in Brazil and memories of life there, which supported educators’ instructional goals. Finally, with the transition to virtual instruction in 2020-21 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Brazilian im/migrant children navigated a contentious schooling terrain that visibly merged their familial and caregiving responsibilities, academic engagement, access to technology, and conflicting expectations from teachers. Findings offer new insights into how K-5 educators can prepare to meet not only the academic needs of im/migrant children but also promote well-being and critical consciousness and affirm bi/multilingual identities.

Author

• Mariana Lima Becker, University of Georgia
  Presenting Author