Por la Educación: The Experience of Mexican Im/migrant Newcomer Students in Rural Idaho

• In Event: Sunday Roundtable 9:45 am
  In Roundtable Session: Centering on Family and Children's Perspectives in Bilingual Education Research (Table 42)

Abstract

Idaho, often depicted in the media as predominantly rural, conservative, and White is home to a culturally and linguistically diverse population of people from various cultural and linguistic backgrounds, some of whom have called Idaho home for decades. This study’s purpose is to document and understand the experience of two Mexican im/migrant newcomer students enrolled in a rural school district in Idaho. Through a cultural-historical approach (Gutierrez and Rogoff, 2003) lens, Carlos and Thelma’s testimonios illuminate how newcomer students participate and negotiate school success. This study’s findings challenge negative stereotypes about newly arrived im/migrant students and prompts researchers and practitioners to explore a community-centered understanding of educación that transcends transnational borders.

Author

• Eulalia Gallegos Buitron, Oregon Department of Education