Framing the Radical Pursuit of Critical Racial and Cultural Linguistics Through Pedagogical Documentation

• In Event: Confronting the Raciolinguistic Injustices Recycled in Early Childhood Spaces: Advocating With a Feminist-Abolitionist Approach

Abstract

This paper offers a counternarrative to deficit language pedagogies that pathologize and label young, emergent bi- and multilingual children. As a Latina scholar of Mexican descent, I engage a counter-narrative mode of inquiry as a way of “de-constructing euro-anglo ways of knowing” (Anzaldua, 2009, p. 205). The hegemony of English spoken by whites as the default others, devalues, and labels others emergent bi- and multilingual children as being deficient, at risk, and deviating from the norm (Garcia, 2017; Soto-Boykin, et. al. 2021). I reject the ubiquitous assessment process that perpetuates a monoglossic hegemony often dismissing the rich cultural and language assets of minoritized young children. Likewise, this paper calls out the inexorable pushdown of K-12 academics, content, and testing that standardizes and undervalues the language and cultural assets of children, teachers, and families (Reyes & Yu, 2023). Focusing on educator’s understanding and use of pedagogical documentation, I analyze and interpret interview and questionnaire data taken from a qualitative research project involving Reggio Inspired educators. I also examine the role of documentation in making visible the authentic narrative of the protagonists and their learning recognizing the encompassing educational and political ramifications. For example, intentionality aside, documentation demonstrates what and whose languages are valued. Souto-Manning and Rabadi-Raol (2018) stress that quality early childhood education must realign with the values of the global majority. Furthermore, the “translanguaging practices and multilingual repertoires” of children from the global majority often go unrecognized, and in fact, these children are often deemed as lagging behind other children from monoglossic backgrounds (Souto-Manning & Rabadi-Raol, 2018).

Labeling children as English Language Proficient (ELP), English Learners (ELs), and English Language Learners (ELLs) are rooted in the desire to uphold English as the norm (Garcia, et. at., 2014). Polylanguaging and super-diversity emphasize the fluidity of language and repudiate the widely-held notion that languages are separate entities that can be counted, e.g. I speak two languages: French and German. The concept of polylanguaging invites us to consider the dynamic and fluid nature of language and to abandon the antiquated notion that languages are independent and static. In the traditional view of languages, there is a hierarchy of languages in which many languages are seen as less than others or completely unrecognized as languages (Fairclough, 2013). However, pedagogical documentation can foreground linguistic/cultural identities and the super-diversity of children and families in the early childhood setting. The authentic pedagogical documentation that includes ideas, theories, and understandings of children are made visible, and is in essence engaging in research and building a curriculum (Reyes & Yu, 2023).

My counterstory uses narrative to examine racialized experiences to uncover and identify stereotypes (Martinez, 2014). By advancing a counter-narrative, this work contributes to the body of literature that honors the linguistic repertoires of young children. Additionally, I hope to inspire early educators to value pedagogical documentation towards a more equitable and just early education system that is inclusive of the voices of young children and their families who have been historically minoritized.

Author

• Juana Maria Reyes, Lewis University