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Early Childhood Center-Based Latina Teachers’ Ontological Tensions With Bilingualism and Bilingual Education

Wed, April 23, 9:00 to 10:30am MDT (9:00 to 10:30am MDT), The Colorado Convention Center, Floor: Ballroom Level, Four Seasons Ballroom 1

Abstract

We drew on a language ontologies perspective to examine four Latina teachers’ experiential accounts as racialized language users and teachers of young Latine children. Data (coursework from a translanguaging-focused professional development course, and interviews about bilingualism and bilingual education) were analyzed using open, axial, and focused coding. We found that the Latina teachers drew on various ontologies (e.g., language as bounded, language as practice) pertaining to three different physical and symbolic arenas (school/institutional spaces, home spaces, and the early childhood Latina-led center) as they made sense of their lived experiences as language users and educators. The ECE Latina-led centers where they work served as flexible spaces where they could explore language ontologies other than those often sanctioned by the school.

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