Latina Bilingual Paraeducators as Sociocultural Mediators: Supporting Emergent Bilingual Student Participation in Classrooms

• In Event: AERA Roundtable Session Wednesday 10:50 am Four Seasons Ballroom 1
  In Roundtable Session: Building Bridges: Enhancing Bi-/Multilingual Teacher Preparation and Family Engagement (Table 2)

Abstract

This paper centers Latina bilingual paraeducators supporting Latiné/x emergent bilingual students from immigrant and newcomer families. As non-certified staff, bilingual paraeducators provide instructional support under the supervision of certified teachers. In this one-year ethnographic study in secondary schools, four Latina paraeducators worked with predominantly White teachers in English-medium classrooms. This paper addresses the research question: How do bilingual paraeducators mediate classroom participation in support of emergent bilingual youth? Grounded in sociocultural theoretical approaches and using classroom discourse analysis, findings highlight paraeducators engaged in providing reassurance, facilitating entry into all-classroom dialogue, and employing language rehearsal and consecutive language interpretation. In response to students’ diverse ways of participating, Latina bilingual paraeducators serve as sociocultural mediators.

Author

• Elizabeth Castro, Central Washington University