More than Language and Literacy: Heritage Language Teachers’ Desires and Needs for Ethnic Studies Preparation

• In Event: Reimagining the Future of Bilingual Teacher Education: Community and Field Visions, Policies, Pedagogies, and Praxis

Abstract

This study asked: “What do secondary bilingual/heritage language (HL) teachers need to know and be able to do?” Eighty-two secondary HL teachers (Spanish and Hmong) were surveyed about their perceptions of the importance of critical content topics, their feelings of preparedness to teach these topics, and if they incorporate these topics into their teaching. Findings suggest high levels of importance placed on dimensions of critical pedagogies and ethnic studies curriculum, paired with low levels of preparedness to incorporate these topics and instructional practices. As we imagine futures with and for sustainable multilingualism, findings point to heritage language teacher desires and need for scholarship and applied practices to support preparation in ethnic studies, and critical reclamation curricula and pedagogies.

Authors

• Jenna Cushing-Leubner, University of Wisconsin - Whitewater

• Natalia Benjamin, Rochester Public Schools