Exploring Elementary Teachers’ Experiences in Enacting Translanguaging Practices with Migrant and Refugee Students

• In Event: Multilingual Realities: Translanguaging in Schools

Abstract

The increasing presence of migrant and refugee children in U.S. schools necessitates a critical examination of instructional practices and the development of resources that support their educational experiences. While translanguaging has gained recognition as a promising pedagogical approach, existing literature seldom addresses its application among elementary educators working with this demographic. This longitudinal case study, conducted within a refugee resettlement community, examines how two White monolingual elementary teachers navigate teaching multilingual migrant and refugee students—both as graduate students and later as in-service educators in diverse elementary classrooms. The study advocates for pedagogical shifts that honor multilingual migrant and refugee students’ linguistic resources, identities, and humanity.

Authors

• Katya Koubek, James Madison University

• Stephanie A. Wasta, James Madison University