Parents in the Classroom: A Narrative Inquiry Into a Pre-Kindergarten Teacher's Translanguaging Pedagogy

• In Event: AERA Roundtable Session 10
  In Roundtable Session: Support Home-School Cultural Connections

Abstract

This study explores the benefits of “translanguaging” (Baker, 2001, p. 281) in a prekindergarten classroom. Positioning herself as a learner first, the teacher learns from parents through rich dialogue during home visits, and invites them to join in the classroom, bringing their home language alongside the English instructional language. With narrative inquiry methodology, we unpack the dialogue between and among the teacher and parents, and analyze how the language development of the newcomer children is enhanced when teaching and learning are seen through a translanguaging lens and when parent knowledge (Pushor, 2015a) is valued. Offering immigrant parents a place on the school landscape opens up untapped teaching and learning resources to maximize newcomer children’s language learning outcomes.

Authors

• Emma Chen, University of Saskatchewan

• Debbie A. Pushor, University of Saskatchewan