Revisioning Bilingual Licensure in California to Ensure Equitable Education

• In Event: Examining Language Policies to Identify Opportunities for Equity

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to examine the discrepancies between bilingual teacher preparation and bilingual teacher practice focusing on the “teacher performance expectations” which much be embedded in licensing programs in California, and effective bilingual teacher practice. Using a socio-historical lens we use critical discourse language policy analysis (Hyatt, 2013b; Johnson, 2010; Van Dijk, 1993) to unpack the ways in which an English-only paradigm frames bilingual pedagogy and curriculum in California classrooms, asking the question “How do state mandates legitimize deficit perspectives and limit teacher educators from prepare bilingual teachers to become agents of change with within the context of globalization and the notion of language as resource?

Authors

• Sharon H. Ulanoff, California State University - Los Angeles

• Nilsa J. Thorsos, National University