Creating Spaces for the Empowerment of Young Learners

• In Event: Publication mentoring workshop session
  In Special Session: Language Pedagogy

Proposal

I graduated in July 2018 with my EdD from the University of Bath, England. I am working on writing an article to be published that is based on my thesis research. The impetus behind this research was a desire to explore how children in a neighborhood public school who are acquiring English as an additional language, interact with English texts. For many of the children, they are the first in their family to be educated outside of their home country, which is a possible area of conflict between the expectations of the family and the reality of the public-school classroom (Bernstein 2003). Due to the nature of the employment that has brought the family to the Silicon Valley, usually, at least one parent, if not both, is often well educated and has high expectations for the education of their children,
The impact of globalization, and the increase of global mobility of workers, has had a direct impact on the public education system in the United States. The number of children enrolled in public schools for whom English is an additional language has drastically increased and the countries of origin represented by this population is diverse, according to the National Center for Education Statistics (2016). This is especially true in areas in which there is a high concentration of industry in the technology field, such as Silicon Valley, California.
I was the teacher in the role of participant observer and researcher and engaged students as co-researchers, employing ethnographic methods of data collection, including video recordings, observations, interviews, reflective journals and video journaling in this qualitative study. Student interactions during Reading Buddy sessions were analyzed through the application of Bernstein’s theories of pedagogic interactions as well as sociocultural learning theory and the work of Vygotsky. The strategies young learners from different countries, with varying degrees of literacy skills, use to interact with English texts during Reading Buddies in a monolingual English educational milieu heavily influenced by high-stakes testing, provide insight into the lived experiences of children at risk of linguistic and social marginalization.
The main research questions were:
What do young learners identified as English Language Learners experience during Reading Buddies, and to what extent do those experiences build meaningful literacy interactions and empower or disempower young learners in this era of increasing accountability and high stakes testing?
What strategies do young English Language Learners use when interacting with English Language texts in a cross-age reading buddy situation?

While it was not the intention of this study to generate data that is generalizable to other contexts, it may be possible to reflect upon the findings and the ways in which the current trends in education could possibly be continuing the marginalization of learners from diverse backgrounds, especially considering the migration of many children and their families within the global context and how that impacts systems of education in many countries (Besharov et al 2013). Harcourt and Conroy (2011) remind us that when children talk about their experiences, they are creating credible information that can then be used to influence policy and practice in education.
The implications of this study indicate that Reading Buddies provides an opportunity within the school day for young learners to draw on their holistic social identities, including their complete linguistic repertoires, creativity, and sense of play, to make meaning of English texts.
Using a child-centered qualitative approach that drew from ethnographic methods and engaged children as co-researchers proved to be an effective technique to address the research questions. The power dynamic between teacher and student was altered to allow for meaningful insights in to the ways in which young learners who are acquiring English engage with texts within a monolingual English environment. The structure of the research project positioned the teacher/researcher in the role of a learner, and shifted power and control of pedagogic interactions, positioning the children as experts, allowing the adult researcher to observe and participate with students in a way that traditional classroom interactions might not.
A significant contribution of this research project was in using video data and providing the opportunity for children to reflect upon their own actions and thinking, and have their reflections acknowledged and valued. As noted by Robson (2011), Morgan(2007) and Woodhead and Faulkner (2008), there is a need for more research in which young children reflect upon their own experiences. Such experiences help to create a space in which young learners can build relationships with one another, with teachers and with texts, and that can make a contribution towards empowering students, and building systems of education that support all learners in maximizing their potential.

Author

• Kristen Moriarty, University of Bath