- The University of Texas at Austin, Curriculum & Instruction, Graduate Studentadd
- Borders and Borderlands, Critical Ethnography, Critical Social Theory, Multi- & Bilingualism & Biliteracy, Curriculum & Instruction, Biliteracy, and 16 moreEmergent Bilingualism and Biliteracy, Bilingual Education, Emergent Writing Development, Estudios transfronterizos, Border Studies, Transnationalism, Bilingual Education, Language Planning and Policy, Language Brokering, Sociolinguistics, K-12 Education, Acculturation, Latino/as in the U.S., Teacher Identity, Language and Literacy Development, Commodification, English Language Arts, and Translanguagingedit
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The hyper-visible ways the U.S.-Mexico border becomes part of political discourse often disregard the complex histories, communities, and cultural knowledge of the people who have and continue to inhabit these borderlands. Specifically,... more
The hyper-visible ways the U.S.-Mexico border becomes part of political discourse often disregard the complex histories, communities, and cultural knowledge of the people who have and continue to inhabit these borderlands. Specifically, the borderlands are rarely recognized as sites for rich forms of knowledge, practices of teaching and learning, and language and literacy. Drawing on the intersections of border(lands) thinking and Chicanx/Latinx multimodal literacies, we look at the relationship between image and texts and how the curation of zines reflects the epistemologies and lived realities of Chicanx/Latinx Pre-Service Teachers (PST) living on the border. Three themes emerged from our analysis of the PST’s zines: (1) Borderlands artifacts, (2) Borderlands languaging, and (3) Borderlands identities and the borderline. We argue that zine creation is one way to deconstruct deficit narratives, reimagine pedagogical content, and highlight knowledge rooted in rich constructions of the borderlands.
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This article focuses on the experiences of transnational Latinx youth and families through historias shared by the mothers. Transnational communities such as those from Latinx immigrant backgrounds have acquired critical perspectives... more
This article focuses on the experiences of transnational Latinx youth and families through historias shared by the mothers. Transnational communities such as those from Latinx immigrant backgrounds have acquired critical perspectives because of their experiences in and across borders that have become central to their understanding of how to navigate learning in the U.S. context. As such, learning about border-crossing knowledge and literacies from transnational students, families, and communities has become increasingly relevant and a timely pressing topic in today's U.S. language and literacy education and beyond. This study employed a pláticas methodology to capture how transnational Latinx mothers storied their bilingual children's biliteracies. This study draws on transnational literacies and transcultural knowledge to conceptualize border-crossing biliteracies, a lens for understanding how transnational children read and write the world. Drawing on this lens, the findings reveal how transnational Latinx families disrupt and expand the meaning of family, language, literacy, and cultural teaching and learning for transnational Latinx youth. Rooted in their experiences, this article discusses and unpacks the meaning of border-crossing biliteracies pedagogy and offers implications for bilingual educators, curriculum developers, and researchers.
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In the current anti-immigrant context, Latinx families, children, and communities experience language as a highly contested and surveilled practice with consequential effects. In this study, I drew on the concept of literacies of... more
In the current anti-immigrant context, Latinx families, children, and communities experience language as a highly contested and surveilled practice with consequential effects. In this study, I drew on the concept of literacies of surveillance and translanguaging to examine how language was embodied and rationalized in the context of three homes of Latinx, transfronterizx families. This critical multiple-case study led to three main findings: (1) Parents and children are linguistic guardians and surveil from a place of love and care, (2) embracing Spanish-English parallel monolingualism is a form of respeto, and (3) translanguaging is a way of being for bilingual children moving in and out of surveilled moments. The findings have important implications for reconstructing the concept of linguistic surveillance in research and reframing parents’ and children’s roles in school when it relates to designing and authoring children’s bilingual futures.
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This article has been republished with minor changes. These changes do not impact the academic content of the article.
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In this essay, I explore the concept of embodied knowledge that stems from the Brown female body grounded in the critical scholarship by Chicana Feminist Theorists. I share three testimonios of momentos-moments in my life-where my... more
In this essay, I explore the concept of embodied knowledge that stems from the Brown female body grounded in the critical scholarship by Chicana Feminist Theorists. I share three testimonios of momentos-moments in my life-where my embodied knowledge, through emotions, feelings, and senses guided my practices. Through this (re)membering, I illustrate how critical embodied knowledge is lived and passed down to our younger generations. Lastly, I discuss the notion of embodied knowledge in relation to my research praxis and pedagogy as possibilities for (re)imagining work that heals and humanizes the experiences of our children and communities.
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This article examines the cultural production of three transfronterizo children who daily, physically cross a U.S.–Mexico international bridge. Drawing on theories of identity, border inspections, literacy, and language, the findings... more
This article examines the cultural production of three transfronterizo children who daily, physically cross a U.S.–Mexico international bridge. Drawing on theories of identity, border inspections, literacy, and language, the findings reveal that transfronterizo children developed literacies of surveillance, or the acquired and produced language and literacy practices to move across the surveillance, inspectors, and border. Transfronterizo children strategically used their full linguistic repertories to legitimize their border crossing identities in the context of surveillance.
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To address the needs of culturally and linguistically diverse student population in our U.S. schools, teacher preparation programs need to prepare bilingual pre-service teachers to view and implement languages in supportive ways. This... more
To address the needs of culturally and linguistically diverse student population in our U.S. schools, teacher preparation programs need to prepare bilingual pre-service teachers to view and implement languages in supportive ways. This study demonstrates how a cohort of 16 bilingual pre-service teachers are beginning to think about language(s) and the impact it has on their practice within their internship experience. Findings reveal that when supportive practices and policies are implemented in the classroom, pre-service teachers adopt similar practices. However, when there are negative language policies and practices, they become practicing language arbiters who make decisions that challenge normative practices.
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This study examines the home language and literacy practices of three madres mexicanas that used multimodal approaches to support their children's bilingualism and biliteracy.
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ABSTRACT The present qualitative case study examines how community-based lessons impacted the practices, perspectives, and internship placement experiences of 16 bilingual pre-service teachers. Grounded in the concepts of funds of... more
ABSTRACT The present qualitative case study examines how community-based lessons impacted the practices, perspectives, and internship placement experiences of 16 bilingual pre-service teachers. Grounded in the concepts of funds of knowledge and border thinking pedagogy, the findings revealed that bilingual pre-service teachers drew on local knowledge to create community-based lessons; these lessons supported student engagement and participation, and they helped pre-service teachers develop a sense of belonging and connection. We end with important implications for the field of teacher education regarding the (re)framing of teacher preparation programs so that they center on learning with and from students’ and communities’ funds of knowledge.
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The present study is a narrative analysis of 14 self-created books by Latina/o/x bilingual preservice teachers to describe their biliteracy trajectories. Drawing on the concept of identity and bilingualism, this analysis explores how... more
The present study is a narrative analysis of 14 self-created books by Latina/o/x bilingual preservice teachers to describe their biliteracy trajectories. Drawing on the concept of identity and bilingualism, this analysis explores how preservice teachers experienced language and literacy and how these experiences have shaped their bilingual–biliterate identities. The findings of this research study revealed that bilingual preservice teachers (a) narrated Spanish as a significant part of their remembered identities, (b) struggled to maintain their bilingualism and biliteracy, and (c) reconnected and reclaimed their bilingual–biliterate identities through their experiences in their teacher preparation program.
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This article focuses on the experiences of transnational Latinx youth and families through historias shared by the mothers. Transnational communities such as those from Latinx immigrant backgrounds have acquired critical perspectives... more
This article focuses on the experiences of transnational Latinx youth and families through historias shared by the mothers. Transnational communities such as those from Latinx immigrant backgrounds have acquired critical perspectives because of their experiences in and across borders that have become central to their understanding of how to navigate learning in the U.S. context. As such, learning about border-crossing knowledge and literacies from transnational students, families, and communities has become increasingly relevant and a timely pressing topic in today's U.S. language and literacy education and beyond. This study employed a pláticas methodology to capture how transnational Latinx mothers storied their bilingual children's biliteracies. This study draws on transnational literacies and transcultural knowledge to conceptualize border-crossing biliteracies, a lens for understanding how transnational children read and write the world. Drawing on this lens, the findings reveal how transnational Latinx families disrupt and expand the meaning of family, language, literacy, and cultural teaching and learning for transnational Latinx youth. Rooted in their experiences, this article discusses and unpacks the meaning of border-crossing biliteracies pedagogy and offers implications for bilingual educators, curriculum developers, and researchers.
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In U.S. schools, educators are often regarded as knowledge producers and sole pedagogues, whereas parents (particularly of Color) are perceived as not engaged or interested in their child(ren)'s education (Colgrove, 2019; Nuñez,... more
In U.S. schools, educators are often regarded as knowledge producers and sole pedagogues, whereas parents (particularly of Color) are perceived as not engaged or interested in their child(ren)'s education (Colgrove, 2019; Nuñez, 2019; Ramirez, 2020). These negative stereotypes and white-centered discourses sustain raciolinguistic perspectives (Rosa & Flores, 2017) of families of Color and immigrant backgrounds. For the present study, we employed critical discourse analysis to explore why and how Mexican mothers raise bilingual children by examining how their experiences inform us about their powerful roles as critical translanguaging pedagogues. Drawing on border thinking and pedagogy of border thinking, the findings revealed two main themes: (1) how mothers recognize and draw on the ruptures of cultural and linguistic worlds, and (2) how they sustain language through family and cultural practices. Lastly, we share implications for educators, teacher educators, and policymakers.
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“Native peoples have never been passive recipients of oppressive federal policies” (McCarty, p. 44); this quotation resonates throughout Teresa L. McCarty’s work, Language Planning and Policy in Native America: History, Theory, Praxis.... more
“Native peoples have never been passive recipients of oppressive federal policies” (McCarty, p. 44); this quotation resonates throughout Teresa L. McCarty’s work, Language Planning and Policy in Native America: History, Theory, Praxis. The book provides an assessment of the social, historical and political contexts that have been negotiated and contested as Native American communities have worked to revitalize their languages and reaffirm their culture and identity. A testimonial of the struggles of Native communities, McCarty’s work highlights on the education review / / reseñas educativas editors: david j. blacker / gustavo e. fischman / melissa cast-brede / gene v glass a multi-lingual journal of book reviews
This article examines the cultural production of three transfronterizo children who daily, physically cross a U.S.–Mexico international bridge. Drawing on theories of identity, border inspections, literacy, and language, the findings... more
This article examines the cultural production of three transfronterizo children who daily, physically cross a U.S.–Mexico international bridge. Drawing on theories of identity, border inspections, literacy, and language, the findings reveal that transfronterizo children developed literacies of surveillance, or the acquired and produced language and literacy practices to move across the surveillance, inspectors, and border. Transfronterizo children strategically used their full linguistic repertories to legitimize their border crossing identities in the context of surveillance.
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Abstract In this essay, I explore the concept of embodied knowledge that stems from the Brown female body grounded in the critical scholarship by Chicana Feminist Theorists. I share three testimonios of momentos—moments in my life—where... more
Abstract In this essay, I explore the concept of embodied knowledge that stems from the Brown female body grounded in the critical scholarship by Chicana Feminist Theorists. I share three testimonios of momentos—moments in my life—where my embodied knowledge, through emotions, feelings, and senses guided my practices. Through this (re)membering, I illustrate how critical embodied knowledge is lived and passed down to our younger generations. Lastly, I discuss the notion of embodied knowledge in relation to my research praxis and pedagogy as possibilities for (re)imagining work that heals and humanizes the experiences of our children and communities.
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The present study is a narrative analysis of 14 self-created books by Latina/o/x bilingual preservice teachers to describe their biliteracy trajectories. Drawing on the concept of identity and bilingualism, this analysis explores how... more
The present study is a narrative analysis of 14 self-created books by Latina/o/x bilingual preservice teachers to describe their biliteracy trajectories. Drawing on the concept of identity and bilingualism, this analysis explores how preservice teachers experienced language and literacy and how these experiences have shaped their bilingual–biliterate identities. The findings of this research study revealed that bilingual preservice teachers (a) narrated Spanish as a significant part of their remembered identities, (b) struggled to maintain their bilingualism and biliteracy, and (c) reconnected and reclaimed their bilingual–biliterate identities through their experiences in their teacher preparation program.
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ABSTRACT Much research has focused on the reasons and mechanisms for immigrant language loss. However, there is a scarcity of research about influences on language maintenance over time, and much of this work employs survey data. With the... more
ABSTRACT Much research has focused on the reasons and mechanisms for immigrant language loss. However, there is a scarcity of research about influences on language maintenance over time, and much of this work employs survey data. With the current study, we aim to contribute to this body of research with a qualitative study of a bilingual individual, Esperanza Sada (a self-selected pseudonym), and her language and literacy development, beginning in late elementary school and concluding with a follow-up at age 22. We employed a language ideologies framework to interpret Esperanza’s language and literacy practices, as well as the social, political, and educational contexts in which they developed. This long-term examination allowed us to understand more about the mechanisms and processes of Esperanza’s language and literacy development and use over time. It also illuminated her deliberate choice to continue with bilingualism and biliteracy, even as some of her friends and acquaintances made the opposite decision.
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In the current anti-immigrant context, Latinx families, children, and communities experience language as a highly contested and surveilled practice with consequential effects. In this study, I drew on the concept of literacies of... more
In the current anti-immigrant context, Latinx families, children, and communities experience language as a highly contested and surveilled practice with consequential effects. In this study, I drew on the concept of literacies of surveillance and translanguaging to examine how language was embodied and rationalized in the context of three homes of Latinx, transfronterizx families. This critical multiple-case study led to three main findings: (1) Parents and children are linguistic guardians and surveil from a place of love and care, (2) embracing Spanish-English parallel monolingualism is a form of respeto, and (3) translanguaging is a way of being for bilingual children moving in and out of surveilled moments. The findings have important implications for reconstructing the concept of linguistic surveillance in research and reframing parents’ and children’s roles in school when it relates to designing and authoring children’s bilingual futures.
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In U.S. schools, educators are often regarded as knowledge producers and sole pedagogues, whereas parents (particularly of Color) are perceived as not engaged or interested in their child(ren)'s education (Colgrove, 2019; Nuñez, 2019;... more
In U.S. schools, educators are often regarded as knowledge producers and sole pedagogues, whereas parents (particularly of Color) are perceived as not engaged or interested in their child(ren)'s education (Colgrove, 2019; Nuñez, 2019; Ramirez, 2020). These negative stereotypes and white-centered discourses sustain raciolinguistic perspectives (Rosa & Flores, 2017) of families of Color and immigrant backgrounds. For the present study, we employed critical discourse analysis to explore why and how Mexican mothers raise bilingual children by examining how their experiences inform us about their powerful roles as critical translanguaging pedagogues. Drawing on border thinking and pedagogy of border thinking, the findings revealed two main themes: (1) how mothers recognize and draw on the ruptures of cultural and linguistic worlds, and (2) how they sustain language through family and cultural practices. Lastly, we share implications for educators, teacher educators, and policymakers.