Bilingual, Multilingual, and Multicultural Education Commons^™

Study Abroad In The Neoliberal Academy: Shifting Geographies, Terri Carney

Terri M. Carney

No abstract provided.

(Im)Possible Identity: Autoethnographic (Re)Presentations, Seungho Moon, Chris Strople

Seungho Moon

In this paper, we examine experience, identity, and their intersections. Working from an autoethnographic positionality, we investigate the insufficiencies of language and the limitations of any given researcher with an intent to address multiple realities and their respective interpretations of meaning. Autoethnographic narratives with the use of visual, written, and multimedia representations further acknowledge the dilemmas of qualitative researchers when they cannot fully describe subjectivities in research. What is deemed to be valid research is often indicative of a theoretical framework that aggressively seeks to invalidate other perspectives and ways of knowing. Thus, we create research spaces by employing counter-narratives …

The Arts Community Without Community: Imagining Aesthetic Curriculum For Active Citizenship, Seungho Moon

Seungho Moon

This article is about teaching art-based inquiry and equity pedagogy. The author introduces an aesthetic-inspired afterschool curriculum in the urban context in the United States and theorizes the meaning of active citizenship and community. Conceptually framed by “community without community,” this article explicates the ways in which the ARtS children (Aesthetic, Reflexive thoughts, & Sharing) investigated the meanings of community through dance, poetry, and clay art. The author imagines and theorizes community that goes beyond emphasizing solidarity and a collective “we”-ness in the pursuit of social transformation. Rather, the author argues that “community without community” could be an important framework …

Roundtable – Teaching Human Rights: Challenges And Best Practices, Shayna Plaut, Kristi Kenyon, Joel Pruce, William Simmons

Joel Pruce

Over the past 20 years, courses addressing human rights have grown dramatically at both the undergraduate and graduate levels worldwide. Many of these courses are housed in specific disciplines, focus on specific issues, and require practical experience in the form of internships/practicums. Amid this growth there is a need to reflect on teaching human rights including the challenges, fears, and best practices. Recognizing that education takes place inside and outside a classroom, this roundtable brings together scholars teaching human rights in a variety of settings to examine the current state of university human rights education. This includes a discussion of …

Standing My Ground: Reflections Of A Queer Indian Immigrant Professor In The U.S. Classroom, Umeeta Sadarangani

Umeeta Sadarangani

No abstract provided.

Overworked And Stressed Teachers Under Market Economy: Case Study In Northwest China, Gulbahar Beckett, Juanjuan Zhao

Gulbahar Beckett

This chapter is based on a case study conducted in Xisheng (pseudonym promised to the participants for anonymity purposes) in Northwest China to explore teachers’ perspectives on teaching under the market economy system. The original plan was to study local indigenous teachers, but that was not possible due to political sensitivity of the region at the time of data collection. As a result, we interviewed mostly Han teachers, including as many local indigenous teachers as possible. We think that the study is still useful as it was the first study of its kind and that it was informative regarding the …

Special Interest Group On Heritage Languages-Fall Newsletter, Theresa Y. Austin, Yvonne Farino, Rosario M. De Swanson, Joy Kreeft Peyton, Wei-Li Hsu

Theresa Y. Austin

News on research and instruction in the world of heritage language education

Damunwha Students’ Funds Of Knowledge In English: A Qualitative Case Study In The South Korean Context, Miso Kim, Tae-Young Kim

Dr. Tae-Young Kim (김태영, 金兌英)

This study explores the interface between multicultural, or Damunwha, students’ households and English learning in the Korean context. Korea is a relatively homogeneous nation in terms of its ethnic and cultural diversity. In this context, students whose parent(s) are not Korean are labeled as Damunwha students. Despite their minority position, the students have accumulated multilingual and multicultural funds of knowledge, the experience and culture unique to their households. Their use of funds of knowledge in English learning was analyzed from an ecological perspective, which emphasizes learners’ active agency in learning. Two junior-high school students from international marriage families and two …

“Fire Away”: I Have No Right To Not Be Insulted, David Barnhizer

David Barnhizer

In theory, universities are the institutions that are responsible for advancing our freedom of thought and discourse through the work of independent scholars and the teaching of each generation of students. But for several decades, universities and other educational institutions have increasingly set up rules aimed at protecting individuals and groups from criticism that those newly empowered individuals and groups consider insensitive, offensive, harassing, intolerant and disrespectful, or critical of their core belief systems. Even though it has been claimed that disadvantaged interest groups have a right to use one-sided tactics of intolerance against those they consider to be responsible …

English Proficiency / Fluent English Proficient Students, Susan R. Adams

Susan Adams

K-12 students whose first language is not English are identified upon enrollment in U.S. schools through a home language survey and are immediately assessed to determine whether English as a second language (ESL) services are required. Students who do not pass this initial screening assessment are classified as English Language Learners (ELLs), or as limited English proficiency (LEP) students, and are identified to receive school-provided English language development (ELD) and accommodations. Students who pass the initial screener or who demonstrate English proficiency two years in a row on state-mandated annual assessments are deemed fluent or fully English proficient (FEP) students …

Success With Ell's: Writing In The Esl Classroom: Confessions Of A Guilty Teacher, Susan R. Adams

Susan Adams

"Success with ELLs" suggests effective approaches to teaching English language learners in ways that can be of benefit to all students in mainstream middle and high school English classes.

The More She Longs For Home, The Farther Away It Appears: A Paradox Of Nostalgia In A Fulani Immigrant Girl’S Life, Kaoru Miyazawa

Kaoru Miyazawa

Nostalgia, which is derived from the Greek words nos (returning home) and algia (pain), refers to longing for the loss of the familiar (Kaplan, 1987). The loss of our connection to the familiar is a painful experience as such loss is connected to a fundamental loss, the loss of ourselves. By losing a connection to familiar people, objects, and places that continue to remain the same from the past to the future, we also lose the continuity within ourselves. And this discontinuity of our past, present, and future selves creates anxiety within us (Milligan, 2003). The painful experience that accompanies …

How Should Colleges Ask About Students’ Sexual Orientation?, Tammy R. Johnson

Tammy R. Johnson

In recent years, there has been increasing interest among admission officers regarding the identification of LGBT students on campus. Reliable statistics about LGBT populations on campuses across the country are all but non-existent, and many progressive institutions are aiming to remedy that problem. It is a growing concern: How can schools provide outreach and support (and increase retention rates) for LGBT students if this at-risk population continues to be invisible? Likewise, LGBT campus groups are almost uniformly in favor of collecting reliable data that will document the presence of LGBT students on campus, which would help these groups advocate more …

Rethinking Contemporary Sub-Saharan African School Knowledge: Restoring The Indigenous African Cultures, Edward Shizha

Edward Shizha

Sub-Saharan African countries have been politically independent since the late 1950s but they have not done much to free their school curricular from remnants of colonial education. The current postcolonial African school curriculum ignores the voices, indigenous knowledges (IKs) and cultures of African indigenous populations. Students, in Africa, experience barriers in learning because of the dissonance between the school curriculum and their cultural experiences. What the schools teach, and how teachers disseminate and transmit knowledge does not reflect the cultural symbolic conventions (collaborative and participatory learning) and representations (knowledge constructs, symbols and cultural beliefs) of the students’ cultural experiences. This …

Project-Based Chinese As A Foreign Language Instruction: A Teacher Research Approach, Gulbahar Beckett

Gulbahar Beckett

Reclaiming Our Indigenous Voices: The Problem With Postcolonial Sub-Saharan African School Curriculum, Edward Shizha

Edward Shizha

The school curriculum in postcolonial Sub-Saharan Africa experiences challenges that are a legacy of colonial education that remained in place decades after political decolonization. The case for African school curriculum is contentious in contemporary Africa because it negates the voices of African indigenous populations. Despite the advent of decolonization that started in the 1960s, African education systems mirror colonial education paradigms inherited from former colonial governments. Colonial education was hegemonic and disruptive to African cultural practices, indigenous knowledges (IKs) and ways of knowing. Prior to colonization, Africans were socialized and educated within African indigenous cultural contexts. With the advent of …

Incarceration, Identity Formation, And Race In Young Adult Literature: The Case Of Monster Versus Hole In My Life, Tim Engles, Fern Kory

Tim Engles

No abstract provided.

Anthropological Evidence Of The 15 Intended Itaukei Tapa Cloth (Masi) Motifs Pre-Dating The Creation Of The Air Pacific/Fiji Airways Logo, Cresantia Frances Koya Vaka'uta

Cresantia Frances Koya Vaka'uta

This short paper examines the history of Tapa in order to show that the fifteen kesakesa designs identified as trade mark worthy by Air Pacific/Fiji Airways are a significant part of the cultural heritage of the iTaukei peoples of Fiji. It will also show that Tapa and the designs/motifs found within tapa are often shared cultural designs across the Pacific. The position taken is that all forms of cultural heritage expressions must remain the intellectual property of their indigenous owners from whom this knowledge, skills and art forms originate. NO COMMERCIAL ENTERPRISE can or should claim the right to this …

Women Of African Descent: Persistence In Completing A Doctorate, Vannetta L. Bailey-Iddrisu

Vannetta L. Bailey-Iddrisu

This study examines the educational persistence of women of African descent (WOAD) in pursuit of a doctorate degree at universities in the southeastern United States. WOAD are women of African ancestry born outside the African continent. These women are heirs to an inner dogged determination and spirit to survive despite all odds (Pulliam, 2003, p. 337).This study used Ellis’s (1997) Three Stages for Graduate Student Development as the conceptual framework to examine the persistent strategies used by these women to persist to the completion of their studies.

Reconsidering The Model Minority And Black Mormon Discourses, Nicholas Daniel Hartlep

Nicholas Daniel Hartlep, Ph.D.

No abstract provided.

Reclaiming And Re-Visioning Indigenous Voices: The Case Of The Language, Edward Shizha

Edward Shizha

The purpose of this study was to explore the effect of teaching science to rural primary school students using a second language (English) in Zimbabwe. The study also investigated the opinions and attitudes of primary school teachers toward teaching science using an indigenous language (chiShona). Qualitative data was collected using twenty classroom observations and interviews with ten purposely selected primary school teachers. Data were analysed using a thematic analysis. The findings revealed institutional and attitudinal barriers to using chiShona as a language of instruction in science teaching and learning. The results also showed that some teachers frustrate and silence students’ …

Understanding The Basics Of Traditional Knowledge And Intellectual Property Rights In The Pacific Islands, Cresantia Frances Koya Vaka'uta

Cresantia Frances Koya Vaka'uta

No abstract provided.

The Personal As Political: 1 A Self-Reflective Essay On The Act Of Poetry Making And Creating The “1angrynative” Persona., Cresantia Frances Koya Vaka'uta

Cresantia Frances Koya Vaka'uta

No abstract provided.

A Critical Analysis Of English Language Teaching In Today’S Market Economy In China, Yan Guo, Gulbahar Beckett

Gulbahar Beckett

The Effects Of Ethnic And Gender Specific Curricula When Used As A Targeted Reform Strategy To Improve Academic Achievement And Promote Post-Secondary Matriculation Of African American Male Adolescents, Ona R. Powell

Ona R Powell

With the passing of Brown vs. the Board of Education and the subsequent Civil Rights Movements of the 1960’s, it was perceived that African Americans would be afforded the inalienable right of an adequate and equal education. Although many African Americans took advantage of this right, and excelled both educationally and economically, others fell prey to erosion of the African American community and persistent stereotypical mental model of American society. Since garnering those monumental achievements, the academic achievement levels of African American boys have been in a steady decline, as those of African American girls have soared. To a certain …

Impacts Of A Social Support Intervention For Somali And Sudanese Refugees In Canada, Miriam Stewart, Laura Simich, Morton Beiser, Knox Makumbe, Edward Makwarimba, Edward Shizha

Edward Shizha

The aim of this paper is to design and pilot test a culturally tailored intervention that meets the support needs and preferences of two refugee groups. The study employed a multi-method participatory research design and was conducted in two urban centres in western and central Canada. Support was delivered to Sudanese and Somali refugees (n = 58), by trained peer and professional helpers, in face-to-face groups matched by gender and ethnicity and in telephone dyads. Participants completed three quantitative measures before (pre-test) and following (post-test) the intervention. Group interviews with refugee participants and individual interviews with peer and professional helpers …

Challenges And Barriers To Services For Immigrant Seniors In Canada: "You Are Among Others But You Feel Alone", Miriam Stewart, Edward Shizha, Edward Makwarimba, Denise Spitzer, Ernest N. Khalema, Christina D. Nsaliwa

Edward Shizha

This paper seeks to explore varied interrelated challenges and barriers experienced by immigrant seniors. Senior immigrants representing diverse ethnicities (Chinese, Afro Caribbean, Former Yugoslavian, Spanish) described their challenges, support needs, and barriers to service access. Service providers and policy makers from organizations serving immigrant seniors were interviewed to elicit their views on barriers to access and appropriateness of services for immigrant seniors. Qualitative methods were employed to enhance understanding of meanings, perceptions, beliefs, values, and behaviors of immigrant seniors, and investigate sensitive issues experienced by vulnerable groups. The qualitative data were subjected to thematic content analysis. Findings indicate that seniors …

Health And Wellness In Southern Africa: Incorporating Indigenous And Western Healing Practices, Edward Shizha, John Charema

Edward Shizha

Current healing systems in Southern Africa focus on the holistic approach to the health and wellness of patients. Biomedical approaches and traditional healing systems that incorporate spiritual healing, mental healing, physical and social healing play a crucial and significant role in health delivery systems in Southern Africa. An integrative approach has been accepted as a vital component of holistic healing. Often, biomedicine has been criticized for overlooking the relationship of the social and spiritual being to the body and the effect the former has on the latter. Medicine and healing are cultural practices; hence the process of healing and the …

Book Review Of "Culture, Curriculum, And Identity In Education" By H. Richard Milner (Ed.) (2010), New York, Palgrave Mcmilla., Edward Shizha

Edward Shizha

Identity involves different facets of human self-definition and is unequivocally a vital element of individuals’ lives, especially in diverse societies. Culture and identity are intertwined. In education, culture in the curriculum plays a vital component in students’ identity formations. Supportive school environments provide socially, culturally and linguistically appropriate curricula that legitimize identity formations. Teachers and the curricula they teach are sources of identity formation. Every classroom encounter is largely dictated by the teacher’s role and the perception the teacher has of the students.

Getting To The Heart Of The Matter: Well-Being And Esd 2011, Cresantia Frances Koya Vaka'uta

Cresantia Frances Koya Vaka'uta

No abstract provided.