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Engaging The Disengaged: The Zone Of Proximal Distance Between Deliberately Silenced Educators And Preferably Unheard Latino Immigrant Parents, Jose Antonio Velazquez

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

The five Latino parents in the three ethnographic case studies presented in this document were experienced with stepping into third space zones of discomfort as undocumented immigrants unwelcome to the United States. They could have chosen to remain silent and invisible. Instead, they entered third space visibility that amplified their presence and voice as immigration reform activists. They recognized and accepted the risks of amplified outspoken visibility: possible deportation and family separation. They also acknowledged the risks of silent submission and invisibility: vulnerability to exploitation and generational disempowerment. They created disruptive third space forms of civic engagement that synergistically produced …