Bilingual, Multilingual, and Multicultural Education Commons^™

Decolonization Of Education: How Educators Can Aid Transcultural Acculturation To Advance Communities Committed To Social Justice, Aradhana Mudambi, Elena Sada

Journal of Catholic Education

Cultures recreate themselves constantly, sometimes through natural transformations, sometimes through imposition. While colonialism was atrocious, partly because it transformed cultures by imposing disfigured identities and understandings (Fanon, 1963), we cannot reset cultures to how they were before conquest. That would require erasing languages now spoken for generations, dismantling religions and beliefs now practiced for hundreds of years, and purifying food habits now valued by the palettes of those formerly colonized. We can, however, work towards decolonizing our present- day society. Specifically, we can identify how colonialism continues to position some populations and their cultures as inferior (minoritized) and others as …

Rethinking The Hispanic Teacher Shortage: Dual Language Schools As Identity-Affirming Organizations, Elena Sada, Katie Ward

Journal of Catholic Education

Research has established the connection between the academic success of culturally and linguistically diverse students, and their schools’ ability to recruit and retain teachers that reflect such diversity (Shirrell et al., 2019). Studies have also highlighted the criticality of the students’ home language use as a way to enhance academic growth and develop their sociocultural competence and well-being (Feinauer & Howard, 2014). There is no research, however, addressing the differences between the experiences of Hispanic teachers in bilingual Catholic education compared to those in monolingual English Catholic education. This article highlights the differences captured by a recent study, and discusses …

Strengthening And Sustaining Dual Language Education In Catholic Schools, Laura Hamman-Ortiz, Katy Lichon, Clare Roach, Patricia Salazar Harty

Journal of Catholic Education

The purpose of this article is two-fold. First, we seek to make a case for the promise of dual language programs to enhance Catholic schooling and enrich educational opportunities for Latinx students. Second, we offer insights into the current landscape of Catholic schools with dual language programs, drawing upon data from a national survey conducted by University of Notre Dame researchers in 2020. Through our presentation of the findings, we consider characteristics of current program models and identify areas of success, challenges, and opportunities for future growth. We conclude with a discussion of the possibilities for strengthening and sustaining dual …

Dual Language Catholic Schools: Innovation And Equity--Considerations For Making The Transition To Dual Language, Carrie Fuller, Elena Sada

Journal of Catholic Education

The multiple academic and social advantages of a dual language education are well known; yet there is little practical guidance for Catholic school leaders who are taking on this whole school change. This paper explores the necessary steps for Catholic school leaders to develop equitable dual language schools. Guided by the Gospel principles of love and justice and using the Community of Practice theoretical framework, the authors argue that taking thoughtful risks in transforming one’s school can lead to meaningful learning in service to culturally and linguistically diverse students. Seven main implementation areas for developing a dual language Catholic school …

Book Review: Transformative Translanguaging Espacios: Latinx Students And Their Teachers Rompiendo Fronteras Sin Miedo, Katie Ward

Journal of Catholic Education

No abstract for a Book Review

As Catholic Schools Become More Diverse, How Should We Prepare New Catholic School Educators For Inclusive Schools? An Analysis Of Research On University And Diocesan Teacher Training, Rebekka J. Jez, Julie C. Cantillon, Lauren H. Ramers, Melissa M. Burgess

Journal of Catholic Education

Educators can improve academic and socio-emotional wellbeing of their students if they are equipped with strategies and skills to support learners and families from a variety of diverse backgrounds and experiences, such as culturally and linguistically diverse students, students with differing abilities, and those who may experience trauma and/or socio-economic challenges. To learn more about this topic a Catholic university and local diocese examined the literature on the impact of Catholic teachers in under-resourced schools, practices for training Catholic educators with skills to meet the needs of all learners, and the structures needed to ensure that diocesan and university supervisors …

Grammatical Gender Acquisition In L2 Spanish, Alanna Quinn, Mónica Cabrera

Honors Thesis

Grammatical gender, identified as “one of the most difficult structures that non-native speakers need to acquire” (Alamry & Sabourin, 2017) does not exist in English. L1 English speakers learning L2 Spanish must acquire this new grammatical feature. This thesis investigates this acquisition.

A literature review synthesizes the findings of studies on L2 acquisition of Spanish grammatical gender, and includes an overview of the structure and function of gender within both English and Spanish, as well as a variety of L2 acquisition process hypotheses. An analysis of four introductory Spanish textbooks is offered regarding their presentation of grammatical gender. The findings …

Making The Case For Exploratory World Language Instruction In Catholic Elementary Schools Through University Partnerships, Brigid M. Burke, Eric D. Howard

Journal of Catholic Education

As a result of a university partnership, elementary students at two midwest Catholic elementary schools have been provided with exploratory world language instruction (FLEX) from pre-service teachers. To investigate students’ attitudes and learning of Spanish, researchers interviewed second and fourth graders. The students’ parents and pre-service teachers answered open-ended questionnaires. The research questions for this qualitative study were: 1) How does exploratory world language instruction (FLEX) affect children’s attitudes about learning world languages and cultures? 2) How does exploratory world language instruction (FLEX) affect children’s learning of a world language? The results showed that students possessed positive attitudes about world …

For The Dreamers, Mariajose Gomez

First-Gen Voices: Creative and Critical Narratives on the First-Generation College Experience

"For the Dreamers" reflects the author's experience on a De Colores immersion trip to Casa de Migrantes in Mexico, Tijuana. This was Gomez's first time traveling out of the country, and the experience helped her realize that no human being should be considered “illegal” simply because of man-made barriers. The piece exposes the complex social dynamics that inform the experiences of both immigrants and citizens of the United States. The purpose of the poem is to challenge readers' views on immigration and highlight the role social constructs and stereotypes play in establishing preconceived ideas about immigrants. The author hopes readers …

Latinos, Education, And The Church: Toward A Culturally Democratic Future, Antonia Darder

Journal of Catholic Education

The article provides a comprehensive critical analysis of key issues that are deeply salient to an examination of the relationship of Latinos, education and the Church. The status of Latinos and their educational participation in the United States is systematically presented through a critical theoretical lens that brings questions of historical, political, and economic inequalities and their consequences to the center of this interpretive interrogation. With this foundational piece in place, the article moves to the concept of cultural democracy as an important philosophical principle in our work to transform the education of Latino children within Catholic schools and beyond. …

A Latina Theological Reflection On Education, Faith, Love, And Beauty, Cecilia González-Andrieu

Journal of Catholic Education

No abstract provided.

Editors' Introduction, Antonia Darder, Luis R. Fraga

Journal of Catholic Education

Guest Editors' introduction

Bailamos Juntos: Salsa En Los E.E.U.U. Y El Mundo, Betty Tran

First-Gen Voices: Creative and Critical Narratives on the First-Generation College Experience

This composition traces the history of Cuban-American cultural identity formation through the lens of music and dance. As the author explains, Cuban immigrants cultivated a rich music and dance culture in New York City by creating a series of Latin and Afro-Cuban music genres and dances that brought diverse groups of people together. As a Vietnamese-American woman, Tran sees several connections between her family’s Vietnamese heritage and the cultural histories of Cubans who came to the United States as refugees seeking asylum from political oppression. As a first-generation college student, Tran believes it is important to share this composition as …

Combining African-Centered And Critical Media Pedagogies: A 21st-Century Approach Toward Liberating The Minds Of The Mis-Educated In The Digital Age, Shani Byard

LMU/LLS Theses and Dissertations

Since the slave trade, African Americans have been the most media-stereotyped race of people. From that time, multiple forms of media have been used to convince Blacks of their inevitable servitude and Whites of their supremacy (Burrell, 2010), as a means of transferring physical slavery to mental slavery (Akbar, 1998). Additionally, African Americans have been the victims of a Eurocentric educational system essentially designed to “mis-educate” (Woodson, 1933)—to further oppress and devalue African and African American contributions to our global history. This qualitative research study aimed to analyze an existing curricular model known as Rise Above the Noise, which combines …

Referendums Education In The United States: Reform Or Assimilation?, Francisco Ramos

Education Faculty Works

The antibilingüe movement that is spreading across the United States has become one of the most controversial in the debate on the education of linguistic minorities issues. Ron Unz, the California millionaire who has managed to eliminate bilingual programs in California and Arizona and trying to do the same today in Colorado and Massachusetts, is a clear example of assimilationist movement, which argues that immigrants should give up their languages and vernacular cultures to integrate into American society. This article summarizes the history of bilingualism in the United States, focusing on decisions that have affected the education of minority students, …