Bilingual, Multilingual, and Multicultural Education Commons^™

Social Justice Approaches To Cognitive, Emotional, And Language Development During Childhood And Adolescence, Angélique M. Blackburn

Journal of Multicultural Affairs

With contemporary events that have spotlighted social injustices, including the Black Lives Matter movement in the United States and the COVID-19 pandemic, any discussion of child development should take into account the diverse experiences of children facing injustice. In this article, I focus on social justice as it pertains to child development and how this topic has been addressed in literature targeted at students of child development theory. I focus on the contribution of two recent books (Anthis, 2020; De Houwer, 2021) within the greater context of reviewing literature regarding social inequities in cognitive, emotional, and language development. Anthis (2020) …

Brilla: Shining On Through A Pandemic, Tracey R. Jones, Erica Silva

Journal of Multicultural Affairs

This article highlights the community partnership between a primary school Dual Language program and university Spanish students. In this submission related to personal experience during the COVID-19 pandemic, the impact of classroom teachers within the BRILLA (Bilingual Readiness through Interaction, Language, Literacy and Alliances) program is explored. Teachers are the light bearers who make human connection and authentic learning happen in-person and over screens; pandemic, or no pandemic, they shine.

Microaggressions In Academia: One Black Woman’S Story, Victoria Carter Jones

Journal of Multicultural Affairs

Abstract

As a Black instructor in higher education, I know all about the challenges that marginalized people face on a regular basis. After all, racism is deeply rooted in the foundation of our American culture and society. So, I guess I should not have been surprised when two senior professors made assumptions about who I am as a Black American woman and my intelligence in academia. This paper gives a subtle and brief look into my experiences of microaggressions as a new Black woman instructor at a predominantly White institution.

Being Triggered As Faculty Of Color: Reflections On Teaching Diversity During The Trump Era, Lakia M. Scott

Journal of Multicultural Affairs

Much has been written about the Black academic’s experiences of teaching in predominately White spaces. However, less has been shared about being triggered, especially when teaching during the time of the Trump administration. This essay discusses an email encounter with a White female student who was enrolled in a graduate diversity issues course. As articulated in her email response, after declining an informal conferencing opportunity with the instructor, the student critiqued the tenets of the course because of her own conceptions of Whiteness. Many of the comments made were similar to the onslaught of hate-speech and racial bias and intimidation …

Teaching Our Black Children To Know Joy, Victoria Carter Jones

The Journal of Faith, Education, and Community

As a mother of two young Black children, we were faced with a new challenge, brought on by isolation of the pandemic, and the brutality of White supremacy. My daughter (Olivia) was now asking tough questions. Sickness she understood. Even at her age, she knew the importance of hand washing. But racism is a sickness we were not yet prepared to teach her. The purpose of this story is to share my experiences as a mother of a 4-year-old daughter, and how I taught her to have joy, through 1) memorized scripture, 2) exhibiting joy and 3) through prayer, even …

Perceptions Of Family Engagement Between African American Families And Schools: A Review Of Literature, Salandra Grice

Journal of Multicultural Affairs

The purpose of this review of parental involvement scholarship was to examine epistemologies and existent research pertaining to family engagement in the African American community. Particular attention is paid to the discrepancies between how African American families typically engage versus what teachers have been socialized to recognize and value as engagement. These discrepancies are evaluated and solutions to rectify this disconnect are discussed. Searches of major electronic databases were used yielding over a thousand results, yet only 20 pieces of literature proved substantive due to their specific focus on how African American families show involvement in their child’s education. Findings …

Examining The Children’S Defense Fund Freedom Schools Model On Middle School Students’ Reading Achievement, Lakia M. Scott, Rachel Renbarger, Yasmin Laird

Journal of Multicultural Affairs

In effort to curb summer learning loss, the Children’s Defense Fund Freedom Schools program identifies as a six-week summer literacy program for students in grades K-12. This study explored the impact of the Freedom School program on 128 middle school students’ reading achievement using Johns (2005) Basic Reading Inventory. Findings support the program’s effectiveness in increasing students’ reading outcomes, as demonstrated in the existent literature, but unlike other studies, data provided for both independent and instructional levels across three fluency indicators. In recognition of heightened state of summer learning loss for students with lack of access to quality enrichment summer …

“Everyone Off The Ship”: Children Becoming Civic Minded In A Summer Literacy Program, Janet Isbell, Amber Spears, Cassie Schmitt-Matzen, Lindsey Braisted

Journal of Multicultural Affairs

Increased emphasis in recent years on reading and/or math achievement have sidelined social studies teaching in elementary education (Boyle-Baise, Hsu, Johnson, Serriere, & Stewart, 2012; Heafner & Fitchett, 2012; McMurrer, 2007; Shapiro & Brown, 2018). When teachers do address civics education, instruction typically sets up students for future citizenship duties, with a focus on rules and laws (Moyer, 1981; Swalwell & Payne, 2019). This traditional banking model of schooling (Freire, 1970/2009) makes children the receivers of knowledge and overlooks what they can do already (Swalwell & Payne, 2019). Efforts are needed to rethink “civics education as an emancipatory experience in …