Facing Challenges
Breaking Down Barriers: Factors that Support English Language Learners Academically at Secondary Alternative Education Schools
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Elsie Solis Chang
This phenomenological study explores the in-depth life experiences of 13 educators who are working with ELL students in alternative education schools. The participants are from six alternative education schools from one district which included community and court schools in Central California. These schools serve students who are expelled, recommended by a school/district, whose parents have requested enrollment and have received district approval, who are on probation/parole, and are homeless. Due to the district’s large population of 64.4% Latinos, this study focused on ELL Latino students. ELL Latino students face challenges and struggles; they need a support system that can help them through their educational path. Finding ways to improve achievement and help more Latinos graduate high school and advance to higher education should be high on the nation’s policy agenda (Haskins & Tienda, 2011). This qualitative research provides proven key factors that contribute to the academic success of Latino ELLs to Break Down Barriers that many face in alternative education schools.
Creating Inclusive Classrooms Through Experiential Learning: Some Reflections on Teaching World Religions in California
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Mugdha Yeolekar
Over the past decade, I have taught world religions to international students in Los Angeles. From my conversations with these students, I realized that international students in particular have a challenging time with their studies, research, and social life in a host country. This goes far beyond English proficiency. International students feel lost on university campuses despite being fluent in English in their initial years. For example, a Turkish undergraduate student shared with me that she felt shy to speak up in the classroom. The competitive environment in classroom and her status of a non-native English speaker had led her to insularity of a type. In this paper, I will discuss several ways in which I have used experiential learning as a vantage point to create inclusionary dialogues in my classroom. One of my goals as an instructor is to introduce students to the diversity of human existence and experience by assigning mainstream and folk reading materials. I also aim at creating spaces for direct encounters with the “other.” For example, during a discussion of Hindu calendrical festivals, I introduced my students to Holi, the Hindu festival of colors and later I organized a Holi celebration on university campus. Further, my ethnographic assignments such as the "ritual mapping exercise" provide opportunities to engage with the city, the urban landscape, and with diverse populations. Ultimately, this paper will discuss curricular and instructional frameworks that educators can employ in order to create a multicultural, international, and global education.
I Didn't Know That Happened in Our Town: White Friends' Strategic Communication About Racial Injustice
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Annika Karlsen, Jennifer A. Samp
The majority of White adults in the United States remain silent and unengaged when it comes to addressing systemic racial oppression and racism in their daily lives. This study considers the modern dominant White racial ideology, known as color-blindness, as it relates to rejecting the salience of racial discussion and discomfort leading White friends avoid discussing controversial racial issues. Data were collected from 86 White dyads (n=172) who self-identified as close friends. Results indicated that White college students who had positive racial attitudes tended to report less anxiety after talking about racial issues with their friend and had longer and better-quality conversations while those who had blatantly negative racial attitudes had shorter conversations and used avoidant communication strategies to deflect, mask, and avoid revealing negative racial attitudes. Implications for educational practices are discussed.
Narrative Negotiation and Navigation at a University Campus: Exclusion and Inclusion of Social Identities
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Emma Groenewald, A le Roux
Since South Africa`s transition to democracy in 1994, numerous policies were put in place to address social inequalities caused by apartheid. In order to meet the vision of a transformed higher education, access to higher institutions was increased. The demand for access to higher education precipitated the establishment of two new universities. This paper seeks to understand how students position themselves in a newly established diverse university context. To adjust to the new context, students have to constantly navigate and negotiate while their identities are being re-evaluated and reconstructed. While students bring their own unique stories to the higher education context, the interconnection between race, language, and gender creates opportunities to reconfigure their identities. This study was underpinned by an interpretative approach and a social constructivist paradigm. Four students from different linguistic, racial, and ethnic backgrounds were chosen as participants. Data was generated through reflective exercises and semi-structured interviews. A narrative methodology was used which involved listening and analysing the participants’ narratives. Informed by Somer`s (1994) narrative theory and Tajfel and Turner`s social identity theory (1979), the cultural and historical embeddedness of each participant was taken into account. While some students experienced a sense of belonging on campus, others felt marginalised. The students’ experiences of exclusion indicate that the transformation vision for higher education has not yet been realised. The narratives highlighted issues of multilingualism, the management of diversity, and the negotiation of a university culture, which in turn, provided suggestions of how higher education institutions can become more equitable.
