Chapter 9: Literacy and the Identity Development of Latina/o Students

Chapter 9: Literacy and the Identity Development of Latina/o Students by Robert T. Jimenez
Robert Jimenez’s chapter presents results of a yearlong research project directed toward understanding the factors influencing Latina/o students’ literacy development.
o Jimenez organizes the chapter under the following headings after the introduction:
1) Theoretical Directions, 2) Teachers of Latina/o students, 3) Previous Research on Bilingual Latina/o students; 4) Use of Formative Experiments in Research Design,
5) Methods; 6) Data Analysis Procedures ; 7) Results; 8) Conclusion
o Introduction: The goals of Jimenez’s research were 1) to better understand literacy instruction provided to Latina/o students in bilingual classrooms and 2) to enhance and advance instructional methods in those classrooms. He also included student responses to literacy instruction he designed as part of the project.
o Jimenez notes that various initiatives have been undertaken at the national level to improve the opportunities of Latina/o students for developing literacy.
o He criticizes those efforts, grounded in class or economic suppositions, that have been interpreted as attempts to “repair” students, teachers, families or the Latino community in general.
o Jimenez’ analysis focuses on students’ perception of the role of “key participants” in their literacy development, students’ views on the relationship of the Spanish and English languages to their literacy, and finally on their own developing literate identities.
o Jimenez’ instructional piece examined the relationships and interactions of students to themselves, their teachers, their environments, and their texts.
o Jimenez states that even though Latino/a youth comprise the largest minority group in US schools: 13.5%, their levels of literacy remain pervasively, persistently and disproportionately low compared to levels of literacy of students from the mainstream.
o Researchers and policymakers’ neglect of the needs of this community has resulted in limitations in the knowledge base needed to improve this situation
o For example, no definitive statement has yet been produced expressing relationship between literacy in L1 and L2
o A multifaceted approach is needed to incorporate the following insights: cognitive, linguistic and sociocultural. Concerns have been raised that the input of key participants in the Latino community has not been included when instructional programs are designed for Latina/o students at risk.
o Jimenez wanted to address the concerns mentioned above. In addition, he had two goals for research: 1) to better understand the literacy instruction provided in four bilingual classrooms and 2) to develop an approach that would support literacy development within those four classrooms.
o The project included 1) classroom observations, 2)ongoing dialogues between teachers and researcher, 3) student interviews, 4)cognitive strategy instruction, 5)student writing and recording of student responses to the instructional interaction.
o Theoretical Directions: Jimenez includes the work of Cummins, Freire and Macedo,
Mc Kay and Wong, Ferdman, Brodkey, and Luke in a discussion of theoretical directions in the domain of Latina/o literacy.
o Cummins : Interactive Empowerment Theory (framework draws upon critical, cultural, constructivist and ecological ideas; emphasis largely confined to individual school level)
Students will succeed when 1) their language and culture are incorporated into their school program 2) parents and community are integral components of their education 3) students themselves generate their own knowledge through reading and writing activities 4) educators advocate for students, rather than finding problems within the student
o Freire and Macedo: 1) Teachers must adopt students’ language as means of instruction;
2) literacy development must enable students to “reappropriate their history, culture and language practices”; 3) students will then have the “right to express their thoughts, their right to speak, which corresponds to the educators’ duty to listen to them”. They seek to empower “submerged voices to to emerge”, as a “democratic right.”
Their goal is literacy as a mechanism to accomplish “societal transformation” since the current system “ensures students pass through school …and leave it illiterate”.
o They view established authority as oppressive to linguistically and culturally diverse communities.
o Vygotskian insight and tradition: 1) Teacher/student interaction and student accomplishment during scaffolded instruction is the basis for students’ later independent activity.
o Teacher/student interaction is at the heart of all of these frameworks
o McKay and Wong: Role of identity and its relationship to learning and literacy.
Varying levels of achievement in Chinese-American community related to identity construction. “Negative positioning” by educators in schools related to fulfillment in activities outside of school, and less motivation to excel within school
o Ferdman: Membership in ethnic groups has “consequences for becoming and being literate”. Curriculum should “facilitate the process by which students are permitted to discover and explore ethnic connections.”
o Brodkey: Educational discourse rooted in “middle class ideology.” Seeks to provide teachers with tools to “interrupt” practices that “alienate” students from literacy.
o Luke:Goal of a “multicultural, socially critical and just education” through “building of minority discourses in schools, classrooms and other public places.”
o Jimenez endeavored to stay true to the main points of these theories while offering teachers a detailed description of how he used their ideas in his research. Difficult for teachers to incorporate researchers’ ideas in instruction.
o Teachers of Latina/o Students
o Two broad domains of inquiry 1) teachers’ use of language 2) instruction provided to students.
o Language Issues: How language is used; how rapport is established; how discipline is implemented; how biliteracy instruction is organized; how teachers relate to demands, constraints and influences of their institutions
o Guerra: Provided evidenced that adults in Mexican immigrant families possessed all necessary resources and abilities in abundance for their children to develop full literacy
o Lucas, Henze and Donato: Valuing students’ language and culture enabled high school students to achieve academically. Students were provided large selection of AP courses taught in Spanish.
o Carter and Chatfield: Students had higher rates of success at elementary school committed to native-language instruction
o Confirmation of Cummins tenet: minority students achieve when native language included in curriculum
o Teachers were successful when they recognized students as linguistically competent speakers of particular varieties of Spanish who were developing their knowledge of English.
o Difficulty arose when teachers did share or value the particular variety of Spanish spoken by students
o Instruction issues: Ladson-Billings et al. provide evidence that students respond positively when teachers 1) show sensitivity to concerns 2) show knowledge of the students’ language and culture and 3) design instruction around culturally familiar activities
o Effective instruction includes 1) high regard for instructional innovation 2) demand for higher student performance 3) providing a challenging curriculum
o Continual improvement of instruction emphasized by schools as a whole
o Previous research on Bilingual Latina/o Students: Findings from two research projects influenced the author’s understanding of bilingual Latina/o students’ reading comprehension.
o The author and colleagues found highest achieving bilingual Latina/o students created multiple connections and used strategies such as those used in Reciprocal Teaching protocols in addition to demonstrating use of cognate vocabulary relationships between Spanish and English.
o Less competent readers felt L1 caused them confusion while reading; they “only occasionally implemented a strategic approach when confronted with problems.”
o Lowest performing readers found reading to be “a mystery”. Their processing deepened when they were able to implement strategies used by the more successful readers.
o Use of Formative Experiments in Research Design
o The formative experiment: modern interpretation of Vygotskian methods
o “Formative research design allows researchers to become actively engaged with participants and institutions involved in the research and to encourage change” (Jimenez 1997) Data collection, analysis and interpretation are “focused on the pedagogical goal.”
o Introduced “culturally/linguistically derived tools and information” as part of research design
o Moll and colleagues report 1) higher levels of participation 2) sophisticated and extended discourse 3) more complex forms of thinking when formative experiment used (students using Spanish to discuss readings in English)
o Formative experiment in this research was cognitive strategy instruction presented
o Methods:
o Setting was Midwestern city district serving 7000 Latina/o students
o Four 4-6th grade classrooms participated: 1 bilingual SpEd; 3 bilingual gen ed; all students at lowest levels of English proficiency
o 85 students and four teachers participated
o Students Ages 9-12; Range 1-12 yrs residence; Mean 6.6 yrs residence US
o 30 born in US; all but one L1 Spanish
o All but one recent immigrants or children of immigrants
o Teachers: 2 Latina origin; 2 Anglo origin
o Data Collection Sources:
ü Classroom observations: emphasis on student responses to learning events
ü Teacher interviews: 12 occasions, 1.5-2 hrs; informal; sharing of concerns regarding instruction, students’ progress and input on student bilingual literacy development
ü Think-aloud procedures and student interviews: Students asked to read passages, then stop and describe thinking; answer ?s about knowledge of Spanish/English literacy
ü Formative Experiment: 10 cognitive strategy lessons
ü Bilingual Strategic Reading Instruction: Introducing students to rdg. strategies listed below


o Strategies taught During Formative Experiment:
ü Making Inferences: Taught to activate and use prior knowledge
ü Asking Questions: Clarifying
ü Dealing with Unknown Vocabulary: Often combined with assessing cognates
ü Assessing Cognates: Understanding the relationship between Sp/Eng words
ü Translating: Paraphrasing parts of text via other language for clarification
ü Transferring: Conscious access of info. gained from one language in processing text in other language
o Description of Approach: 1) Elicit extended student discourse 2) Teach students think-aloud procedure 3) Intro. culturally relevant text and demo. strategies 4) Assist with fluency
o Data Analysis Procedures: Data (classroom observations and interactions, student/teacherinterviews, student written responses) transcribed,analyzed and coded
o Additional input from experts in many fields (e.g. SpEd, bilingual/immigrant ed)
o Thematic trends emerged; helped to construct an outline for final research report
o Results: Students’ taped discourse revealed identity fragility: important aspects of student identity connected to status as bicultural, bilingual, biliterate persons
o Blended Identities: unique, underappreciated; straddling two cult./ling. distinct zones
o Code-switching: indicative of student’s dual, hybridized, unique identity construction
o Linguistic brokering: students’ translating to aid family members in linguistically unfamiliar settings
o Association of L2 learning sometimes perceived as threat to carefully forged student identities; students unsure and insecure about identity
o Conclusion:
o Students can experience alienation; may reject attitudes/behaviors necessary for academic success when their values/ identities undervalued at school
o <3% of all teachers are Latina/o; may be undertrained and inexperienced; few enrolling in teacher education programs
o Students fear losing Spanish identity; overly challenged by learning English
o Literacy learning engages students when it supports Latina/o identity and helped to develop Spanish lang/lit development
o When students equate lit. learning to “subtractive bilingualism”, (threat of loss of Spanish lang and lit. proficiency) they experience fear and then avoidance behaviors
o Jimenez’s goal: to help students maximize cultural/ling. abilities; develop and retain Latina/o lit. identity
o Support emerging for “ling. sensitive, culturally relevant instruction
o Teachers can facilitate by
ü helping students view background as strength
ü accessing cognate vocab
ü thoughtful use of translation
ü transferring information learned in L1
o Researchers must place “cultural borderlands” at the center, rather than at the margins of their focus