Appropriating the Sociocultural Resources of Latino Paraeducators for Effective Instruction with Latino Students

Abstract

This article examines the sociocultural scaffolding practices of 24 Latino paraeducators and 8 former Latino paraeducators (who had recently become teachers) as they worked with Latino students in two large urban schools. Instances were observed in which participants used important funds of knowledge in their interactions with students during instruction, in informal contexts, and in the case of the current paraeducators to inform the teachers with whom they worked in the community. Unfortunately, use of sociocultural scaffolding was scarce, nonstrategic, and not directly tied to instruction. We argue that under ideal instructional conditions, this knowledge should be fostered, used strategically, and appropriated more systematically.

Scaffolding in Teacher–Student Interaction: A Decade of Research

“…In Appendix 1, more detailed information on the characteristics of the empirical descriptive studies discussed in this section (domain, measurement of scaffolding, the type of task, and the intentions and means studied as derived from Table 1) can be found. Most studies used a Grounded Theory approach (Glaser and Strauss 1967) to analyze the data and resulted in numerous rich descriptions of scaffolding in the classroom (e.g., Garza 2009; Rueda et al 2004). Sometimes, scaffolding was described within a broader framework such as Reciprocal Teaching (Hacker and Tenent 2002).…”

“…In some cases, teacher behavior was coded using a predefined coding scheme or a coding scheme specifically developed for this purpose during data analysis (e.g., Maloch 2002Maloch , 2008Rueda et al 2004). The behaviors of the teachers were categorized as reflecting many different scaffolding strategies.…”

Personal Agency Inspired by Hardship: Bilingual Latinas as Liberatory Educators

“…As they learn the K-12 system and become connected, their value within the school increases (Monzó & Rueda, 2001). The literature supports the premise that their common experiences as struggling CLD students in school, and as women who show leadership within the home and their cultural community, provide them with sociocultural expertise (Ernst-Slavitt & Wenger, 2006;Lucero, 2010;Rueda et al, 2004;Villegas & Clewell, 1998). As a result, these bilingual paraeducators are critical assets to schools as they serve as cultural brokers for the increasing number of CLD children and families within their districts (Genzuk & Baca, 1998;Ernst-Slavitt & Wenger, 2006).…”

“…Once in college, Latinas 1 in particular, for a wide range of social, cultural, and economic reasons, often do not achieve their academic goals along traditional pathways and timeframes (Crisp et al, 2015). For example, a growing number of Latina students are enrolling in college as non-traditional students after working as service laborers or caregivers for a period of time (Rueda, Monzó, & Higareda, 2004). While many female students commonly perform the juggling act of managing family, work, and school responsibilities, research suggests that these non-traditional experiences are what drive Latinas to endure hardships in pursuit of a better future (Shroyer, Yahnke, Morales, Dunn, Lohfink, & Espinoza, 2009;Simoniello, 1981).…”

The Role of Administrators in Paraprofessional Supervision to Support Ethnic Minority Students with Special Needs

“…They represent minority populations in greater percentages than do teachers (Haselkorn & Fideler, 1996). Because paraprofessionals tend to know the students in schools and communities, they help make the school experience less alienating and connect it to students' cultural experiences (Ashbaker, Enriquez, & Morgan, 2004;Rueda, Monzo, & Higareda, 2004); and, in many cases, they are native speakers of students' languages and provide a sorely needed language resource (Rueda & Monzo, 2000). About a decade ago, Genzuk (1997) examined the sociocultural scaffolding practices of current and former Latino paraprofessionals as they worked with Latino students.…”