From the Dominican Republic to Drew High: What counts as literacy for Yanira Lara?

Abstract

S This investigation focuses on the literacy practices of a young Dominican immigrant woman attending a high school in the United States. Drawing from multiple bodies of research and the qualitative research genre of portraiture, the author relies on ethnographic classroom observations and interviews during one and a half years to provide a nuanced glimpse into the complexities of what counts as literacy and whose literacies count in an era of globalization. Findings reveal that immigrant youths' expanding literacy practices shape and are shaped by their participation both in their communities of origin and in their adopted communities as they forge overlapping identities. This investigation shows that helping immigrant youths understand what counts as literacy within new contexts is a complex process that needs to take into account youths' nonlinear development of bilingual competencies, their coming of age, and their shifting ethnic and gendered identities. Findings also underscore the need to broaden theoretical and methodological constructs to build on immigrant youths' full repertoire of literacy practices. Finally, the portrait encourages educators to rethink how to effectively serve secondary Latino/a students in ways that acknowledge their funds of knowledge, academic strengths, needs, and transnational literacy practices. Esta investigación se ocupa de las prácticas de alfabetización de una joven inmigrante dominicana que asiste a una escuela media en los Estados Unidos. Abrevando en distintas fuentes de conocimiento y en cierto género de investigación cualitativa (“portraiture”), el autor se basa en observaciones etnográficas en el aula y entrevistas durante un año y medio. El propósito es dar una mirada sutil a la complejidad de los significados y los agentes de la alfabetización en la era de la globalización. Los hallazgos revelan que las prácticas de alfabetizacion en expansión de los jóvenes inmigrantes modelan y son modeladas por su participación, tanto en las comunidades de origen como en las comunidades de adopción, mientras se construyen identidades superpuestas. Esta investigación muestra que ayudar a los jóvenes inmigrantes a comprender el significado de la alfabetización en contextos nuevos es un proceso complejo que requiere la consideración del desarrollo no lineal de las competencias bilingües de los jóvenes, la entrada en la adultez y las identidades étnicas y de género. Los resultados también subrayan la necesidad de ampliar los constructos teóricos y metodológicos para desarrollar en los jóvenes el repertorio completo de sus prácticas de alfabetización. Por último, el cuadro incentiva a los educadores a repensar cómo apoyar eficazmente a los estudiantes secundarios latinos de manera que se tomen en cuenta sus conocimientos de base, capacidades académicas, necesidades y prácticas de alfabetización transnacionales. Diese Untersuchung konzentriert sich auf die Schreib‐ und Lesehandhabungen einer aus der Dominikanischen Republik eingewanderten jungen Frau, die eine High School in de...

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