Language policy and multilingual identity at home and in school

Abstract

To the memory of my mother, Suzanne, who taught me about power in caring. And to Lila, my daughter, who makes learning about complex identities a source of evolving joy. iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Thank you, first, to Oscar. I don't think many can fully understand the sacrifices you made so that I could complete this PhD, but I see and feel them. Te agradezco y te amo. To Tammia and DeeAnn and everyone at Wilson St./Morningside, who know how many acts of kindness and casserole it takes to put a dissertation into the world. You are our community. You have made our time here rich and we have loved sharing life with you. Thank you, also, to the members of my committee. To my advisor, David Johnson, for your time, feedback, and critique that strengthened this project and shaped my work through the years. To Amanda Thein, who reminded me of my own identity when I needed it. To Laurie Graham, whose work and teaching I respect deeply. To Leslie Schrier, whose support is a source of encouragement. To Lia Plakans, who is a model of kindness, professionalism, scholarship, and humility. And to Elana Shohamy, who first appeared in my life as an unexpected comfort in grief and is now an example of advocacy for fairness though scholarship. Each of you has taught me, each of you has shown me something about whom I hope to become. Deep thanks to Jamie Schissel, Nita Schmidt, Aliza Fones, and Phil Striegel for the intellectual and emotional work you put into this project. You did this for free, but I could never put a price on it. To my dad and sister, you are the best cheerleaders. Finalmente, me gustaría reconocer la valentía y la contribución de los participantes en este proyecto. Los maestros tal como las familias tomaron una posición iv vulnerable y valiente para crear la transformación. Esto no fue para nada fácil y es mi privilegio haber aprendido y participado junto a Uds./ Finally, I would like to acknowledge the courage and contribution of the participants in this study. Both educators and families put themselves into courageous, vulnerable positions in order to create transformation. This is no easy task, and it was my privilege to have learned from and participated alongside you in it.

Invisible Policy Brokers: The Political Roles of Interpreters in Educational Policy Negotiations With Language Minoritized Mothers

“…This study is part of a larger critical ethnography of language policy (Hornberger & Johnson, 2011;Madison, 2011) where I partnered with newly arrived mothers and local educators to understand how educational language policy shapes access for families and how families could shape policies from 2016 to 2018 (Stephens, 2018). The study traced multiple layers of educational policy in the Riverbend 2 district, with an explicit goal of centering the experiences mothers and families and data collection spanning from district offices and schools to homes and communities.…”

“…In this study, I analyze a subset of data from a larger critical ethnography of language policy and social identity in a midwestern school district with a growing population of students designated as English learners (ELs) (Stephens, 2018). The need to focus on language access arose across 2 years of critical ethnographic fieldwork with mothers in homes, schools, classrooms, community spaces, and district administrative offices.…”

“This is our country, too”: Embodied Experiences of and Resistance to Neo‐nationalism in a Midwest School District

“…This study is part of a larger, 3‐year critical ethnography of language policy (Stephens, 2018) analyzing and addressing the interplay between language policy processes and social identity development for newly arrived families of students designated as ELL in a public school district (PSD). During the extensive fieldwork, I conducted ethnographic research across layers of language policy activity in schools, homes, multiple community spaces, and the district administrative offices.…”

“…Today, as in the past, nationalist discourses are linked to educational language programming structures at the macro level, often inspiring English‐only policies and monoglossic conceptualizations of schooling (Johnson et al., 2018; Ovando, 2010; Wiley & Wright, 2004). In the Midwestern state where this study took place, historical discourses of nationalism and nativism were encoded in the state's English‐only and language education policies (Johnson et al., 2018; Stephens, 2018). These policies have predominantly engendered English‐dominant school programs, as the vast majority of language education programming models in the state situate English as the medium of instruction and the language of school success.…”

“…The larger research project of which this study is a part is a multilayered critical ethnography focused on language policy and social identity development in a Midwestern public school district (PSD) (Stephens, 2018). Educational language policy—defined as “the official and unofficial policies that are created across multiple layers and institutional contexts (from national organizations to classrooms) that impact language use and education in schools,” (Johnson, 2011, p. 77)—was the focus of the larger study.…”