Teachers and Staff's Perceptions of an Antiracist and Dual

234 Pages·2016·1.41 MB·English

University of Wisconsin Milwaukee
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Theses and Dissertations
December 2013
Teachers and Staff 's Perceptions of an Antiracist
and Dual Language Bilingual Program at an Urban
School
Ximena Soza
University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee
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Soza, Ximena, "Teachers and Staff's Perceptions of an Antiracist and Dual Language Bilingual Program at an Urban School" (2013).
Theses and Dissertations. 377.
https://dc.uwm.edu/etd/377
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TEACHERS AND STAFF´S PERCEPTIONS
OF THE IMPLEMENTATION OF AN ANTIRACIST
AND DUAL LANGUAGE BILINGUAL PROGRAM
AT AN URBAN SCHOOL

by
Ximena Soza Vergara
A Dissertation Submitted in
Partial Fulfillment of the
Requirements for the Degree of
Doctor of Philosophy
In Urban Education
at
The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee
December, 2013
ABSTRACT
TEACHERS AND STAFF´S PERCEPTIONS OF THE IMPLEMENTATION OF
AN ANTIRACIST AND DUAL LANGUAGE BILINGUAL PROGRAM
AT AN URBAN SCHOOL
by
Ximena Soza Vergara
The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, 2013
Under the supervision of Dr Rene Antrop- González and Dr Raji Swaminathan

This study was conducted in an urban school in the Midwestern region of the
United States that implements a two-way bilingual (English- Spanish) and an antiracist
program. The focus of the study was to learn about the teachers and staff´s perceptions
of these two programs. While the study revealed challenges in both programs that can
weaken their implementation; most teachers and staff at the school shared a common
understanding about antiracist principles. However The school’s dual language program
was subtractive to minority students (Valenzuela, 1999) since the quality of the Spanish
language and culture offered at the school was limited. Highlighting the majority
language over the minority language and depriving minority students from developing
their language and culture, resulted in the school’s perpetration of linguistic racism,
contradicting the antiracist values they aim to promote through their antiracist program.

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These findings based on the school’s teachers and staff insight cam help analyze
and improve both programs in the school, as well as antiracist and dual language
programs in general.

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Copy right by Ximena Soza, 2013
All rights reserve
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Dedication
I dedicate this work to whom I dedicate all my creations, those who I
admire the most, those who have filled with light all the dark corners of my life;
my sons Relmu Manque and Antv Ñankv Antinao Soza, also to who rescued me
from my childhood and who showed me that the struggle for social justice was
necessary; my brother and sister, Nelson and Carolina Soza. And to those who
came after us and have created a path for themselves; my bothers Miguel and
Alonso and for my nieces and nephews who are ahead of us, as it should be.
I dedicate the long hours I worked, while he cooked, cleaned, droved and
loved, to my husband Cristian Munoz. I also dedicate it to the friends that put up
with me and believed I could do this when I did not; Sue Pezanoski-Browne,
Anne Mansfield, Dale Wise, Dinorah Marquez, Naomi Lara, Fernando
Cañizaris, Ed Weinstein and Marci Valdivieso and, to Natalia Lagos just for
being there, like she always has.
I dedicate this work to all the students that have taught me to be a teacher
and the teachers that allowed me to be myself in their classrooms. Also to all of
those that knew what they knew because they never went to school teaching me
more than I ever learned in the formal education system and to those that fight
around the world in fierce protests for quality education for all. This work is also
dedicated to Aprendamos’ families and students.
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Finally, I dedicate this work to myself, as proof that I can challenge life
and its bad omens.
Acknowledgments
I will like to acknowledge the help of each of my members for giving me
so many opportunities to grow. Dr Shutz thanks for you rigor, your practical
advice and for standing up for me. Dr Velez thank you for agreeing to take this
risk in such a hectic time. Dr Martell thank you being an inspiration to me and
many Latinos/as, I know your career will fill with pride the name of our people.
Dr Jones thank you for all the hard work that has brought you here and your
fight for public schools. I want to express my infinite gratitude to Dr Antrop-
Gonzalez and Dr Swaminathan for their patience and support and for being key
in the professional and personal journey working in this dissertation has been.
I will like to acknowledge the incredible work of Sarah Jo Heiser, thank
her for receiving my million questions with smiles and chocolates no matter how
silly they were. I would not have made it through this program without her
answers and help with the paper work. I will also like to thank Dr Kailin for her
support in the first part of this road and to Jose Luis Ortega Martin and La
Universidad de Granada, for welcoming one year during my career as a guest
professor.
Lastly I want to thank the UW-Milwaukee’s Education Department, the
Kuehneisen & Eliseo and the William B. Harvey Scholarships for their support,
to the Graduate School and the Department of Latin American And Caribbean
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Studies’ travel awards and especially to the AOP Fellowship program that made
my studies possible.
I must thank the participants from this study, the great family of
Aprendamos School that opened their doors and heart to me.

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Table of Contents

Chapter I..................................................................................................................... 1
Introduction................................................................................................................ 2
Aprendamos ............................................................................................................... 2
Research Problem, Purpose, and Significance of the Study ................................... 3
A Personal Journey; Why I Chose this Research at Aprendamos.......................... 7
How I Found My Way to Aprendamos.................................................................. 13
Conclusion ............................................................................................................... 13
Chapter II ................................................................................................................. 15
Introduction.............................................................................................................. 16
The Concept of Race ............................................................................................... 17
Race Relations ......................................................................................................... 19
Racism ...................................................................................................................... 21
White Privilege ........................................................................................................ 22
Linguistic Racism .................................................................................................... 24
Antiracist Education ................................................................................................ 27
Bilingual Education ................................................................................................. 34
Two-Way Bilingual/Dual Language Bilingual Education.................................... 37
Additive Subtracting Bilingualism and Schooling ................................................ 42
Conceptual Framework ........................................................................................... 48
Critical Pedagogy .................................................................................................... 48
Synthesis .................................................................................................................. 55
ChapterIII ................................................................................................................. 58
Methods.................................................................................................................... 58
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Research Questions ................................................................................................. 59
Main Question ......................................................................................................... 59
Secondary Questions ............................................................................................... 59
An Interview Study Framed Within the Critical Paradigm .................................. 59
Critical Research ..................................................................................................... 60
Critical Researcher .................................................................................................. 63
Interview Methods................................................................................................... 64
Validity in Interview Methods................................................................................ 65
Changes in the Study ............................................................................................... 67
Description of the School Site Aprendamos .......................................................... 67
The vision of Aprendamos includes some of the following statements: ............ 68
Demographics at Aprendamos................................................................................ 71
The Antiracist Program at Aprendamos................................................................. 73
The Dual Language Program at Aprendamos ....................................................... 74
Description of the Location .................................................................................... 76
A Day at Aprendamos ............................................................................................. 77
Participant Recruitment and Selection ................................................................... 79
Background of the Participants............................................................................... 81
Ana ........................................................................................................................... 82
Kathy ........................................................................................................................ 82
Karla ......................................................................................................................... 83
Sabrina...................................................................................................................... 84
Kenya ....................................................................................................................... 86
Sierra ........................................................................................................................ 86
Jennifer ..................................................................................................................... 87
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