Popular views about language and how children and youth learn language are based mainly in cognitive approaches in support of a common knowledge theory of language development. This common theory feeds into the efforts to increase teacher and learner accountability as measured on narrow assessments of what it means to use language well and in…

Increasingly, mainstream teachers rather than specialist language teachers (English as a Second Language, bilingual teachers) are expected to work with English language learners (ELLs) in their classrooms. This reality has drawn attention to the quality and content of the teacher preparation for this group of ELL teachers. Situated within this…

The exploration into cultural practices occurring in households has become more fluid and transparent process thanks to the presence of mobile technologies that allow members of a group to capture daily occurrences. This case study explored ways in which three Latino preservice teachers used mobile devices to discover connections between…

Relying on life history and memory as methodology, this essay unearths the memories of schooling of five Mexican American teachers at a dual-language school in San Antonio, locating their memories of trauma within the history of language oppression and cultural exclusion in U.S. public schools. In re(membering) their schooling experiences as…

This pedagogical reflection essay considers how teacher candidates can use their own lived experiences, biculturalism, and bilingualism as sources of pedagogy and empowerment for not only marginalized Latino students but for themselves, too. The learning of this pedagogy and ability to empower comes from the interactions they have with…

From the start, NLERAP has been based on two major premises: one is that a sociocultural and sociopolitical approach to learning is more effective than a traditional approach, particularly in the case of populations that have historically been marginalized through their education; and the second is that research is more meaningful and inclusive…

In this article, the authors examine some of the historical instructional approaches that have been used with Latino/a students, and they analyze the impact these have had on their educational experiences and outcomes. They also highlight some participatory action research projects and culturally responsive pedagogy as promising instructional…

This is a research study of secondary science teacher professional development, in which 30 teachers learned about and implemented a series of teaching strategies aimed at increasing the participation and learning of English Learners in schools serving largely Latino immigrant communities within California's Central Valley. This study focuses on…

Books written and illustrated by Chicano authors and illustrators give young Chicano students a different perspective to life that contrasts that of traditional school textbooks. They depict life as it was and continues to be. However, during the past few years, educational policy and law in California has imposed a strong focus on the teaching of…

California and the rest of the United Sates are undergoing significant challenges in providing educational opportunities for an increasingly diverse population. These challenges include inadequate literacy and numeracy skills among large segments of the student and adult populations; an ongoing shift in the demographic profile of the population,…