Latina Bilingual Education Teachers

Examining Structural Racism in Schools

Yukari Amos, Yukari Takimoto Amos

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2018
• eBook ISBN:
  9781351691239
• Topic: Education
• Subtopic: Education General

Using critical race theory and whiteness studies as theoretical frameworks, this book traces two Latina bilingual education teachers in three different professional phases: as paraprofessionals, teacher candidates, and certified teachers. Grounded in a longitudinal case study, this book sheds light on the effects of institutional racism when Latina/o educational professionals attempt inclusion in white dominant organizations, such as schools. Revealing and analyzing the structural racism present in schools and the obstacles it creates for professionals of color, the author exposes the racist practices that are hidden from view and offer practical solutions to combat them.

1
Introduction

Latina/o Teacher Career Pathway

This book explores how individuals of color are affected by structural racism when they attempt to make an upward mobility in a white dominated organization called school. To accomplish this purpose, the book traces two Latina individuals who currently teach bilingual education as certified teachers at four different life stages: when they were pupils at K-12, when they were paraprofessionals, when they were teacher candidates at a university, and after they started teaching at public school.

Latinas/os are the largest minority group in the U.S. and comprise of approximately 17.6% of the nation’s total population (U.S. Census Bureau, 2016). In the year 2014–15 alone Latinas/os added 1.2 million people to the nation’s population. This number is nearly half of the approximately 2.5 million people added in the same year (U.S. Census Bureau, 2016). It is estimated that Latinas/os will constitute 28.6% of the nation’s population in 2060 (U.S. Census Bureau, 2016). Although Latinas/os encompass all people groups from Latin America, 63.4% of Latinas/os in the U.S. are of Mexican origin (U.S. Census Bureau, 2016).

Latina/o’s population growth is certainly reflected in the nation’s schools as well. Racial and ethnic minorities are a growing segment of the K-12 student population in the U.S. with approximately 54% being students of color in 2013 (National Center for Education Statistics, 2016). Among the population of students of color, the number of Latina/o students enrolled in elementary and secondary schools increased from 19% in 2003 to 25% in 2012 (NCES, 2016), reaching approximately 12.5 million students. The 2050 estimate claims that Latina/o students will comprise approximately 29% of all students in U.S. K-12 public schools (NCES, 2016). In 2013, the percentage of children under 18 living in poverty was highest for African American children (28%), followed by Latina/o children (27%) and Asian children (14%) (Musu-Gillette, Robinson, McFarland, KewalRamani, Zhang, Wilkinson-Flicker, 2016). Among 4.9 million English learners in the nation’s public schools (10% of all students), 3.8 million students (8% of all students) spoke Spanish as their native language (NCES, 2017).

With the increased Latina/o student population it would be reasonable to expect that there has been increased number of Latina/o teachers as well. However, this is not the reality. In general, the proportion of students of color in schools has remained far greater than that of teachers of color. For example, in the 2011–12 academic year Latina/o teachers consisted of only 7.8% of all teachers, only slightly greater than the number of African American teachers (6.8%) (Ingersoll, Merrill, & Stuckey, 2014). The population of both Latina/o teachers and teachers of color in general has not caught up with student demographic change. In 2004 the National Collaborative on Diversity in the Teaching Force reported that about 40% of schools had no minority teachers. In the 2011–12 school year only 17.3% of all elementary and secondary teachers were people of color (Ingersoll et al., 2014).

Research suggests that increasing the racial diversity of classroom teachers benefits the increasingly diverse student population because teachers of color tend to have high expectations of students of color, use culturally relevant teaching, serve as advocates for students of color, and confront racism through teaching (Basit & McNamara, 2004; Villegas & Irvine, 2010; Villegas & Lucas, 2004), all of which directly contribute to students of color’s academic achievement. Nevertheless, teachers of color remain a minority population in an increasingly diverse public school system. With the dominance of white teachers unlikely to change soon, the shortage of teachers of color is a grave concern to anyone involved in teaching.

Latinas/os Becoming Teachers

A close examination of the process of Latinas/os becoming teachers informs us why we constantly suffer a shortage of teachers of color in general and Latina/o teachers in particular.

Academic Performance of Latina/o Students at K-12

Becoming a teacher requires one to meet several criteria. Ocasio (2014) asserts that a candidate needs to achieve a certain level of education as well as holding aspirations to continue going to school, earn a specialized degree, and attain a teaching position. Meeting all these criteria can be made possible only with solid academic standing.

Although the achievement gap between the dominant white group and Latinas/os in reading and mathematics has narrowed, the gap still exists. In 2013, at Grade 12, the white-Latina/o gap in reading was 22 points, while in mathematics, it was 21 points (Musu-Gillette et al., 2016), and this gap has been consistent throughout K-12. Rumberger and Angulano (2004) contend that Latina/o students are disadvantaged even before they enter kindergarten, suggesting that the achievement gap between Latinas/os and other groups begins early. The fact that a significant number of Latina/o students are English learners and kindergarten has the highest concentration of English learners (Musu-Gillette et al., 2016) may partially contribute to an early achievement gap.

At high school, according to Swail, Cabrera, and Lee (2004), Latina/o students are more likely to be held back in school, take lower forms of mathematics, change high schools more than twice, leave high school before graduation, and earn a general equivalency diploma. For example, in 2013, only 10% of Latina/o students earned the highest math course credit in calculus compared to 18% of white students (Musu-Gillette et al., 2016). Lower math achievement is said to be a predictor of a reduced likelihood of completing high school and limited admission to postsecondary institutions (Crisp & Nora, 2010; Swail et al., 2004). Lower grades and lower standardized test scores are also frequently seen among Latina/o students (Becerra, 2012). From 1990 to 2013, the high school dropout rate among 16- to 24-year old Latina/o students dramatically decreased, from 32 to 12%. Nevertheless, this rate is still significantly higher than that of African American students (7%) and white students (5%) (Musu-Gillette et al., 2016).

How Latina/o students are taught and treated at K-12 seems to be related to the alarming statistics listed above. Latina/o students are more likely to learn from under-trained and noncredentialed teachers (Darling-Hammond, 2010), attend overcrowded schools, and experience minimal support in addressing their unique learning styles (Clark, Ponjuan, Orrock, Wilson, & Flores, 2013). Studies further found that Latina/o students are often not encouraged to take college preparation courses, lack support and guidance from counselors or ill-advised by them, and tracked into lower level courses throughout their schooling (Vela-Gude, Cavazos, Johnson, Fielding, Campos, & Rodriguez, 2009). Since student feelings of belonging in school directly correlate to academic competence and expectations (Hernández, Robins, Widaman, & Conger, 2016), a lack of support and low expectations manifested by teachers, counselors, and administrators at school naturally inhibit Latina/o high school students from moving on to higher education. Simply said, many Latina/o students lack preparation for college (Downs, Martin, Fossum, Martinez, Solorio, & Martinez 2008; Swail et al., 2004), and without a bachelor’s degree none can become a teacher.

College Enrollment and Retention, and Teacher Education

Academic achievement and college preparedness directly reflect the college enrollment rate for any groups: 42% of 18- to 24-year-old whites enrolled in college in 2013, while 34% of Latinas/os in the same age group did (Musu-Gillette et al., 2016). On top of Latinas/os’ lower college enrollment rates, their retention is subject to the revolving door syndrome, a cycle where Latina/o students enter higher education, drop out, and are subsequently replaced by new Latina/o students (Castellanos & Jones, 2003). Although Latina/o students’ enrollment in college has increased, more than half of them enroll in community colleges. In fact, Latinas/os are more likely than any other racial and ethnic group to choose a community college rather than a four-year institution (Krogstad, 2016). Although community colleges are thought to serve as a gateway to enrollment at four-year institutions, Latina/o students have low transfer, retention, and graduation rates at four-year institutions (Carolan-Silva & Reyes, 2013). A teaching certificate usually requires a bachelor’s degree. Thus, neither the lower retention and graduation rate nor the lower transfer rate to a four-year institution contributes to increased numbers of Latina/o teachers.

In order to obtain a teaching license, one usually needs to go through a teacher education program at college. Unfortunately, the number of students of color in these programs is disproportionately low (Darling-Hammond, Chung, & Frelow, 2002; Irizarry & Raible, 2011). In 2012–13, 7% of white students received a bachelor’s degree in education, while only 4% of African American students, 4% of Latina/o students, and 2% of Asian students received the same (Musu-Gillette et al., 2016). Many factors account for the underrepresentation of people of color in teacher education programs. Gordon (1994) listed three main reasons why students of color do not choose teaching: negative educational experiences, cultural and community concerns, and social and economic obstacles. The work of Hollins and Guzman (2005) highlights the sociocultural obstacles faced by students of color, noting the basic fact that most teacher candidates of color are prepared in programs where the majority of their peers are white. This reality frequently leaves students of color feeling uncomfortable and out of place within teacher education programs (Gomez, Rodriguez, Agosto, 2008; Salinas & Castro, 2010). In this sense, Robinson, Paccione, and Rodriguez (2003) were accurate: the issue of retention of students of color through teacher education programs is indeed problematic.

The fact that students of color frequently feel uncomfortable and sometimes experience hostility from their white counterparts in teacher education programs is well-documented. These studies highlight the alienating and unsupportive environments where teachers of color across different races experience a disconnection from the larger program community and a sense of “not seeing themselves” in teacher education (Brown, 2014). A sense of alienation emerges in white dominated teacher training program where students of color feel stereotyped, feel the weight of prejudice, and are reminded of the existence of racism. Teacher candidates of color are frequently made to feel invisible. They describe their white peers as displaying racial stereotypes and prejudices, being socially blind, unable to recognize or acknowledge the reality of racism as it exists on many sociocultural levels in the United States (Frank, 2003; Gomez et al., 2008; Nguyen, 2008). As a result, teacher candidates of color describe not feeling safe to speak up in predominantly white teacher education programs. The negative interactions with white peers sometimes intensify in multicultural education classes where many white students tend to express strong resistance. Sheets and Chew (2002), for example, found that Chinese American teacher candidates in a multicultural education class were disgusted, angered, and disturbed by comments made by white students and eventually became silent under the pressure of majority disapproval. In Amos’s (2016) study, four female teacher candidates of color (including two Latinas) were afraid that they might be labeled as the ones who spoke up against white students and were fearful of the possibility of retaliation and ostracism from their white peers.

As Lewis, Chesler, and Forman (2000) suggest, white students’ behaviors such as colorblindness and racial and ethnic stereotyping have a negative impact on students of color. Clearly, this situation is not encouraging for students of color who aspire to become teachers. The frustration students of color frequently experience with white peers at predominantly white teacher education programs adds psychological burdens to students who need to concentrate on their college-level studies. At worse, it prevents them from pursuing careers in the teaching profession.

Paraprofessionals

One promising strategy for increasing the number of teachers of color in general and Latina/o teachers in particular is to tap the paraprofessional pool. Paraprofessionals, frequently called teacher aides, perform a variety of tasks. They may work as media center aides, computer lab assistants or interpreters for students with limited English skills. They may also work as teacher assistants providing instructional support services under the supervision of a teacher. Nationwide, paraprofessionals account for 12% of full-time staff at school (Hoffman & Sable, 2006), and the majority of instructional paraprofessionals are assigned to the areas of special education, Title I, ESL/bilingual, and library/media (NCES, 2007).

The route to a teaching career via a paraprofessional career is an important one, especially for Latina/o teacher candidates (Ocasio, 2014). Considering the higher poverty rate among Latinas/os (23.5%), with 62% of them holding a high school diploma or less in 2014 (Stepler & Brown, 2016), many Latinas/os who aspire to become teachers simply lack the financial means or education necessary to pursue a bachelor’s degree. Becoming a paraprofessional is often a path these Latinas/os choose because it usually does not require a degree beyond high school. With the increasing number of Spanish-speaking students entering public schools, Latina/o paraprofessionals’ Spanish language skills are highly desired. Ocasio (2014) conc...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title
• Copyright
• Dedication
• Contents
• Foreword
• Acknowledgements
• 1 Introduction: Latina/o Teacher Career Pathway
• 2 Growing Up, K-12 Schooling, and Working as Paraprofessionals
• 3 Becoming Teachers of Color
• 4 Teaching at Public Schools: Workplace Environment
• 5 Teaching With Warmth and Demands
• 6 Conclusion: Latina/o Teachers Advancing in the Profession
• Index