Engaging the Disengaged: The Zone of Proximal Distance between Deliberately Silenced Educators and Preferably Unheard Latino Immigrant Parents
Abstract
The five Latino parents in the three ethnographic case studies presented in this document were experienced with stepping into third space zones of discomfort as undocumented immigrants unwelcome to the United States. They could have chosen to remain silent and invisible. Instead, they entered third space visibility that amplified their presence and voice as immigration reform activists. They recognized and accepted the risks of amplified outspoken visibility: possible deportation and family separation. They also acknowledged the risks of silent submission and invisibility: vulnerability to exploitation and generational disempowerment. They created disruptive third space forms of civic engagement that synergistically produced hybrid literacies of hope. I use the term hybrid literacies of hope to help us think about the transformative funds of knowledge that may emerge from participatory third space dialogue and mobilization of Community Cultural Wealth (Yosso, 2002) with social justice in mind. In using the term hybrid literacies of hope, I also draw from Paulo Freire's position that hope and education are inextricably linked to the process of conscientização (2004; 2009). Findings suggest that immigrant parents drew from aspirational, spiritual, navigational, and resistance capital to organize, mobilize, create, and implement strategic third space platforms to enhance hybrid dialogues that increase their visibility and amplify their voice. As educators, what might we learn from these findings to strengthen parental engagement and family leadership to improve academic success for Emergent Bilinguals? Community cultural wealth offers an opportunity for self-reflection with possibilities to explore pathways that strengthen connections between educators and the Emergent Bilingual families served by their schools.
Subject Area
Bilingual education|Teacher education|Multicultural Education
Recommended Citation
Velázquez, José Antonio, "Engaging the Disengaged: The Zone of Proximal Distance between Deliberately Silenced Educators and Preferably Unheard Latino Immigrant Parents" (2021). ETD Collection for University of Texas, El Paso. AAI28718884.
https://scholarworks.utep.edu/dissertations/AAI28718884