Welcoming the World's Children: Building Teachers' Understanding of Immigration through Writing and Children's Literature

Dialoging About English Learners: Preparing Teachers Through Culturally Relevant Literature Circles

“…Whereas past research indicates the efficacy of children's and adolescent literature to impact candidates' perceptions of cultural diversity (Florio-Ruane, 2001;Labbo, 2007;Lohfink & Curtis, 2011;Nathenson-Mejia & Escamilla, 2003), results from this study demonstrate how texts serve as windows, mirrors, and sliding glass doors (Bishop, 1990) for exploration of the lives and realities of linguistically diverse children and families. In addition to the theme of immigration (Gregor & Green, 2011), literature circle participants collaboratively explored themes and ideas specific to linguistically diverse students, such as (a) students' social and emotional uncertainties about learning and not learning English when starting in U.S. schools, as reflected in teachers' dialog about Amada (Pérez, 2009), (b) students' and families' social and emotional circumstances related to immigration, such as discrimination and extended time away from families and friends, as represented in various texts (Anzaldua, 1997;Medina, 2001;Pérez, 2009), (c) students' and families' negotiation of cultural differences between schools in their native countries and in the U.S., as exhibited in discourse about Jorge (Medina, 2001), (d) students' complex roles as translators and language brokers and the corresponding benefits and demands, emergent from the conversation about Shota (Bateson-Hill, 2001), and (e) teachers' deficit-based perspectives that can pervade expectations of ELs, as well as the importance of native language support and assessment in academic instruction, exhibited in responses to culturally relevant poetry (Medina, 2001). By utilizing texts that highlight the perspective of the linguistically diverse child, teachers explore the social, emotional, cultural, and linguistic dimensions of children and families (Heineke et al, 2012;Wrigley, 2000) that get overshadowed in the staunch focus on academics in contemporary educational settings (Herrera, 2010).…”

“…Approached through methods courses specifically focused on children's literature for elementary candidates (Gregor & Green, 2011;Lohfink & Curtis, 2011) or adolescent literature for middle school and secondary candidates (Wood, Roser, & Martínez, 2001), extant research has demonstrated the efficacy of multicultural literature to allow teacher candidates opportunities to (a) embrace positive cultural sensitivity (Labbo, 2007), (b) foster cultural expression through text-to-self connections (Wood et al, 2001), (c) develop awareness of and select culturally relevant materials (Lohfink & Curtis, 2011), (d) identify with diverse students (Nathenson-Mejia & Escamilla, 2003), and (e) explore specific issues impacting diverse children, such as immigration (Gregor & Green, 2011). Whereas past studies have demonstrated the value of multicultural texts for individual teacher development around culture, this study emphasizes the collaborative lens of interaction within the pedagogical structure of literature circles, specifically focused on teachers' and candidates' learning for ELs and linguistically diverse students, families, and communities.…”

Mülteci̇li̇k Temali Çocuk Edebi̇yati Ürünleri̇ni̇n 7. Sinif Türkçe Dersleri̇nde Öğrenci̇leri̇n Mülteci̇lere Yöneli̇k Tutumlarina Etki̇si̇

“…İlgili araştırmalara bakıldığında genellikle mültecilik temalı çocuk edebiyatı ürünleri kapsamındaki eserlerin öğretmenlere ve öğretmen adaylarına yönelik çeşitli etkileri üzerinde durulduğu anlaşılmaktadır. Gregor ve Green (2011), Nathenson Mejía ve , , Cruz (2020), Lee (2016), Iwai (2017) bu çerçevede araştırmalarını yürütmüşlerdir. Campos (2018), üniversite öğrencilerinin yoksulluğu ve göçü anlamaları, çok kültürlülüğü kavramaları için çocuk edebiyatından yararlanılması üzerine bir araştırma yapmıştır.…”