Kerry Jones-Golembeski - Student Research and Creativity Forum - Hofstra University

Failureandthe DiscourseofCaring: HowLatinoBoysSee ThemselvesasReaders andWriters

Author Kerry Jones-Golembeski, PhD Candidate, Literacy Studies

This critical ethnography studies five Latino boys, their parents and teachers and how they see themselves as part of the academic community in a public middle school on eastern Long Island Students were observed in classes and students, parents and teachers were interviewed Each interview was recorded and transcribed Tables were created that identified themes Pragmatic Horizon Analysis was used to understand the nuances of the participants’ responses

Research Questions

What is the discourse of caring surrounding middle school Latino boys, their parents and teachers? What is its impact on how they see themselves as readers and writers?

How do middle school Latino boys experience the pedagogical practices of largely White teachers?

How can we, as teachers, fully and authentically, value our students and their assets so they feel a part of the academic community?

Findings

When defining caring, all members gave similar definitions that described relational caring

When asked how teachers show caring, most members of the study gave examples of virtue caring

The boys felt comfortable in the academic community; some of their proudest moments were as students

All of the boys and their parents had aspirations of graduating high school and pursuing a career

Parents believed teachers were partners in learning; teachers felt parents did not care for their child’s education

While the teachers cared for the students, they did not believe they would move onto higher education

Pragmatic

Conclusions

Latinx students benefit from a combination of virtue and relational caring: They want someone to care about them personally and professionally

Low impact communication between parents and teachers should increase, such as parent-teacher conferences and spend less time and resources on digital methods of communication

Teachers need to question how their raciolinguistic positioning lowers their expectations for students; teachers of bilingual students need to address student assets

Fernández L 2002) Te ingstoresaboutschoo usngcrtca raceand atnocrtca theorestodocument atna atnoeducatonandresstance Qua tatveInqu y 8(1 45–65 Fo es N Le s M C &Ph ong J 2018 Raco ng stcch onotopesandtheed catono atn st dents esstance andanxety nab ngua schoo LanguageandCommuncaton PartA 62 15–25 Garza R (2009 Latno and whte hgh schoo students perceptons of ca ing behavo s a e we cutura y responsve oo rst dents?UrbanEd ca ion 44(3 297–321 Gee J (1994) What s teracy? Rew i ing teracy Cul ure and the Dscourse o the O her edted by C Mtche & K We er 3–11 NewYork Guterrez K D (2008 Deveopng a sococrtca teracy n the thrd space Reading Research Quartery 43(2) 148–164 Heath S B 1983 WayswthWords Language Li e andWork nCommuntesand Cass oo s Ca b dgeU e styP ess Ca b dge Jeong H (2021 Agency and pedagogy n te acy educaton oward cul ura y sustanng pedagogy for immigrant adoescents Journa ofAsanPacfcCommuncaton 31 1) 79–99 Ladson-Bl ngs G (2021 Crtca RaceTheory nEducaton ASchoarsJourney TeachersCo egeP ess Matas C E & Mackey J 2015) B eakn Down Whteness n Antracs Teachng Introducng Crtca Whteness Pedagogy M s K 2011) The Mut teraces Cassroom B isto Bue Rdge Summt Mut ingua Matters https//do org 1021832/9781847693204 Noddings, N. (2013). Caring a relational approach to ethics & moral education (Second edition, updated). University of California Press. February 10, 2024. Street B V (2011 Lteracy nequa tes ntheoryandpractce thepowe tonameanddefne Inte natona Journa of Educato a De eop e t 31(6 580–586 V apando O (2004 Practca consdera ons o crtca race theory and Latno crtca theory for La ino co ege students NewDrectonsforStuden Se vces 2004 105) 41–50 Related Literature LITERATUREREVIEW METHODOLOGY THEORETICALFRAMEWORK

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Kerry Jones-Golembeski - Student Research and Creativity Forum - Hofstra University

Published on May 20, 2024

Hofstra University

This critical ethnography studies five Latino boys, their parents and teachers and how they see themselves as part of the academic community in a public middle school on eastern Long Island. Students were observed in classes and students, parents and teachers were interviewed. Each interview was recorded and transcribed. Tables were created that identified themes. The study supports the idea that some misconceptions are based on racial positioning, specifically in the teachers’ idea of caring. Parents’ lack of access to education as children and linguistic barriers resulted in parents limiting their contact with teachers, which led to misconceptions among teachers as well. It suggests that Latino parents care for their child’s schooling by speaking with their children, but do not feel comfortable reaching out to teachers. For more information: https://sites.hofstra.edu/research-day/2024/05/20/kerry-jones-golembeski/