sociolinguistics and education
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Sociolinguistics and Education. December 19, 2006 Kendra Winner. Agenda. Administration: Kendra’s Thank You! Scheduling Party Second Set of Take-home essays Finishing up Academic Language … Knowing without knowing Educational Implications of Sociolinguistics Course Evaluations. - PowerPoint PPT PresentationTRANSCRIPT
Sociolinguistics and Education
December 19, 2006
Kendra Winner
Agenda Administration:
Kendra’s Thank You! Scheduling Party Second Set of Take-home essays
Finishing up Academic Language … Knowing without knowing Educational Implications of Sociolinguistics Course Evaluations
Administration Kendra’s Thank You! Course Party
5 LaGrange St., Winchester, MA 01890 Wednesday, January 31 Pot luck What time?
Second set of take home essays Your questions Second set of take home essays will also be available on the course
web site. Essays due to Alicia Redemske in Larsen 317 by 4:00 pm on January
8. Don’t hesitate to contact Kendra with questions
What are the implications of sociolinguistics?
Educationally, politically or otherwise?
“Knowing without knowing” “Mistakes were made.” “I made mistakes.”
Richgels, D. (2004). Paying attention to language. Reading Research Quarterly 39, pp. 470-477
In this community we have large numbers of Black families which are stable and in which both parents are well-to-do, educated, professionals, upholding all the virtues that are assumed to be prerequisites of educational success. And yet, the children of these families still seem to under-perform when compared with similar white families. What is going on?
Singham, 1997
Ogbu (2003) Black American Students in an Affluent
Suburb: A study of academic disengagement Shaker Heights
Upper middle-class suburb outside Cleveland, OH Roughly one third of the community at the time of the
study was African American Median family income of $66,000 33% of Black households and 58% of White
households had incomes in the $50,000 to $100,000 range.
Excellent highschool, 85% of graduates go on to college.
Comparative Test ScoresNon-SH Blacks
SH Blacks SH Whites
Math 21% 37% 98%
Reading 64% 83% 99%
Writing 45% 77% 95%
Science 23% 48% 95%
SAT scores
(1996)
V 464
M 441
V 485
M 471
V 600
M 598
Major Findings: Students “Low effort syndrome”
Norm of minimum effort Peer pressure Negative assessment of courses Expectation of extrinsic motivation
Major Findings: Parents Parent expectations Lack of implementation of parental
expectation School involvement Home involvement
Major Findings: Explanations Assessment of opportunity structure Collective identity
Practice & Pedagogy in Predominantly Black Classrooms: Four ‘Successful’ White TeachersHeather Harding
Taken from an April 4, 2006 Presentation at Harvard Graduate School of Education
Research Design Context
Metropolitan area of a large, Northeastern city Student populations upwards of 70% Black students Four different middle school contexts: charter, in-district
charter, K-8, and comprehensive Participants
Nominated by administrators as “successful” Three women & one man, ranging teaching experience
from 5-20+ years Math, Science, and Social Studies content
Themes of Pedagogy and Practice Structure, consistency, and routines Respectful, caring student-teacher
relationships and cultural relevance Rigor as high expectations and standards of
quality requiring “hard work” Pedagogy of social justice
Structure Explicit teaching of how to ‘do school’ Consistency in classroom routine, standards
of behavior, and engagement in learning Structure as caring (e.g. community, teams,
family) Alignment w/external accountability
measures
Rigor High expectations
Goals for students Quality of work Relevance & rationale
Narrative of hard work for both students and teachers
Relationships Expressing care & love Sense of humor Connecting to kids culturally
Knowing families and community Culturally relevant curriculum
Pedagogy of Social Justice A recognition of inequality Teaching as “a fight for equality” Managing Whiteness to counteract perceived
racism
The Racialization of Practice The countering of stereotypes of Black students The performance of Whiteness
Special > Radical Disassociated Post-Colorblind > Race cognizant (Frankenberg)
The acknowledgement of structural inequality
Expectations The power of expectancy effects lies not in
momentary beliefs, brief teacher-student interactions, and single outcomes but rather in the cumulative consequences of entrenched beliefs about ability over the course of a school career.
“individual and collective behavior both reflect as well as influence the context in which they occur (Bronfenbrener, 1979)
Implications for PedagogyChallenges Teaching critical consciousness Re-centering of Whiteness
Benefits Just “good teaching” (Hilliard & Ladson-
Billings) The impact of accountability & standards