Sociolinguistics and Education

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