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“Research shows that I am here for them”: Acompañamiento as language policy activism in times of TWBE gentrification

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Abstract

Two-way Bilingual Education (TWBE) programs are currently experiencing gentrification processes that are displacing the original beneficiaries of these programs. These gentrification processes have led to a whitening of bilingual education (Flores and García in Ann Rev Appl Linguist, 37:14–29, 2017) marked by inequities and the dangerous potential to erase Latinx communities and voices. These troubling processes have led to a fourth fundamental goal in TWBE, the development of critical consciousness for all stakeholders (Palmer et al. in Theory into Practice, 58:121–133, 2019). This article examines a fifth-grade TWBE teacher’s (Michelle) centering of the fourth goal and Latinx families being impacted by gentrification and explores: How did Michelle accompany Latinx families and students in the midst of gentrification processes at the neighborhood and school levels? Findings revealed that Michelle’s language policy activism of acompañamiento mitigated and interrogated gentrification processes that were pushing these families out of the neighborhood and schoolwide processes that were now focused on new customers. The discussion points to why a language policy activism of acompañamiento should count as language policy and its succinct connection to TWBE’s fourth goal. We argue that another crucial element of the fourth goal is the enactment of a language policy activism (Flores and Chaparro in Lang Policy 17:365–384, 2018) of acompañamiento; actions and practices in support of communities that experience injustices guided by fellowship and being in relationship with the oppressed.

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Notes

  1. All names used in the article are pseudonyms except Michelle.

  2. We use Two-way Bilingual Education (TWBE) to place emphasis on the “two” language groups and most importantly “Bilingual Education” so as not to erase the sociopolitical facet of programs designed to serve and prioritize language minoritized students.

  3. Freire uses the term “sociopolitical consciousness” interchangeably with “critical consciousness.”.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Teacher Education and Administration, University of North Texas, Denton, TX, USA

    Daniel Heiman

  2. Department of Anthropology, University of North Texas, Denton, TX, USA

    Mariela Nuñez-Janes

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  1. Daniel Heiman
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  2. Mariela Nuñez-Janes
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Both authors contributed to the study conception and design. While the first draft was written by DH, both authors wrote a portion of the theoretical framework and discussion, and each commented on versions of the manuscript. Both authors read and approved the final manuscript.

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Correspondence to Daniel Heiman.

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Heiman, D., Nuñez-Janes, M. “Research shows that I am here for them”: Acompañamiento as language policy activism in times of TWBE gentrification. Lang Policy 20, 491–515 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10993-020-09577-7

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