Intersectionality of Demographics and Bilingual Learners
“Education either functions as an instrument that is used to facilitate the integration of the younger generation into the logic of the present system and bring about conformity to it, or it becomes “the practice of freedom,” the means by which men and women deal critically and creatively with reality and discover how to participate in the transformation of their world.” -Paulo Freire, Pedagogy of the Oppressed
Dramatic increases in the number of English language learners in United States public schools have been well documented, with even greater growth projected in the coming decades. It is often stated that the Unites States is a land of immigrants, but too often many find themselves as a marginalized and underserved population. Albeit, our nation is rapidly becoming increasingly more culturally and linguistically diverse as an estimated one in five children now live in homes in which a language other than English is spoken. Students who are language minorities have been identified as the fastest growing segment of the school population (Wagner, Francis, & Morris, 2005). It has been estimated that by 2030, up to 40% of the school population may speak English as a second language (U.S. Department of Education, 2010). According to data gathered by the Pew Research Center (2015), there has been a fourfold increase since 1960 when only 9.7 million immigrants lived in the United States, accounting for 5.4% of the total population to a record 43.2 million immigrants living in the United States in 2015, making up 13.4% of the nation’s population.
English language learners face unique challenges but also represent a tremendous asset for our country if their full potential can be unearthed and harnessed. The proportion of English language learners in the United States from homes where a non-English language is spoken is projected to nearly double from 21% in 2009 to 40% in 2030; the majority of them come from primarily Spanish- speaking homes 71% (National Center for Education Statistics, 2010; Thomas & Collier, 2002). Texas has a large number of English language learners whose enrollment in the public-school system ranks among the top 10 states in the nation. According to data by the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of English Language Acquisition (2018), English language learners speak over 400 different languages, but more than three-quarters of all English language learners speak Spanish. Spanish was reported as the language most commonly spoken by English language learners at home in 45 states and the District of Columbia, and in all but seven of those states, more than 50 percent of the English language learners in the state spoke Spanish at home.
As such an estimated one in five children now live in homes in which a language other than English is spoken; impressing upon us the importance of meeting the needs of a more culturally and linguistically diverse school-age student population. As our U.S. society and nation become progressively more diverse, we must look beyond the school walls toward families and communities as resources for fostering both academic and social success for all involved. Due to our changing demographics, teachers must have an inclusive and comprehensive understanding of how to best bridge the gap between home and school by developing and fostering strong home-school relationships. These educational partnerships harness a wealth of opportunity and possibility for our students.
Between 1980 and 2009, the number of school-age children ranging in ages from 5 to 17 years of age in the United States who spoke a language other than English at home increased from 4.7 (10%) to 11.2 (21%) million. Of these students, more than 85% identify as being of Latino origin (National Center for Education Statistics, 2013). Future projections suggest that in 20 years, about 1 in 6 U.S. residents will be of Hispanic origin and by the middle of the century—when today’s young children are middle-aged—this ratio will increase to about 1 in 4. The Latino population has grown dramatically in recent years, now comprising 12.5 percent of the total U.S. population, with Mexican Americans making up 58% of all Latinos. As a result of the extensive immigration from Mexico, 79 percent of school-age children are native Spanish speakers (Garcia, 2002). By the year 2030, the U.S. Census Bureau projections suggest that Latino students age 5-18 will number almost 16 million—25 percent of the total school population.
Teachers living and working in the Southern tip of Texas along the Texas-Mexican border have felt the impact that these demographics affirm and know all too well the urgent need for establishing strong educational partnerships. The border regions are distinguished by their poverty level and the high number of Spanish speakers. Sixty-eight percent of border region public school students are economically disadvantaged, and seventy-seven percent are Hispanic limited English proficient students (Sharp, 1998). Many live in colonias which are described as areas where people settle and live that are characterized as “pockets of extreme poverty” and many are located in areas alongside the United States and Mexico border, such as the Rio Grande Valley (Sharp, 1998, p. 91). Further, these colonia areas are best described as “subdivisions established in unincorporated areas” that lack such basic services as paved roads, potable water, sewage connections, and electricity, and are “characterized by extreme poverty and population density” (Sharp, 1998, p. 92). The average annual income for these colonia families is $7,000 to $11,000 and typical households’ number five or more residents (Sharp, 1998). In a highly Hispanic populated geographic border region such as the Rio Grande Valley, with its close proximity to the Mexican border, a need exists to establish educational partnerships to magnify and support communication between schools, families, and communities. As such, parental engagement and active participation in schools runs in the same vein.
Teachers need to be equipped with the tools and knowledge to best meet the needs of diverse learners as well as knowledge of the importance of helping these children succeed in our schools; subsequently, easing the transition between home and school while establishing and nurturing those relationships. With a dominant Spanish speaking population of Mexican descent, as that of children living in the Southern tip of the Texas-Mexican border, known as The Rio Grande Valley, barriers such as low social economic status and limited English proficiency may impede the much-needed communication between schools, parents, and communities. These barriers must be broken if the goal is for students to succeed in schools. Ultimately, leveraging students’ cultural and social capital will benefit them when we counter deficit perspectives by breaking down barriers and establishing bridges. As such, developing resilient and strong home-school relationships is fundamental for students’ achievement and success. It is vital to create and sustain relationships that ultimately promote and advocate student accomplishment.