• Speaker: Dr. Mark Emerick
• Affiliation: Vassar College
• Date and Time: February 29th, 4:00 PM (in person and via zoom)
• Place: Ritter Hall 211, Temple University;  
• Zoom: https://temple.zoom.us/j/98675509146

Toward More Equitable Career and Technical Education Institutions for Multilingual Learners of English

Abstract: In this presentation, I will draw on the critical race methodology of intersectional counternarratives (e.g., Berry & Cook, 2018) to describe how a career and technical education (CTE) center in the Northeast has attempted to address equity issues for racialized multilingual learners of English (MLs) over the past seven years. I begin with a synthesis of data from the school website, marketing documents, and interviews with school leaders to present the institutional narrative at a regional CTE center which adopted an equity framework. Next, I present a counternarrative drawing on data from interviews with teachers, MLs, and families; internal and external data and documents; and fieldnotes from observations as I worked with the school in a research–practice partnership. I argue that, while school leaders have taken some steps to remediate equity issues, these steps have left deeper structural and systemic inequities intact. In concluding the talk, I will draw connections to research and policy related to equity and access for MLs in U.S. schools and provide some tentative recommendations for ensuring MLs have equitable experiences within CTE programs.