Beyond the “English Learner” Frame: Transnational Funds of Knowledge in Social Studies

Authors

  • Dafney Blanca Dabach University of Washington
  • Aliza Fones University of Washington

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.18251/ijme.v18i1.1092

Keywords:

transnational students, immigrants, teachers, citizenship education, social studies

Abstract

Transnationalism is a phenomenon that has consequences for education, broadly defined. Even as youth engage in transnational practices that expand their knowledge across borders, immigrant students in U.S. schools are often framed narrowly as “English learners” and their forms of knowledge may be erased. Synthesizing literature at the intersection of transnationalism and education, citizenship education, and funds of knowledge, we argue for the necessity of recognizing immigrant youth’s transnational funds of knowledge. We draw from a qualitative study to illustrate how a high school social studies teacher created space for students’ transnational funds of knowledge in the classroom, focusing on a Pakistani student’s return visit to his country of origin. The teacher’s orientation toward students’ transnational funds of knowledge served to counter assimilationist discourses while teaching U.S. civics. This article contributes to understanding how immigrants’ transnational experiences can widen narrow visions of citizen-building in formal schooling and build upon their assets for a more inclusive society. 

Author Biographies

Dafney Blanca Dabach, University of Washington

Dr. Dabach is an Assistant Professor in the College of Education at the University of Washington. Receipent of the Morrison Miller Prize and the AERA Bilingual Education SIG's Outstanding Dissertation Award, she investigates critical issues in immigrant schooling in high school settings as well as teachers' roles in the process of immigrant integration.

Aliza Fones, University of Washington

Aliza Fones is currently a graduate student in Language, Literacy and Culture at the University of Washington.

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Published

2016-02-29

How to Cite

Dabach, D. B., & Fones, A. (2016). Beyond the “English Learner” Frame: Transnational Funds of Knowledge in Social Studies. International Journal of Multicultural Education, 18(1), 7–27. https://doi.org/10.18251/ijme.v18i1.1092

Issue

Section

2016 Special Issue Articles (Peer-reviewed)