Critical Educators for Social Justice (CESJ), a SIG of the American Educational Research Association

CESJ Business Meeting

Time: Thursday, April 16 - 6:15pm - 7:45pm
Place: San Diego Convention Center, Room 9

2009 Critical Educators for Social Justice SIG Sponsored Sessions

Critical Paradigms for Working With Bicultural Communities: Parental Empowerment and Social Justice

Session Type: Symposium
Time: Tue, Apr 14 - 10:35am - 12:05pm
Place: San Diego Convention Center, Room 4

Session Participants:

A Conceptual Framework for Critical Parent Involvement
Edward M. Olivos (University of Oregon) & Alberto M. Ochoa (San Diego State University)

Debunking Deficit Thinking and Stereotypes: Toward a Critical Understanding of Latino Immigrant Father Engagement
Oscar Jimenez-Castellanos (Arizona State University) & Gustavo Gonzalez (San Diego State University)

Connecting Bicultural Parents to the Schools
Sheila M. Shannon (University of Colorado, Denver), Delores B. Lindsey (California State University, San Marcos), & Randall B. Lindsey

Bicultural Parents in the School Decision-Making Process (Civic Engagement and Advocacy)
Veronica Terriquez (University of California, Los Angeles), John S. Rogers (University of California, Los Angeles), & Mary Johnson (LA Unified Local District 6)

Bicultural Parents as Transformative Change Agents in Democratic Schools
Art Pearl (Washington State University, Vancouver) & Martha A. Montero-Sieburth (University of Amsterdam)

Chair: Edward M. Olivos (University of Oregon)

Discussants: Alberto M. Ochoa (San Diego State University) & Edward M. Olivos (University of Oregon)

Abstract:
Policies aimed at closing the achievement gap often center around: (1) academic programs and the quality of teaching that schools provide bicultural (e.g. minority) students and (2) the influence bicultural families and communities have on their children. Education literature supports the notion that parent involvement is beneficial for bicultural student achievement. Despite its purported advantages and educators’ professed willingness to work with bicultural parents, however, schools have been unsuccessful in establishing an authentic and collaborative relationship with these families.

This symposium will present distinct perspectives and practices which focus on parental advocacy and empowerment as a means to improve student achievement and school-community transformation. They call for understanding the condition of bicultural communities through a deeper and broader sociopolitical approach.

Intersecting Realities: What Is Teaching for Social Justice?

Session Type: Paper Discussion (formerly known as Roundtables)
Time: Wed, Apr 15 - 9:05am - 9:45am
Place: San Diego Convention Center, Ballroom 6A

Session Participants:

A Critical Pedagogy or a Critical Change? The Intersection of Critical Pedagogy and Social Movement Literature
Rebecca Senn Tarlau (University of Berkeley)

Intersecting Realities: A Study of a Preservice Teacher’s Attempts to Use Critical Literacy to Gain Access to Students’ Figured Worlds
Jane Marie Saunders (Texas State University)

Producing Utopic Spaces Through the Arts: Young People’s Voices on Inclusions and Exclusions
Sharon Chappell (Arizona State University)

Social Justice Teaching: Adopting a Critical Pedagogy to Negotiate Old and New Literacies
Delane Ann Bender-Slack (Xavier University)

What Is Teaching for Social Justice, and What Does It Look Like in Pre-K-12 Classrooms?
Pat Russo (SUNY - College at Oswego) & Anne Fairbrother (SUNY, College at Oswego)

Discussants: Kevin D. Vinson (The University of Arizona) & Latish Cherie Reed (University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill)

Behind Enemy Lines: The Contested Territories of Social Justice Unit: SIG-Critical Educators for Social Justice

Session Type: Paper Discussion (formerly known as Roundtables)
Time: Wed, Apr 15 - 2:15pm - 2:55pm
Place: San Diego Convention Center, Ballroom 6A

Session Participants:

Behind Enemy Lines: Teaching for Social Justice in a Neoliberal Context
Bree Picower (New York University)

Unpacking the Poisonous Impact of Neoliberalism on Sociopolitically Located Multicultural Education: Fighting Back Against Privatization, Standardization, and Corporatization in Teacher Education and PK-12 Schooling
Christine Clark (University of Nevada, Las Vegas)

Contested Territory: School Reform Meets the Ownership Society (Post-Bush)
Michael Klonsky (Center for Innovative Schools) & Susan Klonsky (Small Schools Workshop)

Preservice Teachers as Social Change Agents: Self-Perceptions
Shanta R. Robinson (University of Michigan)

Critical Teaching for Social Justice in Brazilian Favelas
Fernando Naiditch (Montclair State University)

Discussants: Edward M. Olivos (University of Oregon) & Matthew Weinstein (University of Washington, Tacoma)

Fireside Chat: Critical Educators for Social Justice

Session Type: Symposium
Time: Thu, Apr 16 - 12:25pm - 1:55pm
Place: San Diego Convention Center, Room 9

Session Participants:

Discussant: Veronica Gaylie (University of British Columbia, Okanagan)

Chair: Patricia M. McHatton (University of South Florida)

Descending From the Balcony: Realizing Social Justice Through Radical Participatory Action Research (PAR)

Session Type: Interactive Symposium
Time: Thu, Apr 16 - 2:15pm - 3:45pm
Place: San Diego Convention Center, Room 9

Session Participants:

An Indigenous Mesoamerican Community in the Southwest Recuperating Popular Knowledge Through PAR
Lourdes Arnal-de-Prats (New Mexico State University)

Engaging Preservice Teachers in the Politics of Teaching
Emilie M. Camp (New Mexico State University)

Making Health Education and Services More Humane Using Community-Based Participatory Action Research
Virginia Durant (New Mexico State University)

ESL for Immigrants as a Tool of Empowerment
Helen Marie Salome (New Mexico State University)

Forging Pathways to Social Justice: An Emerging Collective of Educators Redressing Traditional Classrooms
Elsa Villa (New Mexico State University), Cristina Gonzalez (El Paso Community College), & Loui Reyes (New Mexico State University)

Chair: Myriam N. Torres (New Mexico State University)
Discussant: Marta P. Baltodano (Loyola Marymount University)

Abstract
The main purpose of this interactive symposium is to demonstrate through experiences the possibilities and challenges of graduate student researchers committed to social justice and wanting to descend from the balcony to work with the people in their respective communities. The five contributors to this interactive symposium share their experiences and insights in their transformative work for social justice: 1) Indigenous Mesoamerican community in the Southwest recuperating popular knowledge through PAR; 2) Engaging pre-service teachers in the politics of teaching; 3) Making health education and services more humane using community-based participatory action research; 4) ESL for Immigrants as a tool of empowerment; 5) Forging pathways to social justice: An emergent collective of educators redressing traditional classrooms.

Re-Creating the "Public" in Public Education to Address the Needs of Low-Income, Racially, Culturally, and Linguistically Diverse Communities

Session Type: Interactive Symposium
Time: Fri, Apr 17 - 8:15am - 9:45am
Place: San Diego Convention Center, Room 9

Session Participants:

On the Necessity of a New "Public" for Public Education
Ronald D. Glass (University of California, Santa Cruz)

The Citizen School Project in Porto Alegre, Brazil, and the Reaffirmation of the Public in Public Education
Luis Armando Gandin (Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul)

Unpacking the Notion of “Public” in Brazilian Affirmative Action
Sandra Regina Sales (Universidade Federal Rural, Rio de Janeiro)

Understanding the Notion of “Public” in the Prototypes of Higher Education
Gustavo E. Fischman (Arizona State University) & Eric Haas (Director, Cognitive Strategies)

Whose Public? Learning From Subaltern Critiques of the Public Sphere
Thomas C. Pedroni (Oakland University)

The Romance of "The Public" in Reclaiming Public Education
Amanda Lashaw (University of California - Berkeley)

Chair: Ronald D. Glass (University of California, Santa Cruz)

Discussants: Pia I. Wong (California State University, Sacramento) & Rosa Maria Bueno Fischer (Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul)

Abstract
This symposium examines the necessity of recreating the ‘public’ in public education, and illuminates the current struggle to achieve this through concrete projects in low-income, racially, culturally, and linguistically diverse (LI/RCLD) communities in both Brazil and the United States. If LI/RCLD communities are to link public education to the realization of their social, economic, and political needs, they must find ways to reconstitute themselves as publics that embrace diversity even as they struggle for common democratic and social justice aspirations. However, the notion of the ‘public’ presents both theoretical and pragmatic challenges that cannot be overlooked in the formation of movements that seek to make education serve the ends of equity.

Pathways Toward Academic Achievement Through a Transformative Paradigm: Breaking the Circle of Knowledge

Session Type: Interactive Symposium
Time: Fri, Apr 17 - 8:15am - 9:45am
Place: San Diego Convention Center, Room 10

Session Participants:

The Struggle for Teacher Voice Under No Child Left Behind
Sarah Genoa Maheronnaghsh (San Diego State University)

Assessing the Response to Intervention Environments for Linguistically and Culturally Diverse Middle School Students
Nicole Faye Block (San Diego State University)

Analyzing the Ongoing Culture, Identity, and Academic Self-Concept Shifts of Newcomer Students Within the Standards and Accountability Movement
Amanda Matas (San Diego State University/Claremont Graduate University)

California Teacher Preparation: Tensions Between Dispositions and Curriculum/Program Implementation in Schools
Gustavo Gonzalez (San Diego State University)

Chair: Karen Cadiero-Kaplan (San Diego State University)

Discussants: Alberto M. Ochoa (San Diego State University) & Patricia H. Hinchey (The Pennsylvania State University)

Abstract
This interactive symposium provides critical dialogue around individual research papers examining the potential for educational transformation. The session attempts both enlarge the circle of knowledge, by engaging dialogue across areas of disciplined research, and to “break” the circle of knowledge. The circle being one of conformist and functionalist ideologies that are replicated time and again in research focused on reforming education rather than towards true transformation. The research papers in this panel all engaged a problem posing methodology within a critical area of education for diverse student populations. The panelists engaged: pre-service, in-teachers, or K-12 students in inquiry in order to better understand both their social and educational contexts and the connections to policy, curriculum and educational engagement.

Radical Medicine: Crossing Boundaries, Making Change

Session Type: Paper Session
Time: Fri, Apr 17 - 10:35am - 12:05pm
Place: San Diego Convention Center, Room 9

Session Participants:

A Critical Examination of Inquiry as Support for New Teachers
Anne Burns Thomas (SUNY, College at Cortland) & Deborah A. Bieler (University of Delaware)

Crossing Disciplinary Boundaries: Research and Praxis in Pursuit of Social Justice Diana F. Ryan (Saint Xavier University) & Susan J. Katz (Roosevelt University)

Diverse, Immersive Field Experiences: The Effects on White Preservice Teachers
Jeanette Hoffman (North Dakota State University) & Lisa Daniels (University of Central Arkansas)

Making Change Through, With, and Without Contested Discourse: Strategic Use of Language in a Change-Seeking Educator Network
Tricia Niesz (Kent State University)

Radical Medicine: Embodiment and Contradiction of Scientific Literacy Within Struggles for Social Justice
Matthew Weinstein (University of Washington - Tacoma)

Chair: Myriam N. Torres (New Mexico State University)

Discussant: Alberto M. Ochoa (San Diego State University)

Still Becoming Critical Educators: Why Aren’t All the Critical Educators Sitting Together in the Cafeteria?

Session Type: Interactive Symposium
Time: Fri, Apr 17 - 12:25pm - 1:55pm
Place: San Diego Convention Center, Room 9

Session Participants:

Patricia H. Hinchey (The Pennsylvania State University)
Karen M. Gourd (University of Washington, Bothell)
Sheila L. Macrine (Montclair State University)

Chair: Margarita I. Berta-Avila (California State University, Sacramento)

Discussant: Karen Cadiero-Kaplan (San Diego State University)

Abstract
CESJ business meeting conversations at AERA in 2007 and 2008 made it clear that yearly conference discussions renew the spirit but are insufficient to ward off isolation once critical educators return home. This interactive symposium will provide critical educators time to address the need to build community. This grassroots effort to promote collegial relationships is grounded on assertions from Freire and others that communication and community are essential to sustaining the work of social change. Presenters will share their experiences to establish a framework; then participants will brainstorm project ideas, share them, and form interest groups to formulate specific action plans. Participants will be invited to report on projects at a follow-up session at the 2010 AERA conference.

Rights Eroded: Advocating for Social Justice in the Lives of Children and Youth

Session Type: Interactive Symposium
Time: Fri, Apr 17 - 2:15pm - 3:45pm
Place: San Diego Convention Center, Room 9

Session Participants:

Child Poverty in the United States: Violating Human Rights
Valerie Polakow (Eastern Michigan University)

Beyond the Good, the Bad, and the Innocent: Troubling Childhood and Protection in a Prison Nation
Erica R. Meiners (Northeastern Illinois University)

Suspending Citizenship: The Social Contract and Rights, the Hidden Curriculum, and the Not-So-Hidden Curriculum of Zero Tolerance
Christopher Robbins (Eastern Michigan University)

Children’s Rights, Voices, and Allies: Advocating for Social Justice in Kenya and South Africa
Beth Blue Swadener (Arizona State University)

Discussant: Lourdes Diaz Soto (Dalton State College)

Chair: Valerie Polakow (Eastern Michigan University)

Abstract
The objectives of this interactive symposium are to critically analyze and discuss (1) the diminished social, economic, and educational rights of marginalized children and youth in both national and transnational contexts, (2) the surveillance discourses that serve to attenuate their lives and erode their educational opportunities and (3) the actions of those advocating for and with children and youth for social justice in the face of national and global challenges. Papers focus on children and youth in the United States, Europe, and Africa. The panelists draw on critical, feminist, and postcolonial theories anchored in a human rights framework, critically interrogating the systems and policies that structure young lives scarred by social injustice, educational inequality, and civic exclusion.

2009 NEW Special Critical Educators for Social Justice SIG Sponsored Sessions

CESJ INAUGURAL GRADUATE STUDENT FORUM

Strengthening the CESJ Pipeline,April 12, 1 p.m.-5 p.m. Marriot Hotel and Marina, Leucadia Room, 333 West Harbor Drive, San Diego, CA 92101

The Critical Educators for Social Justice (CESJ) SIG will host its first Graduate Student Forum this year. This Forum is a designated session for recent Ph.D./Ed.D. graduates and doctoral students. We have confirmed the participation of 17 recent Ph.D./Ed.D. graduates and doctoral students from different universities throughout the country.

The purpose of this Graduate Student Forum is to provide a space for recent graduates and ABD doctoral students engaged in social justice or participatory action research to:

Learn from scholars and peers about the challenges and possibilities involved with social justice and education research; and,
Help prepare critical scholars for the future as a professor in higher education.

This Forum will be facilitated by Karen Cadiero-Kaplan, Associate Professor in Policy Studies in Language and Cross Cultural Education at San Diego State University.

This Forum will include two panels.

The first panel will focus on the challenges and possibilities for social justice and education research. The panelists will include Antonia Darder (University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign), Pat Hinchey (Penn State), Marvin Lynn (University of Illinois at Chicago), and Noah DeLissovoy (University of Texas at Austin).

The second panel will focus on the preparation and processes that are involved in applying and working as a professor in higher education. The panelists will include Edward Olivos (University of Oregon), Oscar Jimenez-Castellanos (Arizona State University), and Patricia Alvarez McHatton (University of South Florida). Panelists will share their experiences preparing to become professors in higher education, specifically focusing on job searching, how to establish a research agenda, service, preparing for the tenure process, and learning to lead.

CESJ COMMUNITY FORUM

Critical Educators at Work in an Urban Context,April 14, 4:30-6:30 p.m., Sherman Community Center, 2258-60 Island Avenue, San Diego, CA 92102

The Critical Educators for Social Justice (CESJ) SIG will host its first Community Forum this year. This Forum will highlight the advocacy efforts and action taken by parents and educators in the struggle for equity, due process, and to retain community identity in their children’s school. Parents, educators, and other community members that have been involved in this struggle will share their stories of advocacy, their challenges, and their successes. An open discussion will follow.

Also at this event, we will be recognizing Dr. Alberto Ochoa (San Diego State University) for his commitment to and service in working with and through parents for educational equity in their children’s school communities.