Above: Mount Education student Addison Parker of Newburgh, N.Y. teaches a Play, Learn, and Grow class at the Newburgh Armory.
Mount Saint Mary College student Addison Parker of Newburgh, N.Y. and her faculty mentor Alexis McBride (right), assistant professor of Education, recently co-presented their linguistic research at the 2022 virtual gathering of NCTEAR, the National Council of Teachers of English Assembly for Research.
McBride and Parker delivered their presentation, "We're Not Worried Outside: Linguistically Minoritized Learners' Perceptions of Academic and Social Language Usage." In line with the conference's theme of "reimagining literacy research for social change," McBride and Parker described ways that educators might benefit from knowing how adolescents perceive Academic English differently from other languages spoken at home.
In their research, McBride and Parker learned that bilingual learners were equating Academic English with success, whereas they regarded their home literacies much less favorably.
"In some instances, they indicated other languages as something to be left behind, which is troubling, given the close ties between language and identity development," McBride said. "The more teachers can build affirming environments for their students' diverse language profiles, we believe bilingual learners can begin to embrace their bilingualism with a sense of pride."
Parker is a student in the Mount's 5-year Education program. She is expected to graduate from the Mount in 2023 with a bachelor's degree in History and a master's degree in Adolescence and Special Education. She first began researching academic and social language usage during her recent participation in the Mount's Summer Undergraduate Research Experience (SURE), in which students work closely with professors, aiding them in hands-on research and making meaningful contributions to their respective fields. This experience served as Parker's introduction to learning about qualitative methods of inquiry and grounded theory, subjects that are not typically explored in undergraduate education curricula.
To that end, McBride noted that it is rare for undergraduates to present at the NCTEAR conference. Those who discuss their research are usually college faculty, K-12 educators, and doctoral students.
Having the chance to interact with literacy faculty from across the country was an eye-opening experience for Parker.
"I am so grateful to have been given this opportunity to share my hard work from SURE with many inspiring literacy researchers at NCTEAR," she said. "Speaking with the attendees not only gave me insight into how to navigate my work this coming summer, but also some great instructional strategies and methods for fueling social change in my future classroom."
McBride, who recently stepped into the role of co-coordinator of the SURE program, believes that by pairing hands-on research experience with traditional methods of teacher preparation, "We are cultivating more rounded teacher candidates who not only gain an appreciation for the research informing pedagogical practice, but also an opportunity to explore future career possibilities beyond the classroom."
NCTEAR is affiliated with the National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE). Formed in 1983, NCTEAR aims to promote literacy research and greater participation in research by teachers across all levels of schooling.