- Bilingual Education, Immigration, Culturally Responsive Teaching and Learning, Teacher Education, Binational Migration, Place-Based Education, and 7 moreComparative & International Education, Educational Leadership, Latino/A Studies, Latin American Studies, Mexico, Adolescent Education (Education), and Culturally Responsive Leadershipedit
- Adam Sawyer is Associate Professor of Teacher Education at California State University, Bakersfield where he also dir... moreAdam Sawyer is Associate Professor of Teacher Education at California State University, Bakersfield where he also directs the Liberal Studies and Bilingual Authorization programs. His research explores the nexus of migration and education with a focus on Latinx children, youth, and families. He is also a specialist in the design and study of bilingual education programs and models for place-based and culturally sustaining pedagogies for English Learners and other historically minoritized populations, especially in rural California. His recent work has been published by International Multilingual Research Journal, Journal of Latinos and Education, and Teacher Education Quarterly, and he is co-editor of the 2013 Teachers College Press Volume Regarding Educación: Mexican American Schooling, Immigration, and Binational Solutions. Previous to his academic career, Adam served as a Spanish bilingual elementary school teacher in California and as an academic consultant to the Mexican National Ministry of Education. He holds an Ed.M and Ed.D from Harvard Graduate School of Education.edit
A new bilingual/plurilingual education renaissance in California was ushered in with the passage of state Proposition 58 in 2016. Program planners, however, have struggled to meet the need for bilingual/plurilingual teachers within a... more
A new bilingual/plurilingual education renaissance in California was ushered in with the passage of state Proposition 58 in 2016. Program planners, however, have struggled to meet the need for bilingual/plurilingual teachers within a linguistic context ravaged by two decades of restrictive policies. This restrictionism has resulted in an entire generation of would-be bilingual teacher candidates growing up without formal academic support for bilingualism and biliteracy in their k-12 education. Although plurilingualism has been stymied in formal spaces, emerging research on translanguaging indicates that 'bilinguals' by definition creatively language within their various social and political milieu such that syntheses or hybrid forms of language emerge that reflect their full linguistic repertoire. This study examines the linguistic experiences of those who have overcome the odds to pursue their bilingual teacher certification. Through analysis of participant case studies of Latinx candidates studying for their bilingual teacher certification in California's southern San Joaquín Valley, we find translanguaging to be a critical tool of identity expression, interethnic solidarity, and plurilingual/bilingual sustenance within a decidedly conservative and subtractive sociocultural and sociolinguistic context. We discuss the implications of these findings for the centering of translanguaging in bilingual teacher education and the cultivation of future bilingual/plurilingual educators in California.
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Yet much remains to be learned about the extent and complexities of the changes migration to the United States has caused. Remittances provide a useful independent variable as they are one of the most concrete and tangible results of... more
Yet much remains to be learned about the extent and complexities of the changes migration to the United States has caused. Remittances provide a useful independent variable as they are one of the most concrete and tangible results of migration. Also, remittances are hypothesized — based on both direct and indirect evidence — to boost educational opportunity within migrantsending communities. This article, by examining how remittances affect schooling outcomes in one migrant-sending community in the southern Mexican state of Oaxaca, contributes to existing knowledge of how migration is related to development in Mexico. Remittances alone do not appear to influence a child's educational aspirations and attainment, but the effect of remittances is related to the mother's education. Specifically, receiving remittances is associated with increased schooling aspirations for youth whose mothers have below-average levels of education. Remittances also provide an apparent boost in imp...
Research Interests:
espanolAl tiempo que Mexico evalua su relativo exito tras haber cumplido con los objetivos de la Educacion para Todos 2015, las oportunidades de escolarizacion en diversas partes de la nacion se ven afectadas por el fenomeno migratorio... more
espanolAl tiempo que Mexico evalua su relativo exito tras haber cumplido con los objetivos de la Educacion para Todos 2015, las oportunidades de escolarizacion en diversas partes de la nacion se ven afectadas por el fenomeno migratorio internacional y la riqueza resultante del capital financiero que recibe por parte de la poblacion emigrante. Si esta transformacion ha resultado ser positiva o negativa en lo que respecta a la escolarizacion de quienes quedan atras se ha convertido en tema de debate y especulacion. Esta investigacion busca analizar esta cuestion en profundidad a traves del examen del impacto que tienen las remesas financieras en la escolaridad de una comunidad prominente de poblacion emigrante en el sur de Mexico. Se presenta un estudio de casos en cuatro jovenes de este pueblo que se encuentran en edad escolar y que son receptores de remesas por parte de sus padres residentes en los Estados Unidos. Si bien resultan potencialmente utiles para mejorar el rendimiento es...
Research Interests:
As the school year gave way to summer vacation, a group of 11 Nebraska educators eschewed more traditional summertime activities to embark on a 16-day professional development journey to the western Mexico city of Guadalajara. During a... more
As the school year gave way to summer vacation, a group of 11 Nebraska educators eschewed more traditional summertime activities to embark on a 16-day professional development journey to the western Mexico city of Guadalajara. During a two week stay in Mexico, these educators--who were made up of in-service and pre-service teachers and school support personnel--engaged in a structured program of guided school visits, meetings with Mexican educators, Spanish classes, lectures on Mexican culture and immigration, and Mexican family home stays. What compelled this group of present and future educational professionals from the U.S. heartland to make this voyage to Mexico to immerse themselves in this study abroad course? As we will see, theirs was a part of an urgently-felt educational response to a dramatic demographic shift in the state. Echoing a pattern found in locales throughout the American Midwest and South--the so-called "New Latino Diaspora"--recent mass immigration h...
Research Interests:
In the following chapter we present through the sharing of our real-life stories and processes of change, recommendations for authentic engagement with immigrant Latinx parents as classroom teachers and researchers. From the perspective... more
In the following chapter we present through the sharing of our real-life stories and processes of change, recommendations for authentic engagement with immigrant Latinx parents as classroom teachers and researchers. From the perspective of Adam’s experience as a 2nd/3rd grade Spanish Bilingual teacher in East Palo Alto, CA and Mirna’s as a health educator and researcher at an elementary school in Arvin, CA, we share our foibles and initial missteps—despite the very best of intentions—and the processes of reflection, unlearning, and acquisition of new constructs which led to better future practices.
Research Interests:
This article provides a portrait of the challenges and promise of Latino schooling in California’s agricultural Central Valley, site of one of the largest and socioeconomically vulnerable Latino populations in the nation’s most populous... more
This article provides a portrait of the challenges and promise of Latino
schooling in California’s agricultural Central Valley, site of one of the largest and socioeconomically vulnerable Latino populations in the nation’s most populous state. Through surveys, interviews, and participant observation, we document a multi-year “Placed-Based Education” project by which Latino and Filipino community college students learn of the region’s legendary Farmworkers Movement through oral history methodology. We find that students attain great gains within historical thinking skills, biliteracy abilities, and positive bicultural identity. We discuss the implications of this approach at both the junior college and K–12 schooling levels.
schooling in California’s agricultural Central Valley, site of one of the largest and socioeconomically vulnerable Latino populations in the nation’s most populous state. Through surveys, interviews, and participant observation, we document a multi-year “Placed-Based Education” project by which Latino and Filipino community college students learn of the region’s legendary Farmworkers Movement through oral history methodology. We find that students attain great gains within historical thinking skills, biliteracy abilities, and positive bicultural identity. We discuss the implications of this approach at both the junior college and K–12 schooling levels.
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Resumen: Al tiempo que México evalúa su relativo éxito tras haber cumplido con los objetivos de la Educación para Todos 2015, las oportunidades de escolarización en diversas partes de la nación se ven afectadas por el fenómeno migratorio... more
Resumen: Al tiempo que México evalúa su relativo éxito tras haber cumplido con los objetivos de la Educación para Todos 2015, las oportunidades de escolarización en diversas partes de la nación se ven afectadas por el fenómeno migratorio internacio-nal y la riqueza resultante del capital financiero que recibe por parte de la población emigrante. Si esta transformación ha resultado ser positiva o negativa en lo que respecta a la escolarización de quienes quedan atrás se ha convertido en tema de debate y especulación. Esta investigación busca analizar esta cuestión en profundidad a través del examen del impacto que tienen las remesas financieras en la escolaridad de una comunidad prominente de población emigrante en el sur de México. Se presenta un estudio de casos en cuatro jóvenes de este pueblo que se encuentran en edad escolar y que son receptores de remesas por parte de sus padres residentes en los Estados Unidos. Si bien resultan potencial-mente útiles para mejorar el rendimiento escolar y los logros académicos, se observa que las remesas no tienen por sí mismas el peso suficiente para mejorar los resultados educativos y, en algunos casos, pueden contribuir a que los jóvenes partan en la búsqueda de caminos alternativos a la escolaridad. La capacidad de las madres para ayudar a sus hijos con las tareas-en función de la educación que ellas mismas hayan recibido-parece ser un factor determinante al momento de tomar esta decisión. También se observa que los valores implícitos y explícitos vinculados a la educación que reciben por parte de los padres ausentes juegan un rol importante en las elecciones académicas que realicen. Se discuten las implicancias de estos hallazgos para el progreso de México en el cumplimiento de los objetivos de la Edu-cación Para Todos 2015. Abstract: As Mexico assesses its relative success in meeting the Education For All 2015 goals, schooling opportunities in many parts of the nation have been impacted by the international migration phenomenon and the resulting troves of financial capital it receives by way of absent migrants. Whether this transformation has been a net positive or negative in regards to the schooling of those remaining behind has been subject to debate and speculation. This research delves into this question through an examination of the impact of financial remittances on schooling within one prominent migrant-sending community in southern Mexico. This paper presents case studies of four in-school youth in the town who receive remittance income from fathers residing in the United States. We find that remittances, while potentially helpful for schooling performance and attainment, are alone not enough to boost educational outcomes and in some cases can contribute to the pursuit of non-schooling pathways for youth. In the presence of remittances, the ability of mothers to aid their children with school related tasks—usually as a result of relatively high educational attainment in their own right—appears to be a critical mediator of these pathways. We also find that the explicit and implicit values regarding education transmitted by absent parents to play a role in subsequent student academic trajectories. The implications of these findings for Mexico's progress in attaining the Educational For All 2015 goals are discussed.