Critical Language Awareness and Educational Dignity in Science Teacher Preparation

Publication Date

4-13-2026

Document Type

Article

Publication Title

Journal of Research in Science Teaching

Volume

63

Issue

4-5

DOI

10.1002/tea.70049

First Page

449

Last Page

469

Abstract

As the nation and world face pressing contemporary science challenges at the intersection of race, place, and socioeconomic status (e.g., the climate crisis), it is imperative to nurture the strengths of racially and linguistically diverse student populations as thought partners and problem solvers in K-12 classrooms. Too often, the labels English Learner (EL) or Academic Language Learner (ALL) position students through deficit orientations, focusing on what they supposedly lack rather than what they bring to science learning environments. To foster more inclusive science teaching aligned to frameworks of educational dignity, we conducted educator self-study within secondary and elementary science teaching methods courses at a comprehensive public university to examine how concepts of critical language awareness, translanguaging, and raciolinguistics were integrated into teacher preparation curriculum and how candidates engaged with these themes.

Department

Science Education; Teacher Education

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