Maria del Carmen Salazar

A Humanizing Pedagogy: Reinventing the Principles and Practice of Education as a Journey Toward Liberation

I went to school with all of my treasures, including my Spanish language, Mexican culture, familia (family), and ways of knowing. I abandoned my treasures at the classroom door in exchange for English and the U.S. culture; consequently, my assimilation into U.S. society was agonizing. One of my earliest memories is of wishing away my dark skin; I wanted desperately to be White, and I abhorred being la morena, the dark-skinned girl. I came to associate whiteness with success and brownness with failure. I was overwhelmed with feelings of shame over the most essential elements of my humanness. As a result, my experience in the U.S. educational system was marked by endless struggles to preserve my humanity.

The Transformation of Ms. Corazón: Creating Humanizing Spaces for Mexican Immigrant Students in Secondary ESL Classrooms

This article explores the journey of one English as a Second Language (ESL) teacher who held rigid boundaries that negatively impacted the academic resiliency of her Mexican immigrant students. As she transformed her pedagogical orientation, she created permeability in her curricular practices. With the elements of respeto (respect), confianza (mutual trust), consejos (verbal teachings), and buen ejemplo (exemplary role model) firmly built as the foundation for learning English, the immigrant students were more invested in classroom events.

Pedagogical Stances of High School ESL Teachers: Huelgas in High School ESL Classrooms

This article presents a qualitative case study of the pedagogical stances of high school English as a Second Language (ESL) teachers, and the subsequent responses of resistance or conformity by their English Language Learners (ELLs). The participants include three high school ESL teachers and 60 high school ESL students of Mexican origin. Findings indicate that dehumanizing pedagogical stances by ESL teachers promote rigid language boundaries. In response, ESL students perceive the boundaries and articulate apprehension over the inevitable loss of their linguistic and cultural identities and they wage huelgas (strikes) of resistance. Findings also indicate that humanizing pedagogy promotes huelgas that foster cultural knowledge and pride.

Just Scholarship! Publishing Academic Research with a Social Justice Focus

Abstract This article provides support to academics who are committed to engaging in scholarly activities in ways that promote an explicit social justice focus. Moreover, this article provides a broad overview of how to pursue social justice purposes in the field of education throughout the process of scholarly production and dissemination.

Interrogating Teacher Evaluation: Unveiling Whiteness as the Normative Center and Moving the Margins:

This article frames teacher evaluation from a critical race theory (CRT) perspective to unveil whiteness as the normative center of frameworks for teaching, and the marginalization of Communities of Color. The author places CRT on the ground by proposing a culturally responsive alternative, the Framework for Equitable and Excellent Teaching (FEET). The FEET is strategically designed to position the resources of historically marginalized Communities of Color at the center of teacher evaluation. This article describes the development of the FEET through three phases of mixed-methods research. The findings of the research were used to develop and improve the FEET to increase its measurement quality and potential in capturing culturally responsive practice. This article concludes by interrogating the role of teacher evaluation in disrupting or reproducing inequity, and proposing future research opportunities.

The bright lights: The development of oppositional consciousness among DACAmented Latino youth:

This study asks the question, “How do diverse social spaces support or constrain the development of oppositional consciousness among DACAmented Latina/o youth?” Our analysis is based on 40 in-depth interviews with Latina/o youth and young adults living in Colorado who received a two-year reprieve from deportation and work authorization through the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program enacted in 2012. The findings indicate the development of three points along a continuum of oppositional consciousness, which we term latent, emergent, and manifest. The implications of this study reveal how social spaces inside and outside of schools in a non-traditional destination can support or constrain the oppositional consciousness of liminally legal DACA recipients.