Verónica E. Valdez

Video Game–Based Exercise, Latino Children's Physical Health, and Academic Achievement

BACKGROUND There is a paucity of research investigating the effects of innovative physical activity programs on physical health and academic performance in the Latino population. PURPOSE To examine the impact of Dance Dance Revolution [DDR]-based exercise on Latino childrens physical fitness and academic achievement. DESIGN A repeated-measures crossover design was used. In Year 1, Grade-4 students were assigned to the intervention group and offered 30 minutes of exercise (DDR, aerobic dance) three times per week. Grade-3 and Grade-5 students made up the comparison group and were offered no structured exercise at school. In Year 2, the Grade-4 students were again assigned to the intervention, whereas Grade-5 and Grade-6 students were in the comparison group. SETTING/PARTICIPANTS Assessments were conducted with 208 Latino school children. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES The baseline measures included time to complete a 1-mile run, BMI, and reading and math scores. Data were collected again 9 months later. Overall, data were collected in 2009-2011 and analyzed in 2012. RESULTS Data yielded significant differences between the intervention and comparison groups in differences in 1-mile run and math scores in Year 1 and Year 2. The results also revealed net differences in the intervention versus comparison group scores on the 1-mile run for Grade 3 (p<0.01). Additionally, childrens yearly pre-test and post-test BMI group changes differed (χ(2)((2)) = 6.6, p<0.05) only for the first year of intervention. CONCLUSIONS The DDR-based exercise intervention improved childrens cardiorespiratory endurance and math scores over time. Professionals should consider integrating exergaming at schools to achieve the goals of promoting a physically active lifestyle and enhancing academic success among Latino children.

The Marketing of Dual Language Education Policy in Utah Print Media.

We argue the emergence of a shift in U.S. language education policy discourses from an equity/heritage (EH) framework focused on equity for English learners and non-English heritage languages, toward a global human capital (GHC) framework linked to neoliberal considerations of the language skills of individuals and nations. This discursive shift represents a change in the audience to which language education programs are primarily marketed. Drawing on a critical approach to content analysis to test for evidence of this discursive shift in Utah, we analyzed 164 articles from 5 Utah newspapers from 2005 to 2011 that assigned value statements to dual language and bilingual education. EH values declined or changed little over time whereas GHC values increased. Policy implications are discussed.

‘Good’ students and ‘involved’ mothers: Latin@ responses to normalization pressures in schools

Drawing from two in‐depth qualitative studies, we used a sociocultural lens for a cross‐case analysis examining how Latin@s’ participation in schools is affected by ideological messages that subordinately position them in terms of their ethnicity, class, and immigrant status. We identified a range of dynamic responses to the school’s normalization pressures: (1) echando ganas [giving it their all] in school while labeled ‘at risk’, (2) living through school with perceived success, and (3) threatening the school’s normalization process. This paper emphasizes the need to create inclusive spaces that acknowledge, reward, and support the efforts and agency of students and parents that go beyond school‐prescribed normalization practices.

Language as Whose Resource?: When Global Economics Usurp the Local Equity Potentials of Dual Language Education

ABSTRACT Utah’s public schools are home to an increasing number of K/1–6 dual language (DL) programs established through a state-centralized model that has sparked interest domestically and internationally. We theorize three potential constituencies of DL—maintenance, heritage, and world language—then use critical discourse analysis to examine how equitably multiple official state promotional materials discursively portray these constituencies and their interests as well as what other discourses most strongly emerge. We found Utah’s state DL discourses were targeted primarily toward a White, world language constituency, and we found that the explicit privileging of economic considerations discursively erased equity and local language concerns associated with maintenance and non-White heritage constituencies. We argue that this discursive misdirection represents a narrow application of the language-as-resource policy orientation. We conclude with implications for favoring a version of globalized language education that promotes local diversity and equitable access to opportunities.

Dual language teachers’ stated barriers to implementation of culturally relevant pedagogy

ABSTRACT Culturally relevant pedagogy receives limited attention in many U.S. dual language classrooms. This article focuses on understanding the barriers eight elementary Spanish-English dual language teachers saw as preventing the implementation of culturally relevant pedagogy in their urban classrooms. Employing critical sociocultural theory and drawing on pláticas as a method, four primary barriers were identified: lack of time, lack of culturally relevant materials, lack of knowledge, and the belief that social justice topics were inappropriate for young children. The individual and contextual issues surrounding these barriers and their implications are discussed for teacher educators and those involved in dual language education.

Multimodal Self-Authoring Across Bi/Multilingual Educator and Student Learning Spaces

Drawing on sociocultural perspectives, this article illustrates the potential for extending figured worlds through cultural artifacts. Using thematic and multimodal analysis, the authors first compare how spaces of authoring were produced in two professional development settings: Proyecto Bilingüe and Critical Education Studies. Following one educator from each of these settings into a classroom and into digital spaces respectively, the authors then compare the multimodal cultural artifacts—journey boxes and digital iJourneys—produced by their bi/multilingual students. The findings show the importance of producing spaces of authoring for identity negotiations and the role multimodal cultural artifacts play in embracing memories and lived experiences across figured worlds for both students and educators. Implications for teacher educators and bilingual teachers are discussed.

The (Dis)inclusion of Latina/o Interests from Utah’s Dual Language Education Boom

ABSTRACT Utah’s state planned model of dual language education has grown and spread rapidly. Drawing on critical race theory and LatCrit, we examined state policy documents and promotional materials for their discursive portrayal of Latinas/os. Our analysis revealed a pattern of centering the interests of the White, English-dominant majority and those without an ethnic connection to the target language, while marginalizing or silencing Latina/o interests. Implications for dual language education stakeholders are discussed.

Latina Early Childhood Teachers Negotiating Language Policies "en La Frontera".

Grounded in new language policy studies (McCarty, Collins, & Hopson, 2011), this qualitative study examines two bilingual Latina preschool teachers’ language views, experiences, skills, and goals in a Texas/Mexico border community to determine how these factors mediate their choice to use Spanish/English in their instructional practices with the emergent bilingual children in their classrooms. Despite a stated institutional language policy that valued the equal use of English and Spanish, case study teachers’ individual values of and practices with each language were shaped by their educational experiences acquiring English. Particularly, their language skills in each language were found to be influential factors in teachers’ negotiations of how much and in what ways Spanish was used for instruction. Implications for teacher training and professional development are discussed.

Co-editors’ introduction: Research on language planning—30 years plus

In memory of a distinguished advocate for bilingual education, Dr. Richard Ruiz (1948–2015), the premier peer-reviewed journal of the National Association of Bilingual Education (NABE), the Bilingual Research Journal (BRJ), sent out a call for proposals for a themed double issue (volume 39, issues 3–4). The purpose of this themed double issue is to explore research, theoretical orientations, and methodologies that extend Professor Ruiz’s important impact in language planning. As bilingual educators and researchers, the three guest editors were interested in receiving abstracts from scholars whose research is deeply inspired by the contributions of this eminent scholar. We sought manuscripts that offered theoretical analyses as well as research-based arguments about language planning in an increasingly diverse and globalized world. We suggested questions to authors: How can educational research in language studies account for dynamic interactions, practices, and engagements of children, youths, and/or adults in schools, churches, and community organizations? How do language policies and practices enable not only analysis but also transformative change? We asked that authors consider these questions, among many others, as they theorized the meanings, purposes, and values of the work of Richard Ruiz. We asked that authors be attentive to the ways theoretically sophisticated work offers promise to Pre-K–20 curricular planning, language policies in formal and informal contexts, teacher education, and teacher practice. From the numerous proposals received, 11 articles were accepted for publication. They appear in this themed double issue. Although Professor Ruiz published many papers, chapters, and articles during his career, it was in 1984 that he wrote a seminal article with far-reaching effects. The article, entitled “Orientations in Language Planning,” was published in the NABE Journal (now known as the BRJ). This publication continues to influence scholarship nationally and internationally in language planning and multilingual education. Dr. Ruiz’s thinking and teaching is also present in many other disciplines, such as ethnic studies, economics, and law. In Richard’s words,