Complex social and linguistic phenomena centered around leveraging socio-cultural and linguistic knowledge and abilities (e.g., biculturalism, bilingualism) to mediate interactions and negotiate meanings. Cultural brokering involves practices aiming at helping others to navigate or understand differing cultural norms and standards. Linguistic brokering focuses primarily on, but not limited to, the communicative tasks of translating and interpreting. Various factors related to the social context, the nature of the interaction, and the participants impinge on cultural and linguistic brokering. Cultural, linguistic, and relational brokering often converge.
Published in Chapter:
Bilingual/Bicultural Paraprofessionals as Brokers of English Learners' Family-Teacher Relationships
Eva I. Díaz (University of Arkansas, USA), Diana Gonzales Worthen (University of Arkansas, USA), Conra D. Gist (University of Houston, USA), and Christine Smart (University of Arkansas, USA)
Copyright: © 2021
|Pages: 19
DOI: 10.4018/978-1-7998-4712-0.ch003
Abstract
For over four decades, bilingual/bicultural paraprofessionals have been vital partakers in the education of English learners (ELs). Scholars have underscored school districts' reliance on them for instructional/learning support and their potential as builders of home-school bridges. Moreover, family-teacher relationships are essential to ELs' positive academic and well-being outcomes. Nevertheless, the paraprofessional's role in bridging relationships between teachers and families of ELs is less understood. This chapter presents a research synthesis of the extant peer-reviewed research literature published in the last 30 years on the role of bilingual/bicultural paraprofessionals in promoting more equitable relationships between the families and teachers of ELs. Three main themes emerged, including (a) building trust, (b) connecting families and teachers via linguistic and cultural brokering, and (c) activating biographical community cultural wealth. The findings also highlight the need for positioning relational brokering as equally crucial as linguistic and cultural brokering. Implications for practice and research are addressed.