ERIC Number: EJ947098
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2011
Pages: 15
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-1066-5684
EISSN: N/A
Using Visual Arts as a Proxy for Language: Addressing the Marginalization of Linguistic Minority Parents
Kumar, Rashmi
Equity & Excellence in Education, v44 n4 p453-467 2011
This article discusses a school-wide implementation of an arts-based initiative to address the alienation experienced by linguistic minority parents. In order to assuage the prevalent, although unintentional, practices of marginalization, a group of students and teachers established a platform that enabled shared discourse among minority and mainstream parents. Benefits could be discerned on multiple levels and were attained in incremental stages during the months and years following the implementation. The deliberately structured engagement made way for a school-wide reconsideration of policies and procedures, which led to broader and impassioned participation of all parents. The article concludes by discussing the implications of grass root endeavors, such as the arts-based initiative discussed below, in mitigating the structures of inequities within individual school systems that, in effect, replicate the social injustice seen outside of schools. (Contains 4 notes.)
Descriptors: Language Minorities, Visual Arts, Disadvantaged, Art Education, Alienation, Parent Attitudes, Educational Policy, Parent Participation, Equal Education, Social Justice, Parent School Relationship, Brainstorming, Elementary School Students, English (Second Language), Second Language Learning, Surveys, Personal Narratives, Photography, Video Technology, Feedback (Response), Cultural Activities, School Activities
Routledge. Available from: Taylor & Francis, Ltd. 325 Chestnut Street Suite 800, Philadelphia, PA 19106. Tel: 800-354-1420; Fax: 215-625-2940; Web site: http://www.tandf.co.uk/journals
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Descriptive
Education Level: Elementary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A