Valuing Culture in Literacy Instruction for Immigrants Latino Students

As America becomes more and more diverse, so does the growing diversity of the student population. American education should adapt to the diversified communities and students; fulfilling the nation's promise of equal education for all children. According to the National Academy of Education, twenty-six percent of the approximate 50.4 million students in public elementary and secondary schools are Hispanics, and less than half are White. Due to the privatization of education, racially and socioeconomically segregation, American education is failing in meeting all student's needs. By including culturally responsive pedagogy and valuing students’ culture and multicultural literacy in the curricula, students are exposed to multiple perspectives, identities, cultures, values and beliefs that will later on help students understand each other’s differences. However, Latino immigrant students need assistance in their vocabulary development as well as given reading strategies to approach each discipline differently that incorporates their culture and that is relevant to their personal experiences.

Author
Yessenia Alvarado Vasquez
School
Lake Forest College
Department
Spanish & Education
Research Advisor
Dr. Nathan Castillo
Department of Research Advisor
Education Policy, Organization & Leadership
Year of Publication
2019