Copyright by Enrique David Degollado 2019
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Copyright by Enrique David Degollado 2019 The Dissertation Committee for Enrique David Degollado Certifies that this is the approved version of the following Dissertation: The Storied Lives of Fronteriza Bilingual Maestras: Constructing Language and Literacy Ideologies in Nepantla Committee: Luis Urrieta, Jr., Supervisor Claudia Cervantes-Soon, Co-Supervisor Ramón Antonio Martínez Cynthia Suzel Salinas Angela Valenzuela The Storied Lives of Fronteriza Bilingual Maestras: Constructing Language and Literacy Ideologies in Nepantla by Enrique David Degollado Dissertation Presented to the Faculty of the Graduate School of The University of Texas at Austin in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy The University of Texas at Austin May 2019 Dedication For Mom, Dad, Danny and Evan, you all inspire more than you will ever know. Acknowledgements To whom much is given, much is expected. Luke 12:48 Throughout my life I have been given much. My family, friends, and colleagues have bestowed upon me their love, friendship, and mentorship. And for that, I am eternally grateful. Without all you all this dissertation would not be possible. Indeed, it takes a village—many villages composed of talented and influential people whose inspirations, consejos, and prayers are intricately woven in the words of these pages. Although, I can never fully repay the debts incurred by what has been given to me, may the words in this dissertation serve as a start. To my dissertation my committee, Drs. Cervantes-Soon, Urrieta, Salinas, Martínez and Valenzuela, all your advice and attention to detail in the many drafts of this dissertation made it possible to memorialize the lives of the fronteriza maestras whose knowledge about the borderlands can now be shared. Thank you for agreeing to be part of my committee and for allowing me to stand on your shoulders. Dr. Cervantes-Soon you were a refuge, someone with whom I could share my thoughts, both personal and professional. You saw a semilla and watered it. Had you not allowed me to pursue this study, the words in this dissertation would not have materialized. Thank you for believing in this project and in me. Dr. Urrieta, my dear friend, you challenged my thinking and opened doors to “new” ways of knowing and understanding. You taught me that our ancestral herencia is knowledge. Then, you provided me with the tools to use this wisdom for research. But v more than that, you became a dear friend and confidant. You and your family will have a special place in my heart. Dr. Salinas, you make the tough days easy with your smile and infectious laughter. You are my South Texas counterpart. Thank you for believing in me and for challenging me to do and be more. Your warmth and energy are magnetic, and I hope that one day I can be for my grad students what you are to me—a dear friend, role model, and mentor. Dr. Valenzuela, your activism demonstrates that our work extends beyond the walls of our ivory tower. You work motivates me to be political in and outside the classroom. Thank you for leading the way and for being our voice. Dr. Martínez, our paths did not cross at UT as I would have hoped but know that your work influenced me to pursue research about language ideologies. Your kindness is unmatched. Thank you for being an exemplar researcher and professor. One of the greatest honors and privileges of my life has been to teach and laugh with Dr. Rodriguez and Lucy. Thank you for looking out for me and for all the consejos and for all the lunches. These last five years you all have been a constant source of peace and humility. I’m grateful for your friendship. Lucy, I promise that one day I will share my ojarasca recipe with you! Dr. Palmer, what you saw in my application all those years ago, I will never know, but I am indebted to you for admitting and advising me through my duration of my time at UT. Even with such an amazing group of professionals supporting us throughout our doctoral journey, only your classmates—who become family—know what it is like to live the experience in that moment. vi To my academic elders: Gilberto, Maria, Blanca, Lucia, Brenda, Shannon, Desi, and Doris, thank you for being so generous with your time, talents, and intellect. Your example taught me to be humble, kind, and giving. Katherine and Idalia you all showed me the ropes and guided me throughout this process. Without you all’s guidance and mentorship, I don’t know that I would have made it through the program. I am in awe of your courage, wisdom, and perseverance. ¡Mil gracias por todo! Lizzie and Rosalyn, what a ride it has been, no? Words are not enough to express what you all mean to me. You all handle your brilliance and talent with such grace and humility. Thank you for your friendship. Certainly, this is only the beginning. (P.S. Elizabeth, now who all will go to church with me?) José, Mitch, Andrew, and Randy, my academic brothers. Thanks for sharing this time with me. In you all I found sage advice for all of life’s lessons. José, my California hermano, thank you for being there through it all. You and Celina kept me grounded. Thanks for listening to all my anxieties. Randy, my political comrade, I’ve enjoyed our many conversations. Thanks for keeping me sane by focusing on the insanity of our current political climate. Mitch and Andrew, you two started this BBE journey with me. From our first statistics class to traveling to NYC, I look forward to many more haunting pláticas. Your amistad means the world to me. Many blessings to you all and Molly, Carolina, and the boys. Mis amigxs, you all’s individual and collective intellectual badassness is unrivalled. ¡Los quiero mucho, y les deseo lo mejor! To my students at UT and from Laredo, what a joy it has been to learn from and teach you! It was always my dream be a teacher and you all made that dream come true. Thank you making me a better person and teacher. My best to you all, always! ¡Abrazos! vii To my former colleagues at Ruiz and friends in Austin—Angela, Gloria, and Magda—thank you for reminding me that a world outside academia exists. To my friends and colleagues whose stories comprise the pages of this dissertation, THANK YOU! Ten years ago, when I first started teaching, we laughed and ate and got in trouble together. You all made this happen. Your words of wisdom—that you all so graciously shared—are memorialized in these pages for others to read and learn from. I hope I did your stories justice. Last, but never least, mi familia—my aunts, uncles, cousins, and Grandma and Grandpa. The semester before I started graduate school, we lost Güela. Having to leave Laredo at a time when our family was going through an intense transition made that first year of graduate school that much more difficult. Like always, your love comforted me. Knowing that I could always come back to Laredo to your warm embraces kept me going, semester after semester. You all are an irreplaceable constant in my life. Of course, Güela, Güelo, Virgie, and Diana always made their presence known when I least expected it, and when it was most needed. Mom, Dad, Danny, and Evan, I dedicated this dissertation to you because you all are my inspiration. Danny and Evan, I am so proud to be your brother. You laugh, and joke, and remind me to not take life too seriously. I aspire to your confidence, wit, and intelligence. Thank you for being you! Mom and Dad, you made this possible. Your love and hard work nurtured me. Thank you for providing for Danny, Evan, and me, and for encouraging me to chase my dreams. You believed in me and were always there to pick me up when I failed. Countless times, you have told me how proud you are of me, but I am proud and blessed to call you Mom and Dad. Love, you all more than words can say. viii Abstract The Storied Lives of Fronteriza Bilingual Maestras: Constructing Language and Literacy Ideologies in Nepantla Enrique David Degollado, Ph.D. The University of Texas at Austin, 2019 Supervisor: Luis Urrieta, Jr. Co-Supervisor: Claudia Cervantes-Soon This dissertation examines the language and literacy ideologies of in-service fronteriza bilingual education maestras utilizing a life story methodology. Drawing on an indigenous research paradigm and three theoretical frameworks that accentuate the lived experiences of fronteriza teachers—nepantla, border thinking, and raciolinguistic perspective—this study addresses how the life stories of fronteriza teachers illuminate their construction of language and literacy ideologies. Findings unsettle the mismatch between articulated and embodied language ideologies and demonstrate that the contradictions that manifest in home, school, and community language ideologies are an aspect of living in nepantla. The findings reveal that bilingual maestras’ language and literacy ideologies are influenced by their personal lived experiences, macro-hegemonic discourses, and the history of geopolitical spaces. As bilingual education becomes engrossed in neoliberal logics, implications for utilizing border thinking and anticolonial practices with in-service and pre-service teachers are discussed. In studying fronteriza bilingual teachers that inhabit a unique geopolitical space along the Texas-Mexico border, this dissertation contributes to ix the larger debate regarding the multiplicity of embodied and articulated language ideologies in bilingual settings. x Table of Contents List of Tables .................................................................................................................