Preparing Critically Conscious Dual-Language Teachers: Recognizing and Interrupting Dominant Ideologies

Due to the preK-12 student growth, the exponential growth of dual-language programs, and the gentrification of dual-language education, the need for critically conscious dual-language teachers is undeniably vital today. Institutions of higher education, in particular colleges of education, find themselves at the center of a transformative era, in both theory and practice, with respect to dual-language teacher preparation. Currently, dual-language teacher educators' conversations revolve around the challenge in identifying, naming, and confronting pressing issues related to the preparation of dual-language teachers and their readiness to meet the demands created by the proliferation of dual-language schools across the nation. This article centers on the fundamental matters of recognizing and interrupting dominant ideologies and hegemonic practices that have made their way into dual-language classrooms by explicitly addressing how a teacher's ideology, sociocultural/linguistic funds of identity, and pedagogy announce or denounce dual-language teachers' critical consciousness that leads to the creation of equitable teaching and learning spaces.