Language, Literacy, and Sociocultural Studies ETDs

Publication Date

Spring 5-15-2024

Abstract

How do adult basic education curricula in the US impact the education of low-income female immigrants? How do personal accounts of Latina immigrant learners reveal agentive development while learning English as a Second Language (ESL) through a critical pedagogy approach? Utilizing a narrative inquiry approach, this study centered on nine self-identified Mexicana/Latina/Hispanic participants who have learned English as a Second Language (ESL) through critical pedagogy in the U.S. Southwest. The goal of this narrative inquiry was to explore the journey of these women into learning English and using it with a sense of agency and ownership to interact with ‘native speakers’ in public spaces, their experiences of systemic oppression in their new contexts, and parental engagement in their children’s schools. Critical views of gender and subject positions that conflict with access to ESL learning were included as well as the self-developed strategies these women utilize to face sociocultural power differentials and resistance to immigrant and gender stereotypes. The findings from this research indicate an ESL to labor pipeline that curtail the women’s educational aspirations, their language ownership possibilities, and their parental involvement in schools. This study contributes to the field of ESL and adult Literacy, specifically critical pedagogy-based ESL curricula models in formal/informal learning settings with further implications for adult literacy policies at the state and national levels.

Keywords

ESL, Critical Pedagogy, Latina Narratives, Immigrant, Adult Education

Document Type

Dissertation

Language

English

Degree Name

Language, Literacy and Sociocultural Studies

Level of Degree

Doctoral

Department Name

Language, Literacy, and Sociocultural Studies

First Committee Member (Chair)

Carlos LópezLeiva

Second Committee Member

Sylvia Celedón-Pattichis

Third Committee Member

Yoo Kyung Sung

Fourth Committee Member

Nancy López

Fifth Committee Member

Susana Martinez Guillem

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Available for download on Friday, May 15, 2026

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